The three of them escort by Rover. The rough boulders on the either side of the road, concrete constructions reminded Nandana Menike of the nature of the surroundings that prevailed in the recent past. The ruins that remained on either side of the road through which Nandana Menike walked up in the mornings and evenings with her beloved grandma made her cry within. It sent a subtle wave of pain into her heart. She witnessed a clearer view of the three tiered bungalow than she saw through the branches of tall Ruussa trees those days. The signs marked to indicate the highest water level of the Victoria reservoir were visible on the rocks as well as on the mountains. A bit above the new road, she could see a new building which was very much similar to the three tiered bungalow.
Samantha and Bernard had a very close relationship. She realized that through their friendly conversations, he had become a very good friend of Bernard within a very short period of time.
Yet, she couldn't comprehend why he hadn't disclosed such a thing to Samantha.
After about one hour, the couple said good bye to Bernard and went out of the bungalow. The cab went stirring up the dust and half way through, Samantha stopped the cab by the reservoir. Her thoughts flashed back two things simultaneously. One was the dusty environment, from which she suffered a lot becoming seriously ill and the other was how she was taken to the bungalow by the cab and the manner she was taken to the room on Bernard's arms. Today, instead of Bernard, she was with Samantha in the same cab in the same premises.
A pleasant feeling entered Bernard's mind, when his eyes could see Nandana Menike again. For a long time, he had that great desire to see her. He could never forget the profound effect she brought to his life, when he had got lost in a world of utter desperation and frustration. She turned out to be a turning point in his life, which miraculously made him blind to realize. Tears of joy and tears of grief blended together in his eyes and through a layer of mist, Bernard tried to see the realistic perspective of life
He shook his head two three times and gazed at the road. He saw the couple moving out of his sight. Wiping out his eyes, he stepped into his room with a relaxed mind.
His room had been arranged neatly. Everything was in order. Nandana Menike voluntarily had done it during the short break she had, while Samantha and Bernard were having a friendly chat on the balcony.
The chess board was at its proper place with the dices on it. He picked up the white queen of the white dices. An involuntary smile appeared on his face, when he gazed at the white queen. He pondered looking at the chess board, the futility and the inappropriacy of keeping it under the ownership, for which he had no right to claim. He tried to apply the chess game to the incidents of his personal life and compared the relevance and consequences of each movement. He placed the white queen near the white king and released a long deep breath.
Rover's discomfort and restlessness made Bernard decide to go to Rangala estate sooner than expected.
The almirah, which he opened to take out the gold chain remained half open in the same position, and when he was about to lock it, he saw the broken doll lying on the bed. He took it and observed it as if it were an object he had never seen. The smile on the doll's face remained the same despite it being faded and broken. He placed the doll inside the almirah as if it were a treasure to be protected.
The ding dong of a temple bell in the distance made Bernard be conscious of time. He looked at his wrist watch and thought of the things he had to attend to.
He locked his room and descended the flight of steps intending to go to Rangala. Yet, he was disturbed by the unusual barking of Rover. It ran towards the second floor and continued barking. Bernard noticed someone waiting in the second floor.
"Who is there…? Who is there…? What are you doing here…?" Bernard questioned the stranger.
With a submissive look, a scraggy man stood there with the fear of being attacked by Rover and expecting protection from Bernard.
"You are the people who have removed the doors and the window of this bungalow…" Bernard cast a sharp look at him.
"Never… Never sir…! We came here very recently… we rented that house over there two months ago…"
Bernard could remember some people had come to that house some time ago.
"Hmmm… it is you people staying there now…?" The scraggy man shook his head submissively.
"Then… what made you come here…?"
Even the bungalow had been abandoned; Bernard didn't like to see anybody coming in there.
"Sir… I came to meet you several times…" the stranger muttered.
"To meet me…? For what…?" his tone was rather sharp.
"To ask for permission to grow vegetables on that upper part of the land…"
He pointed out the strip of land above the bungalow and requested in a helpless manner.
"It belongs to Mahaweli Authority… Reservation…!"
"True sir… I asked the Mahaweli officers… They are the people who asked me to contact you regarding this…"
"No… no… not necessary… If I give you a chance to grow vegetables, that will end up with building a hut there… I know who you all are…"
The stranger was taken aback with a shock by Bernard's common sense.
"Forgive me sir… we are poor people… there is some truth in what you say… but we are not that sort sir…"
He bowed down his head exhibiting his helplessness and tried to go back. Bernard wondered for a moment. The movements and gestures of the stranger were very much similar to those of Periyavar. Most of the time Periyavar behaved in the same manner.
"Just a minute…, What's your name…?"
"Nathan…"
"Are you a Tamil…?"
