The next day Aahil's deep slumber broke due to the constant ringing of his phone. At first he was too lazy to pick it up but since the phone showed no sign of stopping he hastily picked up the call assuming it to be Kady [1] or Vikram.
" Hello" he answered in his half sleep. His voice was hoarse from his sleep.
" Aahil you are finally awake "
Aahil jolted from his half sleep state as he heard Father Fernandez on the other side of the phone.
"Good morning Father "
" It's good day Aahil " replied Father with a chuckle.
Hearing this Aahil searched through the bedside table for his glasses and watch. Seeing it was already past ten thirty he immediately apologised.
" It's okay Aahil no harm done, you are no longer a school student . You have to take care of yourself as well. Anyways, I would like ask for a favour from you so do you mind coming to my office in an hour??? "
Father Fernandez said in an extremely caring and gentle tone.
" Of course Father I will be there as soon as possible "
" Good.... Also don't worry about the coffee I have arranged it to be served with lunch " said Father as if anticipating his next move.
With this they both hung up.
After the call ended Aahil got out of bed , looked through his luggage for a set of clothes and headed for shower.
Mean while....
Back in Father Fernandez's office Kady and Vikram had just arrived while Father was busy calling Aahil. They were welcomed by Brother Ashwin who was also Father's assistant.
Previously whenever they were to slip out of the campus they would usually look for Brother Ashwin's permission.
Brother Ashwin was reminded the of array troubles the pair caused back in the days and gave them a warm welcome.
After exchanging a few pleasantries Brother guided the couple back into Father's office.
After exchange of pleasantries with Father Kady started the rapid fire .
" Soo.... Father I trust last night was a close call ???? "
" Indeed a close call.... To close for comfort actually "
Father's comment stunned the couple as they couldn't detect what went wrong.
" Why everything was perfectly handled just like we planned...
Wait a minute!!! Did Aahil pester you after we left ???? "
Vikram asked as realisation suddenly hit him.
" Almost instantly " Father replied his face getting darker and darker by the minute.
" So are we gonna go to that place today itself ??? " Vikram asked while his body language screamed that he was not ready yet.
" No we can't go today because he is not here yet. "
Father's reply momentarily eased Vikram while Kady's question struck fear
" If we are not going today then how will we be able to keep Aahil at bay.??? "
This question was answered by Brother Ashwin
"That's easy.... We have arranged for an orientation programme after lunch which will go on till before dinner time and since it's friday today dinner will be served two hours later than the schedule time.
After that I believe Dr. Ruchika can takeover"
Thus Brother Ashwin concluded his plan with a meaningful look.
The couple understood the unsaid words and nodded in unison.
"That's enough for today but what about tomorrow.... " asked Vikram for he was a man who preferred to plan ahead.
" There is no need for a plan tomorrow for I will drop the bomb tonight and we will visit tomorrow " answered Father , darkness not leaving his features for a second.
" He'll arrive by tonight . We'll meet him after we see the results of tomorrow's experiment."
At this both Vikram and Kady's mind went blank. Kady was quick to recover but not Vikram. His face drained all colours just by the thought of visiting that place. If he had the power he would erase that place from the map.
Vikram's thoughts were revealed by his facial expressions , right now it was complex yet fearful. Seeing Vikram's expression the other three people could guess what was going on in his mind .
Kady gave her husband's hand in a tight squeeze with both her hands while Brother placed a hand in his shoulder comfortingly.
" You are out of your wits just by thinking of going to that place.... Imagine Aahil's pain... What he will go through when he see the place and when he remembers what happened to him there. "
No one spoke at Father's words but both Vikram and Kady realised it as Father continued.
" That place is a Vortex of Flames and Aahil has to walk through it .
He is the one who has to suffer the burns we are only bystanders and onlookers of his miseries and pain "
" That's right we are just so . But we can be more if we want. Vikram... Aahil has done so much for all of us but never asked anything in return...
Truth to be told here is nothing we can give him in return. Whatever we have is give by him...
Ironic.. Don't you think..???? "
Kady was firm on her stand for her best friend as she reminded Vikram about Aahil's contribution in their lives.
" You think I don't know that Kady...
We are what we are thanks to him.....
It was his idea that cultivated our talents....
It was his trust that he entrusted with such responsibility....
You think I have forgotten.... NEVER!!
Not only he cultivated us but he also helped our families as well...
