Greentext · 2 minDo Not Whistle At Night

>be me, 10 years

>anna is 14

>we sleep on the terrace in summer

>whole colony sleeps on the terraces

>you can see people on every roof

>ammamma has many rules for the night

>do not cut nails

>do not sweep

>do not call anybody by name loudly

>and do not whistle

>whistling is the worst one

>"if you whistle at night, they hear"

>"who hears?" anna asks

>"those who are outside" she says

>"and they come and whistle back"

>"and if you whistle again, they come inside"

>she says it while serving rice

>like she is telling the price of tomatoes

>that is what makes it true

>anna does not believe anything

>he is 14

>he believes only cricket

>one night on the terrace

>eleven o clock

>everybody is sleeping

>amma and nanna downstairs

>ammamma in her room

>only me and anna on the terrace

>"shall we test" anna says

>"test what"

>"the whistle"

>"no" i say

>"you are scared"

>"no"

>"then i will whistle"

>"no anna"

>he sits up

>he looks at the road

>the street light is on at the corner

>nobody on the road

>dogs sleeping

>he whistles

>one long whistle

>the kind you do for an auto

>it goes out over the roofs

>silence

>i am not breathing

>nothing

>"see" he says

>"nothing comes"

>he lies down

>i lie down

>then from the road

>one long whistle

>same one

>exactly the same

>like a copy

>anna sits up

>i sit up

>we look at the road

>nobody

>street light, dogs, nobody

>"somebody is playing" anna says

>his voice is different

>"somebody from the next terrace"

>i look at the next terrace

>everybody is lying down

>nobody sitting

>"whistle again" i say

>i do not know why i said it

>"no" anna says

>he lies down

>he puts the bedsheet over his head

>in may

>in that heat

>i do the same

>we did not sleep

>at five in the morning the milk man came

>and we went down

>we did not tell anybody

>anna said if you tell i will beat you

>next night ammamma says the same rules

>i look at anna

>anna looks at the rice

>three days later

>nanna is paying somebody at the gate

>a thin old man with a stick and a torch

>"who is that?" i ask

>"the night watchman" nanna says

>"the colony pays him"

>"he goes round the whole night"

>i look at the old man

>he looks at me

>he smiles

>he has four teeth

>"your brother whistles well" he says

>"i answered him"

>"i always answer"

>"so people know i am there"

>"that is my duty"

>nanna laughs

>i do not laugh

>i run inside and tell anna

>anna said "i knew"

>"i knew it was the watchman"

>he did not know

>he had the bedsheet on his head in may

>now he is a bank manager

>he still does not whistle at night

>he says it is because of neighbours