The Unexpected.
The head centre is practically uprooted. The benches are broken into multiple pieces. The books have been burned to ashes. Burnt pages, broken wooden pieces are scattered all over the ground. Their study centers have been destroyed, each and every one of them. Her eyes fall over Brinda and Vivek, her two most trusted people. They are sitting amongst the mess that has been created. Brinda looks up at her, her eyes filled with tears. Vivek keeps rubbing ice on his upper arm. He has been attacked. That's when Pihu's eyes fall on Brinda's cheek, the bright red imprints of fingers stare back at her mockingly. As if screaming at her "you failed, you couldn't protect any of it". Instead of feeling sad and defeated she feels the long buried rage surface back.
Just when she was about to move towards Brinda her steps pause, looking at the two emerging figures, all bloody and bruised. Leo and Purnit.
What on earth is happening?
Without uttering a word she looks at them suspiciously.
"We were passing by this place when we heard some commotion. When we arrived here, we saw her. That's it." Leo explains very confidently. Too confident for her liking.
"They saved us. They fought against the goons didi." Brinda finally utters.
"Have you informed the police?" Pihu asks her.
"No! They.... they threatened to harm you if we did." Vivek utters.
"I am standing here in one piece Vivek." She says as her eyes soften.
"You are hurt. Leo and Purnit is bleeding. How come only one person's safety became a priority here? You should've called the police. These might be temporary centers but we rented them with written permission from the local authorities. They can't just come and break them down." She says glancing around the mess.
"They said they had a notice." Vivek says standing up.
"Notices are served much before evacuation. I certainly don't remember receiving one. Brinda, take all of them to the hospital nearby. I have somewhere to go." She says turning around.
"Let's go then." Leo utters glancing back at Purnit and gesturing him to follow Brinda, as he trails behind Pihu.
"You don't need to come with me Leo. You need urgent medical assistance. Please.. I can...." She starts but gets interrupted.
"I know ma'am. You're self sufficient but please let me come with you. I can be useful, trust me." Leo offers to which she keeps looking at him curiously.
"Were you truly passing by or is there something else I need to know about?" She asks looking straight at him.
"I was passing by, that's a truth. But I want to help, that's something I would like you to know." Leo utters. Then without wasting another second he moves towards his car, opening the door to the passenger seat for her. She gets inside, followed by Leo. He was just about to start the engine when she places her hand over his wrist, stopping him midway. Leo looks at her furrowing his eyebrows. She takes away her hand and asks,
"Where do you keep the first aid box, don't tell me you don't have any?"
Leo widens his eyes.
"That won't be necessary ma'am. I'll handle this much injury. I am used to it." He tries to convince.
"Leo.." Pihu extends her hand with a tone of warning. He immediately brings out the small first aid box and hands it to her. She immediately starts cleaning his wounds and he keeps blinking like a lost puppy. After a few minutes when she's done mending his wounds, she hands him the box releasing a sigh of relief.
"Let's move now, to the police station."
¤¤¤¤¤
"Leaving are we?" A known voice makes its appearance stopping Vulcan midway his packing. He turns around to find two figures standing at his doorstep. Right beside Ritwik stands Arjun. He nods his head at Arjun in acknowledgment.
"So many years and I get a nod, that's it? No hugs?!" Arjun says mischievously, moving inside. His eyes haven't missed his disheveled hair or the bags under his eyes. The room stinks of cigarette and he clearly remembers this guy stopped smoking.
Vulcan grimaces and utters,
"Go hug your nonexistent lover! I have an urgent business to deal with." Making Arjun chuckle. Ritwik looks at Arjun and slowly makes an exit leaving the two friends to themselves.
"I heard that you're dying. Haphephobia they are saying. What a cool way to die. One touch and you're dead. Sounds fun." Arjun says sarcastically, taking a seat on his bed. Vulcan throws his clothes inside the trolley and crosses his hands over his chest, his eyes fixed at Arjun.
"What are you even paid for? Are you truly a doctor? You sound like an illiterate to me! It doesn't kill me, but the pain...." he stops, looking down at the trolley.
"The pain?" Arjun asks, curiously.
"The pain... sometimes makes me feel like it's better to be dead than going through this again and again. You're right, sounds fun." He says.
"Is there anything that has ever given you a sense of relief or something? Have you ever felt that the pain is getting subsided by some other external factors? Anything?" Arjun asks. Vulcan furrows his eyebrows, as if deep in thought as he utters in a trance.
"Her....." Arjun's eyes widen in realization as he continues.
"..her smell.... her..." He stops and then looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Wait a minute, are you fucking trying to play the doctor doctor game with me? I should've known!" He starts focusing on the packing again until Arjun's words make him stop for good.