For my grandparents he didn't even bat an eye as he donated a kidney.... and his bone marrow...
I'll in this lifetime be gratefully indebted to him.... Not to mention the astronomical amount of money.
If not for him I would never have been able to see them again...
I'm not a coward.... Nor have I forgotten his favours....
I will fulfill my duty as his best friend....
If that place is a Vortex of Flame then I will walk with him. We'll always stand together with him.
That's the least we can do.. "
With this Vikram stated his firm stand as worry crept it's way in his eyes for his friend.
" Sometimes display of fear for anything concerning others is also a way to display your concern for that person " Father said in a solemn voice.
After this no one spoke and the room fell into a deep silence.
Unable to bear the serious atmosphere in the room Kady quickly changed the topic to a more interesting one .
" Father what makes you think that Aahil will accept the proposal without knowing her true identity and why is it that we can't expose it "
Kady was curious about this when she heard that Father would not let Aahil know her known identity and insisted on using a different identity.
" I understand your concern Kady but we can't... Some how I believe that both of their connection with each other are far from what meets the eye.
Also I have a feeling that she too is a part of his past.... There are just too many questions regarding her origin. And I'm afraid that they share a merged path together that we are unaware off. "
The couple became confused at this revelation as they couldn't understand what was so wrong about her origin. Suddenly Vikram's eyes almost pooped out of his face as he remembered something.
" That right!! I remember now!!
She was adopted, she is not related by blood. We don't know her birth parents!! "
Kady was dumbstruck at this new piece of information as she was never told nor did she see the event happening. At Kady's dumbstruck expression Vikram went on to explain her that when she joined the school she already saw her with her adoptive mother and brother. That was because the adoption happened on the summer of that year and she joined after the summer to start her school year when she was in fifth grade.
But Aakash ( her adoptive brother) was in this school ever since he started going to school .
After that Aahil joined the school when he was in grade one. Both were in same class and soon became best friends. Vikram himself joined them as a boarder when he was in third grade.
In India the Human Resource and Development Ministry has set rules for admitting boarders. For boys it's eight years of age and for girls ten years of age. Below that age no one can be admitted as a boarder or the consequences can be dare.
Hence when we came back to school after the summer she was already part of the family.
Kady nodded in understanding as she processed this new piece of information. While Vikram's expression showed his mixed emotions related to the matter , Father Fernandez's mind was firmly fixed on the plan for tomorrow.
A sudden thought crossed Kady's mind and her imagination started to run wild. Father, Brother and Vikram all could guess that her imagination must have kicked in thus before they could run any wilder Brother stopped her thought process.
" Creating real life like situation is not yours but Ajabde's speciality Kady " said Brother Ashwin in a reminding tone as he tried to fish out something from the self.
Hearing Brother Ashwin's reminder both Father and Vikram couldn't suppress their laughter. Kady on the other hand was fuming in rage at her husband and mentor while throwing draggers at Brother Ashwin.
If only looks could kill.
Hitting Kady on her weakest spot Brother Ashwin turned to face her with a smug look and an old file.
" Soo....Might you do the honor of telling me what your imagination was running for??? " Brother asked in a sarcastically curious tone.
Kady pretend not to have heard of Brother's remark and she questioned Father .
" Father sorry for questioning your sanity but since we have a doubt that somehow both are connected what if they are siblings , cousins or any how related by blood ???? Then what ???? After all we are talking about marriage here ...."
Again Kady's was answered by Brother Ashwin.
" First.. Kady your skills in words is zero and so does your imagination... So don't try to cook up unacceptable utter nonsense...
Second... Your suspected possibility doesn't hold any water....
Third.... DO YOU THINK WE ARE THAT MUCH OF A FOOL!!!!! "
Brother vented his anger at Kady's stupidity and slammed the old file that he fished out of the selves on the table.
Both Kady and Vikram gave questioning look to the file that suffered Brother Ashwin's wrath instead of Kady .
"That file is the proof and confirmation of the fact that they are by no means related by blood....
We have conducted a through DNA test when Aahil was in coma and she was a mere infant. Thus we have come up with this plan. "
Both took the file a looked through it..
No doubt the reports really prove that they are not related by blood.
As soon as they were done with the file Father shoved it back into the nearest drawer.
There was a heavy silence again ... Nobody knew what to say an more.
Few minutes passed .....
There was a knock on the door followed by Aahil's entrance.
###[1]Kady = nickname for Kadumberi