Raid

Shes come prepared for the wrong exam again. When she looks down, she finds she’s not wearing any pants ?

Sara knows this dream sequence all too well. She just needs to go back to sleep to allow her mind to calm itself. The doorbell is ringing or she’s imagining it. She drifts back to sleep.

Ammi wakes her up. As Sara opens her eyes, she sees that the look on Ammi’s face is of sheer panic. There’s a policewoman to Ammi’s side.

“What the actual fuck ?”

Ammi asks the policewoman if her daughter can be allowed to put on some clothes in private. There’s a man at the door. The woman looks at him for instruction. She turns around to Sara and her mother and says no. She brusquely demands that she hands over her cellphone and laptop.

“Why? Who are you?” Sara asks. She’s sleeping only in a tshirt and the man at the door isn’t moving. She gets out of bed with the blanket covering her.

“ED. Your father is involved in money laundering”. The man at the door says. His eyes are fixed on her blanket.

“What bull.. “Sara becomes quiet when she sees the look in her mothers’ eyes.

“Take her cellphone and laptop. Can you please give her a moment to get dressed in the bathroom?” Ammi blocks the man’s view. Sara pulls out a pyjama and a bra from the chest of drawer and tries to make her way to the adjoining bathroom. At the same time, the woman begins to go through the contents of her chest of drawers. Things are flying out. Her vibrator and condom packet are on the floor, along with all her lacy underwear. Sara can feel her face burning up. “Will Ammi ever be able to look at her the same way ?”

She dares to lock eyes with Ammi. Has she seen what’s lying on the floor ? Ammi is calm and her face unreadable. She nudges her to the bathroom. Sara pulls up her pyjamas and suddenly panics. Her hidden photos. All the shots of her half naked on the bed and the one completely naked shot in front of the mirror are all in the hands of the man at the door. Why should he have access to that for a bogus laundering charge?

She stumbles out of the bathroom. The contents of her cupboard, bookshelves, desk are all strewn on the floor. “Didn’t find anything of value. Just one old set of diamond earrings and a necklace” remarks the woman to the man who is now inside her room going through her underwear. She bites her lip and the urge to scream.

Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash

Ammi asks whether they intend to put all the things back, the two officers laugh. They are in the midst of deciding whether or not to slash her mattress as well. They hadn’t found anything in the master bedroom.

She steps out to find Abba and four other people taking things out of all the cupboards. All the electronics lie on the dining table. Along with a few wads of rupee bills. And all of Ammi’s jewellery. An officer is making a note of their valuables. Contact with the outside world does not seem to be permitted. A small crowd has collected downstairs. Including Sheila who she was supposed to go on a run with. She can see neighbours looking up from the window.

When Abba sees Sara, he gives her a hug and asks her if she’s okay. “Don’t worry- I’m handling it.”

Her family apartment is in complete disarray.

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Dusk. The officers have found nothing incriminating. The crowd below the window has lost interest. Sara asks if she can message work or see how many calls they’ve got. The officer in charge firmly tells her it isn’t possible. Ammi is on the verge of a breakdown. She hates it when one thing is out of order, let alone the entire house. Food delivery boxes lay strewn on the floor which she begins to clear up. When the female officer begins to help, Ammi bursts into tears.

“Why are you doing this? Can I please just have my house back?”

The female officer looks apologetic. “We have to stay the night”

Sara is baffled. “Why ? You haven’t found anything and you’ve turned our home upside down “.

The woman indicates for her to come into a corner out of earshot of the others. Sara follows her into her bedroom.

“We have to justify the raid. We’ve found nothing and it probably has something to do your father refused to do for the highest office or your last name. Let me help you set your room back in order”.

Sara declines in disgust. But spends the next few hours cleaning and resetting her space.

By the time she comes back into the living room, most officers are in their night clothes rolling out mattresses to sleep in. The one in charge is sitting with Abba and Ammi and offering them tea. It’s the first cup they’ve drunk since their rude awakening at 6 am.

They look frail and tired. Sara can feel a wave of exhaustion sweep over her too as she makes her way to the kitchen and decides to make herself and her parents some toast.

With toast in their stomachs they look a little better. The officer next to them clears his throat “ You know we haven’t found anything. We weren’t expecting to either. But we can continue to make life inconvenient for another 2 days of searching. So if you can arrange about 15 lakhs cash for us tomorrow morning, we’ll be out of your hair by mid-day. That choice is yours.”