"The nightmares must be scary, the past must be haunting, isn't it?" Vulcan snaps his head and looks at him with an unknown emotion. His breathing becomes heavy, as if his cover has been blown off.
"What are you talking about?!" His deep voice booms through the room. Arjun stands up and walks to the open balcony.
"I was wrong weren't I? The curse never ended." He utters, to which Vulcan clenches his eyes shut as if he doesn't want to hear anymore.
"I will not force you Manik. I know how it feels to go through this pain. I have been bearing with it for as long as I can remember. I am used to it, Dev and Ritwik were used to it as well. But I know how difficult it might be for you. To learn about something at an age when you already have everything planned and settled right infront of you, when every equation suddenly changes and makes your life more than miserable, handling it must be difficult. At this age we are ought to fight against it, because we are grown ups, we are not the white blank papers anymore, we have it filled to the edges and now we need to erase every part of it, in order to find out what is to become of us." He pauses and turns around, looking at Vulcan.
"Accept it Manik. Identify yourself. Find your truth, even if it means erasing everything written on the paper and making it blank once again. If you don't accept yourself, your past, if you don't accept the truth, you'll never be able to find out the purpose of your birth.... of your rebirth. And please remember I am just a phone call away, if you ever feel like opening up." With that said Arjun leaves and Vulcan snaps his eyes open.
¤¤¤¤¤
"They are not ready to send their kids after what took place at the study centers." Brinda says.
"They were already trying to involve the kids into their habitual criminal lifestyles." Vivek adds.
Leo and Purnit sits on the couche, too tall and huge for the small fluffy thing.
"No Vivek, they are underprivileged. We can't forget that. Survival is their basic instinct, just like all of us. We can't blame them. The only thing we can do is keep persuading them. If even one of them agrees, that will be a success." Pihu explains.
"But where will we teach them didi. The centers are broken. The authorities are supporting the criminals. What can we do?" Brinda asks, worriedly.
"Do we have a terrace?" Leo asks suddenly.
"Yes we do. But this is a rented flat Leo. I don't think the land lord will allow us the privilege, knowing who the kids are and what their background is. Even the neighbors can be against it. Not that easy." Pihu says placing the tray of coffee and cookies on the table. Without wasting a second Purnit jumps for the cookies and shoves two of them inside his mouth. Pihu smiles at his gesture but it immediately falls when the realization hits her.
"None of you had your lunch?" She asks looking at Purnit who stops moving his mouth as his stomach makes a sound as if answering for him. Leo looks at him and makes a 'disgusting' face. But Pihu immediately stands up.
"Eat these, while I make an early dinner for you. Vivek, you're having your dinner here tonight." With that she starts walking to the kitchen when Brinda stands up, ready to follow her to the kitchen.
"No, you're taking rest today and also do you remember the guy's face who slapped you?" She asks.
"Didi.." Brinda hesitates.
"Do you remember Brinda?" She asks again, this time with more authority.
"Yes." Brinda answers. Pihu gives her a sad smile, as she caresses her bruised cheek lovingly.
"We will find him out and pay him back. I promise." With that said she moves inside the kitchen. All three of the men along with Brinda looks at her retreating figure with alertness because they feel it, the sheer determination.
¤¤¤¤¤
A knock was heard. Rameswaram's wife Jyothi's eyes open. The sleepiness is visible in them. Her daughter stirs in her sleep. She slowly pats her back to sleep and looks at the clock. It's 3.00 AM in the morning. She adjusts her saree and gets out of the bed.
"Who is it?" She asks through her tired voice but gets no response. She furrows her eyebrows and turns the lights on, deciding on waking her husband up before opening the door. She knows what locality they stay in, she knows the dangers lurking at every corner of this place. But before she turns around her eyes fall on the white piece of paper peaking from the gap under the door. She takes a stick and slowly drags the paper inside.
It's not a paper it's an envelope, quite a thick one. She immediately calls her husband.
"What is this?" She asks and her husband kneels infront of the envelope and turns it upside down. A bundle of bank notes tied by a rubber band falls out of it, along with a note.
"Make good use of it. Send your kids to school. Send them to the study centers. Let them grow differently. Let them become better humans than you. Educate them. Do this and you'll get to eat healthy, sleep better and have a better life. Or throw the money and live in this shit.
If you agree to protect the light the oil will be refilled before you know, until your offsprings are ready to take the torch and move ahead. If you don't, you're losing the one time chance at a better life.
The choice is yours. Keep it a secret, because believe it or not my eyes are everywhere."
Rameswaram, keeps looking between the stack of money resting on the ground beside him and the note in his hand, as his eyes fill with tears.
And just like him every family who received it looks at the sky thanking the unknown source for somehow seeing their struggle and willing to help them come out of it.
Most of them learnt and understood what needs to be done, but then again 'most of them' isn't 'all'.
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Love, Puja. 💜