The Bubble
On a Thursday afternoon, the sun blazed sharply and the sky wore the lightest shades of blue. As we drove, I gazed out of the window to see some tender coconut vendors with heads wrapped in wet towels. Their skin was oiled with sweat which shone due to the sharp sun rays. Sri Lanka was the first place where I had seen coconuts in shades of tangerine. Like everyday we stopped for a quick drink. The vendor smiled at us and uttered something in Sinhalese. My father flaunted his linguistic skills as he replied. His training in Sinhalese language was handy in this country. The vendor held the sickle in the air and effortlessly chopped the top chunk of the coconut. He brushed off some whiskers and placed a straw in the hole. My father held his hand out of the window and passed the coconut. As I sipped, the sweet liquid lingered in my mouth which forced my eyes shut. It was simply exotic.
While en route to our home, string of trees passed on both sides of the road. The journey from school was a vast stretch of greenery. Lush green trees hovered from all directions. As we entered the city, we would see the trees being replaced by buildings.
`“Riya, how was your day?” my father asked while he kept his eyes on the road.
I replied, “fine, as usual.”
“It is almost the weekend, do you have any plans, Riya?” my mother asked as she placed her hand over my shoulder.
“Oh yeah. Moe is hosting her birthday party this Saturday. We have to buy her a gift as well”
“Moe? Moe Yamazaki? Oh that Japanese girl. That's is great!” she continued, “ but you will finish all the homework first!”
“Maa! ” I uttered and frowned out of irritation.
“Don't worry Geeta, she will do it” he said in my defense.
We passed through the streets which were monitored by the army. Men in green uniforms were scattered all over the place. There were red barricades in the middle of the road. We paused at several checkpoints, like always my father quickly prompted the army men to look at the "Indian High Commission" sticker. The barricades drifted away and we smoothly moved forward.
This country was beset by a civil war. The Tamil minority had formed a rebel group namely the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).The war prevailed mostly in the northern parts of the country. The town Jaffna was affected adversely. So far, we were immune to the war. Everyone in the city including us lead a normal life. Colombo was well shielded and away from chaos. A protective layer floated about our heads at all time. It was like we lived inside a bubble.
We reached Welwetta, an area majorily occupied by Sri Lankan – Tamils. My mother's face lightened up at the sight of the Ganesh temple.
"Riya, let dad park" she said while she opened the car door, “we will go to the temple”
"Maa, why? " I whined.
She sprung from her seat to drag me out of the car. I sighed with submission to my mother's orders. We picked up all the necessary pooja items for the prayers and crossed the road making our way to the footpath. On our way, two army men approached. They looked at my mother and whispered into each other's ears.
"Where are you going?” one of them asked rudely.
“Temple” I answered.
“What is in that bag? Show it to us!” the other one asked in his raucous voice.
“Nothing, we came to buy.”
“Can't trust you tamilians, give that bag. There could be bombs,” he snatched the bag out of my mother's hand.
“Sir, we are not--” even before my mother could complete the sentence, their laughs roared in our ears.
“Oh you Tamilians haaahaa!”
My mother pulled out her purse and showed them her Id-card.
“Indian... High... Commission...” as one of them read the words out loud, their laughs faded and faces turned red.
“Sorry Ma'am” they handed over the bag and walked away silently.
My mother's skin complexion was swarthy. She wore the saree in the 'Tamilian' way with flowers in her hair. Any local Sri Lankan would remark her as a Sri Lankan – Tamil. These men spoke harshly with all local Tamil residents. It was visible that the war had permeated the conscience of people. The two communities loathed each other at every level. My mother and I felt humiliated, at the same time we understood the gravity of the situation. So neither of us ever spoke about this incident or shared it with Dad.
***
It was almost evening when we returned home. We saw Mary, our housemaid sitting at the staircase with tearful eyes.
"Mary? What happened?" my mother inquired.
"Ma'am.." she stuttered, "D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R."
"What kind of disaster?" My father asked.
"Oh baba! My house no more!" she spoke in her broken English, "pieces! small pieces!"
"How did that happen?" I asked with my raised eyebrow.
"Bomb! Big Blast!" her eyes widened, "it went BOOOOM!"
"Your children? husband?" my father asked in shaky voice.
"Safe! I was at work," she sobbed, "children at school, husband too work!"
"Thank god" I said with relief.
My father quickly picked up the television remote and pressed a button for the news channel. Our eyes were treated with gruesome images and video clips. There was smoke, fire and burning trees in the background. The firefighters pumped out water to burn out the fire. The buildings were smeared with black smoke and had broken windows. The streets were strewn with dead bodies, some shredded and broken body parts. Fragments of fabric and human flesh were littered everywhere. The paramedics worked with injured people and carried them into the ambulance. Some workers cleared the debris from the blast. The reporter learned about a woman who lost her entire family. A man, still in a state of shock described his narrow escape. Another woman cried to the reporter. She was unable to identify her husband out of the dead bodies lying around.
