A Guardian and a Thief By Megha Majumdar - 3
“Beep, beep!” “What is that, is that a car?” “No! A bus, Baba. You don’t know a bus?” “Did you go on a bus today?” “I went on two buses!” “I take a bus every day. Did you know that?” “Is it orange?” “The bus? No, it’s blue. I’ll take you when you come here. And how is Mama? What did you all eat toda...
“Beep, beep!”
“What is that, is that a car?”
“No! A bus, Baba. You don’t know a bus?”
“Did you go on a bus today?”
“I went on two buses!”
“I take a bus every day. Did you know that?”
“Is it orange?”
“The bus? No, it’s blue. I’ll take you when you come here. And how is Mama? What did you all eat today?”
“We had—rice and spinach.”
“I had fruit jelly, Baba!”
“That sounds yummy, Mishti. Can you give the phone to Mama? Listen. Did something happen to your phone? Why are you calling from your father’s phone?”
“I mean—I really don’t want to get into it. What happened, happened. My phone got stolen.”
“Stolen! How?”
“Pickpocket. When we were out. Maybe when we took a bus.”
“I knew it. I knew there was a problem. You sound—unsettled.”
“Yes, Baba, and my twuck also—”
“One minute, Mishti. You didn’t get hurt, did you? Did Mishti see it?”
“She didn’t see anything. Just the phone is missing.”
Silence.
“I don’t know. I don’t like how unsafe the city is getting. It’s the shortage making people desperate. I wish I could come and be with you for these last few days. I feel—it doesn’t feel good—I’m too far away to help you in any way.”
“You know the rules. Don’t even think about leaving the country.”
“But should I look into it? Should I apply or petition or something to be allowed to—?”
“Don’t do any such thing. You know the rules don’t allow exit and reentry. If you left, we would all get stuck here, and then what?”
“I know. I just wish. Well, what about the police? Did you file a report? I think you’re supposed to. So that if the thief uses your stolen phone, there’s a record—”
“I know all that.”
“I’m just saying.”
“We tried. The police were not helpful—leave it. It’s gone, and I feel exhausted thinking about it. I’m going to sleep. And you get rest too. Don’t worry so much, and definitely don’t do anything to put the visa at risk, okay?”
“Okay, okay.”
“How’s your blood pressure?”
“I haven’t checked. But it’s fine.”
“Remembering to take the medicine?”
“Every day. Listen. It’s only a phone. When you come here, you’ll need a new phone anyway. In a way, if you think about it… good timing on the pickpocket’s part, isn’t that so? Enjoy the phone, pickpocket! Enjoy the ten thousand pictures of a child you’ve never met! Ha ha!”