Atif Aslam’s voice was broken by a shrill of the telephone.Deepti  rushed out of the Kitchen wiping her forehead with the end of her saree pallu.The day had been hard.Tanu had woken up late owing to the nightmares she had fought last night and had gone to school without having breakfast.Hriday had been up the entire night finalising reports he had to present today. “What?How?Hello?Who’s speaking?Hello!?”. Deepti collapsed to her knees when she had no response from the other side.What is a shoot-out?In a School? How can goons enter a school? What happened to Tanu?

Hearing the door being unlocked she looked up to see Hriday coming in.He walks to her and lifts her up.They look at each others eyes filled with tears laced with anxiety.All they knew was a phone call.A phone call that had shaken their lives.Hriday scrambled for the T.V remote for any piece of information he would get.He browsed through all the news channels the guide told him existed.No information.As he checked again,they saw something that made them stop short.Police barriers; Reporters climbing in for the breaking news it would fetch.Chaos and a headline: Attack at Vidyapeeth Primary School;23 claimed dead.

“Hriday,take me there,Take me there now.I am not staying away from Tanu a single minute.Come,lets go.Take me there please.”.Hriday did nothing buy look at the woman pleading to be near her daughter.Her eyes held no longer tears.Her eyes portrayed numbness yet spoke more than his actions.He wished he could assure everything was OK,but how could he when he himself was praying the entire episode to be false.How could he when he felt his masculine gruffness fade away yearning to see his daughter whom he had taught to walk.His vibrating phone brought him back from his reverie.”Hello.This is Inspector Umesh speaking.We found your number on an ID card of a student fallen on the floor here.All the injured students of Vidyapeeth Primary School have been admitted to Sanjeevini Medical Centre in Ashoknagar.Please come and identify your kid”.Hridays face lit up with this ray of hope.The inspector had said ‘injured’ and not … .

“Tanu will be hungry,no?”

The hospital was crowded by parents and flashes that went off every other minute.The media surrounded them for answers to their questions but they had eyes for none.Hriday could feel his heart beat increasing its pace with every step he took.He found himself amidst hundreds of parents seeking information like him.They entered a long hall lined by beds on every side.There were kids wailing,Kids unconscious and kids in utter shock.There were joyous tears and tears that wrote the verdict of loss.The entire place smelt of tincture and medicines.He could see nurses running around attending every bed and the police trying to keep everything within control.They went over each bed,each room they were told to but there was no Tanu.Deepti walked over to the metal chair heavily and sat grasping the cold metal in her even colder hands.It could mean just one thing,right?Tanu had left them.She had broken her promise.A promise of never letting go before they did.A promise made not long ago but yesterday as she hugged death.”Do we all die,Amma?”,she had asked holding her pet squirrel which she was told had gone to God.What could one answer to a 7-year olds question about life’s unanswered situation,death.”Yes,we all do.We all must meet God when he calls us.When he does we must go saying Bye to everyone”,Deepti had said. “Will God call me also,Amma?”. “No Baby,God calls only those who don't do their work, don't complete their homework and those who don't eat nice food and behave like a bad girl”,Deepti had replied struggling to keep a straight face as she did so.Tanu had rushed to her room to complete her homework a teensy bit afraid of this bizarre idea of meeting God.

Her entire mind was just filled with passing images of her birth,her first step and all the times she had held her to her bosom.She couldn't even feel the tears that had traced their path over her flushed cheeks.She looked aside to the sound of an ambulance and the stretchers that were kept alongside.A body is brought down covered with a white cloth and she heard shrieks.She looks at Hriday,”I failed.” Hriday looks away and behind the glass window he finds something familiar.”Tanu!”,he screams startling everyone around him.They rush into the room where she was kept.She looked so calm,undisturbed as she slept in her stained uniform and shabby hair.After all this time he just wanted to hear one thing,Papa.

“Papa…”

Tears lined his stubble.He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her forehead just like he had when he had held her in his arms for the very first time seven years ago.He had been tongue tied a lot of times this evening but this was one time he didn't mind.Hearing her speak when he had lost all hope of seeing her again beat all the odds.

“Papa,Aashna did her homework,Papa.She even completed her maths notes which is so tough,papa.She emptied her tiffin.Deepa ma’am called her a good girl.But that uncle is bad,papa.He made blood come on Aashna’s face.He said God was calling her.All my friends did their homework,Papa.But God still called them.Why did God cheat,Papa?”

He looked at his wife,at Tanu whose innocent question begged for an answer and to the greying clouds beyond.

“He wanted to keep your friends safe from this world,Tanu.That’s why he called them.”

“I want to go too…”