Chapter 13

Nitya tossed around in the strange bed for a while after which she gave up sleeping. Two days of being cooped up in Kamble kaka’s home was getting on her nerves. She had taken off from her work for a week and this came with a massive pay-cut. She had already exhausted her leave after her mom passed.

Money was tight and she barely had savings on her but saving her and most importantly Naman’s life was of prime importance. Kamble kaka was still apparently working around finding a connection with his ex-Army friend. She didn’t want to depend on his kindness anymore. She was feeling like a charity case. It was difficult for her to trust people but somehow Kamble kaka had always been there for her. Now that she finally had a breather in years, she realized she had survived because of his efforts. She wished amma had confided in kaka when she was being threatened. She was sure, kaka would have had a solution. Maybe this fiasco would have ended.

Thank God for small mercies she had met him one day suddenly and he had brought them here and she could set her roots here. It wasn’t a bed of roses but the thorns were bearable. At least naman was cared for when she went out to earn a living.

She sighed as she got off the bed. She stood as she stretched and yawned. She looked around the plain room and wondered when was the last time she had woken up in a relaxed manner. She couldn’t remember. The walls of the room had a pistachio green shade throughout and she wondered how plain and simple kaka’s life was. He had once told her he had a good pension and lots of savings. He had also promised her mother that he would perform Nitya’s ‘kanyadaan’ during her wedding.

Nitya chuckled at the memory. She had never thought about her personal life since she could last remember. It was always naman or her amma and their medical requirements. She wondered if kaka had mentioned that to her mother just to pacify the woman on the tethers of losing her sanity or if he had made a promise to his dead friend’s wife… Whatever it was he had gone beyond the realms of friendship for them. As she smiled and looked around, her sharp eyes noted a huge patch of a different shade on one of the walls. It was as if there was a ceiling-to-floor crack that had been modified and painted over again. But it was very wide enough and had she not looked with a keen eye she would have missed it.

What was that patch? She looked upwards to see a framed picture on it. It was small so she had to go closer to look. It showed a younger version of Kamble kaka in his army uniform along with another tall man with broad shoulders. Wait… there was something very familiar about the man…  Strangely Kamble kaka had no pictures in the house. Not even of his dead wife. Nitya didn’t remember seeing the woman even once those years ago. But kaka seemed to revere her whenever he spoke about the woman. Was this other man in the

She scratched her head. Her memory had gone to sleep… it looked like. Her past had been a blur for ages. So, she couldn’t remember that limping man till she fell down in that place in Vasai. The thought sent a shudder through her body.

She heard some sound from the hall outside and walked out to find Naman typing furiously on the ‘computer’.  He had barely done so for the last two days and had been a bit sullen. However, thankfully he didn’t have a meltdown and didn’t call for attention from the neighbours.

This time there was no music. However, a pensive kaka looked on his untouched tea now cold in the cup in his hands. She quickly strode towards him. Before she could ask something, Kaka gestured her to silence. It was then she heard… Naman was muttering again. The rarely verbal Naman was saying something incoherent. He had barely uttered a word after that night when they moved here. And now he was unstoppable.

She tiptoed towards her brother and went very close to him. And then she heard.

“Coming… coming soon… danger… terror attack… danger… terror attack… soon…” Naman was perseverating as he rocked back and forth. She placed a hand on his shoulder lightly like she did whenever he had a meltdown or cried and she didn’t know the reason.

But he didn’t stop and continued uttering the words. Nitya was terrified. In case someone heard Naman it would be disastrous… because of their history. It wouldn’t take people long to figure out who their father was.

She looked at Kamble kaka. He called her towards him.

“Nitya as you must be aware by now it’s the instrument that has something those people wanted. It has something your father concealed and you were meant to decipher. However, Naman being the genius, did it. We now have to be careful before this reaches the right hands.”

“But Kaka, what should we do? We are barely settled in our lives. Naman is so innocent. He won’t know to keep anything secretive. I am sure he is boiling within… what if he explodes? Kaka… how do I handle it all then?”

Kaka thought for a while. “Nitya, do you remember a couple of years ago when your amma had an attack of… um… and Naman couldn’t tolerate her screams? He was rocking just like this and singing or chanting something…”

Nitya nodded. Naman was in a very volatile position whenever their amma had one of her extreme episodes of what the doctor later said was a phase of manic-depressive-psychosis. But for Nitya at that moment amma didn’t matter… controlling her brother did. She continued where kaka left. “…yes kaka… and we let him out of the house. You went with him to keep an eye from a distance and he just circled the housing society perimeter a few times and returned. He had cooled down by then and amma had been sedated successfully.”

“Exactly. Let us let him out of the house.”

“But kaka… isn’t it dangerous?”

“Nitya, if they had to harm your brother, they would have done it by now. I have my doubts if they know how much he knows or that he has kind of decoded the message in the instrument. Why did Sajid or whoever he is go through so much to pursue your affections? Under any circumstances they won’t harm him… else they will lose the only chance at getting whatever they want. So Nitya, let him go and I will go behind him like that day… watch over him from a distance.”

