11 Knife in the Dark

"Sudama who was very poor was persuaded by his wife to go to his friend Krishna who was a king to ask for some help to relieve him of his poverty. Even though when Sudama had not asked for help when he visited Krishna, by the time he reached home, he found his home packed with rich gifts sent by Lord Krishna. Did you understand the moral of this story?"

A 10-year-old Aditya slept with his head on his mother's lap as he heard his mother narrating a short story. His mother was applying organic natural henna on his small hand in the shape of circles. Aditya always protested when his mother applied this green paste-like substance on his hand because he felt that only girls had their hands dyed, his friends would always mock him when he showed in school with his hands dyed in dark red designs.

His mother would still insist on applying as she justified that this natural henna would absorb the residual heat from his body keeping him cool and refreshed, but Aditya had found out the real reason when he was nine, his father had also objected when he saw his son complaining, his mother had only told since she had no daughter she had to fulfil her desires of raising a daughter on Aditya itself. Any way after Aditya grew, it would not be possible.

Only then Aditya knew that why his mother would make him wear some girl dresses when he was younger and even took pictures of him.

Aditya could only resign himself to this 'maltreatment' as he said, "Ma, just like Krishna helped his friends who were poor, I should also help my friends when they have problems." Aditya's mother nodded her head appreciatively as she also added, "you have to remember that just like Sudama, not all your friends would ask for your assistance straight away as they will have their difficulties but you have to always be conscious of their lives so that you can act accordingly. Also even if your friend's are experiencing problems, if they do not approach you, you have to let them try to overcome their own problems by themselves, only if absolutely necessary should you intervene. Because you have to know that God gifts problems to those he wished to make stronger."

A soothing evening breeze woke up Aditya from his memories as he saw the sky was darkening, there was an amber glow in the west. The sounds of crickets chirping, the dusky colours subdued in the fading light caused Aditya who had a burden relieved from his mind to indulge in some past beautiful memories. His uncle had left already after advising Aditya repeatedly to concentrate on his studies and to take care of his health. Aditya had not told his uncle about his sleeping problem yet as he thought it wasn't a big deal and did not want to trouble his uncle with new issues.

It was almost time for his sleep cycle to start. Though he could control himself for about an hour, it would become harder after that so much so that he had once fallen asleep while playing chess with Jatin in the dormitory. His friends were worried that he had fainted until they heard his snores. From then he had made a point to just sleep on time to avoid such embarrassment.

But today Aditya did not really have the mood to calmly accept his excessive sleeping condition. He wanted to resist this condition, he did not want himself to spend 14 hours of every day sleeping as the most basic requirement he needed if he wanted to save his parents was time. As long as he could plan his time effectively, he had hope, but if he could not even be awake, how could he expect to save his parents from their predicament.

He had also found that the medicines given by that old neurologist were not working in the least as his sleep had not reduced even by a few minutes. Maybe his special condition needed special treatment. Aditya's eyes showed his commitment and resolution as he stiffened himself. He had to think of a way quickly which could cure him.

Jatin took out a menthol chewing gum as he could not smoke in school, especially in front of the visitor's pavilion which was just beside the main administrative building. He offered the gum to Bhadra who rejected it while his brows were pressed together.

Jatin looked at the worried look of his friend and sighed, the matter about Aditya had just taken an unimaginable turn. They were as helpless as anyone when faced with such a situation. It's not like how you solve your school level conflicts through street fights and hockey sticks. Also, Jatin really didn't know how Aditya felt due to his parents' missing. Because frankly with how his father treated him, he would not be so concerned if his father suddenly went missing as long as he left him some money.

Since his mother had died to an illness ten years back when was six, his father had changed drastically. Since then Jatin had become a decoration at home which consumed money every month, nothing more. No calls, no greeting, no gifts, sometimes Jatin wondered if his father had forgotten that he had a son. The only thing which bound him to his father was his credit and debit cards which were looked after by his father's secretary. So Jatin had a hard time placing himself in Aditya's shoes. He had met Aditya's parents before and he also liked them very much. Especially Aditya's mother made Jatin imagine that maybe if his mother was still alive, she would also have treated him in the same manner as Aditya's mother treated him.

Aditya's parents made Jatin feel at home and he experienced a new feeling, a sense of belonging. So Jatin also wanted to help Aditya if he could in any way. But he knew that what he could do was minimum right now, so he could only follow Aditya's lead and see what happens.

"Heard that bastard Kim bought a red Porsche 911 Carrera GTS ?" Jatin started to gossip to divert Bhadra.

