12 The Queen of the Hearth Part 12

Jassi slept in the Gurudwara that day and the next day reached Mr Balvinder's home at the appointed time. Mr Balvinder was ready too. He offered her tea and breakfast. Jassi was grateful to get to sit on a sofa and be treated like a human being. In years, no one except Maa had treated her well.

She would not let Maa get punished for it. She has to find Maa and return back to Agra, to Shera.

Balvinder uncle was another angel in her life. Despite all her misfortunes, she had her share of blessings. Her uncle was one. Her friends and their parents had offered her love and support from time-to-time. Maa was of course the archangel of all. Balvinder uncle was again the type of person she was blessed to come in contact with.

With Balvinder uncle's connections, Jassi was able to bypass many of the formalities in getting her Aadhaar card. Her fingerprints and photo of her irises helped her get her social ID back. He also talked to her uncle and told him that one of her poor cousins is looking for a maid's job in Delhi and does he have a vacancy in his household or in his society. After consulting with his wife, Mr Kamal replied,

"Sukkhi says that somebody near our flat is looking for a new maid. If you want, I can recommend her to them."

Jassi signed to him to get the formalities out of the way.

"That would be so kind of you, Kamal. There is just one problem. This cousin of mine, Rani, had a husband Shirish. He has been falsely implicated in a murder and the entire family is on the run. If the police or the society gets to know about Rani, she might get arrested even though she is innocent. Would it be possible to bypass the police verification and paper-checking part? Please, it's a personal request and one that I cannot make to anyone else."

Mr Kamal fell silent.

"In that case, I can't recommend her to anyone else. How can I tell somebody not to verify their maid's background? I cannot tell them the truth as it may not sit well with them. I trust you Balvinder but this is shady business."

"I can give you the personal guarantee that this girl is spotless. If there is any problem, I will help you sort it out. You can place all the blame on me."

Kamal could not refuse. Their friendship went long back.

"OK! I will do one thing. I will hire her as a maid in our house. Ever since both Shelley and Karan have left for their respective colleges, Sukkhi and I are dealing with empty nest syndrome. Sukkhi is doing all the work herself. Rani can live with us and help her with the household work."

Jassi's heart was in her mouth. If she works at her uncle's house, he will 100% recognise her. It was not lost on her that Balvinder uncle was offering his personal guarantee for her even though she had met him just the previous day. What a perplexing world is she living in!

Some things couldn't be helped. She had to take the risk. Maa was missing and God only knows how much time she had to find her.

As she expressed her gratitude and took leave, Balvinder uncle said,

"Betaji, I am sure Kamal would never do such a thing. But you do what you have to and determine the status for yourself. After you finish your work, come to me and I'll help you in tracing your educational certificates and other papers."

Jassi nodded. She couldn't help but touch his feet out of respect and walked away as many things played in her mind.

In the evening, she walked to the Guard again. "Guard saab, I want to go to Mr Kamal Sharan ji's house."

"What happened yesterday?"

"I did not have my papers. Mr Kamal is ready to consider me without them." Though Jassi had her Aadhaar card now, the ID showed her real name. She could not show it to anybody – yet.

"Does he know you are coming?"

"Yes."

"Ok, let me check."

Guard called Kamal Sharan's house and perhaps, Sukkhi aunty picked up.

"OK. You can go. The house number is 45, First Floor, Block 7. It's behind this block," said the Guard pointing to the block on the right.

"Thank you, Guard Saab."

Jassi walked slowly towards her uncle's house. She didn't know what to expect. Sukkhi aunty would surely not recognise her. She had last seen her as a 5-6-year-old girl but her uncle had seen her on a regular basis. He would know her in a jiffy.

She walked as slowly as she could. Her courage was failing her but she had to do it for Maa. She pressed the doorbell and waited for the door to open.