10 The Queen of the Hearth Part 10

Jassi took the only jute bag she had and stuffed it with clothes, the watch and some cash Maa had given her, some food, paper and pen, and mobile phone. She then called in Shera and instructed him to wait for her. When Radha came in again with her breakfast, she told Radha to take care of Shera and give him food till she returns.

Shera was a good friend to her but she could not risk taking him with her. She didn't know what she will face in Delhi. So, she decided that Guru-ka-Taal was the safest place for the big mutt.

She decided to travel by bus. The ISBT bus stand was close by and she walked down to it and caught the bus to Delhi. Haryana Roadways took her to Delhi in just three hours. She looked at her watch. It was still 11 a.m.

While Maa had assured her that her uncle seemed innocent, she had disappeared right after that call. It was fishy. While Renny seemed more likely to be the person to kidnap Maa, she was not yet ready to trust her uncle implicitly. She decided to keep a watch over her uncle from a distance. But her uncle drove around Delhi in a car and she was on foot with not enough cash to hire a cab everywhere she goes. So, she decided to take a leaf out of the popular TV shows she had watched at some of her friends' homes and try to get the job as a maid in her uncle's home.

She looked at herself in a window of a showroom and was sure that her uncle (or anyone else) will not be able to recognise her in these kinds of clothes. She bought some carrots for breakfast and walked to her uncle's society.

She knew her uncle would not be home at this hour.

"Guard Sir, could you please let me know if anyone here needs a maid?"

"How would I know? Go from here."

"Please, Guard Sir. I don't want to become a beggar. I want to work and earn. I know how to read and write too. Could you please take me to meet someone who could offer work to me?"

Guard looked at her from head-to-toe but not like the way Rajeshewar did. A shiver ran up her spine on the thought of that hateful man.

Perhaps, the guard liked her or perhaps, he took pity on her. He asked her to wait and check whether the society's secretary would agree to meet him or not. He made a call on the intercom. "Sir, there is a girl here who says that she wants to work here as a maid. She is very poor but says that she can read and write. She is requesting to meet with you for two minutes. Would you please see her?"

"Okay, Sir. I will tell her that." Guard then addressed Jassi, "What is your name? Where do you live? Where do you come from? Do you have your papers? All the maids who work here have to undergo police verification. Are you ready for it?"

Jassi's face fell. "My name is Rani. I used to live in Agra with my Maa. She has disappeared now. I don't have papers. Please, let me work here. I promise I won't steal anything."

Guard stared at her unblinkingly. "Who, in their right mind, would believe you? Without papers, you don't have a chance here. Go away before police starts interrogating you."

Jassi didn't know what to do now. In the TV shows, it was so easy to get the job as a maid but here she was being asked for papers. She, of course, had all her IDs, educational certificates, examination roll numbers, enrolment numbers in the other life – before she was kidnapped and sold by Renny. Now, she didn't know where her belongings were. She had no ID, no enrolment number, and no hope of getting her papers back.

Normally, she would have visited her boarding school and college and sought help in tracing her belongings or to at least get duplicate copies of her results but right now, she didn't have money for that. Where should she go? What should she do? She walked away slowly and sat down on a bench in the nearby market.

Exhausted, she closed her eyes and prayed to Wahe Guru for guidance – just as Maa had taught her. With Maa no longer with her, she decided to place herself and her trust in Him. A little meditation helped her to calm herself and focus on her task. She decided to start her adventure by visiting the nearby Gurudwara and seeking the blessings of the only One who rules the world.