BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 9

The medication had put him into a slumber through the day that he had to be woken up by the nurse to have his lunch, and the same service was carried out by his fellow patient's relative when the evening tea arrived. He realized that it was visiting hours as the buzz in the room was above normal.

He was disappointed as his visitor had not arrived, he was waiting impatiently, well not exactly, he was sleeping all the while. He was bored of lying down for too long and wanted to get away from the crowd, so he decided to take a walk along the corridor to exercise his limbs.

The medications had subdued his sensations of pain to some extent, but he couldn't stretch himself straight when he stood up initially and had supported himself against the bed.

Humans being naturally curious, want their presumptions answered, and seeing Bandu's predicament, they questioned him about the nature of the ailment. And even before he could reply, they came up with an answer too for the same. The question was more like a reply. Was it an accident? Bandu just nodded his head and limped forward, putting an end to the subsequent round of questions.

It was the nurse who finally pulled him up for being out of bed for long. She had come for the check-up and, finding him absent, was worried when they told her that he went towards the corridor.

The visiting hours had ended, and the room fell quiet again, to which Bandu was thankful. After her check-up, she disclosed that someone had visited him in the afternoon when he was asleep.

"He was the same man who had brought you here. He waited for some time and left. He brought you some clothes. I have kept it inside the shelf, below your side table." she said.

"Where are my old clothes?" Bandu asked.

"We had to throw them away as they were muddy and bloodied and were not wearable." the nurse replied.

"What was his name?"

"I did not ask that. You can check in the register at the counter. Don't you know the man?"

"I haven't seen him yet. Did you tell him that I am to leave here tomorrow?"

"Yes, I have informed him. Now please get back to your bed. The doctor will be coming for his rounds. By the way, what is the round reddish mark on the sole of your left foot? It looks so strange."

Bandu stiffened at the remark but dismissed it as a mere birthmark, and to his relief, the nurse did not prod further and left after giving his dose of medications.

As soon as she left, Bandu bent down and opened the shelf, too eager to check out the clothes the stranger had brought him. It was a new set of dhoti and kurta as he was used to wearing.

Why is he helping me? He is taking a lot of trouble for me. Does he know me for other than what I am?

But Bandu dismissed that idea keeping the parcel back inside the shelf and laid down with his many brain-racking questions. When his thoughts ran over the events again, he remembered that his keys to the shop were missing. He visioned how it had fallen to the ground in the scuffle that took place before he locked the shop and had now another bothersome situation to tackle. His only consolation was that the police were keeping a watch on the shop.

He was ready to be discharged in the morning, also anticipating the arrival of his savior to conclude the procedures. But it was yet another disappointment he did not arrive, leaving Bandu to wrap up things and leave the hospital alone. He did but get his savior's name and address.

Too keen about the keys, his first stop after discharge was his shop, where to his surprise, a police patrol jeep stood. As soon as they saw him, they beckoned him and appeared considerate enough to enquire about his health as they had now met him a couple of times. Assuring him of justice, they asked him to go home take a rest. Bandu could only nod and thank them.

As he had not locked the shop and unlatched it to enter and as projected by the officer saw signs of a search conducted by them. The medications had begun to wear down, and he realized that his wounds were aching. He did not wait to clear the mess and came out to look for the keys that were not sighted anywhere.

Once again, he grabbed the attention of the constables.

"Are you looking for these?" holding up the keys, one constable asked.

"Yes," Bandu's eyes lighted up with relief and limped towards them to retrieve the keys. After thanking them immensely, he locked the shop. Bandu then walked towards the back of the shop to retrieve his bicycle. He was not in a state to ride, but it was the only way he could reach home faster, and thus he ignored the pain rode away.

He rested well for two days before coming to the shop. The medications had done their work and had eased his pain considerably, although he still couldn't cycle without feeling weak. The patrol jeep was stationed far away from the shop. He rearranged and cleaned up the mess left by the investigators before getting to work. His first customers were the constables, but the faces had changed.

Maman did not show up as expected, nor did the stranger who saved him. The stranger had a name now, but he preferred to call him the stranger until he met him in person. By lunch, he was worn out and rested himself after the afternoon bite. A loud banging on the window shutter broke his short respite. When the banging persisted, Bandu shouted back.

"Is the devil behind you? Stop banging! I am coming!"

His muscles were still stiff and restricted his movements, but he hurried to the window shutter to see the caller. It was no ordinary person, Bandu realized when he saw the officer and quickly unlatched the door and came out to greet him.

"Namaste, sir, please excuse my manners," Bandu said, greeting the inspector with folded hands.

Acknowledging his greeting with a smile, "It's alright, Bandu, how are you?" the officer filled the empty stool.

"I am fine, sir. I shall get you tea shortly," Bandu turned to walk back into the shop.

"Well, that can wait. First, I need to impart you some news regarding the case," said the officer, and that caught Bandu's attention, and he stopped in his tracks and turned back.

"At least now you are absolved from Rana's murder charge," he began, only to be cut short at the exclamation from Bandu.

"What! Really, how? Did you catch the culprit?"

"Yes, we have made a major arrest who has also confessed to committing the murder,"

"Who was it?"

"Here, I have brought the picture of the culprit for your identification too. I don't want to commit the same mistake as last time," said the officer and handed Bandu a photo.

Bandu was left gaping at the polaroid in his hands as though he had seen a ghost, he even lost color on his skin. He was left speechless.

"Well, do you know him?" the inspector asked, the stern voice shaking Bandu out of his trance.