Extortion

The day started perfectly. I was going with the other girls from my school to a beach party. Senior class started a big kitchen on the beach to collect money for our school ball in about a month. I was one of the clubs that bought food and refreshments. We were supposed to be at the beach at 10:00 in the morning to get ready. The party would start at noon and last until late in the evening. Actually, they were going to have a little barn fire as soon as it was dark. I knew it would be a great day of pleasure and I couldn’t wait for it to start.

Lalitha was obsessed with the laughter around her. The call she had just witnessed was like a ghost of the past, a ghost she thought was gone for good. She came from a colleague from her first place of work. Five years ago, almost in another life, Lalitha borrowed Rs 20000. She promised to pay him back in a month, but she couldn’t. The colleague had been good enough not to push her to immediately repay the money and the debt had remained. A few months later, the girl’s marriage came to a man working in the UK. The girl resigned from her work and was caught in the middle of the crazy rush that usually accompanies an Indian marriage. In the middle of that, she called Lalitha and gave her account number. She was casual and told her to deposit the money in the account when she had it. A week later, the lady left India with her husband. Lalitha had, at that time, really intended to repay the lady. But she didn’t stop taking it until she forgot. From time to time, it would appear in its memory and disappear for a long time.