Bhadra nodded absentmindedly as he said, "Yes, it is said that it was the last piece in the Bangalore showroom this season, if anyone wants to buy, they have to wait three months again."

"isn't his father a senior executive in Hyundai manufacturing centre, Chennai, he should have bought a Hyundai car," Jatin asked jokingly as he chewed the gum vigorously to control his urge to pull out a Cigaronne.

"You think you could trap a gold digger like Su while just driving a Hyundai," Bhadra smirked at Jatin. Jatin shrugged as he continued to talk about other irrelevant issues.

Actually, Jatin himself was a certified playboy. He had lost his virginity when he was fourteen with his female tutor. Since then he had been changing girlfriends like clothes which was despised by Bhadra deeply. Mainly Kavya disliked Jatin very much as she feared that Bhadra would come under the bad influence of Jatin.

On Jatin's defence, he never touched a girl if he felt that the girl was taking their relationship seriously, but he would escape and never contact that girl again. He also never touched his classmates and his close friends and when Aditya asked him about it he would say righteously, "a rabbit doesn't eat grass near its hole." Jatin maintained this clarity of thought that he wanted only physical connection or bond but not an emotional one.

Bhadra, on the other hand, was just an innocent teenager who did not have many thoughts on womanizing. Even Kavya herself had pursued Bhadra to make her his girlfriend otherwise Jatin was pretty sure Bhadra would have been perfectly contented with roaming around with his friends, eating tasty food, spending most of his time playing games, be it outdoor or indoor. Jatin thought that maybe Bhadra when he was around 25 years, he would suddenly realize that it would be cool to have a female companion and then he would just marry a girl arranged by his parents and continue his contented life.

Bhadra did not have any extravagant demands from his life. He had a very simple outlook of his life. Though this kind of mentality destined Bhadra to live a simple living all his life, it also made all the people around him feel relieved and happy. Because sometimes people fail to observe that when they are looking for a very competent life partner, a competent life partner would also expect him/her to be equally competent which indirectly makes one life stressful and difficult unless you have the same temperament.

Jatin praised Kavya for her foresight in catching Bhadra early as with the eyesight Jatin had trained dating multiple girls, he knew that Kavya was an 'achiever' who will not sleep until she has a huge 'larger than life' achievement under her name. She knew what she wanted and selected Bhadra as her ideal partner which was a pretty good feat in itself.

Actually, Bhadra did not know how to respond when Kavya approached him but Kavya doesn't know that it was Jatin who had urged Bhadra to take her because Jatin knew that Kavya was a mother hen candidate. Though Bhadra was destined to be a hen-pecked husband in the future due to his pure mentality, Jatin knew that Kavya would also protect Bhadra from being bullied or cheated in the future, so that's how Bhadra ended up with Kavya.

"Don't you think it has already too late, shouldn't Aditya sleep at this time usually, you think that fellow slept on the bench itself." Bhadra broke Jatin's chain of thought as he looked at his metallic black 'Fossil Group' watch.

Jatin also nodded, as he also felt it was already late as the sky had already darkened and the street lights over there heads also were illuminated brightly. Just as they were planning to check on Aditya, the street lights blasted out causing many crackling sounds and sparks, the lights in visitor's pavilion also went out enveloping this part of the are in partial darkness as the sky was still a mild amber colour.

Cries of surprise and fear were heard in the building due to the street light bulbs exploding. Bhadra and Jatin looked at each other in darkness before running towards the other side of the building where Aditya was present. When they saw the lying motionless form of Aditya on the lawn in darkness, they were shocked. Bhadra immediately bent down to touch Aditya's neck place where the carotid artery was present to check for a pulse as they learned in 'Activity' class.

Bhadra let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the pulse was present. He lifted Aditya by supporting his neck while Jatin also helped by carrying his other arm. Due to Aditya's thin physique, it was pretty easy to hoist him up.

Aditya slowly opened his eyes as he muttered, "Pond, electricity, don't..." before fainting again. When the lights came back in the visitor's pavilion, the school security guards came running. The school guard captain saw Bhadra supporting Aditya, so he came towards them, "What happened to him?"

Jatin came forward as he repeated Aditya's words which caused the security guard captain to frown as he instructed to get the school electrician to check whether the pond was electrified. He also advised rushing Aditya towards the school clinic for first aid.

Even if Aditya had done something bad, it could wait until his treatment. Bhadra nodded as he left with Jatin carrying Aditya under the gaze of many people. They did not notice that a person was standing at the back of those visitors watching the figure of Aditya with killing intent flickering in his eyes, he turned and left along with the rattled crowd, unnoticed by anyone who had taken him as a disturbed visitor.