The Greatest Villain of All Time

Chapter 17: Onkar

After school ends, I and Kartik wait for Deepti to come out. My eyes prowl the wide ground full of students wearing the same uniform and it becomes hard to pick out Deepti amongst them. It's a torrid afternoon. I push my sweaty hair back and wipe my forehead with my handkerchief.

"Where's your sister, man? I can't seem to find her." Kartik tells.

I stop a passing girl with the curliest hair I've ever seen, recognizing her as Deepti's classmate. "Hey, is the class over?"

"Yes." She answers.

"Did Deepti leave?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where she could be? Did she tell you she's going home or something?"

"No." And then she walks away.

"Can't she be more descriptive?" I roll my eyes and turn to Kartik. "C'mon, she should be at home by now."

"Ugh, why did we waste our time here?"

We reach my house and though my muscles are crying to me to sit down, I go around the house to search for Deepti. In her bedroom, in the kitchen, the puja room, the central courtyard– but she's not there.

"Amma, where is Deepti?" I shout to her with the loudest voice I can so it reaches to her in whatever part of the house she is in. But the reply doesn't come back so I start searching for her instead, the odor of incense sticks fills each corner of the house. She has been praying a lot these days and I know it's for us she's doing it. But watching her chant prayers whenever she gets time, I wish I could stop this all. She doesn't have time for us anymore.

I find her at the back door. She is filling up huge barrels of water by bringing in small portions in mud pots.

"What're you doing Amma?" I ask, astonished at the fact that she managed to fill the three barrels on her own.

"We need to keep water in stock for us. What if one day every resource of water gets infected and we are left with nothing?" She heaves out. For a while, she stands and takes easy breaths to calm herself down. It is not only she who is trying to stock up the water but I hear the shouts of other men and women from outside, fighting over the neighborhood well.

"You need to give me a hand. I'm tired." She says, bending backward and wincing at the crack her old back produces.

"Sure, but first tell me where's Deepti?"

"She's in the garden. That girl ran away the second I asked for help." She grumbles before walking back out.

It is not our garden, however, it is our neighbor's, that we sometimes sneak in to relax in the beautiful shade the big trees offer. Here, the winds come often, even in the summers that cools down the heat in our body. Kartik accompanies me as we climb over their metal fence. I notice Deepti sitting under the mango tree, her knees up to her chest as she snuggles her arms around her petite body. Trying to not make any voice, we come around to sit beside her. A grasshopper flies over my knee as I wait for Deepti to become aware of us.

"Why're you here?" She suddenly voices, still in the same position.

"So you're aware of us?"

"Go away!"

"Deepti, I–"

"Go away!"

I sigh as Kartik and I exchange looks. "You should've told me about this earlier, Deepti. Did you tell Amma about this? Or Appa? From when is this going on?"

"You didn't have to interfere. It was going perfectly well." She looks up at me with a runny nose, her eyes accusing.

"How could I not? They were bullying you."

"So? You never cared about me. You always cared about yourself. So why now?" She buries her face back in between her arms. On the other hand, I try not to show hurt display on my face.

Am I selfish?

There's a brief pause, only the quarreling of the old couple who owned this house could be heard. I try to figure out what to say and how to say it. Should I reassure her that I would protect her from now on? Should I comfort her? Or should I apologize for not being a good brother?

Before I could say anything, she lifts up her head. "Sorry."

"No, no, you shouldn't apologize. I should. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for saying that. Was out of anger." She sniffles. "But seriously, you shouldn't have interfered. Now they'll laugh more at me."

"You're not being clear, Deepti."

She shrugs and spreads out her legs on the freshly-watered grass. "They think I'm a weirdo for reading books all day and because they're fairytales, they think I'm being delusional. I bet they don't even know the meaning of delusional." She scoffs. "They're just trying to be cool, Anna. As if troubling me or showing themselves as superior would make them cool. They don't know that knowledge is what makes someone cool, right?" She looks at me.

Again, I and Kartik exchange an amused glance. It is as if a fifteen-year-old is ranting about her problems and not a ten-year-old. Do children always grow this fast or is it only Deepti?

"But no one tried to protect you or complained to the teacher? You didn't either?" I ask.

"Before, Arya was there. She was extroverted enough to shoo them away. But now... It's just now that they started this. They think I spread that disease Arya caught because Appa works in a hospital. That's why no one comes near me anymore." Her face is downcast as she plays with her tunic.

Now, it all makes sense. Deepti coming all soaked in ink, her requesting me to find a cure and this. But how should I explain to her that I am not capable of finding out the cure? I remember two days back how hopefully she looked at me, almost begging me to do something. I said I would. But how?

"You can't let them bully you. You need to fight them, Deepti. The same way you fight me over mango gutlis." I explain to her.

"Did someone say mangoes?" We chase Kartik's voice which comes from above our heads. He is hugging the trunk of the tree, one hand holding two ripe mangoes.

"When did you go up there?" I laugh.

"Here catch." He throws the mangoes and Deepti skillfully catches them both.

Her eyes glow with joy, the sorrow slowly fading away. "Wow, thank you, Anna!" She screams and jumps in her place.

Maybe, it was her voice that caught the attention of the granny cooking in the kitchen who points at us from the open windows. "Hey! Stop plucking the mangoes!"

"Oops, we better run." I take Deepti's hand and run before the old grandpa comes out with his stick.

"Hey, wait, wait!" Kartik stumbles down the tree and at the sight of the grandpa, he rushes out and even outruns us in panic.

We stop in front of our house but Kartik continues running. "My fish, what a dork!" Deepti laughs which brings my attention back to her. I take both her hands and make her turn towards me. "Now promise me, you will not let those boys bully you again. And I promise that I'll bring Arya back, okay?" I keep my fingers crossed behind me. I don't know if I can keep my promises.

"Ok, promise." She is reluctant but finally gives in. "Now, you've to play langdi with me."

***