This is a continuation of a story. if you haven’t read Part 1 read it, here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here
“Professor, I hope you get plenty more chances to wear the suit at numerous graduation ceremonies of your upcoming batches. I hope to see perfectly balanced back on its route to the empowerment of students very soon.”
“You look well professor; you should not have taken the trouble. You could have called; I would have visited your home. I was planning to drop by next Sunday as usual”, Mrs. Mani said courteously, coming from behind to take a seat on a chair in front of me. She wore a light blue sari with just a simple watch on her wrist, without the usual glass bangles. She kept her phone on the coffee table as she settled.
“No no trouble at all. Sometimes it’s good to dress up. Who knows when will I ever get a chance to wear them again, I am not getting any younger” I said with a smile on my face.
“Professor, I hope you get plenty more chances to wear the suit at numerous graduation ceremonies of your upcoming batches. I hope to see perfectly balanced back on its route to the empowerment of students very soon.”
“I still haven’t made up my mind on that one Mrs. Mani but I do want to apologize to have ruined your marble floor with mud tracks.” I pointed towards the entrance of her bungalow.
“Professor, don’t tell me because your wheelchair tires were dirty, you preferred not to come in the house. I would rather have you seated in the comfort of my house”
“Well, that and more importantly I wanted to enjoy the view of this lavish garden while I talk to you”, a gust of evening wind blew over my hair.
“Fine professor”, with a smile, she leaned back in her chair, looking intently at me.
“All these months, you have been coming to my house with one question – what was the truth hidden in the shadows? I want to discuss it with you today but before I speak further, may I know why were you hunting for the truth? Do you think the justice was robbed from you?” I said without looking at her, playing with the edge of the glass with my finger.
“For closure! Not for the right or the wrongs. I am seeking closure on the matter of my husband’s death”
“Closure!” I took the last sip of the juice and said, “Fair enough Mrs. Mani, I am here to share with you all the facts that were buried in the shadows during the court case. I hope that brings you the closure you longed” I could sense a change in the facial expressions of Mrs. Mani. She waved her staff away from us.
“Before you tell me those facts, tell me professor, why are you telling me this now?”
“You have to get the timing right in all chemical reactions Mrs. Mani. The timing wasn’t simply right for me to release this information. I had to wait until the prerequisites were set in” I said while keeping the empty juice glass on the nearby table.
“For 8 months, the timing wasn’t …”
“I hope you’ll understand why I couldn’t speak in all our previous meetings. I sincerely hope you do.” I said as if I was reprimanding a disobedient student from my class who spoke in the middle of my lecture. “ and I shall submit to myself to the law for any actions you may feel necessary after hearing me, but for the sake of closure from my side, Mrs. Mani, let me share some facts with you,” I said, without letting her complete her sentence.
“Go on professor!” After uttering these words, she locked her eyes with mine.
“I was regretting my decision to enroll Reva in the Bhadra’s orphanage. My life had become hell. Sushila had left at the same moment when Reva was taken away. What I thought would be a logical decision had destroyed my life. I couldn’t think of anything but a line his men mentioned to me. Sir … sir you can visit her anytime, just come to sir’s office and we will arrange everything. Collecting the remaining courage, I pushed my wheelchair to Bhadra’s office. There was no ramp to his office so I sat on the steps and climbed. After reaching the top step, I pulled my chair in. At the first meeting at his office, I was made to wait for 5 hours without any real information being shared about Reva. I requested the staff many times but they said, sir was busy. I started noticing the crowd in the office. Mostly young folks were on his staff. I studied how the office was structured, with the reception, then his office behind it, and on the side, there was an alley that led to two rooms. In the evening, disappointed I came back. I went again after a few days for the second meeting, asking for them to arrange a meeting where I could meet Reva, and see her if she was alright. At the second meeting, I again was made to wait, while girls were freely moving in and out of the bedroom near his office. At that time, the office was crowded. A lot of people were waiting in the office’s reception area just like me. They were whispering about something that caught my attention. These girls were going in and out of the bedroom because Bhadra was entertaining an important guest. Someone guessed that it was one of the builders while others guessed it had to be a famous gangster. They were saying, there’s a slim chance that our grievances would get an ear today.
