because he's the biggest and strongest of them all. As for my promise of ice cream, anything in the future for him is tomorrow and anything that has happened in the past happened yesterday.'
Abhi smiled a cherubic smile at Mayukh, as if sharing a big secret.
'I will have Ice Cream tomorrow.'
Mayukh held out his hand towards the girl.
'I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Mayukh.'
'Hi Mayukh. I'm Swati.'
Then her smile was replaced by a sudden look of vulnerability and she seemed to shake before she regained her composure.
'Who would have thought…'
She never completed her sentence before she stifled a sob. Mayukh tentatively held out a hand to hold her shoulder, as she continued.
'Our parents were taken the first night. We hid in the closet and since then I've been trying to keep Abhi safe. Thanks for helping out, but I would have died before those goons got their way with me.'
Mayukh took a closer look at her face in the fading light that was still coming in from the open front door. Her black hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail, and if they had been in the same school, Mayukh could imagine she would have been the object of every boy's affection, with her sharp features and slim body. But her eyes were glowing, even defiant and for a moment, Mayukh felt ashamed of the weakness he had shown over the last day. Unarmed and alone, this girl had maintained her courage and composure, while he had broken down. He shrunk back against the wall, suddenly very ashamed of himself. Swati caught him staring at her and saw his expression. Somehow she seemed to be reading his mind.
'Mayukh, whatever happened before we met, we wouldn't be alive if you hadn't helped us. So if Abhi thinks you're Pete, he's right. You're his hero.'
As she got up to walk towards Hina, she turned towards Mayukh and added softly.
'And mine.'
***
They had a dinner of some cookies and canned fruit in near total darkness. Abhi had decided that Mayukh was his idol and wouldn't leave his side, even insisting that he feed him at night. He kept up an incessant chatter about Disney characters, cars he liked, the fact that he loved chocolate chip cookies and so on. Mayukh was clueless about most of what Abhi seemed to be blabbering on about, but it didn't seem to matter.
'See McQueen, he goes so fast!', Abhi exclaimed as he raced his toy car over Mayukh's leg.
Hina looked at Mayukh, smiling.
'You seem to have got your own little fan there.'
Mayukh could only grin back. He had never been around kids much, but now seeing the curly haired bundle of energy next to him, he felt fiercely protective, and he began to realize just what might have made his mother sacrifice herself to save him. He reached over, tousling Abhi's hair.
'Don't you need to sleep now?'
Abhi looked up at him with big, innocent eyes.
'Give me a fresh diaper and milk.'
Totally out of his depth now, Mayukh looked towards Swati for help. She came over, grinning from ear to ear.
'He normally doesn't take to strangers this easily. You must have made quite an impression. Come on, Abhi, no fresh diaper today. Let's go to sleep now.'
Abhi burst into tears, bawling at the top of his voice. Swati tried to hush him and looked at Mayukh and Hina apologetically.
'I'm sorry, but he's used to sleeping in a fresh diaper. He's not potty trained yet, and he always has milk before bedtime.'
A mother of two grown children, Hina immediately went to the bathroom to see if she could rustle up something, and then came back with some toilet paper.
'This is all we have. And no milk of course.'
Swati tried comforting Abhi, but the boy kept crying, and she looked at Mayukh, an almost apologetic expression in her eyes. David came inside, whispering to Mayukh.
'We need to calm him down.
Mayukh realized that somehow he had been given charge of Abhi, and also realized that he did not really mind it. He looked out the door and saw something across the street.
'David, just cover my back.'
'Where are you going? It's past Sunset.'
Mayukh answered over his shoulder to Hina.
'I see a Pharmacy, and its just a few feet away. I'll see if they have anything there.'
He wondered if David would stop him, but the soldier just tapped him on his back.
'Be quick, and stay sharp. If there's any sign of trouble, aim for the head.'
Mayukh slipped into the darkness, gun in hand and a flashlight tucked into his belt. He realized that even after just one day, his eyes had adjusted well to the darkness. The sky was clear, perhaps the one positive effect of all the cars and factories being silent, and in the moonlight, he could see pretty clearly. Now that he was outside, he felt a stab of panic. David was a trained soldier who knew what he was doing, but Mayukh knew that he was just a kid in school who may have liked to play soldier on video games, but knew nothing of what to do in real life. He gripped the gun in both hands, both to steady his hands and to give him some confidence. He crept across the road, watching both sides of the road. With his heart hammering, he entered the store, and turned on his flashlight to see what was inside. Much of the store had been looted, but to his delight, he found what he wanted-several packs of Pampers. He had never figured diaper packs could be so bulky, and he realized that carrying just two would mean that he would not be able to hold his gun in his hand. He looked around frantically for bags and finally found a large black garbage bag. He put two large packs of diapers in it and also several packs of what looked to be baby milk powder. Then he went back out into the darkness.
He was halfway to the bookstore when he thought he heard voices in the distance. All his bravado gone, he ran at a full sprint, entering the open door panting for breath. As he handed the bag to Hina, she looked in and chuckled.
'I think he's a bit big for an M size.'
Mayukh rolled his eyes.
'I'm kidding, Mayukh. That was a very brave thing to do.'
Hina started making some milk for Abhi while Swati sat down next to Mayukh. In the darkness, he could barely see her face, but she held his hand and squeezed lightly.
'Thanks again.'
Before he could say anything, Abhi ran up and hugged his knee.
'I want him to put me to sleep.'
And so, Mayukh sat down with Abhi as he drank his milk and then the little boy put his head on Mayukh's lap.
'Can you tell me a story?'
Mayukh looked around for help, but could only hear Hina and Swati chuckle, so he began.
'Once upon a time, there was a little boy, whom his mother loved a lot. But he never listened to her and never told her that he loved her too. One day, some monsters came and took her away, and the boy was all alone.'
Abhi took his hand and said, 'Just like my mama.'
'But then the boy had to be very brave because so many others needed him to be strong. So he decided that wherever his mama was, she would be proud if he didn't cry and was brave.'
He fumbled, feeling tears well up in his eyes, and struggled with what to say next. He didn't need to continue the story, because he felt Abhi asleep, his little chest rising and falling rhythmically. Mayukh put Abhi's head on a cushion and then sat down nearby, the tears now coming freely. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Swati.
'I thought the boy was going to be brave.'
Mayukh put his head against her shoulder and cried, and she just let him sit there, the two of them thinking
