MEALS
( A story from the book : Just One More Button Down by Kajal Mehta)
“Do you think that he should have paid this big cost for the meals he ate your honour?” my lawyer Kripa Barot was furious. We were determined to fight for the justice.
“I want justice for this kid, who is been paying high cost for those meals he has eaten in last 2 years.”
The whole court room was silent; and that was obvious. No one was interested in this case. A young kid was paying something against meals that he ate; did he even know how big a cost it was? He was offering his body to a gay man against food he offered him. What a pain it must have been for his body and soul. Poor 13 year boy, did he even register the pain? I felt emotional turmoil inside me. I wanted to replace the judge and declare this as crime. I wanted to announce some very painful punishment for the criminal. I wanted to go and slap the man who called himself ‘caretaker’ of this young boy. He would have fed meals to this boy and offered a shelter too, but against which he made him work for the house and for his personal pleasures as well. What a moron? Where has humanity gone? Why judge takes so much time to settle this criminal to declare as one? For the first time I don’t like being a fitness consultant, I wish I were a lawyer.
Kripa is the best I could have found to make this work. I want justice for this boy. I want him to leave that pit hole. He was being used for the all house hold tasks and physical pleasures of an educated, good looking gay man behind the soothing words like care, safety, warmth and protection. This was disgusting and I with Kripa was determined to get justice for this boy, for humanity.
I saw this tall, fair, bearded, well dressed, fairly built man walking on the road while I was driving myself through lanes of city. It was day time; I could clearly see them walking far from distance. Even from distance I could see a young kid walking along him. I could not take my eyes from this scene. They were walking and I was in my car. Both came close by, I already had reduced the speed of my car to look at them for longer. This man was good looking and well groomed too at closer sight. The kid walking along was a surprising element being a complete mismatch. Poverty and poor background were sitting on his face, though he was well dressed. He was walking holding hand of this man, as if he was worried about something. An ice cream stick in his hand was like treasure chest which he wanted to preserve not wasting a single drop.
The sight didn’t feel normal and I was tempted to dig in more. I chased the duo maintaining safe distance. They walked in to the campus of a decent looking society. They got in to the elevator and all I could do was to check the floor number. I managed to sneak in to work as a free yoga teacher in the colony to get acquainted with females. The stories that I collected about the duo were heart churning. I never missed on the filtering the information before I concluded. Random bumping in to this kid in an elevator was also an opportunity for me to reach closer to fact.
“Does bhaiya hurt you?” I was too abrupt to ask this.
“No he is too nice. He loves me a lot. He never hurts me, in fact he take care of me and give me nice food too.” His world revolved around food I guessed.
“Will you go out with me someday? I will buy you pizza.” I wanted to dig in more, and this was my opportunity to fix my date with this kid.
“I will have to ask bhaiya. He says no, to talk to strangers and to meet them.” And he exited on 7th floor, eloping behind the door of 704.”
I convinced few females and Kripa to take this challenge. Lots of pursuance and efforts made this kid understand my point of view and my intentions to fight for his right.
“But didi, bhaiya has given me meals for these many days, now how could I do this to him?” He had his apprehensions about standing against his bhaiya. And this made my mind even stronger for the fight against bhaiya.
***
“I have lifted him from the streets, keep safe and secure with me. He stays with me, eats and play with me, and yes sleeps with me too.” This man did not understand words like ‘guilt’ or ‘shame’. He admitted this in front of me, Kripa, his lawyer, judge and top of all in front of that little young boy.
“I have never hurt him, made him cry, offended or assaulted him.” The story of shamelessness continued. I wanted to get up from my place and kick his ego down the buckle of his pants. Kripa held my hand and started putting her points to make us win.
“Your honour, he is using this young boy for his sexual pleasures. The boy himself has admitted his sexual involvement with this man. What more we need to know to throw this man behind the bars?”
Arguments, anger, frustrations, tears, wait of days and months and much more happened between I, this man, judge and Kripa. Judge wanted something more to conclude this man as a culprit.
Finally it was the turn of the young boy to speak out. He had to narrate his side of the whole story. I and Kripa knew that this would make him win. He will spill the beans out and judge would know what has been happening to him and what this kid has been going through with his ‘caretaker’.
***
“I don’t remember when my parents sent me to this city for making money for the family. I started working with a local tea vendor named Harish. I got paid Rs. 2000 a month and two meals every day. I used to sleep under a shelter where we were around 15 people. Few boys of my age, few elder kids and a few adults as well stayed with me. I did not even know what was happening with me while they touched my body. All I knew was I had to earn those 2000 Rs. for my family and eat those two meals to be able to work the whole day to earn those 2000 Rs. I never realized pain, assault, humiliation or any other word that Kripa didi is using since days in this room.
One day bhaiya came to Harish’s tea spot. He made me sit with him, drink tea and offered biscuits too to eat with. My chipped lips and fatigued body made him realize my pain, which I never even noticed. He came to the tea joint regularly after that day and befriend with Harish. One fine day bhaiya asked me to go with him and I walked. Since then I have been staying with bhaiya. I help him cook our morning meal, we take our shower, and get ready. I pack bhaiya’s tiffin and he leaves for work. While he is away I watch TV, play games, and clean the house. And yes I eat my morning meal to sleep well in the noon. Bhaiya comes home in the evening and I love his home coming. He plays with me, love me and tell me the stories of his everyday happening. Bhaiya doesn’t have much friends, he says I am his best friend. He cooks dinner for us and I assist him. We listen to the music while cooking at times. Sometimes he tells me the jokes which many a times I don’t understand but laugh along; as seeing bhaiya laughing makes me happy. I know people make of fun of bhaiya at times for the way he dresses up, talk and walk. I have seen bhaiya crying at times for that, I don’t find him worth laughing at all.
Kripa didi has been talking about my pain when bhaiya gives bath to me or loves me after coming back from work, but I don’t find it painful for me. Once when the Harish’s friends came to take me away from bhaiya, bhaiya fought with them till he bleed, but he did not let them take me away. It pained when Harish bathe me, or his friends, or other elder kids working with me but not when Bhaiya does.
Kripa didi told me that all these things are wrong and bhaiya is a bad man. But sir I want to stay with bhaiya forever and eat my meals with him forever.”
He ran to this man and hugged him and they both sobbed.
***
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Just One More Button Down by Kajal Mehta
