Selinder Narwan’s powerful debut novel, In the Shade of the Peepal Tree, explores the personal consequences of the Partition in 1947 for Deepa, a teenage girl who flees the violence in Punjab with her little sister, Akal. This extract portrays the fear and violence they must escape.

In The Shade of The Peepal Tree
By Selinder Narwan
Published by Sparsile Books

PUNJAB 1947

The burning sugar cane fields were behind me now but smoke still hung in the air, distorting the reality around us even more. Akal whinged in my arms. She was hungry, and the heat was making her tired. I patted her head, just like Ma would; reassuring her that we would be going home soon even though I had no idea when that would be.

I stood Akal on the ground to allow my body to rest for a minute or two. The sun’s heat was intense. Ahead I could see a stretch of overgrown desolate fields. There were no crops, instead dense bushes and plants. I had no idea what lurked there or how I would get through. I could see a line of trees in the distance. I wasn’t sure if I should find the main path, which would take me to the neighbouring village. I didn’t know if that village had been attacked as well. I decided it was too dangerous. I needed somewhere to hide, somewhere I could think about what to do next. The area in front of me looked overgrown and unkept—surely the mobs wouldn’t suspect anybody would be hiding there. Would they? I could wait for a while and then go back to see if the police came to stop the attack.

The fear that the mobs were close behind urged me to take the risk. I took in a large lungful of air, picked Akal up and set off. The ground was uneven which slowed me down. The tall plants and bushes were very close together and littered with nettles and weeds. I fought my way through moving branches, aside with one arm while carrying Akal. My legs itched; every buzzing sound made me flinch. I tried not to scream because Akal would copy me. Every time I heard a rustling sound or an unexpected caw, I would stop and spin around to scan the surroundings. By the time I reached the trees we were both covered in scratches and bites.

There was more open space amongst the trees and even a trodden path. I put Akal down again and wiped my face and hers. Shade from the tall trees made it cooler. I looked around cautiously and found a few thick bushes. I pushed some of the branches outwards to make some space and crawled underneath. I sat Akal on my lap and tried to steady my breathing. She sniffed and turned up her little nose. ‘You stink of poo,’ she said, ‘and there’s blood on your face.’

‘Oh, is there?’

She pointed to my nose, her bottom lip curled out slightly.

‘It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt. I’ll clean it.’

She was too young to understand any of this. I had to figure out how to get help. I put her on my lap and stared into her eyes.

‘I want you to wait here until I come back. You mustn’t move or make any noise.’

‘Is it a game?’

‘Yes, but you mustn’t move from this bush, that’s one of the rules. Do you understand?’

She nodded her head and smiled. I hugged her.

‘I’m hungry,’ she said.

I didn’t know what to say. I sat her back on the ground. She was covered in scratches.

‘What are the rules of the game?’ I asked. She looked down as she played with the buttons on my dress, her long lashes curled upwards.

‘No noises and no moving from this bush,’ she replied.

‘Good girl.’ I kissed her head and tied her loose yellow ribbons into tight bows. Ma had pleated her hair yesterday, matched her ribbons with her yellow sequinned frock and trousers.

‘Can I play in the mud?’ she asked.

‘Yes, but don’t forget the rules.’

I crawled out from under the bush. Perhaps there was a house nearby, somebody who could help us. The path had to lead somewhere. I started walking straight ahead, listening for any sounds of water nearby. The scene in the Gurdwara kept replaying in my mind, Simran kneeling next to her father, the edge of the kirpan as it flashed, the spraying of blood as it whipped the wet floor. I shivered at the horror of it. Tears filled my eyes again, blurring my vision. I knew I had to block it out for now. There was nothing here, only trees. I decided to turn back; I didn’t want to be too far from Akal. It’s then that something white caught my attention as the path curved to the right.

I hurried towards the square-shaped stone building, a small mandir—a neighbourhood shrine. Would this holy place be a safe place to hide? But my thoughts went back to the Gurdwara. Where was Waheguru when all that was happening?

We could maybe hide inside for a while. A holy place would normally mean safety but now everything normal had stopped making any sense. I wished Ma was here and that it was morning again and none of this had ever happened.

The back of the mandir was facing me. I approached it and made my way around to the front entrance hoping that the gate wasn’t padlocked. My steps slowed down and then I froze. I gasped.

The body of a naked girl was slumped, faced down in the open doorway. Her clothes were scattered nearby. I covered my mouth, my insides heaved. I suddenly felt weak. How could something so cruel like this be happening? I stepped back, holding my chunni over my mouth. Panic started to build up inside me; I needed to get back to Akal.

The blood and stillness made me shudder. Nobody was safe. I looked away. If Ma were here she would have covered my eyes and pulled me away from here. She wouldn’t want me seeing this, no mother would. My foot got tangled in the girl’s clothes. I picked up the red silk material and covered her nakedness. Her body was cold, her pulse non-existent. A rustling sound in the overgrowth behind me made my breathing pause. I whirled around, but it was too late. I caught a glimpse of a thick rod as it came down towards my head.

In The Shade of The Peepal Tree by Selinder Narwan is published by Sparsile Books and is available now, priced £10.99