I couldn’t wait any longer and waded my way through the staff and other waiting members of the public to enter his office unannounced. He sat in his leather chair, with a gold chain on his neck and thick large eyes bulging out. I challenged him about the delay in arranging a visit to meet Reva as promised. He lit a cigarette and said, I worry too much. I should let go and enjoy the remainder of my life. After giving these life lessons, he called his receptionist in and asked her to ensure my issue was resolved. I temporarily felt happy that I would be heard, I got even excited that I might soon be able to see those same blue eyes once again. How naive I was! She again made me wait for another half an hour as she went into the adjutant room of that bedroom to pull out a record. I caught a glimpse of the room as the door was open. The room had a wooden filing cabinet. From one of the rows of the cabinet, the receptionist was desperately searching for a file with a name on it as Reva. I also saw a large set of graffiti cans being stored near the cabinet base. I remembered the news where how the beauty of public infrastructure was being destroyed by these anonymous group of graffiti artists in the city that was causing a huge washing and cleaning bill to the municipality. I wondered if Bhadra was backing them indirectly. All these thoughts were stopped when the receptionist came out with Reva’s file and asked me to read page 3 of the document I had signed. I put my reading glasses on to read the fine print.
I forfeit the rights of parenthood or any such claims as I wholeheartedly believe in the orphanage’s decision on the welfare of the children and it will be considered as final.
She asked me, if you have forfeited the rights of all the claims when you enrolled the baby in the orphanage, how can we allow you to meet her? It is not good for the girl child, you must understand. It was as if the ground had opened up beneath my wheelchair. I felt I was falling in deep. I lost words. I couldn’t understand what had happened. At those times, his men showed me a rosy picture and I foolishly believed it. I didn’t even read the pages thoroughly. I believed in my logic so much that I closed my eyes. An innocent baby may be suffering due to my ignorance. I was almost in tears as I was moving out of Bhadra’s office. I climbed down the steps and sat on my chair.
There I met a man, a well-dressed man.
He asked to cross the road and wait. I was not sure what he wanted with me but I waited. He soon followed and ordered two teas at the tea stall. He sternly asked me not to look at him while he spoke. He said that he saw me two times, taking great difficulty to get into the office so he got interested. He listened to the conversation I had with the receptionist. He said he was one of the lawyers of Bhadra. He pitied me and wanted to help me. He said it would be better if you forget about that little girl. You don’t know Bhadra. His team uses documents … those consent forms that you signed, if available, or forges documents and sells kids to the highest bidder from Iraq, Iran, and Dubai under the name of the adoption program. These kids are then utilized as helpers/ workers without no one to ask for them. As long as those consent forms are with Bhadra, no one can touch him.”
“This is how you got to know about the dark side of the orphanage.” Mrs. Mani said, leaning forward.
“Yes, that is how I got to know. I used the court case as a means to lit a fire. Thanks to the media that fire turned into a wildfire. I also want to thank you for taking strict action on the matter” I nodded at her.
“I couldn’t believe what I learned about the orphanage. I knew my husband wasn’t the most honest person but I felt ashamed of the dirt that came out of the investigation” She looked repulsed by thinking about it.
“I can understand, even I was livid listening to this. I asked that man, was there no other way to get the girl back? The man thought a minute and said, yes if you could steal the consent form from his office and then if you could register a PIL against the orphanage, and if the police investigate the matter with honesty, then maybe you’ll have a shot. PIL will force the police to investigate. Since you have the consent form, the orphanage would have to forge the documents for the girl. If the police can identify the forgery, then the government has the responsibility to bring the child back and find a suitable home for her. He exhaled long and said but you know with the influence of Bhadra, it will not happen even in the dreams. So just forget it. Don’t put so much effort into coming here. These people are heartless. They will make a laughing matter of you. He said and disappeared into the office’s crowd. Since then I have never seen him again”
I rubbed my hands and adjusted the wheelchair to look away from Mrs. Mani.
