"Even to be nothing...you have to be something."
I woke up in the morning as rays of sunlight fell on my face. I slowly rubbed my eyes and walked downstairs, seeing Aanchal playing with a boy. The boy looked a little older than her, but since appearances can be deceptive, I asked, "Aanchal. Who is this boy?" Aanchal looked at me and smiled, "You woke up. Let me make some tea for you." She quickly walked inside the kitchen. I looked at the boy and asked, "What is your name, young man?" He looked at me and said politely, "Ravi Kumar." I laughed. He asked, "Why are you laughing?" I smiled, "Nothing. Just something I remembered." He looked at me and asked, "Are you Aanchal's new bodyguard?"
I smiled, "Maybe. Why are you asking?" He said, "Nothing serious. The thing is that the past bodyguards all ran away and never returned. So, I just wanted to know if you would do the same or not?" I smiled, "How is that relevant to you, Ravi?" He smiled nervously, "Nothing. Just asking casually." I smiled, "I was also once your age, Ravi. You cannot deceive me so easily." He smiled and walked outside. I asked, "Won't you have some tea with me?" He said, "Maybe another day. I am getting late for work." He quickly ran away.
Aanchal walked with a tray of two cups of tea and two cakes. She looked around and asked, "Did Ravi go away on his work?" I asked, "Why doesn't he go to school? In fact, I didn't see any children attending school or getting any education. There is no school here either."
Aanchal smiled, "School. Education. Knowledge. These things are restricted here. Sarla doesn't let the children here study as he fears that if even one child gets educated, he or she will stop fearing him, and soon all of the people in this colony will turn against him one by one. Therefore, as soon as the boys attend adolescence, they are forced to work in hazardous factories, and girls are often married away or Raju takes them as his slaves and molests them sexually. After that girl gets pregnant, he drops them here and we have to take care of both the mother and child. Some of the children here are Raju's."
I asked, "How could you stay in such a horrible place governed by heinous people like Sarla and Raju? You should complain to the police about it." Aanchal smiled, "Police are just a puppet here. Sarla tells them to sit and they sit and run when he tells them to run." I said grimly, "You shouldn't stay so weak, Aanchal. Silence is pure but tolerance is evil. If you want, I can do something for you." Aanchal asked, "What will you do?" I patted her head and said, "Just wait and see. Soon, the reign of Sarla will end." I walked outside the house and walked towards the house no. 13.
The house was cleaner than the other houses. There was even a small swing outside his house and a birdbath near the wall. I knocked on the door and a voice came from inside, "Come in, Suraj. The door is open. I was expecting you." I opened the door and entered the house. Mr. Mathur was sitting in his rocking chair and when I called his name, he turned and smiled.
I asked, "How did you know that I would come?" He smiled, "Beta. I am almost twice your age. I have seen more people than you. When I saw you, I immediately realized that you are the one who can liberate us from Sarla and save Aanchal." I asked, "Why didn't the ones who came earlier didn't do anything about it?" Mr. Mathur said, "Some were afraid and some were greedy. But, you don't look like someone who will abandon her midway and leave her depressed. Aanchal betiya doesn't show much but after her father's disappearance, her life changed a lot. Meera kept her safe from Sarla but due to the mental trauma she suffered, she eventually became delusional. She started looking for a friend and a savior who would save her from the clutches of that demon. But, she never got one." I screamed, "If you had made her strong and independent, she wouldn't have to wait for some savior to rescue her. She would have been capable herself to break the hindrances and punishing Sarla for his wrongdoings. If you had made even one child strong here, he or she would have the power to revolt." He asked, "And what would have happened then? It is not some fabricated story where one of the victims suddenly becomes powerful and defeats the villain.
Sarla doesn't even let Government authorities come here for the population survey. He keeps this place alienated from the outside world and doesn't even let the people here enjoy festivals or ever go to this house to work. The people here live and die working in hazardous ammunition factories whose poisonous gases and dust make them ill and even then that cruel man doesn't let them seek medical help and let them die like animals." I asked, "Then, why don't you do anything about it?" Mr. Mathur said, "I tried explaining these things to the adults here but they refused to revolt against him. They perfectly know what will happen with them if they do so. They will be thrown in the same well as Aanchal's father. So, they just decided to accept their fate." I took a long breath and said, "So, let me just get it straight once and for all. You want me, an outsider to fight Sarla David who is tormenting you guys for such a long time and you guys will do nothing but stay silent and wait for me to win against him." Mr. Mathur said, "No. We won't stay silent and watch like spectators. We will raise our voice against him, but I want you to begin the revolution.
