Short Story: Slow turn of the wheel by Shevlin Sebastian

In this short story, Shevlin Sebastian shares a gripping story that confirms karma finds a way.

***Trigger Warning: Includes mention of rape and sexual violence***

Devi Manjhi leaned against the thatched wall as she sat on the mud floor. She cupped her face in her palm, while her elbow rested on an upraised leg. The room was in semi-darkness. Devi had placed a kerosene lamp on a low stool. She faced the door. Outside, the moonlight lit up a section of the small courtyard. 

It was 9 pm. Her husband Dilip has not yet arrived home. He worked as a gardener in the house of a Brahmin landlord. Devi had every right to be concerned. Anything could happen to the lower castes. The men were subject to random acts of violence; the women bore a substantial risk of being raped suddenly and without provocation. 

‘What has happened to Dilip?’ she thought. She knew that on a Saturday night, after work, he sometimes stopped at a shed where they sold country liquor. But usually, Dilip informed Devi in the morning before he set out for work.