“I couldn’t sleep that night. I wondered if the man would be lying to me but considering the indifference of the staff, I thought what he said had to be true. It looked like all the cards were against me. I had no means to find Reva. It’s been more than 3 months since she was admitted to the orphanage. Would she still be in the orphanage or what if she had been sold to someone? I couldn’t stop the storm inside my brain. Going to the police would have been useless as I had no proof of the misdoing of the orphanage. It would have also alerted Bhadra. So, I kept on thinking about it. Essentially, I zeroed in on one task. To steal the consent forms. The next month went on recording all the possibilities of stealing the documents. I thought of it long and hard and concluded that I could not possibly outchase or outsmart Bhadra’s men in stealing the papers. Then I looked at the problem from a different angle, as you often do in engineering. I understood, that what mattered more was that the orphanage should not have the original papers. If the papers are destroyed, they would have to forge it.”
“So, my guess was right about you professor. You lit the fire” she said. I have seen those eyes countless times but for the first time, I saw anger in them. I didn’t say anything. “All my life, I was always asked to manage the home and suddenly Bhadra’s death made me change my life. I had to go through so much to be this new me. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be a housewife or marry Bhadra or if I wanted to be a politician. Every time, I had to dance to the tunes of the world. If Bhadra was alive, I would have retained my simple life” She wiped a tear. “How you did do it? Why did you burn the office when you knew Bhadra was in it? I hate to wake up thinking what new things I will get to hear about his past every day” She stood up, throwing her arms in the air.
“I had no intention to kill Bhadra. He wasn’t even supposed to be there. All I wanted was to destroy Reva’s file” I said, calmly.
“By burning the building?” She asked.
“Why are you saying that I burned the building?” I asked her with all my strength.
“Because I saw the CCTV footage of the ATM across my husband’s office. Inspector Shinde showed it to me when I used my authority. I know you were there even before the fire engulfed the building. You knew there was going to be a fire” She pointed her finger at me.
“So you knew about the CCTV footage?” I was perplexed. “You could have mentioned that in the court?”
“4 years ago when I got reelected, I asked Shinde to share a detailed report on the matter. That time Shinde told me about the deal he made with you. He told me that if the allegations on the orphanage were true, he would not bring the CCTV in the open but if those were a lie, he would bring this evidence up to lock you up forever. He investigated and found out everything to be true. Shinde showed me a report that 26 children were missing from the orphanage. What good would have come by bringing out the CCTV footage when Bhadra’s death was for the greater good.” She moved away from me a few steps in disappointment.
“Yes, that was the deal he made with me and he kept his word, Mrs. Mani.” I closed my eyes as I exhaled deeply. “He began investigating the matter ever since the death of Bhadra 6 years ago, with the utmost integrity”
A few moments passed we both were silent. Then as if she had regained her composure, she said, “I have observed people from afar while they discussed their matter with my late husband. I would guess if the man or woman was telling the truth. When I thought someone was hiding something, I used to catch hold of them while leaving. I used to simply say, you must tell me everything for my husband to help you! And that was it. They used to tell me their hidden facts. I liked that game a lot. It kept me entertained.” She chuckled and came near me. “I always knew something was amiss with you. I learned reading eyes professor. I know how eyes shutter when they are lying or how they look when a man is anticipating something. When I saw the CCTV footage, I studied your eyes. Your eyes told me you were anticipating something. You didn’t lie or were not afraid in court. My interest in you increased. You had the motive to kill Bhadra as your daughter was amongst those unfortunate kids who were sold. You requested the court to investigate the malpractices of the orphanage. Even without the CCTV footage, your strong motive made you a suspect in the case. You were put in for 3 years of house arrest but no one could find out how a disabled man could cause a building-burning fire. No evidence, no witness, or no trace. Even inspector Shinde could only manage a house arrest for you and could not find anything more on you. So, professor, would you give me this final piece of the puzzle?”
“I am grateful to Inspector Shinde and you for not bringing in the CCTV footage. With the CCTV footage, the court might not have allowed my house arrest. The court would have given my remand to the police and I would have suffered a lot.” I folded my hands in a traditional namaste stance.
“In return for this courtesy, could you tell me how you did it?”
“That depends on how much chemistry you know Mrs. Mani.?”
“what do you mean?”
I moved my chair toward her. I pointed her to sit down in a chair. The evening was almost fading into a night. I looked around the garden, taking in the sights and air before continuing.
