Unborn

I have always been different. More seeing than a normal person. I honestly don't know how else to describe it, but I had been warned since I was very young.

"You have a third eye, child. It is a burden you must bear." I'd often hear my grandmother say these words and have know clue what they meant.

Whatever this third eye was, I knew my mom didn't have it and did not approve of my grandmother "feeding me hogwash."

"Mother please! We have been through this! I don't want Jen growing up being scared all her life of absolutely nothing! Wasn't scarring one child enough for you?! Spirits-do-not-exist!! Same goes for ghosts and whatever else you believe in!!"

My grandmother clicked her tongue in disapproval. "I am sorry if I scarred you child, but trust me; You would have been scarred much more if by any chance you had the misfortune of inheriting the third eye from me with zero knowledge about what you might see. I was getting you prepared for a possibility, and it is my duty to do the same with Jen."

"My Jen is normal mother! She doesn't talk to invisible nothings and freak out about the most random things! She's normal!

"Her dreams predict the future Anita, I wouldn't call that normal."

My mother sighed, "So you say, but I have yet to see evidence."

"She dreamt about a stormy sea and the next day my brother died!"

"Whatever mom. Believe what you will, its your right and I will not get in the way of that. Nevertheless, Jen is my daughter and you will not talk to her about things like the spirit world ever again."

---

2 Years Later

I woke up to the sound of Mumbai traffic. The trains, the taxies, the honking, the crows, and everything else. Yawning and stretching, I pushed my seven year old body off the bed.

For some reason, I felt like staying home. No, it wasn't a feeling. It was a need. I needed to stay home. "Maa!!"

My mom hurried into the room. "You're up? That was earlier than expected. Well, go take a shower. We're going to the bank."

"I...I don't want to come."

My mom turned around to face me just as she was about to leave the room. "Sorry but that's not an option today. Durva called in sick and I refuse to leave you home alone so get ready already."

We were on our way, sitting in the back of a taxi as we had done many times before. I usually loved taxi rides, looked forward to them even. I enjoyed the hot tropical breeze, the bumps on the broken roads, and the aromas from the street vendors stalls. Yet today, for no reason in particular, I was enjoying none of that.

My mom told the driver which direction she wanted him to take as I shook my leg non-stop. She turned to me, "What's wrong with you?"

I frowned, my voice small. "I don't want to go. Please! Let me stay home."

"Jen we're almost there." I frowned some more, looking away from her.

"Bhaiya stop here please."

We finally reached and stood in the crazy long and disorganized line to get into the bank. In addition to the line being surrounded by beggars sitting on the footpath, people were pushing and the whole place stank of sweat as well as pee.

It had been around forty-five minutes till we finally reached the entrance. My mom went in and just as I was about to follow her, I felt a hand grab me and pull me onto the cracked footpath.

"Wara ma. Wara ma." It was an old woman who kept repeating herself over and over again, petrifying me. I didn't know the language she was speaking in and looked around for someone to help. A woman, one of the beggars seated right in front of me looked at the scene.

"She won't hurt you, don't worry. She's just senile. She wants to go to the toilet. She'll let you go once she's done."

My anxiety suddenly doubled, and I instantly knew something bad was going to happen. "No! No I don't want this! Let go! Let go!" I struggled against the old woman's grip, but I was mindful to not hurt her frail body and so couldn't use enough strength.

The seated lady shook her head, "Just let it run its course."

I heard the sound as her pee trickled down her legs. Stretching my arm as much as I could, I stayed at a distance, not wanting to get soiled.

Suddenly, I felt a pull and a sudden release as I fell face first on the dirty ground.

"Told you she'd let you go."

I blinked a few times to gather my bearings. I had fallen in such a way that I was looking up the old lady's saree. Just as I was about to get up, my heart started pounding. Tears fell down my cheeks as I saw a baby looking down at me. It was emerging from where the woman had just peed. It was completely gray and looked like it was made of stone. It's eyes grew in surprise. "You can see me."

I wanted to run to my mom and hide, but my legs felt funny. "What happened to you?" I whispered, still crying.

"My parents turned me into a monster."

"Why?" I bit my tongue as I asked and could feel the metallic taste spread in my mouth.

"Because they didn't want a girl." It smiled, reminding me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

I screamed as I felt a hand on my leg pull my head out of the woman's saree. "Jen?! Jen are you okay?!"

I felt relief as I saw my mom and jumped into her arms, burying my tear streaked face in her shoulders. "I can't stay here. Please! I'm scared!! I want to go home...No, take me to grandma. I need to see her."