Three Girls and a Baby

Palo Stickland

Was it a dream or a memory? That open space on the outskirts of the village? I see the ground rising up, ahead of me. Although I am small, I look with a steady, knowing gaze at the top of the rise. Behind me are houses, a few of red, fired bricks, but most are built of cool tan-coloured mud. To my left are green fields where farmers grow corn, vegetables and animal-feed.

Throughout my childhood this scene kept recurring in my mind, reminding me of the India I had left when I was five, to make a new life in Glasgow. I was thirteen when I returned to the village, and heard my mother talking to her friends. 'Remember when we thought the girls were lost? How worried we were.' 'Yes. Three girls walked all that way, carrying a baby. We feared they'd been kidnapped and sold to brothels,' laughed my mother.

I tried to piece together the memories. My cousin, who actually remembered it all, took me to the exact spot. I stood on the open space again, but it didn't look the same as I'd thought. There were more houses, and even some across the road. I realised that, as a little girl, I wouldn't have been able to see the surface of the road. It would just have been some ground rising over my line of vision.

As I searched my mind for the truth, I remembered being a five year old again. 'Let's go to my grandfather's farm. He keeps cows and buffalo, and will give us milk to drink. It's just straight along that road.' With me was my cousin Simro, my friend Lilo and her baby brother, who we took turns to carry. We walked along quite happily and purposefully. When we saw any vehicles, we slipped on to the narrow, dirt track at the side. The tarmac road was lined with trees, to give shade to travellers. I thought it was beautiful, and the parrots, finches and crows kept us entertained. Fields on either side of the road were green with the young corn, and from time to time we saw people working there.

We stopped for a rest by a stone that had writing on it, I pretended to read, but I hadn't been to school. The next thing I heard was my cousin's scream. I looked at her as she ran backwards, pointing behind me. Then I saw the baby on his hands and knees stretching one arm towards the bush behind the stone. He was gurgling, and reaching for a snake! I got such a fright. I'd seen one before at my grandfather's town house, in the gutter along the lane, and remembered the commotion it caused. I knew what to do.

It was sitting up in its coil. The baby didn't know that it might bite him. I pretended that grandfather was standing beside me, making sure I remembered his advice, and I took a step forward.

Looking at the snake, and calling him grandfather, out of respect, I said, 'Please Babaji, I just want to take the baby. Please don't be angry. We didn't mean to disturb you.' The snake didn't move so I took two steps, and stretched towards the baby who was looking round at me now.

'I'm sorry Babaji. We'll just be on our way.' I was looking at the snake's eyes, and he seemed to be looking back at me, so I kept talking, while lifting the baby. With slow steps, I pulled myself back. 'We're going to my grandfather's farm. Goodbye, Babaji.'

When I was in the road, out of sight of the snake, I turned and walked smartly away, with Lilo and Simro following. They kept looking back, but the snake wasn't following us. Lilo said, 'How far is it now?' 'We're here.' I grinned. We had reached the first houses of the town, and when I saw the tall neem tree with the leaning electricity pole beside it, I knew to turn left just there.

I pushed open the steel gate and peeped around it, and sure enough there was my grandfather, sitting on his haunches, wearing his usual shorts and a shirt. He wore a white turban, roughly tied, on his head and flip-flops on his feet. He was sharpening a scythe.

'Hello Babaji,'I smiled. He looked surprised. Then my little cousin appeared from behind me and said the same, and Babaji looked even more surprised. Then Lilo came through the gate from behind us, holding the baby, and said 'Hello Babaji, which was the right greeting although he wasn't her grandfather. We all smiled hoping he was pleased. But he just looked surprised and with a frown, asked 'Are you girls by yourselves?' We didn't answer, because he was looking too serious.

He went on, 'Does your mother know you're here? No? Well, have some milk, and then I should take you back. They'll be searching for you.' Grandfather put my cousin and Lilo on the back shelf of his bicycle, and he gave the baby to Lilo to hold on her lap. I sat on the crossbar in front, and he set off, cycling the six miles that we had walked. It was darker now, and my tummy was feeling funny, as if worms were wriggling in it. I thought maybe our walk hadn't been such a good idea.

I remember arriving back. Grandfather told them how we had just appeared at the farm. And Lilo made the mistake of telling them about the snake, although I tried to nudge her to stop. Everyone was so noisy. I couldn't understand why there was all this fuss, and then my brother came and slapped me, for putting the baby in danger. I cried a lot, and although the story of our walk became a village legend, I never did anything like that again.