Chapter 9

On that evening, as she alighted from the bus and hurried towards me, a man approached us, addressing her affectionately. She grew apprehensive upon seeing him and sought refuge behind me.

"Why are you frightened? It's me, Uncle Raghavan," he reassured with a wry smile. He glanced at me, realizing I was perplexed.

"Don't you recognize me? I'm her uncle. Janaki, her mother, we're family..." he explained.

Ah, the aunt's cousin... That's why she was frightened, I thought.

"Don't you recall... that time at the hotel... I was there," he reminded me.

That's when I truly comprehended.

He was the person who had entered the room after she did that day. The man, unwittingly, who had struck me.

"Why haven't you visited our home? One day, you must bring her and come over. Listen dear... Janaki always laments that you don't look back there. Otherwise, we'll pay you a visit the next day. Will that suffice?" he implored.

"Oh, that's fine, uncle... When I have the time, I'll bring her over. Now, let's be off, uncle..." I responded.

I took her, started the bike, and proceeded ahead. In the mirror, I glimpsed him uttering something distasteful as he watched us depart.

His twisted laughter and his sarcastic banter consumed my thoughts as I prepared to drift off to sleep.

I gingerly lifted my head to gaze at her. She slumbered, seemingly oblivious to it all.

There are enigmas veiled within her, secrets she's guarded closely, divulging them to no one. With some investigation, I might unearth the truth of her authentic self.

Why should I concern myself with who she truly is?

If not today, then tomorrow, she should be the one to exit my life...

No, I yearn to know. I yearn to fathom why she entered my room that day. I yearn to discern if her presence in my life was a mere coincidence or by design. Perhaps my presumptions about her, formed during my inquiries, could be entirely amiss.

For a fleeting moment, I wished it were simply a misunderstanding.

She alone possesses the answers to all the queries that plague my mind. But she won't divulge them willingly. That uncle serves as the conduit to that knowledge. Yet, a voice in my mind cautioned against pursuing him at this moment. The next avenue lies within the confines of the college. Just as Hari holds my secrets, won't she also have a confidante? I must seek her out tomorrow.

With my resolve firmly in place, I gradually slipped into slumber.

To be continued...