Behind Her Cool Exterior

“Aooooo”! The little child shouted as only a 10-year old could. Her right leg was stuck in the loose floorboard she had accidently stepped upon. She attempted to get up, all the while whimpering and sobbing as she felt the pain in her leg. Then realizing where she was, she promptly shut her mouth. ‘If Madison heard me, I am dead!’ Keeping that in mind, Sana Craven tried to stand up favoring her left leg. Madison was the girl next door who used to “babysit" Sana everyday till her father returned home from the office. She was also the girl who featured frequently as the main lead in Sana’s worst dreams. Sana looked at the loose floorboard curiously wanting to explore further. She knew if Madison saw her here in the storeroom, she will probably yell at her and send her to her room to do “whatever little spoilt tykes” do in their day-to-day life. Then she remembered that Madison was listening to music with earphones on. Armed with that knowledge, she got down on her knees, wincing when it pained a little, and started pulling the floorboard. For the next ten minutes, she pulled, yanked and kicked, using all possible methods she could come up with, to loosen the floorboard. Finally her effort was rewarded when it came out free. She put it away and looked down. ‘Huh! I sweated like a pig for this?’ Sana thought disappointedly. Laying in the small area was an old and faded diary, which was certainly not something a girl her age was happy to find. She had expected something exciting and the little black book was a far cry from the word ‘exciting’. Staring at it for some time, she finally shrugged and pocketed the book. After arranging everything back in place, she closed the door behind her as she left the attic. She got downstairs slowly so as to not hurt her leg more. Seeing Madison lying on the couch in the living room with her hand covering her eyes and humming a tune, she got to her room as quietly as she could and hid the diary in her cupboard. After seeing that it was safely hidden between her schoolbooks, she went back to the dining table and started her dinner. A few weeks later, Sana was having breakfast with her father on a beautiful Sunday morning at the sprawling terrace of her 14th floor flat in Manhattan. George Craven, Sana’s father, was an average looking man with medium height, gray hair with white streaks, a straight nose and a mouth which was rarely used for speaking. In all, he was a man of few words and blessed with a face that would easily get lost in a crowd unnoticed. Sana was not afraid of her father as he barely spoke more than ‘Good Morning’ and ‘Good Night’ to her. They were more like strangers who lived in the same house. Although they did not talk much, there life was very well synchronised. Sana did not mind this much since she was also of the same mould, preferring to read history books during lunch break rather than sitting with other girls and gossiping about the latest Zac Efron movie. But sometimes, she felt a tinge of hurt while waiting for Madison after school, when parents came to pick up their children with a smile on their face and asking them about their day. But then, she had long learned that his father was a busy man and probably was engaged in some work. George Craven worked for the Starkis Group of Industries as a Business Head for North East US of A. Almost fifty years back, it was just a small factory which sold local food products in a town in Greece. Now, it was a conglomerate with presence over 50 countries, which was forever in news for its huge takeovers over other small companies in emerging markets like Asia and Africa, covering commodities like health care products, luxury items, cosmetics and many other things with the main profit-maker still being food products. Because of her father’s high position in the company, he was rarely at home when she got up in the morning or went to sleep at night. After the sudden demise of Andreas Starkis, the Head and Managing Director of the company, he was among the few chosen ones who had been trusted to oversee that the company remained stable and was ready to be taken over by Andreas’ young son and heir, Nikolos. Thus, her father was now even less present at home than before and Sundays like these was scarcer. “Father, what does rape mean?” Sana asked her father suddenly while eating her bacon and eggs. Her father, who had just gotten up after finishing his meal, turned his head sharply. “What did you say?” His father asked slowly emphasizing on each word. Sana’s eyes widened when she saw her father’s face. Although there was nothing unusual in his expression, Sana felt that he was angry. “What did you say?” he repeated, now definitely angry. Sana just sat there not moving a muscle. She had never seen her father angry before. A trickle of terror went through her spine. “I am going to ask you one last time, what did you say?” “F-father, I asked….” she said. “Yes?” Her father asked impatiently. “W-What is r-rape?” she asked apprehensively. Her father stared at her for some time. His face had become red and his chest was heaving up and down in anger. After a couple of minutes, his breathing started becoming normal and Sana sensed that the worst had passed and he had become visibly calm. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief but was still a little fearful. “Where did you hear it?” his father asked in his usual quite manner, but his face was still a little red. “I did not hear it...” she said. “Do you really expect me to believe that it is a word you were taught in your English class?” her father cut in, his voice indicating that he was starting to become angry again. Still in shock because of her father’s previous outburst and not relishing the fact that he was getting angry again, she lied as only a child could, “I overheard few seniors in school.” Looking at his daughter’s face for a good ten seconds as if searching for something, his father finally sighed and said, “Go to your room and study. You are grounded for the next week.” Sana stared at her father open-mouthed but thought it was best not to say anything and got up to go to her room, shoulders drooping. “And Sana,” his father called after him, “never utter that word in front of me. Never. Now go.”