It was a dark, stormy night.
I was alone at home. My parents had gone to visit some friends for dinner, and the weather had suddenly taken a wrong turn. They were stuck in the storm, and had called me, “We might get late. Please close all the doors and windows, and sleep. We have the keys of the house.”
With nothing else to do as there no power in the house, and the television did not work on the inverter, I decided to call it a night.
I must have just drifted into sleep, when I heard a loud knock on the door.
I woke up startled and scared, and waited for the knock again, thinking it could be my imagination. But then I heard the knock again.
This time it was louder. I ran towards the door, wondering if my parents had lost the keys, but why were they knocking? Why weren't they ringing the bell. I knew the bell was hidden behind the plants, but they obviously knew where it was. Anyway, I was at the door.
Mom had trained me to always see in the key hole before opening the door. I did that, and saw a man standing there, wearing a hat.
It was dark, I couldn't see his face. The porch light was not on, though I remembered having left it on, before going to bed. Something didn't seem right. "Always listen to your instincts", was another of Mom's teachings.
I decided to find out who the man was, without opening the door. I knocked loudly, and said, "Who is this?" He said, “I am the police department. This is regarding your parents.” My heart skipped a beat! The words 'police', 'regarding my parents', in the same sentence was not good.
I was ready to open the door, but then something in me stopped me! I asked him to elaborate. He said, "Your parents have been in an accident, and are in a hospital. I have come to get you." I felt as if the land beneath my feet had shifted, my head felt light and dizzy. It must be a dream. I wanted to wake up, but to my dismay, I was awake!
My first instinct was to open the door, but then again, something in me stopped me! These instincts, I felt were only wasting the crucial time. I had to reach my parents asap.
What if the policeman went off thinking there was no proper response? I knew how irresponsible these guys can be, I had seen it in the movies! But Mom had told me to always listen to my instincts. This time they were telling me to cross-check.
Call your parents or contact the friends they had gone to meet. Irritated with this tug-of-war with my emotions, I decided to follow the instructions of my inner being, at least Mom will be happy to know I did my due diligence, before going with the policeman.
I picked up my mobile, and dialled the last number in my call list. Mom’s phone started ringing. I was not expecting the phone to be picked up, considering there was a guy standing at the door to take me to them. But lo-behold, Mom answered the phone. She asked me why I wasn’t asleep yet? I was shocked! I asked her, if she was fine? She said that they were still at the friend’s place as the weather was not conducive for driving.
I realised what was happening, and may be subconsciously, I was also thanking my instincts. I told her about the man standing outside, and could hear the tension in her voice. By now she had put me on the speaker phone for Dad and others to listen to. I could hear them making plans, while listening to my story. Uncle was calling the police, Dad was calling the security guard of our society, Mom was telling me not to worry, that they will sort this out. I could hear them panting, it seemed like they were running while talking with me.
Then I heard the knock on the door again. I told Mom to be quiet as I was going towards the door, while keeping her on the speaker phone. I knocked back, and told him, “I’ll be out soon!”
I took the phone in the other room, and asked Mom about what the security guard had to say. She said, unfortunately he wasn’t responding. They were calling out to the neighbours, and they were out as well. I couldn’t believe the bad luck.
This is how girls are kidnapped was the first thought that came to my mind, but I decided to brush it off and fight hard. There was no way this guy was taking me from my turf, and I wasn’t leaving without a good fight.
My parents were about 30 minutes away. I had to engage the guy for 30 minutes. There was a probability that he was not working alone, and was informed by someone that my parents had just left. I knew I had to sound confident and in-control.
I went close to the door, and said loudly, “I know you are not a police man and that my parents have not been in an accident. My parents are on their way and will be here soon. Meanwhile, my older cousins who live five minutes away will be here soon, with their cricket bats and knives to take care of you. I also have my father’s gun (obviously I didn’t) in my hands, if you try to enter, I will shoot you. We both know that I will get acquitted for self-defence. You have two choices, either you leave now or you can wait for your death!”
There was silence from the other side of the door. I could hear my heart pounding, and was hoping it wasn’t loud enough for him to hear it. Then he spoke, “This is not over, yet!” and I heard footsteps that fainted away. It seemed that the plan had worked and the man had run away.
My parents arrived in some time. I was standing next to the door the entire duration, sweating profusely. It seemed that I had given kidnapping/ god-knows-what-else, a miss, but I could not be sure till I saw my parents. These were the longest 20 minutes of my life, and I was surprised later that they managed to arrive so early, Dad would have driven like crazy! Mom hugged me tightly. We all were crying.
In sometime the police arrived with my parents friends. I narrated the complete incident. Everyone patted me on my back for my presence of mind and for managing to save myself from the intruder.
Thankfully, the CCTV cameras that Dad had installed had been missed by the intruder, and his image was captured in it.The police managed to find the intruder in a few days. We had a sleepless nights before that, even though there was a security personnel posted outside our door 24x7.
Post investigation, police told us that the intruder was working with a team to find nuclear families living in houses, and would keep a check when the parents were out, leaving their kids alone. The intruders were working on the new symptom of modern life, where there were no joint families, taking care of each other. We realised, we had been lucky, but not everybody would be.
This incident had woken us up, and asked us to go back to our roots and safety nets. My parents realised that being there for each other was far more important than the career advancements they were looking for.
In a month’s time, we moved back to my hometown, where my paternal and maternal grandparents lived a short distance from each-other. We built a house close to them, and every time my parents go out for dinners, I am left with either one of the grandparents. My life has changed for good.
My grandparents have so many stories to tell me, that I never feel lonely or scared. I feel they are happy too, seeing me grow-up in front of their eyes. I wish all my friends could feel this safe again!
May be this is what you call, coming home!
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