A Series of ‘Coronic’ Events Episode: 1
The Envelope
“Hey Dad,” I barged into my father’s office room, all excited about the big sale that was happening on Amazon. “Have you seen these bass buds? They look so…” my voice trailed off. Appa, leaning on his reclining chair, looked up at my face when I entered his quiet work-from-home corner. There’s something in his eyes that is amiss, I thought as I stopped mid-sentence and stared at my parent. “Objection Your Honor, there is something wrong with the defendant.” I said.
“What makes you say that?” He cocked an eyebrow at me.
“Well, for one, you’re not irritated by me barging in on you while you’re working,” I smiled, “and that doesn’t happen too often, you know.”
“Objection over-ruled,” he smirked. I narrowed my eyes. He straightened himself and I braced myself.
‘Oh, I have a bad feeling about this,’ my heart said.
‘Shut it!’ my head hissed.
“It turns out,” he began, “that one of our church members who was present at a meeting last week has tested positive for the virus.” My heart fell.
“Okay?” I said, trying not to panic.
“Since she’s the Head of the Local Committee, she had been to a Panchayat meeting last week.” He continued, “They suspect that she got it from there.” He was avoiding my eyes. My father was never one to look away from a person’s face when speaking to them and when people ask me how I speak looking directly at the eyes of strangers, I usually tell them ‘I got it from my Dad ’; and now I could tell that even he was finding it difficult to return the concerned look I was giving him.
“Why are we worried Pa?” I asked.
He sighed between nods and said “Because I almost signed a paper she bought to the desk.”
“Almost?” my voice cracked. Appa must’ve felt my horror. He shook his head.
“Almost, because I’d told her that I’ll come and get it later.” His brows furrowed together.
“So, we’re okay na?” my heart wasn’t letting me drop my hold-against-bad-news-shield yet.
“I did say that. But…” he picked up an envelope and placed it on top of some books on his desk. “I have no idea how it ended up here.”
I gasped. I felt my head spin. Struggling to contain the frenzy my hormones were throwing me into, I sat down on Appa’s bed and slowly looked at him. It was my father’s turn to look concerned.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
My eyes blinked rapidly on recalling the events of the previous Wednesday afternoon.
Hearing the doorbell ring, I had gone to see who it was.
“Hello molea. (transl.: ‘Daughter’ in Malayalam)”
“Hi Aunty,” I greeted the stranger in a mask and gloves.
“I’m Sally, the area representative of the Women’s Wing of our Church,” she explained. She must have felt that I was trying to recollect her face among my three-week-old memories of the new place. The middle aged woman was slightly shorter me, had spectacles threaded around her neck and was waiting for my reply.
“Oh, okay Aunty” I breathed. “What can I do for you?” She handed me an envelope.
“Achen (transl.: ‘a reverend’ in Malayalam) was to sign this and I’d forgotten about giving this it to him before he’d left,” she sounded apologetic. “I didn’t want to give it here, but I’m out of this area for a few days and it would be great if you would let me keep this here.”
“Sure Aunty!” I had smiled before taking the envelope from her.
“What’s wrong?” Appa’s voice bought me back from my flashback.
“The rep…” I gulped.
“What rep?” Appa was confused.
I took a breath before answering, “the representative of our Women’s Wing Pa. She had dropped off that envelope. I put it on your desk.”
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