Red Ribbon Of Fate

*Chapter 3* : Part 2

A year before....

"Riyuu are you safe there?" my brother asked in a worried tone

"Anandi..chill..I am fine..." Atleast for now- I thought to myself. I looked out the window. Luckily for us, the water still hadn't risen up to the second floor.

The torrential downpour over the past seven days had completely lain our phone connection to waste.. It was a miracle that he had got a connection today.

"Hello? Riyuuu? You there?" he asked.

I guess I had gone off into my own dreamworld again.

"Yeah, I am here, don't worry."

"How do you expect me not to worry when almost three-fourths of Chennai is flooded? Cars are submerged, some smaller houses are destroyed and people don't even have proper food, water, shelter or means of transport from one place to another!"

"I know," I replied, full of sadness.

When one read the news, they never got to know the kind of suffering people had to go through and face. But I did since I was here, and I knew their pain.

After a long pause, I broke the news to him. I wasn't sure if he'd be scared for me or proud of me...But there was only one way to find out.

"Anandi... I am a volunteer. A group of our students have arranged a few boats- and we're going to help out the less fortunate.."

There was a pause.. "I am so proud of you sis.." That reply made me heave a sigh of relief. He wasn't mad. "But please take care. Don't go into deep waters, and ALWAYS stay with your group, okay?"

"Yeah yeah okay dad," I replied, causing him to chuckle.

"I am serious Riyuu, call me once you get back so you can update me about the situation."

"Sure, you take care of mom and dad. Bye!"

*

"Riya! Pass me a few biscuits!"

"Coming" I shouted, carrying a small bag of biscuits and giving it to Meera- who was taking care of an elderly woman. The elderly woman- who had just been rescued from her roof and was draped in a towel- took a biscuit and ate it hungily.

Who knew how long these people had been stranded in the rain and the cold?

Luckily, for us, one of our teachers, who had an avid interest in baking, had helped us prepare biscuits to distribute to the people we rescued.. Obviously not enough to feed them, but enough to provide them some relief from their days of starvation.

"Riya we need some help here," Desh called out, from a distance- shouting over the sound of the rain.

I jumped off the boat that I was on and into the shallow water. As I waded through the water, I saw him with an elderly lady.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Riyaaa..This paati( granny) here is really panicking ...do something..."

I understood why he called me...Out of our entire group, I was the calmest and the easiest to relate with.

I put on a calm face and started to try and comfort her.

"Please calm down..we are all here with you, Kavala padaadhinga ( don't worry)"

She gripped my hand tightly and didn't let go. I knew then how much these people had been through.. Not physically but emotionally as well. The fact that she could grip a stranger's hand so tightly- as if they were an old friend- said it all.