Matters of the heart
30. Heart of gold
Raghav woke to a sunny day. He packed his belongings, bid his goodbye and promised to be back soon. Kanika did not know of Raghav’s plan and of course, Raghav used their handicap to his advantage, what she could not see would not hurt her. Raghav had thought about how he would make the trek back home. The issue of trust and safety was first on his mind, but he decided that a bit of bravery would do the trick. He took his cane and walked on the side of the winding road. He had done his homework; he knew which direction he needed to go and figured this with the help of a small and very handy talking compass he had bought on campus. He had to head west, and felt the sun behind him as he walked through the slightly rugged trail, feeling the crunch of the leaves under his foot with each step he took. He had his sunglasses on, and his cane ahead of him, and planned to hitch hike as soon as he heard the sound of a motorbike cross his way. Who would say no to a blind boy, right?
Raghav was surprised. It took him three attempts over an hour interval to finally melt the heart of one biker, to get a ride to the fringes of the city, and soon Raghav was having a rather odd conversation with a heavy set man (he could tell this by how little room he had at the back of his bike). The biker man ran a law firm. He was part of an adventure club for men over 50 and would occasionally join and leave the pack to get back to his family and work in the city. He was, apart from biking and adventure, obsessed with sun signs…and was now in the midst of his seemingly “ two- bit” astrological assessment of Raghav. Raghav was amused and annoyed…of all the subjects in the world, this talk of sun signs meant next to nothing to him. Though considering his background it was not surprising how he felt.
This went on till, suddenly, the bike, rattled and fumed to a stop, a good distance from where either one was heading. Luck favoured the brave was it? Raghav could use a bit of that right now! Oh wait maybe this was a way to get him out of a boring conversation. Lucky indeed!
Soon enough they were back on the road. In the time while the biker coaxed and kicked his machine back to life, Raghav had sat down on the stony path on the side of the road, out of harm’s way and anyone’s sight .He had now been back home a month, and had not done a lot to restore his faith in himself. But he had met some nice people, and especially on his mind was Mira… he would call her as soon as he could. She had seemed a bit troubled the last time they had spoken, and he knew he had speak to her…funny that almost as soon as he finished this thought…driving by him - sitting on the road and beside the now perspiring biker, were Nisha and Mira, rather sleep deprived and too numb to say anything to each other. If only they had seen Raghav on the road!
Through the rest of the ride, the biker man sang to them both, a hilarious mix of songs. If ever anyone could be described as jolly, it would be him… yet Raghav felt this knot in his stomach.
He reached his stop and thanked the biker man for his trouble. The man looked at Raghav and said to him “Boy…you have a cloud above you, clearing raining on the parade your life can be…give in to the wondrous possibilities life holds for you, step out of the cloud and you will be a better man for it...promise me this, and it will be thanks enough!”. As corny as it sounded, words of courage from a total stranger can do wonders to jolt you out of a rut! Make you see or feel more clearly again, and Raghav responded by beaming back at the kind stranger..
Now the city lay ahead of him, the sun above him and his cane and talking compass! The adventure would be small in comparison to what would be waiting at “home”.
Kirtana’s captor tied her to a chair and gagged her mouth. Her only aim was to find the money and she would not leave here without it. What she did not know, is there was none here. Mali would never risk anyone she lived with, keeping the money with her. She found safe places to hide the “loot” everywhere she lived. Mali had not returned that night, her own behaviour had put her in a mood where she was not quite ready to face Kit, and instead she found her way back to Manu…across the road from Kit’s place.
Manu and his sister had ended their conversation on the terrace the night before, Kavita had been right and Manu had said yes… it was Maliha, they were a natural fit, and the chemistry was undeniable. Of course they had to be careful to keep it from the rest of the group. They were not quite ready to make this relationship public to their friends. It was a good idea, especially considering the emotional complications among some of the girls..
They had been seeing each other after Mali’s birthday party, among the many feather’s in their cap, they had added each other. It was a little joke between them, but they had developed a great bond and this was at the forefront of Mali wanting to stay and make a life here… for the first time, she felt safe, like she belonged to someone, who would not rob her or leave her. She had told Manu everything that had happened last night, after all she now confided in him completely. He knew about her past, and about what she ultimately wanted to do, and was ready to do anything for Mali. It was beautiful to see.
Monkey was fond of Mali too, and in the morning Manu decided to walk Mali to Kit’s place. They set off.. not speaking, hand in hand. The morning was pleasant, the sun shine and light breeze…a pleasant side affect of the rains late in the night.
They made their way up Kit’s building. The security guard, missing from his spot…strange. Mali’s stomach knotted with the red number growing higher on each floor on the elevator ride up, but she would swallow her courage and her pride and apologize…
Her hands were cold, as she pressed the door bell. She had forgotten her keys again, Kirtana would have another reason to get mad! They waited…no response. That was strange…? Kit usually got to the door within seconds! Was she not home? Manu rang the bell this time, only to be met with more unusual silence…Manu got out his phone. He would try Kit on her cell phone… he hit the green button on her number and waited. A loud and shrill tone could be heard on the other side of the door, breaking the silence, and turning Mali’s curiousity of her friend’s whereabouts to a full blown worry!
They had to get in! Manu started banging on the door, as Mali looked around for the security guard. No one around…they would have to force themselves in.
Manu took off his jacket, and searched around the corridor for something to hit the door with. Around him lay terracotta pots of different sizes, but nothing substantial enough to break a door! How would they manage??? Mali ran down the corridor.. she found the fire extinguisher and immediately called out to Manu! They could use this…Manu grabbed hold of it and summoned all his energy to run back up the corridor to hit the door…but by this time, they needed to use the extinguisher for its actual purpose…because from the crack under the door, it was unmistakable, a regular stream of thick smoke…the house was on fire!! With Kirtana in it!
Nisha and Mira got home… their parents were out of town. Visiting a family friend at their new home in the hills.. They would need to figure out, how to get Nisha out of this mess.
Raghav made his way to a seat at the bus stand the biker had dropped him off at… the seats were warmed by the afternoon sun, and he sensed people around him were looking at him. He called out to someone who would help him get to the area Kit lived, and soon a kind old lady gave him a hand and told him his bus would be here soon, she would tell him and he would just have to trust her…the "kind" old lady rewarded herself… his wallet would pay for her dinner that night. Raghav would not be so naïve though. He’d packed another wallet with his real money on him…the other “removable” objects on him, would be tests of trust for the people he met on the way home. So far he’d lost a few unwanted personal effects, but he would always know a lawyer, with heart of gold in town..
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