The Dawsons

3

Jalandhar, India

Deborah and Thomas had been on the run since they crash-landed in Sind. Even though, Deborah tried to hide her foreign origins, her language, and her body language revealed a lot. She colored her hair black, wore the traditional dress, and spoke very little. People often took her as depressed or otherwise, sick girl. They had escaped Multan through another truck. They reached Bikaner, from where they took a ride to Ludhiana, where they were given some money and food. Someone told them that they would get some help at Suraj Singh’s house in Jalandhar. Suraj Singh was a scion of an old business family of the city, and was known for his help and charity. Both found it to be their best bet in this unknown land. They took the next train to Jalandhar.

An apparently Euro-Indian lady caught Deborah’s accent as she talked to Thomas. She was passing by at the aisle. She suddenly stopped and looked at Deborah. She turned around and took the empty seat opposite them. Deborah and Thomas stopped talking.

Without a moment’s delay the lady suddenly announced. “Midlands? Right?”

Deborah pretended not to have listened.

“Oh! The typical British way of ignoring people. I know it well!” The lady giggled like a mad woman.

Thomas was offended by now. He turned to the lady and said, rather rudely. “You know a little too much about Britain in this foreign land, lady. Don’t you!

“A little too much, my boy!” The lady said, as the wrinkles on her face deepened. She continued in a hushed up voice. “They don’t like you if you know too much.” She giggled between the words, saying, “The Scotland Yard, I mean. They’re full of shit! But who cares, they can’t do a thing to me till I am here.”

“But why would they do something to you in the first place?” Thomas sounded disgusted by now.

“That is beyond your scope lad!” The lady answered loudly. “But I am a free bird here. They can’t get e even if they want.”

“And why do you think so?” Thomas asked.

The lady moved her head side to side as she laughed. “There’s no extradition treaty.” She said.

Thomas’ brow rose involuntarily as he heard this. He gave a subtle look at Deborah. She seemed relaxed for the first time. Before they could make sense of what they had just heard, the lady turned towards Deborah and snapped roughly at her, “Where in the Midlands are you from, girl?”

“Coventry.” The words escaped from Deborah’s mouth suddenly. She could just regret, what she had let out!

“Oh, Coventry, a shitty place that is.” The woman said loudly, as Deborah’s face turned red in anger. Before she could respond, the lady spoke up again in her shrill voice. “ My daughter was unhappily married there, till they killed her.”

The lady continued unabated. “ Those scoundrels used her for political mileage, and when she knew too much, they killed her. They continuously kept her on sedatives and psychotropic drugs..” She broke down into sobs.

Deborah’s heart melted. She held her hand and tried to comfort her. “Were they political people?” She asked.

The lady just nodded in response, between the sobs.

“I won’t ask you who they were, bur whatever they…” Before Deborah could finish, the lady gave her the most shocking answer that she could’ve ever expected to hear.

“The Dawsons.”