Nitya nodded. Kaka was right. Naman needed the outing.

In half an hour an excited Naman bounced on his feet as he left kaka’s house. Kaka followed him. Though Nitya kept herself occupied with cooking, she couldn’t let go of the fear of something happening to him.

Even after an hour when the duo didn’t return, Nitya was engulfed in the throes of panic. Kaka wasn’t answering his phone either and Naman hadn’t taken his phone along. She was about to leave home to look for them when kaka opened the main door and entered followed by a radiant Naman.

“Wh…where were you two? I was so worried, kaka” She couldn’t help but squeal.

Kaka sat for a while breathing heavily and had water that she offered. She felt guilty about raising her voice but she had almost lost it in worry.

“Don’t worry Nitya, Naman is fine now. The run did him good. We went to the garden nearby and I was on alert. It’s near the market and a busy place so its safe. Naman knows the routes as well. So relax.”

Nitya nodded and went to the bedroom to help Naman freshen up and change. However she stopped at the threshold when Naman kept muttering,

“square jaw, brown eyes, face so tanned,

Handsome new friend will take a stand….”

What?

She rushed to Naman and held him by his thin shoulders. “Naman, sweetie…?” She addressed him softly so as to not startle him. “… what did you just say? ‘new friend’…. Who?”

Naman almost never answered any question asked of him and this time was no different. The boy clamed up and Nitya let him be, feeling all frustrated. She walked out of the room and saw Kaka settle with a newspaper very causally.

She sat next to him on the leather sofa even as it creaked with the added weight. “Kaka… did Naman meet someone today?”

Kaka shut the newspaper folds and looked at her above the rims of his reading glasses. “Why do you ask, Nitya?”

What kind of an answer was this? Nitya shook her head. “kaka, Naman was muttering something about a ‘new friend’ and since he seemed happy when he returned, I thought…”

“Nitya… your imagination runs wild. Naman enjoyed his run… he was fed up with being cooped up at home because of the gloomy rains. I was watching him all the time. So don’t worry, alright?”

Nitya nodded, still not satisfied with Kaka’s answer. Was he hiding something? Her gut feeling told her so…

This pattern went on for a week more and Naman was blooming. He was always smiling and even reading a bit these days. She once asked him if he wanted to continue with his diploma and he nodded. She had to be doubly sure and given the threat looming on their heads she wasn’t going to take a chance but they had online options and Naman could do it if he put his heart into it. Naman even started to help at home. Kaka and Naman took up the cleaning duties while Nitya managed the cooking and did her online training activity for her clients. It wasn’t getting much money but at least she could contribute to the house. Kaka never mentioned but she didn’t want to burden him.

Though she was uncomfortable about the change in Naman, she was also scared at the back of her mind.

Finally, she decided to face her fears head-on.  She decided to get back to work, not yet at the gym but as a personal trainer. She had a couple of offers closer to where she lived and decided to take them up. They paid well and if the word spread she would soon get more offers. Every extra dime would help.

Her first day at work was uneventful and she realized that kaka was probably right. The enemy wouldn’t harm her because they hadn’t got what they wanted. For now, she was ok and her being in crowded areas, they wouldn’t dare to attack fearing backlash and their lair in Vasai too would get exposed.

The next week went in a fixed routine. Kaka and Naman would go for their walk and as soon as they returned, she would go for her sessions. She would be back by 2 PM and then take up her online classes. She had begun to breathe easy when one evening she heard Naman’s muttering…

“Naman combat mode… still like a rock.

Engage brain not weapon… be rock still…”

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. She rushed to Naman and asked him gently. “Naman dear, who said this to you?”

Naman gave her a confused look that he usually gave whenever she asked him a question. So, trying her best to keep a neutral tone she repeated. “Who said…to be still like a rock and engage the brain…?” She couldn’t even explain how she felt within as the whirlwind of emotions spread through her being.

Naman looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes beneath those glasses. “New friend… good friend. Naman friend. Strong… Naman strong… Naman safe…”

Naman went back to whatever he was typing on the computer and Nitya decided to take it up with kaka. Kaka wasn’t at home then and would be back late.

But she didn’t get a chance the next day and soon it was time for her to go to work. But that day as she got out of the large housing colony, she felt eyes on her. The skin on her neck prickled and she turned around. But everything appeared normal as people around went about their usual business. She did feel some movement at the corner of her eye but the moment she looked that side, nothing was out of the ordinary.

She shook her head… something was wrong with her. Like kaka often told her she was getting paranoid. The rest of the day passed uneventfully and kaka came down evening with a fever. She took care of him… he refused to see a doctor. She couldn’t speak about Naman even that day. But kaka looked so fragile and tired that she decided not to exhaust him anymore. She made a firm resolve to find it out herself…

Just as she was about to leave kaka’s room after placing the glass of milk for him, he called out to her. “Nitya… don’t overthink, child….” She was surprised, kaka had never used any endearment for her to date. Was the fever messing with his head? “…listen, it’s time you trust someone and lead a good life instead of being insecure and anxious all the time…” Kaka was panting as he struggled to speak and Nitya felt guilty. But what on earth was he talking about? She was clueless. She nodded and decided to let the topic rest at least for the time being.