“a quick search on the internet will tell you that sodium is a chemical element; it has the symbol na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium reacts violently with water because it’s a highly reactive alkali metal. When sodium comes into contact with water, the sodium atoms lose their outermost electron and form positively charged sodium ions. This creates a highly unstable situation. The reaction produces a colorless basic solution made of strong alkalic sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. The heat produced ignites the hydrogen, which leads to an explosion.”
“I don’t understand what this lecture got to do with my question?”
I let out a laugh, “it has everything, Mrs. Mani. When I learned about the orphanage, I decided to do something about it. I wanted to destroy their papers. After 5 months of my last visit, I created a contraption. A pen. The refill of the pen was filled with water rather than the regular ink. I precisely punctured the refill so the water would leak out at a defined rate. I had some sodium gifted by my previous college for the tuition students, for their experiments. I cut the sodium metal into a fine powder and packed the pen’s upper portion with it. After a couple of trials, I knew that after 8 hours of the refill getting punctured, the water would fill enough to meet the sodium powder in the upper half of the pen. It would create a reaction releasing heat and hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas would in turn light a small fire. A perfectly balanced reaction. I needed to visit the office for the final time. I begged and requested the receptionist to let me click a photo of my Reva. She finally gave up on my insistence. She brought the file back to me. I clicked a few photos and while the receptionist was busy answering a phone, I slipped my pen in the file. I tapped on the button of the pen to puncture the refill. I hooked the pen in the file’s pages and closed it before returning it to her. She went back and placed it in the wooden cabinet. It was 4 pm when I delivered the pen to the file. Now I had to wait 8 hours before the fire destroyed Reva’s file or perhaps a few more documents kept in the same rack but you can imagine why I was saying that I didn’t intend to kill Bhadra or burn down the office because a small amount of sodium won’t create a big impact.”
“then? What happened”
“a large set of graffiti cans. They have flammable propellants, such as butane, isobutane, and propane. I imagined that fire from the pen, met these cans to create a catastrophic fire. And if you carefully noticed my eyes as you mentioned you did, you would have noticed that when a big fire engulfed the building, I was in shock as others. I was not anticipating that. When the two bodies ran out of the fire begging for help, they were later identified as ”
“My late husband and his receptionist, you were mortified, yes I did notice,” she said looking in the distance as if she was replaying the scene in front of her eyes.
“I am sorry for your loss Mrs. Mani,” I said honestly. “These are all the facts. If you want, I can turn in the trial devices I created for testing as evidence. I can testify everything in the court as well. The reason I hid these facts is because I was waiting for Inspector Shinde to locate all the children from the orphanage. Just a few days ago, I received his confirmation that all 25 sold children under the orphanage’s adoption programs are found and new homes are identified for them”
“Hope you are sure if kids would be well taken care of?” she asked.
“They are in the best hands; I am sure of it. I called in support from my students. Each one decided to adopt at least 1 child from the list”
“You mentioned 25! And what about Reva professor?”
“She has been found as well. She was sold to Dubai’s family. They were using her as a house help. 6 years ago Bhadra died and a new chapter of hell opened in my life- 5 years of investigations, and court trials, out of which 3 years of house arrest, but all seems to be worth it now. I don’t have an iota of worry about Reva as she will be with Nagesh Dupur, my first student and Sushila’s son. I pushed Reva into that Orphanage almost 7 years ago. I have her image itched in my mind when she was taken from me. Inspector Shinde shared her latest picture with Nagesh. Despite all that she went through, see how beautiful she has grown to be.” I showed her a picture from my phone.
“Life came a full circle, Mrs. Mani. Now that their future has been secured, I decided to submit myself to you and my fate.” I said with a wide smile on my face. I expected her to initiate legal action against me, after hearing the truth.
“so what’s next Mrs. Mani,” I asked her. She paused for a minute. She picked up her phone and toyed with it. I envisioned a call to the same inspector Shinde would bring a police car in wailing sounds to pick me up. I decided to pack the scenery as much as possible in my eyes.
She turned on her heels and said, “You re-start your perfectly balanced tuitions. I have a few bright minds that I would want you to mold into fine citizens as you did before.”
The End
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