Glass (Short Story by Smruti Choudhury)

Pakya grunted at the weight of the box. He hadn’t signed up for this. His job was to make sure that Baba was safe. Nowhere did that mean that he had to lug heavy crates around.

Maybe it was time to have that chat with Kallu Mama and get some real assignments. He was after all the one and only son of the dreaded Bhiku. He had the right to choose the job that he wanted, if not the crew.

It was different during his father’s time. Not only did he choose his own crew, his own marks, but he also lorded over half of Mumbai. Right from Orlem in the suburbs to Byculla in the bay. He was feared and respected. Till he was killed in an encounter. And then that sonofabitch Satya took over. Always smiling, always courteous, always scheming and plotting. Everyone switched their loyalties overnight and Satya became the new ‘Baba’.

Kallu Mama spent 2 bottles of the best whiskey and sent me to the best whore in byculla to get me to join Satya’s crew. And I did. The sell out that I am.

But how could I have refused Kareena?! When she does that half smile of hers and sways her hips while walking, it just sends me to heaven. And her skin? It just melts when I touch it. It is the color of the darkest coal but is as shiny as glass! I cannot let anyone stain that glass. No way. If that means I have to lug these crates around for eternity, I will do so.

Kallu Mama was watching Pakya stacking crates in the godown with concern. It was true that he was the son of the dreaded Bhiku. But Pakya had none of the menacing ways of his father. He was the mildest person ever. Fragile as glass. But Kallu knew that sometimes, jagged pieces of glass can give the deepest cuts.

Pakya caught Kallu looking at him and waved. He started walking over to Kallu but right then Satya walked in. He looked furious. Was it something that he had done? But he didn’t have any real responsibilities, he was just a laborer, stacking crates.

Satya pulled out one of the crates and broke it open. Ripped off the packing and the bubble wrap to reveal that the entire consignment was ‘Glass’. Kallu Mama and Satya both just stared at it and then started laughing. I didn’t get it. We were supposed to get cocaine in exchange of the guns we gave the Afghans, why did we get Glass? And why were these 2 laughing their guts out?

I needed to get away from it all. And I went off to Kareena. It was Thursday, she didn’t take any customers on Thursday and would be in her room even at this time of the evening. I found her preening in front of the mirror and told her that if she wanted the entire wall of her room to be covered in mirrors, I could steal some of the glass from Satya and fix it up for her.

“What glass?” She asked. So, I told her about the crates that I had been lugging around the whole day. She burst out laughing. As hard as Satya & Kallu Mama were, back in the godown. She slowly reached into her blouse and pulled out a small pouch. It had fragments of glass in it. She put one in her tongue and started swaying, without any music.