Chapter-29

As they neared her, passing by her side without even noticing her as she turned opposite to them, Hrida unintentionally heard the conversation between Shashi and Soma.

Shashi joins his hands and bows in front of the God, then suddenly he blurts with a reminiscent tone, " Soma, You know, Hrida used to be high-spirited whenever we used to celebrate festivals or while doing Pujas, she used to explode with beaming happiness and….used to ask a lot of questions about this and that. And that was the perfect time I used to find to tease her or poke her...Those moments are the best.

Once we find Hrida, you, me, and Hrida will celebrate festivals together in the upcoming months."

Soma is a little bit annoyed but happy at the same time to know about their sweet friendship bond, he chuckles," I can imagine, how expressive she is when she does what she likes. I felt the same when she became a storyteller to ease my headache; her voice is really soothing, and I really like her company. I am glad she is my friend and also glad to meet her Shashi, about whom she chattered on and on. I think we all are going to be good friends."

  Shashi and Hrida's cheeks flush with a slightly red hue, Shashi jokes," However, Soma, I am not confident about your last statement. I want to be honest, Hrida always says that she and I are each other's best friends and no one else can enter between them. So,tchhhh..You need to have a tough fight to convince Hrida otherwise."

Soma became tensed and upset for a few seconds, Shashi burst out laughing, Soma knew it then, he lightly punched him in the arm, " You scared me for a moment. I thought Hrida would never accept me. I was really disheartened for a moment, you are so mean. But you acted so well, you completely fooled me. Tchh..Hrida should have been here, she would have given you a proper comeback reply to your act."

Shashi mumbles with a hint of longingness in his voice," I too wish she was here with us…right now."

Hrida mumbles under her breath with the same longingness in her eyes, " I am here."

Shashi looked around, he felt like he heard Hrida's voice but Soma didn't hear anything. Soma asks with a curious tone, " I don't understand one thing though why she is running away when she is full of courage, I mean she has bravely survived through all. I never met a girl like her but I am a little upset that she is giving herself pain by beating herself under constant threat and pressure.

And, you, her best friend, you weren't even agreeing at first to ask her to meet them, but you agreed even after knowing that it would hurt you when she felt betrayed and accused you of breaking her trust. She knows she doesn't need to run but she is running to find truth when in reality, she is running from it."

Hrida felt embarrassed and guilty hearing Soma's perspective, but she knew he was right, she needed to reflect hard on her activities and come to peace within.

Shashi utters with a calm and gentle tone, which Hrida never heard of," Ayyy.....Hrida has been through a lot, you don't know the full story that's why you are assuming it's easy but it is not. Hrida used to love her parents, she obeyed everything that they wanted her to be or desired her to be.  But, that doesn't mean she didn't follow her own heart, she used to do what her heart wanted and her parents didn't let her most of the time but still she used to do it without their knowledge.

She loves….I mean she used to love doll houses and dolls but now she hates it and now, she feels if she is caught, they will force her into another family where she has to live under the same rules and circumstances. She doesn't like lies, and her parents created a big fat lie around her and when the doll house crumbled, she felt lost and scared.

I know she needs us, me to help her and make her feel at home again. I have been praying to God that we find Hrida soon and then I can hug her tight and make her believe that not everything is a lie and home doesn't lie within walls and bricks, it lies in the friends we make, the people whom we feel safe, the people who know us, that's what home is."

Soma and Hrida are baffled by his wisdom-filled sentences, they never expected those types of talk from Shashi, Soma praises him," Waah! Shashi, I didn't expect that. I am not saying that you can't speak wise but you never speak with such depth meaning. I was confused for a second, is it you or someone else? You really impressed me today. You sounded cool, boy."

Suddenly, they heard a loud commotion from nearby, breaking their moment of peace, Shashi and Soma rushed toward the crowd, and Hrida and Tapish followed behind while maintaining a safe distance between them. Shashi could hear people complaining, ranting, and gossiping about some people, Soma was trying to peek in through the crowd.

Soma made his way through the crowd while Shashi stood a little behind Soma, but both of them could properly see a family fully clothed in branded fashion, the female figures were shouting at the Priest, who looked completely hurt and cornered by them, and only few of them were defending the priest and were protecting the priest from their venomous presence.

The couple's daughter scowls at them with an annoying tone, " Aughhh...I don't know why we are still standing here in this burning sunlight. Mr. Priest, can't you see, we are busy people, give back my baby brother.

