After the basketball match, I decided not to stay any longer. I told Vikas and his friend to leave the place in case aunty gets the idea to ask him to delete the video recording of her daughters' performance. Vikas exited the grounds and headed home. I went to talk to Aunty Banerjee and told her that since it was getting late, we needed to leave.
I wanted to talk to Aamaya, to console her after losing the match. I looked around and found her sitting on the ground with her head tucked between her knees. She looked dismal.
I sat down next to her and gently tapped her shoulder, she raised her head and looked at me and said: "What are you still doing here?".
I replied, "I just came to talk to my angel in case she needed cheering up."
She took my hand, looked at me and said: "What do you want to talk about?"
I replied "Well actually I don't know how to say this but I really like you. You are very sweet and graceful."
Aamaya replied, "Do you really mean that?"
I nodded and my eyes made her smile.
I told her "Please do not keep torturing yourself thinking about the match. Being a good sportsman you know that outcomes do not matter."
She looked at me and said "I know but it's just hard to believe that we were not able to seize the ball in the second half. As a captain, I feel really pathetic".
I reassured her and said, "Don't worry, I will teach you basketball and next time when you play against anyone, you will be able to form a solid defense, the same way I did today."
I stood up and extended my right hand, she held my hand and I pulled her up.
I said to her, "It is getting late. Time to go. Goodnight."
She nodded her head and started walking towards her sisters. I looked around for Monica and was unable to find her. Guessing she might be inside the house with Geeta, I called out her name. A few seconds later she rushed out of the house, holding the top that she initially gave Geeta before the match. Once she was out, we left for our home.
By the time we reached home, it was around 6:30 PM. We were very much exhausted. I went to the washroom to freshen myself up. After half an hour I came out into the hall. I saw my little sister talking to daddy excitedly and showing him something from a magazine. Mom was in the kitchen getting our dinner ready.
As I was about to sit on the sofa, daddy said, "I heard about the basketball match from Monica, I am proud of you son. You led your team to a perfect victory. Good leadership. You guys must be tired. Why don't you both go to your room? I will call you when dinner is ready."
I went to my room and minutes later, I saw Monica knocking at my door, "Can I come in bhaiya?"
I was on my bed, I looked at her and set on the bed and replied: "Yeah sure".
She came and sat next to me and started, "I can never thank you bhai for what you have done today, I hope I am capable enough to return this favor to you someday."
I knew something was definitely off with Monica today but I decided not to prode any further and just replied that "You don't have to thank me for anything dear. And remember never talk such non-sense about favors and all. You know very well that I can do anything for you. I will go to any length to protect you from the world."
Monika smiled at my words and teased "Ok my Superman"
I looked at her and asked, "Monica, if you don't mind I want to know something."
She replied "Anything bro."
So I asked, "Can you tell me more about the Banerjee family?"
Monica replied, "What do you want to know?"
I told her "Everything".
Monika replied "The family came here 3 years ago. I came to know from Aamaya didi that, they were previously located in Jadavpur. However there occurred a tragedy in the family, so they decided to leave everything behind and move here.
Uncle still lives there alone to run the family business, he often visits here to spend time with the family. Geeta keeps telling me that their uncle is a good man.
From how Geeta talks about uncle, It feels like he loves her more than his own daughters."
I responded "Hmm, and what about Geeta? What do you know about her? Do you know anything about her parents?"
She replied "Geeta is my best friend in the family. She is a great girl, a noble soul, very soft-spoken, and very helpful. I have no idea about her parents. Whenever I try to ask her she becomes very emotional. Probably they are no more."
I replied "ok" then Monika added "You know bro, she is also lucky, She is homeschooled, She doesn't have to go to school like us. Aunty has hired a tutor who comes around 12 noon and teaches her till 5 PM every day."
The homeschooling fact surprised me.
"Do they try to hurt her sometimes, I have seen Darika and Aamaya being rude to her today."
Monika replied "Darika doesn't like Geeta very much. She feels that because of Geeta, her father needs to stay away from them. Any opportunity she gets, she tries to bully Geeta and hurt her self esteem. Nobody has ever stood up for Geeta."
As I was about to react to that, I heard mom calling us for dinner.
Mom had cooked Monica's favorite chicken curry with coconut milk. She looked really excited at the sight of her favorite dish and without waiting for anyone, she started savoring the food. Daddy was about to reprimand her but changed his mind. He felt Monica was very tired and let it go.
I was not able to take my mind off the sequence of events today. Something didn't feel right. I decided to seek my parents' advice on my dilemma. "Daddy what do you think I should do, if I see that someone is not being treated well, someone is being bullied mentally."
Daddy looked at me and said, "If you are aware of any such thing, you should definitely be raising your voice against it. It's your responsibility as a human being to try and protect that person, and if you consider him/her as your friend, then you should 'Think with your heart and feel with your soul'."
I was not sure what Daddy implied by this statement since we normally feel with our heart and always think with our minds. However, I felt I got the answer that I was hoping for.
After dinner, we retreated back to our rooms to get ready for the night. A few minutes later, Mom and Dad came to my room and sat next to me. I was a bit startled to see them in my room, so I got off the bed and asked, "Is everything all right Mom? You could have just called me.".
Daddy replied "Son, we wanted to discuss something important. I know who were you inferring with your question during dinner. Monika has already talked to us about this, but it felt like she was exaggerating certain details. If you are considering protecting the Banerjee girl, then I would suggest you take caution before you plan on doing anything hasty. Always think about your sister and us".
I told daddy, "Trust me, dad. I will not let any harm come to you."
Daddy replied "I know son, but your sister has been taking some risks, she has been constantly going over and spending most of her time with them. She thinks, by doing that she is helping the girl, but at times I feel worried that her efforts will only lead to more problems for herself and the girl. I don't trust that family at all. But being next-door neighbors, we need to proceed with caution."
I replied, "Dad, from what I have observed so far, Monika is a very perceptive and mature girl. At times, I have seen a sense of protectiveness and responsibility in her, towards her loved ones which make me feel very proud. I am very sure she has thought about all the pros and cons of her actions, both for her family and the one she is trying to protect. I can assure you our Monika will never disappoint you.".
Daddy felt re-assured at my words and then handed me a sealed envelope, which was addressed from CB-163, Sector-III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata. I took the envelope and placed it in my drawer.