Hearing the strangers mentioning the witch, Rishi and Raj got alerted. It is the kind of information they exactly wanted since their inception into the town. Both started focussing on their words, pretending to eat and often looking at each other.
"Is it true?" another person asked secretly.
"Yes.. in fact.." he stopped speaking, realizing other people were sitting beside him.
Rishi and Raj understood why they stopped speaking suddenly. Raj immediately starts conversing with him.
"Pardon me for eavesdropping. Do you really know Ramesh? Because we are looking for him," Raj asked.
"It's Ok, I don't blame you since we're sitting so close. So.. I know Ramesh. What do you need with him?" the person asked casually.
"We are actually from the neighbouring kingdom. We needed a few things and we heard of him to be the right person to buy them from. So we came here. But after listening to what you just said, guess all we heard was wrong," Raj said with a disappointed expression.
"You came to purchase things? What a lucky man you are," the other person interrupted, "My cousin also sells the same things as Ramesh. In fact his shop is also quite popular these days. So if you want, I can take you to his shop,"
"You are a nice person. Thank you for the help. But is it really true? What you were saying about Ramesh, supplying goods to the.." Raj asked.
"Yes.. But you don't need to believe that story young man. That fellow's shop is not at all popular but somehow he started earning well recently. I also often heard that he went to meet the witch," the person said.
"If that's true, why don't you report him to the king? You all know it is dangerous, right?" Raj asked seriously.
"You don't worry about that. Everyone feels that it is just a false rumor because till now, that witch hasn't harmed anyone nor even shown any signs of her existence. So everyone continued to be busy with their lives," the person remarked.
"Ohh. But the rumours started anyway. They might be spreading like wildfire now. It's a matter of peace in the kingdom, don't you agree? You need to take care of it in the initial stages itself. What if the witch really exists and does something dangerous to the people in this town. You better bring it to the King as early as possible"
The person felt guilty after hearing Raj's words. Raj then asked, "Mister, Would you mind if I ask where Ramesh lives? I assume his shop will be nearby. We need to meet him once."
"No problem. It's located just in the next street," the person answered.
"Thank you and don't worry, we will visit your cousin's shop also," Raj said.
The person smiled and nodded. Rishi stood up and said, "Thank you for the information. Just keep this in mind, the King or the soldiers won't come help you everytime you're stuck in a problem. You should be brave enough to cut it at its roots. Otherwise it will eat you all up leaving no time to even respond to help from the King. Also remember this, don't spread any news unless you are sure about it."
Rishi and Raj left the place leaving the strangers to shame. "Why did I have a feeling that the King himself came and taught us a lesson?" one asked the other before gulping the entire glass of water.
Rishi and Raj went towards Ramesh's shop without any delay. It is located at the end of the street and it is not at all crowded. They went near the shop and looked at it with surprise.
"Rishi, they said that he is earning a lot recently but why is this shop not crowded at all?" Raj asked.
"People believe in rumours better than the truth. Truth takes time to reveal itself and until then, people behave like this only. We also can't decide whether he did it or not without listening to his side of the story," Rishi commented.
"Hmm.. Indeed. Let's check it out then. Less customers for him, less trouble for us." Raj said while walking into the shop.
When they entered the shop and called Ramesh's name twice, there was no reply. Meanwhile, they started observing the shop. It is small yet everything is neatly arranged. In one shelf there are some glass boxes which are filled with different colors of powder. Some wooden items, ropes and some horse goofs are present on another shelf. Overall the space is full with all kinds of materials.
While both of them are busy checking, a male husky voice is heard from inside. A middle aged man came out from the room asking, "what do you want?"
"Are you Ramesh?" Raj questioned.
When the person nodded, Raj said, "We came here to buy something."
"What? Did you come to the wrong place?" Ramesh asked with a bitter smile.
Ramesh tried pretending to be feeling well but there is no liveliness in his voice nor in his face. He looks very dull and the shop also seems to be covered by some black smoke. There is no positivity in the shop.
Rishi frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"It seems you came to the wrong place. By the looks of you, I can tell you are new to this town," Ramesh said.
"Yes we are and we heard that you earned a lot recently and your shop is very famous. But why aren't there any customers here?" Raj asked.
Ramesh sighed and said, "I am not rich nor is my shop famous. Those all are false rumours. So don't believe them".
"Yeah we don't believe in them and that is the reason we came here today," Rishi said.
Ramesh's eyes lighten up after listening to Rishi's words. Until now no one trusted him, not even his friends and relatives to whom he said the same thing a thousand times. But today an unknown person trusts him and it seemed unreal for himself.
"You.. you really trust me???" Ramesh stammered.
"Yes..!" Rishi said with determination. There is no need to believe in rumours because what if he didn't do it? Even though he did that in what circumstances he did that? It is not wise to judge someone without knowing them.
In his father's incident, Rishi did thorough investigation before blaming his uncle. He started his investigation on his uncle when he got doubt on him. After so many conclusions he came to know that his uncle is full of greed and thirsty for power. He can't let him leave without scratch this time. He will make sure that his uncle will receive the punishment he deserves.
After selecting some things which are needed for their horses, Raj and Rishi seated on two chairs which were placed by Ramesh and he also sat in front of them to discuss the total amount for their purchases.
"Mister.. We want to discuss something with you," Raj said.
"Please tell me," Ramesh said politely.
"I don't want to beat around the bush. So I will directly come to the point. Do you know any witch?" Rishi asked straightly.
Ramesh froze on the spot and looked at them with shock. "You said you trust me??" Ramesh asked.
"Yes that is the reason I am asking you to make it clear. Listen, I know there is a story. Now I want you to explain your side of the story. If you trust me then tell me and I promise you that I will make this rumour go away once and for all. Remember your justification about your story should be reliable," Rishi said calmly while looking straight into Ramesh's eyes.
"Again, If you tell me the truth then I will help in every possible way but if anything you say doesn't add up and concludes a lie then.." Rishi trailed off when Ramesh interrupted him.
"No.. No I will tell you the truth please clear my name. I don't want to live like this anymore," Ramesh pleaded.
"Go on," Rishi said.
Ramesh doesn't know why he senses fear while talking with Rishi but he has the confidence that Rishi will surely help him out. He gathered all the courage and he wanted to give it a shot.
"My business was not well and I am also feeling very low. At that time one woman came to me and gave me a kind offer" Ramesh started speaking.
"What offer?" Raj asked.