My Sister's Daughter - Chapter 18 - Meeting Shantanu

I picked up Pia after school. I didn’t tell her where we were going and she didn’t ask. She looked around in surprise when I stopped near the ice cream parlor.

Pia turned to me, glee written all over her face. She couldn’t believe her luck! I am sure she was expecting to be punished. An ice cream treat must have been the last thing on her mind.

I laughed out aloud as I watched Pia run to order her cone. I hadn’t seen her this excited about anything before.

I made my way slowly to the ice cream parlor keeping an eye out for Shantanu Ray. I didn’t know what he looked like, but the place was almost deserted, so I didn’t worry too much about it.

I spotted him almost immediately. He was the only guy there. The rest of the sparse crowd consisted of mothers picking up their children after school. Mothers or aunts like me.

I had to admit, he was nothing like what I had imagined he would be. To tell you the truth, he reminded me a little of Santa Claus. A younger Santa Claus. He was talking to someone when I approached him.

“Shantanu Ray?” I asked gingerly.

He turned around to face me. “Khushi?” I nodded. He looked beyond me, “Where’s Pia?”

“Ya.. About that.. I was wondering if I could talk to you alone, before you meet Pia.” I had to assess this guy before I let him anywhere Pia.

“About what?” He was trying to suppress a smile as though he knew what I had planned.

“I’d like to know something about your qualifications and your experience. Forgive me if I’m being rude, but I think its important for me to check.”

He laughed suddenly, his laugh echoing in the small ice cream parlor. Everybody was staring at us. I couldn’t imagine what he had found so funny. I kept my face stern to show him I didn’t find this entire thing remotely funny.

Pia came running to me. She looked up at Shantanu, who immediately bent down to greet her. His eyes twinkled as he spoke to her.

“Hey Pia, I’m Shantanu..”

“How do you know my name?” Pia asked suspiciously. She was wary of strangers.

“Well.. Your mom told me..” Shantanu was looking at me.

“She’ not my mum..” Even though I was expecting it, the vehemence with which Pia said it, stung me.

I looked away for a moment, when I turned back, Shantanu was looking at me thoughtfully.

“Will you watch her for a moment? I’ll get the ice creams and come.” I didn’t want him scrutinizing me.

I watched them from a distance. I was so mesmerized by the effect he had on Pia. She was holding on to his every word. Whatever he was saying to her, she was totally in sync with it.

I walked back awkwardly, not wanting to disturb their conversation. Pia turned around as she heard me approach. She snatched her ice cream and ran to sit on swings next to the parlor.

After watching Pia and Shantanu together, I didn’t doubt his ability to help her. Turns out, neither did Shantanu.

 As we walked towards Pia, he commented “I think I can help Pia” he looked closely at me and continued, “And maybe even you..”

My Sister's Daughter - Chapter 17 - The Psychiatrist

I dropped the paintings on the desk. I hadn’t known about these.. I glanced towards my mum. My mum didn’t look up, she was looking at her hands.

“How long has Pia been drawing these ma?” I was amazed that she hadn’t thought it was important enough for me to know.

“I thought it was just a phase…” My mum rubbed her eyes wearily. I relented. I understood how hard it was for her to deal with this. I squeezed her arm gently and gave her a I understand smile.

“There was one more thing..” I held my breath, what more could there be?

The headmistress smiled, “Pia is going to be alright..” She was looking at me. I stared back at her.

“I just wanted you to know that.. I have seen children go through a lot.. and they always get through it..” She was reassuring me. For the moment, I was grateful to her for trying.

“I’ll keep that in mind..” I picked up Pia’s paintings.. I didn’t know what to make of them. I needed some professional help. We thanked the headmistress for her time and made our way out. Pia had already been sent back to class by then.

Back at home, my father and I settled down at the dining table and looked at each painting carefully. We wanted to be sure, we were not missing something subtle.

We didn’t find anything that we didn’t know already. Finally, I called the numbers the headmistress had given me. A man with a deep resonating voice answered. He laughed when I asked if I could fix an appointment to see him.

“I don’t have so many clients that I need to give appointments.” I had my misgivings about going to a psychiatrist who was proud of the fact that he didn’t have too many clients but the headmistress had spoken highly of him. It wouldn’t hurt to try one session, I thought to myself. I agreed to take Pia over to his office after school got over, but he laughed again.

“I don’t want to intimidate her Khushi.. Lets meet at the ice cream parlor near her school and we’ll see how it goes from here.”

I had found him to be totally unprofessional and strange. My father seemed to share my thoughts but my mum insisted that we at least meet this guy.

That is how Shantanu Ray entered our lives. On my mother’s insistence. 

My Sister's Daughter - Chapter 16 - Meeting the Headmistress

With the note out of the way Pia was back to her happy self.  She didn’t seem too concerned about the kid she had fought with. Now that she had realized there would be no punishment, her guilt had disappeared. I let it be. Whatever it was, she had to anyway face it tomorrow with the headmistress.

That gave me something else to think about; the meeting with the headmistress. I had always been a teacher’s pet, so had my sister. I didn’t have any idea how the parent was supposed to react in such matters. Was I to go there and apologize for Pia’s behavior? I spoke to my mother about it and both of us decided that it would be better if she came along too. Just to help me get used to it. To the whole being a parent thing.

The evening passed quickly what with Pia’s homework and assignments and I couldn’t help but wonder whether my life had reduced to babysitting Pia. I would be glad to start work soon..

At night, I thought of telling Pia a bedtime story. A happy story to keep her nightmares away.

“So once upon a time,” I started. Pia smiled a little and turned sideways to see me better. I smiled back. I used to tell Pia stories every time I visited and I could tell she was pleased that the change in our relationship hadn’t changed that aspect.

