THE DEAL
[The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease, and severe anxiety.] -Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.10
PADMA:
“You people forget your manner?” the leader stands and pushes one of his men away, “do you forget I’m Bhupathi and I’m the one who is a leader in this place?”
“Yes, I know.” The man stumbles for a while, keeps himself steady and says, “But we take every decision counting the vote.”
“Nitin, you are crossing your line.” Leader says, for a second I feel he hasn’t expected such questions from his men. “The decision will be mine.”
“The vote,” Nitin speaks.
“Vote will take a decision.” Another one shouts, and then the rest follows him. Just two people don’t speak anything – a teenage boy and a girl who looks smaller than me in age.
“So you want to hand them to the Creator?” Bhupathi looks at his men, “are you freaking crazy? Once we will hand them we also are in their eyes. Maybe they doubt us for treachery or something.”
“If they don’t doubt us there will be no problem in this city after that,” Nitin speaks, shouts follow his voice.
Bhupathi laughs, and there is a definite tone of menace in it, “I don’t care for these new friends but once we hand them to the Creator I’m not responsible for the consequences.”
Nitin nods, remaining also.
“He just said he will hand us to the creator.” Jalpa says, crying and I look at her, “I think he is a liar. We shouldn’t trust him.”
“Okay,” I say, “relax, nothing will happen.”
“Many things will happen.” I hear Bhupathi’s voice and turn my head at him, “now tell us who are you?”
“We are the folk, and this is over the city since last fifty years.” All mercy vanishes from his expression, replaced with a look of warning, “you shouldn’t come here.”
No one speaks for a long moment, then he looks at his men and speaks, “come on friends, what you think? Tell me, should they come?”
“Not until they want to be prisoners of the PATANAGAR,” Nitin says and they all laugh.
“My people say folk is mild and good people…” Akash looks at him, “but after seeing you I think you people are fucking liars.”
Bhupathi’s eyes travel to him, “what did you say about the folk?”
“The folk is nothing but fucking liars.” Akash is one of conversant and that’s why he doesn’t fear, even they have weapons in their hands.
Bhupathi stares the hall, walks near him, looking at every teenager and taking everything in. “boy, you are new beyond the wall and you need to learn a lot of things,” he looks at me, “not he all you people need to know how things work beyond the wall.” he pauses and looks at his men, “here things work as we wish.”
His men shouts and laughs, still, those two teenagers with them don’t laugh. They are watching everything, silently.
Bhupathi continues to walk to Akash. He is ten feet away from me. I follow him with my eyes as he walks around the hall, passing by teenagers. In his eyes, I see something incomprehensible. I still feel he isn’t mean what he says.
He stops near Akash, “we aren’t bad people?” he looks towards him, “we are helpless to help you.”
“Helpless to help you,” The rest of his men laugh and murmur the same words.
“You freaked people helpless to think or understand,” Akash shouts, “you are like dogs of the Creator. Show your fucking loyalty to him.”
I’ve never heard him speak abuses. He is a good guy in the wall. I wish he hasn’t said that. It’s stupid and arrogant, and it can get us killed.
“You shouldn’t insult my people.” Bhupathi looks at Akash for a long minute and says, “Please tell me you just didn’t call my people dogs, did you?”
“Yes, I did,” Akash says, looking at Bhupathi.
“No, Akash,” I say, “let me go there,” I shout looking at the man whose blade is on my neck.
“Let her come.” Bhupathi looks at me and says.
As soon as the man removes his blade I run to Akash.
“Don’t speak with them like that,” I say to him.
“I’ll.” He answers.
“Don’t you all have chosen me as your leader?” I look over my people, “Please anyone - don’t speak anything.”
“And let them do what they want?” Akash looks at me with anger.
“Nothing will happen to us,” I say and blink at him, secretly. He understands I have a plan and he becomes calm.
“Now, your turn is over.”Bhupathi looks at me, “It’s my turn and I wish the boy should apologize,” he looks at Akash, “you have the time till I count ten.”
Akash doesn’t speak but smiles.
“One,” Bhupathi says, “Two…”
Akash cuts him off and says, “three, four five…”
“Don’t do it.” I kneel beside him, “don’t.” I cover his mouth with my palms.
“Seven...” Bhupathi continue from where Akash has left, “eight,”
“Do it.” I say, “I’m releasing my hand just say sorry don’t speak anything else,”
He nods and I release my hand.
“Nine.” Bhpati’s voice rises at last number, “t…e…”
“Sorry,” Akash says, “I’m sorry.”
I exhale, with relief.
“You are let,” Bhupathi says.
