|
The
blue nose was followed by a blue body.
The blue rat crawled out of the old woman's
dress and turned its head from side to side, sniffing and blinking.
The blue rat and the old woman lifted their
heads and stared at the people who came into the room. Slowly, they
inspected Tim, Natascha, Krishnan and Grk, letting their eyes wander
over the three children and the dog.
The rat's whiskers twitched. It poked its
nose into the old woman's ear.
The old woman appeared to listen to it for a
few seconds. Then she smiled. When she spoke, her voice was soft and
quiet. "I know you," she said, pointing at Krishnan. "You are one of
mine. Your name is Krishnan and you were born in Bihar. Yes?"
"Yes," whispered Krishnan.
"But who are these two?" The old woman
pointed at Tim and Natascha.
"My name is Tim," said Tim. "And this is
Grk." He pointed at Grk.
"And I'm Natascha Raffifi," said Natascha.
The blue rat sniffed and blinked. Its
whiskers twitched. It poked its nose into the old woman's ear and
appeared to whisper again.
The old woman said, "Tell me, Tim and Grk
and Natascha Raffifi, what are you doing here?"
"We've come to help Krishnan," said Tim.
"This boy doesn't need your help," said the
old woman. "He can look after himself. He works every day, making good
money. He doesn't need anything from any foreigners."
Tim said, "And what happens to all that
money?"
"It goes to the blue rat," said the old
woman.
"You mean, it goes to you."
"No. Not me. The blue rat takes everything."
Tim shook his head. "That's just
ridiculous," he said. "Rats don't need money. You're just using the rat
to get money for yourself. You've got hundreds of children working for
you. I've seen them. On the trains. In the streets. All of them are
making money--and you get to keep all of it!"
The old woman shook her head. "You don't
understand anything," she said. "You're just a stupid foreigner."
"I understand everything!" said Tim. "You're
using the blue rat to cheat people and--"
"Enough!" The old woman's voice cut through
the air, interrupting Tim and stopping him from saying another word. She
gestured at the guards. They stepped forward.
Tim knew that if he had continued speaking,
the guards would hit him. So he kept quiet.
In the silence, the old woman turned her
head slightly, angling her face towards the blue rat, listening to it.
The rat's tail curled and uncurled as if it
had a life of its own. It lifted its head and poked its nose into the
old woman's ear.
The old woman appeared to listen to it for a
few seconds. Then she smiled. "The blue rat has spoken," she said. "He
says you must die." She nodded at the guards. "Take them to the pit." |
