A Life for a Life Aniruddha Sen Mumbai, India "Halt!" A shadowy figure suddenly emerged from the darkness of the forest and signaled Saira to stop her car. Saira froze. Although the voice was of a female, a barrel was jutting out from the shoulder bag the person was carrying. Saira could easily guess it was the barrel of an AK-47. When Saira heard that a riot between the locals and the outsiders was brewing, she wasted no time to set out with her car. She intended to somehow reach Guwahati airport from where she would fly to safety. To avoid people, she took this desolate route through hills and jungles. Little did she imagine death was lurking here too. As if by reading her mind, the woman in front said, "Thought you would escape through the jungle? Fat chance! You, the infiltrators from the neighboring country have ruined our lives and livelihoods and sucked our blood. You made us aliens in our own land. Now's the time you all pay back with your lives." "Oh, no!" Raising her hand before the aimed firearm, Saira said, "I'm not an infiltrator. For generations we have been living in Aligarh. I'm a government officer and was recently posted here." "Aligarh?" Saira saw a bit of hesitation in the body language of the gun wielder. By now she had observed it was a girl of late teens. The girl continued, "Aligarh, or are you bluffing? Where is your ancestral home? Who is your father?" "Our home is at Badar Bagh and my father was Dr. Habib Shaikh who passed away a few years ago." "Habib Shaikh, that unscrupulous doctor?" The girl excitedly said. "You may say so." Said shamefaced Saira, "But he was amply punished for his acts. About twenty years ago, he had his medical license annulled for being involved in some illegal activities. The shock made him repent and since then he was a changed man. He dedicated himself to the service of the needy even at the cost of neglecting his family. We therefore had to struggle a lot for coming up in life. Well, did you by chance know my father?" "Not me but my mother knew him." Said the girl with a much more composed voice. Then she continued, "And I can probably guess why his license was canceled. 1
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