"Yes sir… my father Tamil and my mother Sinhalese…" Bernard understood that there were elements of trustworthiness in what he said.
"Are you married…?" At that moment, there was a pleasant look on Bernard's face.
"Yes sir… just six months ago… Only two of us and her mother living here with me…"
His words and gestures seemed to be genuine.
"Hmmm… ok… clear that area and go ahead with your work… but mind you… don't tell me… I'm a bad man if you create unnecessary problems here… Ok...?"
The innocent smile that spread on his face filled Bernard's heart with immense happiness. Nathan tried to kneel down and worship Bernard.
"No… no… No need to kneel down and worship here… Be honest and do your work properly… that would be quite enough…"
Bernard expected a reliable person like Periyavar from Nathan too.
"Nathan, where do you work now…?"
"I'm a labourer sir… don't have a particular place to work…" responded in a low voice.
"Hmmm… let's see… I'll see what I can do for you…"
"May gods protect and bless you Sir…!"
Bernard drove the vehicle passing Nathan and remembering his loyal Tamil servant Periyavar. Bernard didn't have any idea to help Nathan, but he was made to do so by the impression Periyavar had made on Bernard. Bernard still wondered how many Nathans would be there in that society struggling to make both ends meet, yet, having nobody to give them a helping hand to stand on their own feet.
* * *
Samantha drove the cab and entered the carpeted road built around the reservoir. He stopped the vehicle for a moment and looked at Nandana Menike. She was found to be deep in thought. Her eyes were focused on the far horizon.
"About Bernard, in my mind, there was a small suspicion…" He said with a quizzical look.
Nandana Menike, suppressing her hesitation, turned her head towards Samantha.
"But I'm wrong with my suspicion, Nanda… He is truly treating you as if you are his own daughter… I saw it very clearly today…"
Nandana Menike promptly kept her hand on her mouth to stop her sobs. Samantha had trusted both of them on equal terms. She knew that the truth couldn't be revealed before him. Samantha thought she was sobbing out of the distress caused by thinking of Bernard.
"Let's go and see him whenever possible… He will like it…" His words were effusive.
Nandana Menike leaned against his shoulder and clutched his left arm tightly.
"Nanda… Can you see that big building being built over there…?"
A three tiered building almost nearing completion. Very much similar to the structure of the bungalow. She looked at it enthusiastically. At that moment she could view it more clearly than the previous time.
"It's just like Bernard Hamu's bungalow…" Nandana Menike said slowly.
"It's Sandra Hamu, who has spent money to build it… The block of land belongs to Victor Hamu… It is the only block of land, which does not go underwater… Samantha explained calmly.
She was shaken by that disclosure. A smile brightened Samantha's face.
"Victor Hamu….! He is my father…! Has he come back to Sri Lanka…?" Though his name was not there in my birth certificate, he is my father…"
"As far as I know, he has not returned… but the house and the land have been registered to a child born out of his blood…
"How do you know that…?"
"It is Bernard, who had got the all he construction, work done… I think he also has spent a large sum of money on that… Do you know…? The house and the land have been written to YOUR NAME Nanda…?"
She forgot to release the breath that she inhaled. She looked at Samantha motionlessly.
"To MY NAME…?"
"It was Bernard Hamu's wife who had suggested building a house in that block of land belonged to Victor…"
Being overwhelmed, she looked at Samantha and the house alternatively. The new house was indeed a huge mansion.
"Shall we go there and have a look…?"
Samantha took the new owner of the house to the new house. She couldn't believe her eyes to see whether she was in a dream world or a real world.
She stepped into the third floor and walked up to the balcony, which was next to the bed room. She heaved a long breath and looked around. She could view the three tiered bungalow more clearly in the close distance. She saw Bernard on the balcony of his bungalow and looking at her. Samantha viewed the surroundings with a feeling of exaltation. From the bottom of his heart, he offered his sense of gratitude and respect to Bernard for his far sightedness and concern for their future. They felt ever indebted to his commitments. Nandana Menike was gazing at the tamarind tree.
"What are you thinking by looking at the tamarind tree…?" Holding her shoulders and dragging her towards him, he asked.
She silently responded with an innocent smile.
"Bernard, one day took a pledge from me… He asked me not to utter a single word about this until you are taken here and shown all these to you…"
Samantha's look was innocent. He had obeyed Bernard's words without knowing anything. The same sound, which she heard five years ago, again reached her ears. That's the sound of Volkswagen car. It moved on stirring up the dust and entered the carpeted road. She looked at its movement anxiously.
Her thoughts flashed back to the meaning of the free verses he had written in his diary.
The reservoir submerged
The cherished dreams and hopes and planted new seeds:
The seeds of new dawn
To bear fruits of expectation in this journey of life…!
THE END