Only today the canal was overflowing. The current was really strong. Across the bridge were fields followed by the railway tracks. They could hear the shrieking trains and hooting engines come and go and knew the timings by heart as well.

Rano saw her mother glaring at her and quickly finished wiping the floor. ‘Can I go and call her? It’s drizzling now, it may start to pour later,’ Rano enquired.

‘Asslicker,’ Reet goaded Rano with disdain.

Ignoring Reet’s sarcasm, Saroj nodded and Rano bounded out of the house, gathering a plastic sheet for protection over her head, calling out to her favourite sister.

‘Rajjjjjjooooooo!’

Of course, Rano was in no hurry to come back. She had gone to call her sister, but obviously she was hooked on to something Rajjo was telling her. Saroj knew eventually she would herself have to go to fetch the girls.

Reet marched off to do the needful, and then so did Rikki as she did not want to be left behind when her sisters were getting into trouble. It was always fun to watch! While Saroj washed the utensils and finished some household chores, she could hear some hubbub outside. She peeped through the open door and could see from a distance that a few people had gathered around the little girls and there seemed to be a commotion.

Saroj gathered Sheru, deftly placing him on her right hip like a piece of luggage, and ran towards her girls.

She could hear Rajjo’s voice trailing towards her. ‘I am telling you I have been sitting here all day to tell people that the bridge will collapse, don’t get on it!’

Saroj knew this time Rajjo had crossed the line. She was going to thrash the girl.

‘She is just talking nonsense.’ Saroj butted in.

‘She says these weird things,’ a neighbour muttered.

‘She comments on the rain and it happens.’ Karam’s mother looked at Rajjo accusingly.

‘No, it wasn’t her!’ Karam immediately defended her, lowering his eyes, stared down by his mother.

A few villagers stepped on the bridge as Rajjo was being dragged back by Reet and her mother.

‘No! They are going to fall!’

And as soon as the words were uttered, there was a deafening sound and the rickety bridge crumbled into the gurgling angry water.

There was a brief shocked silence before Karam and a few boys plunged into the water to catch the ladies screaming and waving their hands in panic.

Rajjo felt a slash across her face. Saroj had slapped her. Her cheeks were red and for a minute she could not see clearly.

She was just trying to help, and could not understand why was she being punished yet again.

The ripened wheat fields, now soiled and laden with stacks of wet wheat, stood towards the west, the rows of green vegetable fields spread far and beyond, glistened in the aftermath of rain, like they were scrubbed and spruced up nicely. The wind picked up, the rain fell, women cried for help as Rajjo was being dragged away.