Read Online The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair - Free Book Online Page A

life,” said Aba, as he stroked her forehead with a wet cloth.

    “Penny for your thoughts.” Vijay Uncle had appeared, smiling, from inside the house and sat down across from me. I jumped up and smoothed my dress over my knees.
    “Oh, it’s nothing,” I said, “Actually, I was thinking about trying to call my father.”
    “I think we can arrange that later,” said Vijay Uncle. “There is a phone in the office at the hospital.”
    “You mean you don’t have a phone here?”
    “No, Rakhee, this is Malanad, not America,” Vijay Uncle chuckled. “So, you are a very talented artist, I see. Krishna showed me the picture you drew of Hari the other day. It’s very good, very lifelike—you must have inherited your artistic talent from me. You know, I used to be something of an artist. I once aspired to study art in Paris.” He pronounced it “Par
ee
,” in the French way. “I haven’t painted in years, though—not since my father died. I had responsibilities here. I couldn’t just leave.”
    As if on cue, Balu wobbled out on two very chubby, unstable legs and fell over, landing with a soft thud on his little hands and knees. He looked from Vijay Uncle to me, his eyes wide with surprise, and began to cry—loud, tearless wails. Nalini Aunty came running out after him, huffing and puffing, mopping up the sweat from her red forehead with the edge of her sari.
    “Oh, this child! I have to watch him every second!” she said, and scooped him up in her arms. “Vijay, why are you out here just sitting, doing nothing? Why don’t you godown to the hospital and do some work like other husbands?”
    Vijay Uncle let out a sigh and looked at me. His whole body seemed to have deflated with that one sigh. “Rakhee, would you like to come with me and see the hospital? It is a very important part of our family.”
    “As a matter of fact,” said Nalini Aunty, wiping her free hand on her sari, “I will go along with you both. Valsala has just given birth to her first child and I have been meaning to pay her a visit.” Vijay Uncle stood up and looked at me.
    “Shall we go, then?”
    I hated being alone with unfamiliar adults—it made me nervous—but I couldn’t think of a way to get out of it, so I found myself following my aunt and uncle down the front steps and across the road.
    The hospital was a long, rectangular building, similar in design to Ashoka but coated in a peeling pale blue paint. A dirty white cat lurked in the front yard distracting Balu, who ran toward it in glee. Nalini Aunty waved us in with one hand while simultaneously chasing after him. I followed Vijay Uncle past a long line of patients and he cast a guilty glance in their direction. Dev was seated at a desk in the interior office examining a young man’s tongue.
    “Ah, hello, Vijay,” he said, standing up when he saw us. “G-g-great of you to come by—and you brought a little f-f-f-friend along.” He chucked me under the chin with a curved finger. I felt his nail scrape against the tender skin.
    Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined the walls of the office, all crammed with small glass jars containing various liquids, creams, and powders in striking colors—magenta and turmeric orange—just how I imagined the lair of anold-fashioned apothecary might look. I knew then that this was not an ordinary hospital. It was nothing like the Plainfield Clinic.
    “I wanted to give Rakhee a tour,” said Vijay Uncle.
    “Of course, of course, p-p-please, go ah-h-h-head.”
    I wondered why Vijay Uncle needed to ask Dev for permission, even though the hospital belonged to our family, not his, but before I could say anything Vijay Uncle steered me out of the office and into a hallway. A door, the only one in the entire hallway, caught my eye. It stood slightly ajar. Vijay Uncle had strolled ahead, so I paused and pushed it open. The room was as small as a closet, with weak light from the narrow window revealing a disheveled single bed, a scuffed wardrobe, and