The next day Naman went out alone and kaka mentioned some kind of a tracking app on Naman’s phone that she could use to find out where he went. That helped her breathe easy.

Naman was back beaming as usual and she left for work. That day too she felt someone following her. She took breaks in her stride and kept looking back but couldn’t find anyone. She was losing it she realized and continued walking. She hailed an auto and reached her destination in about 20 minutes. The client lived in a secluded colony of bungalows and it was an elite area in suburban Mumbai. She normally didn’t bother about the silence but that day it irked her and the feeling of being followed intensified. She increased her pace as she walked past the initial bungalows to reach the last one in the row.

Suddenly she heard a sound… some kind of a wooooshhhh… and heart stopped as she clutched her chest. She turned around in combat pose as they did in martial arts but there was nothing…

Did she need to see a shrink? Was she turning out like her mother? Weird thoughts floated through her mind. She finished her work for the day and fortunately didn’t get those feelings on her way back home.

The next day she had an off from work and she decided to cook something elaborate for kaka and Naman. The largest local vegetable market was a bit away and she decided to go there to get a good bargain. The feeling of being followed continued but she decided not to let it bother her. She continued with her vegetable shopping and kept looking around whenever the feeling popped up… but in the swelling sea of people, she couldn’t find anything conclusive…

Once again as she exited the market, she heard that swish and stopped. Her heart thudded and she took a moment before turning around. There was no one… she had left from the back end of the large market which was barely populated but was closer to the shared auto stand.

She saw there was no one present and increased her pace hugging the large heavy vegetable bag close to her chest. Once home she got busy with the meal preparations and didn’t realize until noon that Naman was uneasy… he had begun to rock and was muttering something incoherent.

Kaka was just about and walking in the house and he was concerned about Naman as well. Naman had been silent ever since he had been back from his walk. Nitya was too stressed about the experiences in the past couple of days and chose to wait… she was exhausted.

Sleep eluded her that night and her anxiety peaked.

The next day Naman went out alone for his walk while kaka left for a nearby bank for his pension-related work. Nitya didn’t take her eyes off the tracker. The tracker stated Naman was around 500 metres from her but didn’t give details. After a while, she realized it was post his return time and Naman wasn’t home. Worried she dialled his number. It rang for a while but he didn’t answer it. Her heartbeat went overdrive and she was about to rush out searching for Naman when her phone rang… it was a private number.

“He… hello?”

“Nitya, this is Sajid…” She almost dropped the phone when he continued. “… don’t waste another moment if you want to see your brother alive. We have him with us… I have texted an address. Be there in half an hour. A second late…. And you can have his dead body… I am so done with you two…”

“SAJID…” she screamed. “…Don’t you dare…” she warned him.

“You are wasting precious seconds…and you know you can’t involve the police.” he disconnected the call.

She didn’t even bother to change and rushed out of the house. The place was some kind of a warehouse and she had only heard of it before. She somehow made it with  5 minutes to spare, her vision blurring with unshed tears.

The place was an open barren ground with just a large warehouse-like structure… was this the right place? She didn’t know. It looked abandoned given the rusted gates and overgrown dried grass.

She rushed towards the structure when she heard thuds and screams… OMG NAMAN…

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and just as she was about to reach the entrance of the windowless structure, the door crashed open and a man in black overalls fell out stunning her to freeze in her spot. A couple of other men too fell out one after the other. There was silence as she saw the three men lying in dust unmoving. Were they dead…?

Oh God…NAMAN…

She forced herself to move and ran inside. The place was dark and she couldn’t make out anything except some kind of a giggle… it was Naman… Naman’s laugh. A rare one but his laugh nonetheless. She was relieved instantly but fear soon returned.

“NAMAN…” she called out loudly. Where was he? The structure was huge and dark. Naman wasn’t really scared of darkness but here she was.

“Di..di…di…di…” Naman’s stereotypical way of calling her out came through and she clasped her chest trying to figure out where he was in the darkness around her. It struck her she had a phone with her. With trembling hands, she removed her phone and switched on the torch…

In the silvery glow, she saw two figures walking towards her. One awkward gait was Naman and he was holding hands with a strong person… strong gait.

Wait…

Naman holding hands? He never did that with anyone except her. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

As the duo emerged, she rushed to Naman who kept calling her in his way and for a change let her hug him. Suddenly he said. “Friend… good friend… Naman safe… still like a rock… Naman safe… friend save Naman…”

She moved away and looked up at the stranger… the good Samaritan who apparently saved her brother.

She had to squint to look at the tall well-built man in combat kind of outfit…her heart skipped a beat as old repressed memories rushed to the surface. Memories from the innumerable meets in the garden to the last one in those woods in the Himalayas… after which her debacles had begun.

She held her hand to her mouth as she gasped…

“Hello Nitya…” The deep baritone pierced her heart.

She could barely whisper.

“Maa… Maanav?”

©priyanayakgole

(Disclaimer: This is a piece of fiction using the backdrop of the attack that happened and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. This doesn’t attempt to change history or facts.)