You have stolen our baby brother because he belongs to a rich family; you knew he was wealthy, right? Even after being so old, don't you have some morals to not kidnap a baby from their family? How could you, old man? "

Shashi politely shuts her nonsense," Miss Whatever Didi, before teaching the respected Priest some morals, shouldn't you need to learn first, Didi? I think you should first apologize to him, otherwise, why should he listen to any of you, Hmm…Didi?

And about your baby brother, if he is an infant then he can't walk and get lost somewhere, so that means, you left him either intentionally or unintentionally, but both of these reasons indicate you were careless about him. So, please kindly talk to the Priest, maybe then you will able to hear what he is saying, Didi." 

  The girl was speechless and her mouth shut with a deep frown on her lips, but when her parents ignored her, she swallowed her ego and apologized to the Priest.

The Priest kindly informs," There wasn't any baby in the temple yesterday because I didn't see any although it might be possible that you might have visited the temple at late hours when I went home. But still, at that hour, the temple usually remains vacant, then how can you forget your own child alone for the whole night and why are you asking for your son, now? "

The mother tries to brainwash them but her husband blurts out with a frustrated tone," OH GOD! When the baby was born then we had to face the nonsense and now even when he is gone, still we are facing the same nonsense.

Darling, just be honest, is this too much for that useless son of ours? First of all, he is a disabled child, simply good for nothing, and he is also annoying to look at. I thought we got rid of him for good by carrying him in a polythene bag and leaving him here to survive on his own or not, it didn't matter but now, that-…..Aghhh."His wife pinches his arm without anyone's notice, his husband looks at her with fiery eyes but her wife's dangerous glare makes his all fire vanish in the air. 

The mother makes a docile and fake regretful expression and mutters," I regret and feel embarrassed for my terrible behavior. I was a bad mother to my son, he…How could I forget him in the temple even though I am an Alzheimer's patient but that doesn't excuse my bad behavior....fake sob.."

The crowd was almost fooled by her act and felt sympathy for her but then Soma stood up and exposed their truth with a sassy tone, " TchTchhhh... How bad, I can feel your….artificial feelings. Alzheimer's disease is really bad news, and we don't expect the patient to be perfect but we shouldn't joke about the disease as well.

You don't know what and how painful it is and yet you are lying to the crowd about your health status. You are older than me, still Aunty, how could you be so insensitive while telling lies? And, how can you believe her statement, she is totally faking it.

Think logically, if she really had that disease still at some point at night, she might have felt like something was missing after all, a real mother never forgets her child even if she has a disease or something else. And second point is why they were carrying their precious child wrapped in a polythene bag instead of a warm blanket because the season is chilly at night.

Could you imagine what condition that baby had to go through the whole night, it is even dangerous for an infant baby's health and life overall. Now, in the morning, that too after having breakfast, and wearing nice clothes, then in the afternoon time, the mother remembers that her baby is missing, isn't that too suspicious?

And, the most important point, the mother only had the disease, not the rest family, so why didn't they come to find him, or did they also forget him? Hmmm…that stretches the line of truth overly. So, It is obvious that at first, they abandoned their own child alone on a chilly night at a temple because he is a special child.

Now that, they discovered some folder or notice or some kind of paper that reads that properties, wealth, money gold, or something material valuable thing is under his name and if they don't own him then they won't have a piece of their greedy desires.

I think I was too accurate, oops, sorry, I should have been more verbal about your nonsense, and invaluable intentions. It's okay, I can settle with this as well. I feel worried for the boy because of you, he might have gone into the wrong hands but I hope he was in the right hands. Now, kindly leave the temple premises, you are wasting your precious time here."

That family was glaring at Soma, and Soma just gestured through his hand asking them to leave, the priest and people surrounding them were applauding both boy's courage and smartness. Hrida was among the crowd applauding with a chirpy mood, she felt proud of her friends.

The crowd disappeared and Hrida too ran behind a pillar and watched them from afar. Shashi still looked lost in his thought, Soma shook his arm noticing Shashi's expression, and gestured 'What is it' with his eyes. Shashi answers with a concerned tone, " What happened to the baby boy? You were right about one thing; the probability of a baby boy gone in the wrong hands is higher than being rescued by the safe hands. We have to find that baby boy as well."

Soma agrees with his point and he assures him, " Shashii...Don't worry. I am going to inform Lakshman bhaiya about this matter but yes, we don't have any details about the baby's physical features to identify him and where to look for. Oh, yes, I forgot that there is a street lamp opposite the temple and it has a CCTV camera on it, so, maybe it can help in finding the baby perhaps."  Then Shashi's mom came behind them and took them home as Shashi's mom completed her Puja.