“Chintu has been bugging me a lot. His mischief knows no end. He never accepts the fact that he stole the milk… I've told him like a gazillion times not to do that. It is for Chinky, she needs it more than him… I don't know how to make him stop.” She was talking incessantly about his son, Chintu, and younger daughter Chinky.
Actually, this event took place in May 2020. I was with my elder sister and her two young kids. Chintu was almost five whereas, Chinky was only one year and four months old. She came to stay at my place because I asked her to help me out with chores. Her husband was in foreign when she didn't have any issues. I'd my upcoming exams so, it was a win-win deal.
The problem was that whenever she would feel heavy on her chest. I get that she's a 38″, with cup shape, 'b.' She used to pump the milk out almost regularly at night, and store it in a bottle, and put it in the refrigerator. According to her, Chintu will empty the bottle before she wakes up the next morning. Chintu was still not accustomed to getting by without his mother's milk. At least, that's what she thought.
Due to the contagious issues of the Corona Virus, she didn't want to outsource any dairy products. I've been drinking black coffee for a month now.
“Let me talk to Chintu. I'll make him understand,” I stated confidently.
“Kabir, trust me… if anyone could talk some sense into him, it would be only me… not even Girish.” She said matter-of-factly. Girish is her husband.
“Didu at least lemme try once…”
“Kabir, listen… it's not actually about him,”
“What? then what was all that you were doing for the last ten min….” She glared at me. I shut up.
“It's enough Kabir, spill the truth…” She scolds.
“What are you talking about? Didu? I don't understand… be more specific,” My heart started racing. It felt to me like a ticking time bomb. The ticking sound, my beats were accelerating by seconds.
“Fine, I'll just stop pumping… Na rahega baans na bajegi baansoori,” She gets up frustrated, turning to leave my bedroom.
“No, Didu… wait!!!” I scream… panicked.
“What's it now?” She turned around, I saw her bosom heaving up and down. She was as anxious as me. She noticed but ignored my stare at her humongous mounds.
“I… I… I am, I've read somewhere that not pumping the milk out… time to time might lead to breast cancer!!” I exclaimed, oozing with confidence.
She tuts and clicks her tongue. She shakes her head sideways, in denial, unable to believe how dumb I think she is. She stares at me with pity. Then, she turns around to leave… Again.
“Didu, wait, please! stop…” I stand up, getting off the bed.
She kept walking and was almost about to exit the bedroom when I blurt out, “I am sorry.”
Her feet froze, right where she was. But she didn't turn around to look me in the eye.
“You're sorry for…” She trailed.
It seemed as if she's mocking or teasing me by the way she said it. But, I was uncertain and thought that maybe that's just my imagination running wild.
“Sorry. For stealing your milk…!! This won't happen again, I promise.” I sighed.
She turns her head to the left, and I can see her left profile.
“It's not about what you did, Kabir. You shouldn't have lied.” With that being said, she left me to decrypt her encrypted message.
'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' I thought.
Actually, if you've paid any attention to the title of this post, you should've been able to figure this out. But if you haven't. Worry not.
Actually, I'm the thief who's been stealing the milk, guzzling it every night before she wakes up. But I don't know how she got skeptical about the culprit. The point is she did. She set up a trap for me.
She kept two bottles in the refrigerator that night. One was at its regular spot, which was actually empty. The bottle with milk was on the top shelf further deep. A human as tall as a five-year-old couldn't have even seen it. The empty bottle was supposed to trick Chintu, and another bottle was the bait for me. The rest is history.
Keep exploring.