Locked in!

Phew! How time flies in the morning! The sheer grit and determination that go into beat the morning clock can be astounding. Alas! Where is the time to stop and stare when you hardly realise that the tea you are sipping in between the cooking is turning cold? So much for one walking the tightrope between home and work. And the thought of manoeuvring through the traffic was another nightmare. Just enough time to clean up and leave

But where's the son who should have come down by now to keep an eye on the maid who always chooses to come when you are about to leave? As if the calls that went unanswered were not enough, the sounds that emanated from somewhere behind closed walls, added to the exasperation, not to forget the dull headache. As if someone was locked in But wait a minute! I vaguely remembered that the bathroom door was getting stuck because of the recent downpours and the handle had literally come out on one side. Could it be...?

The next instant, I was bounding up the stairs. And yes, my hunch was right. The muffled sound did come from inside but as luck would have it, the bedroom door was latched from inside ensuring no access. What now? Ah, the balcony door! After all, didn't we have the spare key? After rummaging through the box of keys, the right one was traced and the balcony door tried. To no avail as the door was securely fastened from inside.

After some quick thinking, my husband decided to try from the neighbour's terrace which overlooked the bathroom window. From that height, he threw a rope towards the window. Too bad, the rope fell short, just inches away from my son's outstretched hand, down onto the window sill. The second attempt with a twine was successful. But come on, how could a twine possibly help to wrench open a stuck door?

Time was ticking and it looked like we needed the expertise of a locksmith to break open the door. Meanwhile, our frantic shouts woke up the elder son who came out of his room looking groggy and exhausted after a tiring night shift. Learning the cause of our plight, he went straight for the toolbox. Holding a long screwdriver in hand, he climbed up the compound wall, heaved himself onto the parapet wall, picked his way gingerly to the window sill and managed to pass the tool to the imprisoned soul.

A couple of minutes into the job and we knew that it was fait accompli from the sound of the door being screeched open. The next minute, the bedroom door opened and out emerged the son, wrapped in the bath towel, looking abashed but relieved at the success of 'Operation Spiderman'.

The icing on the cake was that we managed to get to work in the nick of time, despite the heavy traffic. We surely couldn't have asked for more!