Terra Firma

Hanish glanced sidelong at River, noting her hands were clutched tightly together in her lap. The expected tears didn't come but her face turned away from him and she stared out into the growing darkness. He spoke, without taking his eyes from the highway, "River, you have every right to be scared. But you gotta let that fear work for you. You've got a child growing up now and that child needs you.

"I know." she whispered, then sobbed almost desperately, "But I can't go home now! Mom and Dad, They are old.

He resisted his first urge to comfort her. 'God.' he thought, 'Youíre in way too deep here, Hanish, This girl has a family!' He drove in silence as she cried herself out. Finally when she calmed a bit he spoke again.

"River, I don't think you're giving your parents enough credit. After all, girl, they raised you. And look at all the courage and smarts you've got. To be out here at all took guts, girl. Maybe you should think about telling them where you are, you know. And what's been going on. Then just see what happens. You can call when we get down closer to home, then if you don't hear what you want, you don't have to do anything about it."

She was silent for so long that Hanish was unsure if he'd gone too far. Finally, she sniffled a couple of times and turned from the darkness towards him. "You really think it'd be okay? My parents, I mean." she asked.

"Yes baby," he assured her. "They'll be upset, of course, but it'll be fine."

"I'll think about it," she said into a silence made more profound by the fact that the CD had just ended. Hanish smiled in the darkness.

River changed the CD again, sliding another one into the player. Shortly after that, Hanish noted that she had slipped into a far more relaxed posture. Within a couple of miles, she had slumped over onto her backpack which made a good pillow. He reached behind him and pulled the blanket down from the back of the seat, spreading it across her sleeping form as best he could. Hanish hummed to himself as the car continued eating up the miles, winding down through the highway, moving towards the coast.

Hours later, as the car decelerated into a service road, River stirred beside him. She yawned, stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. When she sat upright, he saw her glancing around, trying to get some bearings, the post midnight darkness combined with the nearby brightness of street and neon lighting completely hid any landmarks from view and Hanish wondered if she would have recognized them in any case.

"We're in some town, I dont know where, sleepyhead." he told her. "Almost there, though. Thought I'd stop for a coffee and maybe if you still wanna make that call...." he trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

He pulled in to another all night dhaba parking lot and parked next to the building where a neon blue strip lit up a phone booth. He turned to face her, reaching across the back seat for his jacket as he spoke, "So call. I'm betting they won't mind. They will know that their girl is okay, you know?" Without waiting for her response, he slid from the car and she watched his retreating form enter the dhaba.

"I have to call." she said softly. "but I really didn't bring much with me, you know." "Here's my phone, you can use it." Hanish said.

When he returned with a large mug of coffee in his hand, she was standing shivering in front of the phone. Hanish put the coffee onto the roof of the car and grabbed the blanket from the front seat. She looked sideways at him as he draped it round her shoulders and her hesitant fingers picked up the phone. He stepped a respectful distance away as she placed the call, picking up the coffee and staring into the darkness. It took a few moments for the call to connect and she looked up at him with fear in her pretty eyes. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and a thumbs up from the hand not holding the coffee. Then her full attention went to the phone and he knew he had gambled right and her parents had accepted the call.

"Father," she said uncertainly. Then, "Father I'm okay. I'm somewhere near home." Another pause and then, "I hitchhiked." She listened a long time and cast a tear-filled glance at Hanish. He nodded as positively as he could at her. At last she spoke again, her voice shaking, "Father, I have something to tell you..." a short pause, then her words came in a sobbing rush, "I left home. I could not take it anymore. I didnt know where to go and then Hanish gave me a ride and he said I should call you, and I ... " She looked directly at Hanish now, tears streaming again, but listening still. Finally she spoke again, "Hanish is a musician, He's going to work somehwere, He... No Father, he's really been nice, he said to talk to you. Father, I want to come home." she finished plaintively. She listened for a long time then, without warning, stretched the receiver towards Hanish. At first he shook his head in dismay, then he relented and took the phone.

"Hello?" he said hesitantly.

The voice on the other end was firm but not angry. "I understand you picked up my daughter, Hanish? That's right isn't it?"

"Yes Sir, that's right." he said keeping his voice even and calm. "She looked like she needed a friend, you know?"

"Seems to me, young man, I owe you." the voice on the other end said, "Melanie was lucky that it was you that picked her up and convinced her to make this call."

"Sir, I am not young. I am 47.) Hanish had looked in surprise at River when her father had mentioned her real name. The girl would always be River in his mind. "She convinced herself, Sir. I just listened, you know? and please dont call me Sir.

"I have one last favour to ask of you, if you could see your way clear to drive my girl over to our home? I'll see that your expenses are met".

"You can forget about the expenses bit but it will be my pleasure to get River home, safely." Hanish replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Hanish. I won't ever forget what you did for her."

Neither Hanish nor River spoke for much of the rest of the drive into Nagercoil. It was starting to get light and the city was grey and somewhat somber under early morning cloud cover. Hanish tuned the radio in to a local FM station. Beside him, River gazed around at everything as though trying to memorize it; her first ever view of early morining Nagercoil. He pulled up, right to the road that turned westward as if he knew the route very well and stopped at the gate of River's house.

"You don't have to come inside with me." River told him half-heartedly.

Hanish chuckled at her. "Of course I do, baby. Completes the circle, you know?" he parked the car, pocketed the key and walked beside her to the house.

She pressed the door bell and waited for someone to open the door, with Hanish protectively beside her. They waited further, for the door to open. Tears had already filled her eyes once more. "Hanish, thank you." she whispered, solemnly sticking out her small hand to shake his larger one. He winked at her and, instead of taking her hand, opened both his arms and wrapped the slim girl in a warm big hug and stayed that way until the door clicked open.

"Thank you, sweet River," he crooned at her. "Take care of yourself, kiddo. And take care of your child too, okay?"

He stepped back and she turned towards the door. She looked back over her shoulder, smiling through her tears, "Good bye Hanish," she called, "I'll look for you on MTV."

He grinned at her, blew her a kiss and called back. "I'll see you too?"

She turned, once again and he was gone.

Thirty minutes later, Hanish, driving down the same road stopped by the Dhaba where they had stopped for the last time and took a huge mouthful of yet another black coffee and ineffectually wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He stood up, leaving the rest of his coffee where it sat, and strode quickly towards the car.