"This blast was in Kollupitya," my father explained, "just three kilometers away."
"Dad, it was the LTTE?" I asked.
"Yes, the Sri Lankan army had fought hard in Jaffna last week," my father recalled, "they were successful in destroying their tanks. Big loss for the LTTE."
"Oh Revenge! Now they target the innocent people," my mother added.
We offered Mary and her family to stay with us. She refused politely saying that they had already made some arrangements. We finally went to our beds. That night I swirled beneath the blanket out of discomfort. I was drenched in sweat even with the air conditioner on. My stomach churned and I felt my intestines tangle inside my body. Images from the blast, Mary's tears reappeared in a loop.
After a difficult night, the next morning our school bus came to pick me up. As I entered, I saw two men dressed in gray uniform sitting next to the driver. I recognized them from one of those Indian Embassy parties. The High Commissioner was always accompanied by these men. I noticed the bulge on the left side of their waist. It was from the guns they carried. This civil war spread like a disease and now it had final reached the nucleus of the cell. People did all they could to stay safe inside this so called "bubble".
***
“Riya, you have to come for my birthday sleepover,” Moe's grip on my hand tightened, “it's tomorrow!”
Moe's lips drew back and revealed her teeth. Her tiny eyes never looked so big before, she squeaked and giggled as she spoke.
“I know” I muttered.
“You know Riya, " her eyes glittered as she squealed, "I invited everyone! The entire sixth grade.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the school bell as students began to crowd near our lockers. Moe Yamazaki gave out the invitation cards. She smiled until her face could stretch no longer. We walked by the lockers and reached the exit door.
“Everyone likes sushi right?” she paused, “you like sushi, don't you?”
"Yeah, yeah!” I replied.
"But, what about the vegetarians? Will they eat a veg sushi? I personally hate it. I will ask my mom to order pizza. Nah, that's too boring! Maybe something Mexican? Like tacos.”
Her screeching voice poked my ears sharply, I did not want to listen. I was wrapped up in my own trail of thoughts. The blast from the previous night kept ringing in my head throughout the day at school. I wondered what could happen next and grew anxious thinking of my parents. What if a blast took their lives? What if I never make it home? What if we all die?
"Riya," she interrupted, "are you even listening?"
"Yeah," I remained discrete.
"What is wrong?" she finally noticed me, "are you alright?"
"Uhm, you know what happened yesterday?"
"No!"
"There was this bla-"
"Hey Judith! There?" Moe waved, "sleepover at my place"
Judith stood beside me and said "Oh yeah, I got amazing DVDS that we could watch!"
I walked quietly with them as they both chattered their way to their respective rides. We all hugged each other and left for home.
***
I reached home, finished my homework and dinner. At 9 pm I switched on the television and skipped through the channels. I paused at the news channel as it flashed "THREE BLASTS IN THE CAPITAL"
"Paa.." I called out.
He came to the living room and sat next to me. We both watched the reporter who pointed at a map which marked the affected areas. I picked up the remote to change the channel, and suddenly the power went off. After few minutes I heard the creaking sound of the door. A path of candle light glimmered from the store room. My mother's shadow emerged and the living room was filled with candle light. She placed the candle stand on the center table and we gathered around it.
"Power cut!" I sighed.
"It is the second one this year," my father said.
"I had to pack for the sleepover!" I lamented.
"Don't worry, power will be back soon" my mother reassured.
A loud explosion rocked our ears. It hit us then, that it was not one of those regular power cuts. Our bodies froze and a spell of silence swept the room. We were so quiet that we could hear each others heart thumping. From the window we saw a sparkling flame that blazed in the sky. Which was followed by a series of what sounded like bullet shots. We all stood up at once and reached the nearby window. We saw air crafts with red, blue lights flickering in the sky. The sound of firing bullets persisted for another hour. Fear held us in its tight grip and our bodies turned cold. We sat in the sofa, held hands and prayed.
The sound of bullets faded gradually as the daylight filled in the room. None of us even blinked throughout the night. The power came back and the sweat on our skin dried off swiftly. Our phone rang repeatedly, each call was to inquire us of our safety.
Tring, Tring !
"Hello?"
"Riya?" I heard Moe's voice across the phone, "did you see the air strikes?"
"Yeah. I was scared Moe! How is everyone at your end?"
"All good. I believe nothing happened to anyone at school."
"Hopefully, see you on Monday" I hung up.
Her fruity voice from the previous day had died down. Her voice now trembled and I could sense the fear out of it. The news flashed again reporting the victory over the LTTE in the air strikes. They knocked down three air crafts that belonged to LTTE. The Sri Lankan army fought back hard for those bombings in the capital. Within a few days our lives resumed but our minds traversed back to that horrendous night. Fear settled in our minds permanently. I understood the emotions of Mary, when she broke down because of the blast that shattered her home. I empathized with those whose loved ones were gone because of the terrorizing war. This war, like any other took away lives of innocents. It was crystal clear to me that we lived in no bubble.
***
