My mother came from a rich and well-known family of Assam. She was married in an aristocratic family of Aligarh. It was not a happy marriage. Yet she became pregnant in the course of time. Her in-laws were dead-against a girl child. So they took her to the chamber of your father Dr. Habib Shaikh. Ultrasonography for sex determination was then in its nascent stage. Yet it was proscribed by law. But Dr. Shaikh dared to conduct such illegal tests for hefty sums of money. His clandestine business was mushrooming but law couldn't touch him as he had many influential clients. Before the test, my mother had a chance to face the doctor in private. She didn't dare to utter any word but just looked at him with pleading eyes. The doctor didn't misread her. After the test when he discovered it was a girl child, he told my grandfather, "Distribute sweets at home, Mr. Trivedi – it's a grandson. I however am warning you that our imaging technology is not yet cent percent perfect and please don't blame me if I've misread the image." "Of course, we are aware of that. Yet we also know that Dr. Habib, the genius never erred." Said my overjoyed grandfather as he took my mother back home. The doctor however had similarly alerted my mother in the meanwhile with eye gestures, and she too didn't fail to read the message. Among the celebrations she sneaked out one night and boarded an east-bound train. Finally, she reached her parent's home and I was safely born there. My mother's in-laws probably guessed later that Dr. Shaikh had double crossed them. They were quite influential and possibly saw to it that your father's license got canceled. 'I'm forever indebted to Dr. Habib, for your life. I could never repay him. Try if you can', were the words my mother told me on her deathbed." The girl stopped. Spellbound Saira waited with bated breath for her next moves. "Go!" She said in a soft but definitive tone. As Saira started the engine, the girl added, "The road forked a few miles ahead. In the right one, there will be a squad waiting. Take the left one. Although that passes through rough terrain and you've to be alert about wild animals crossing your track, there's no human being there." Saira thanked the girl and started the car. After a few seconds when she looked back she saw a shadowy figure looking at her lifted a gun over head and then disappeared in the thick of the jungle. 2
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