I told her a story of fairies and princesses, of happy days and happy thoughts. I thought I had done a pretty good job.

 I was tip toeing out of Pia’s room when Pia, who was still awake, asked me “Why do only fairy tales have happy endings?” I considered answering her question but I really, didn’t have any appropriate answer for it.

“Goodnight Pia..” I was hoping Pia would forget all about her question. Pia didn’t answer, she was already fast asleep.

I heaved a sigh of relief. You always had to be on your toes while raising kids. You could never predict what they were going to ask next. I smiled to myself as I heard my thoughts. Already, I was thinking like a parent. That night, after a long time, I slept with happy thoughts in my head.

Pia did not come into my room that night, but I knew she had a nightmare from the sleepy look on her face. Clearly, bed time stories were not the answer to her nightmare problem. That morning, I took charge of getting Pia ready for school. Pia was an organized child and I didn’t have to do much except remind her to hurry up once in a while.

We tried to maintain a conversation while walking to Pia’s school but all of us fell silent once the school building came into view. All of us probably thinking about what was coming next.

We were made to wait outside the headmistress’s office till the morning assembly got over. After a while, the headmistress came, apologizing for making us wait and ushered us into her office. Pia followed, with her head down.

A few minutes passed as the headmistress went over Pia’s records. Occasionally, she would shake her head in disapproval. I was getting nervous; I could only imagine what Pia was going through.

“This is a very difficult situation.” The headmistress finally started. “She’s a bright child, but her behavior is too unpredictable. We are lucky; the child’s mother didn’t create a fuss about this incident.”

My mum and I remained silent. We knew what Pia had done. What we didn’t know was why and how to stop it.

“Pia.. can you wait outside? I’d like to talk to your..” she hesitated, “guardians alone.”

Pia nodded and left.

“Have you seen Pia’s recent paintings Poonam?” Clearly, the headmistress knew my mum from somewhere else.

My mum nodded. I was missing something here. What was wrong with Pia’s paintings?

The headmistress continued, “I got a chance to show them to my colleague in the city and he agrees that they are disturbing.” She hurried to continue before my mother could interrupt. “I’m not saying there is something wrong with her. I just think you should ensure that she’s dealing with her parent’s death the right way.”

“Can you recommend someone?” I asked.

The headmistress scribbled a couple of names and numbers on a piece of paper.

“You can try these people. The school has worked with them before.” She handed me the paper.

“May I see the paintings?” I wanted to know what was so disturbing about them. I was sure, that they were all over reacting.

The headmistress picked up a file and passed towards me. I opened it and a gasp escaped from my lips as I flipped through it. Pia had drawn vivid pictures of accidents. And she had colored it.. The car, the tree, the people and the blood; everything was red.

My Sister's Daughter - Chapter 15 - Another Note

Pia wasn’t bothered by my dilemma in the least. She went about her happy way, unaware of my inner turmoil. I looked down at the note in my hand. Maybe it wasn’t as bad this time. I opened it.

Pia was involved in a fight today…  the note started. I turned towards Pia. She didn’t look as though she had been involved in a fight. There were no scuff marks on her. I glanced back at the note.

She picked a fight with a child two years younger to her. Needless to say, she had the upper hand. We do not know what caused Pia to fight, but we do not tolerate this kind of behavior in our school. Please accompany your ward to school tomorrow and meet the headmistress.

 I reread it to ensure I hadn’t read it wrong. No, there had been no mistake. Our sweet li’l Pia was a different person at school. I made a quick decision. There was no way I could be lenient about this.

“What is this Pia?” I asked sharply.

Pia froze on hearing the tone of my voice. She turned and looked up at me confused.

“Did you hit someone?” I raised my voice a little. Pia had to know that this behavior was not acceptable.

I could see tears brimming in Pia’s eyes. I wasn’t handling this very well.

I gave up the act of acting tough. I wasn’t made of strong stuff. I put my arms around her and gently wiped her tears.

“Why did you fight Pia?” I asked tenderly.

She was sobbing now.. Her tiny body shaking with every sob. I could only wonder what had transpired between her and the other kid that had upset Pia this much.

“I didn’t want to hit him..”

“Then why did you?” I could tell Pia was genuinely sorry. Pia remained silent.

 “Pia? What is it?” I was perplexed at her silence. Who was she trying to protect?

“Am I in trouble?” Pia’s only concern right now was whether she was going to be punished.

“I don’t know Pia. I don’t know what your headmistress is going to tell me. Is there something you should tell me first?” I couldn’t believe I couldn’t even get her to confide in me.

Pia shook her head slowly. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to tell me. I suddenly felt angry and hurt with her behavior. I had given everything up for her and Pia couldn’t even confess to me.

I walked out of the room swiftly. I needed some advice and I went straight to my mother.

My mother was pretty cool about the whole thing.

“Calm down Khushi..” She said when I told her about Pia keeping things from me. I glared at her, was she going to take Pia’s side?

“Khushi.. When you had a problem, you came straight to me. Where is Pia supposed to go?” My mother, with one question, threw all my arguments out of the window. She was right, as mothers always are.

“Pia doesn’t see you as the motherly figure..” Then after a moment she added. “Yet..”

“Give her some time..” My mum brushed a stray strand off my face and I realized how small familiar gestures make the world feel a lot less intimidating. Pia had lost everything that was familiar to her and obviously she would take time to get used to the new changes. I would have to be patient.

A little arm encircled my waist and I heard Pia’s voice.

“Are you mad at me? Will you go away again?” She was sniffling a little.

 I turned around and cupped her little face in my palm and said in a surprisingly confident voice.

“No Pia.. I’m never going away again.”