“I’m not,” Akash says, “you haven’t finished.”
“Okay,” the leader says, “but you were with little feeling.”
“You needed feelings,” Akash smiles, “Do you really think I mean that when I said?” now he laughs like a madman.
No, no, no – I wish he shouldn’t do that. But he did. And now are the consequences.
“You should mean that.” Bhupathi kicks him in the stomach. Akash was on his knees, he falls to the ground, on his back.
I clench a fist.
As the cry escape from Akash, Bhupathi kicks him, this time in the lungs.
I jump between them, “Aksah, say it with meaning.”
Bhupathi raise his leg but I join my hands, “just wait, he will say this with meaning?”
“Okay,” he says, “you have not the whole day.”
I look at Akash, he is wailing, his left hand pressed to his lung.
“Say it with meaning or you will get us killed.”
“I’m sorry.” Akash says, still coiled on the ground, grabbing his stomach with both hands, “I’m really sorry.” He says among burning pain in his body.
Bhupathi smiles, “I’m satisfied….”
He can’t finish, Akash swings his feet and kicks him on both his legs. Bhupathi loses his balance and falls to the ground.
Before Bhupathi or I can come out of shock and surprise Akash leaps on him.
I’ve never expected such bravery from one of Sunyas. None standing there has expected it.
Bhupathi is still in surprise. Akash is on top of him, punching Bhupathi in the face.
“My parents were with me,” Akash yells and punches – BHOOM.
“they killed them, but when you say you feel sorry for what happened with us I feel you are like us.” again a punch and abusive words.
“But you fucking people are like them who killed my parents.” Again a punch – boom.
Bhupathi is in the pain and too surprised to do anything.
I wonder why his troop isn’t helping him – maybe they have a tradition of not interrupting leader in the fight.
“You think the fear of death makes me say sorry.” Akash squeezes his thighs to trap Bhupathi's body, “not even your Creator can make me say sorry.” He punches him again.
“I’m sorry for only my parents, only my people and nothing else.”
“Akash,” I shout, “Stop, they will kill us.”
“Let them kill Me.” he shouts back, “I want to be with my parents. I want to die. You know without my parents this fucking world sucks?”
I want to say him I know – this world sucks me after I lost my father – I want to say you are right but I don’t.
“Stop it, Akash.” I yell, “In God's name stop what you are doing.”
The same moment I see Bhupathi's hands ramming on Akash. He pushes him away, getting his momentum while we are talking.
Bhupathi stands up, after sprawling Akash off his body. Akash is trying to get on his feet but I leap on him and grab him, I wrap my arms around him, and pin him to ground with my knees.
“You have to stop, or they will kill all of us,” I say and lean to his ear, “I have a plan to escape, be calm or the sacrifice of your parents will have no use.” Now I say aloud, “stay calm or you will wash what your parent has done to save these kids.”
I look at Bhupathi. He is on his feet, wiping the blood from his face with a cloth.
“Bhupathi,” I speak his name for the first time, “I’ve something to tell you.”
“Why should I listen to you for a second?” he spits blood on the ground, “why should I don’t kill you this moment?”
“Killing us won’t do any good to you or your people?” I say, make eye contact with him. Then I look at his man –they all have their weapons in their hands.
I press one hand on the chest of Akash, then hold the other one up toward Bhupathi, “I’ve something that is more in worth than the reward of the Creator.”
“There is nothing more worthy than the reward of the creator.” He says, again spits a red goo from his mouth, mixed with saliva.
I calm down my heart and my voice before I say, “Have you heard about the Avatar?”
The expression on Bhupathi's face changes, the anger replaces with what I don’t know, maybe curiosity.
“did you say avatar?” he said, slowly, looks over teenagers and adds, “there is something interested in what you just said,” he pauses for a while, “you are not just random kids who have lost their way…”
Here is right- think.
“Neither is you the people who have entered the city to robe my people. You’re valuable, alive. Not dead if you know anything about what you just said.”
I almost feel happy. They won’t at least kill us just now, “there are many things to know,” I say, “and as a leader, you know all these things.”
He doesn’t answer me but looks at his men, “did you hear what the kid said?” he pauses till his men nod, “keep watch over these kids I want to know what their leader knows,” now he looks at me. “Let’s go out - you and me, alone.”
I nod and whisper to Akash, “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Don’t worry about him. No one will kill him except me.” Bhupathi says and looks at his men, “Did you hear? No one will touch this fucking boy. He is mine.”
His men nod.
“Let’s go.” He says and goes first, walks towards the door. I follow him.
*
To be continue.....