Sarla is an arrogant man and he will never tolerate if the people here start praising you and stop considering him as the all supreme. He will surely try to do something out of malice and then we will attack him." I asked, "What is your plan?" Mr. Mathur said, "I know that I should say this. But, given the necessity of the situation, I want you to talk with Anthony. Anthony is equally evil, but at this moment his evil is nothing compared to Sarla. I have something important for you to give him." I asked, "Why would Anthony even agree to meet me? Why would he even trust Sarla's servant?" Mr. Mathur said, "You are not a servant, son. You are the caretaker of Aanchal. Anthony will surely want to meet you." I didn't understand anything but agreed. Mr. Mathur gave me a wooden box and told me to give it to Anthony without opening it even once. I walked outside his house and saw a bald man waiting outside the gate with a Scorpio car. He asked, "Are you the new caretaker of that girl?" I said, "Yes." The bald man said, "Come with me. Boss wants to talk with you." Two men covered my face with a black cloth and handcuffed me.
After a few hours of driving, the car stopped and the two men took me inside a house. One of them pulled the cloth over my head. I opened my eyes and saw a man in his early forties looking at me with a smile. He had a big scar on his left eye and a black mole on his right cheek. He said, "So, you are the one Mathur sent to deliver the parcel. Give it to me." I gave the box to him and he opened the box and took out some photographs from it. He smiled, "That old man is still quite sly. He secretly delivered me the evidence I needed for the beginning of Sarla's destruction." He looked at me and said, "Suraj. Isn't that your name?" I replied, "Yes, sir."
He laughed, "Good. I know what that oldie must have told you. Go and destroy Sarla and all that. But, believe me. Sarla isn't that weak. I have witnessed the craftiness of that fox. I spent years serving Venkatesh Iyer and never expected anything from him. He always lamented not having a son and therefore he used to treat me as his own son and maybe even I started treating him as my father. He wanted me to marry Meera and become his successor. I was happy that I was finally going to have a family. I invited my family from Sri Lanka and reached Venkatesh's house with great pomp. I waited near the holy fire for two hours and when Meera finally came, she was in a bridal dress but with mangalsutra in her neck and vermilion on her head. She was standing there holding hands with that scoundrel Sarla. All the people present there, family members and guests all were shocked. Venkatesh even wanted to kill Meera and Sarla for disrespecting him in front of his whole community. But, Meera and Sarla took him inside to have a talk with him. Minutes later, Venkatesh came outside and told everyone that Sarla is his son-in-law now and that the marriage ceremony is void. He betrayed me, the most loyal person in his life. A great fight occurred and many people died. I got this scar and my cousin died in that scuffle. Now, tell me what was my fault, Suraj?"
I kept silent. He took a long breath and said, "He gradually pocketed everyone. He bought the police, the administration, the business and even the hearts of the innocent people. He made a golden cage for the children of the people who once laid their lives for his father-in-law. He is getting stronger day-by-day and like his father-in-law he also wants a successor now. He tortured Meera for many years to have a child. But, after repetitive miscarriages, he stopped. Now, he goes to brothels to find sons. If you want to destroy him, you have to first destroy his reputation. You have to take Aanchal outside of the house and make her stay in Sarla's house. If you manage to do that, Sarla's whole image will be tarnished. But, before that you have to kill his brother, Raju." I asked, "What?"
He said, "Don't act so shocked. Anyone who has come to work for Sarla is definitely not a saint. I want you to kill that monster. He comes every 30th day of every month and takes away a girl from the colony. I want the upcoming 30th day of this month to be his last day alive." I asked, "Why don't you kill him?" He said, "If I kill Raju, Sarla will make his barbaric brother a martyr and will abet the villagers to wage a war against us." I said, "But, won't he kill me then?" Anthony smiled, "No. If you kill Raju in front of all the people in the colony, everyone will consider you a messiah and Sarla will have to accept that his own brother is a monster who ruins innocent girls' lives." I asked, "What photographs were they?" He smiled, "When the right time comes, you will know." He snapped his fingers and the black cloth was back on my head.
I returned home and looked at Aanchal who fell asleep on the table waiting for me. I took her and laid her on the bed and walked wearily upstairs and fell on the ground. My stomach was growling with hunger but I was too tired to even eat. I slowly closed my eyes and thought about what Anthony told me. To be honest, I wanted to punish that monster Raju but I don't want my mission to be unsuccessful. I was not in a state to avenge these villagers. A greater responsibility was on my shoulders right now and I didn't want to fuck that up. I kept thinking about Meera and somewhere deep inside my heart, I wanted to rescue her from the clutches of that Sarla David. I didn't even know when I fell asleep as the night went on...