HBAS Chat corner - Page 51

Originally posted by: karkuzhali

Hi Girls..

Vatsy will be landing in Sydney only tomorrow. I have invited her to our house one of the days she doesn't have any other engagements. As she is staying very near my house, I hope the MD will happen without any hitch..😛 I will pass on other details after I talk to her..😃

Sachu patti.

Periyamma/Aunty

Originally posted by: karkuzhali

HIDING BEHIND

A

STRANGER

A Historical Romance by Lashy.

(Abridged)

Part 1. The Tornado.

Chapter 3. Who is he?

Hereby, I commence my narration

About a man, who by trade, was a businessman,

A deal he struck with the Lord in Heaven

And was bestowed with good looks in the bargain!

With features sharper than a sword's blade

And wet long locks of a deep brown shade,

His skin possessed the fairest of complexions

But in the mirror of his eyes, I saw a stormy reflection!

*** ***

❤️

Aidabad.

'The Kotwal helped us in... thank you for letting us stay here...' Ratan kaka spoke for his people, addressing the old man, who seemed to be too engrossed with the changes to strike up a conversation anytime soon.

Of course, the manager wasn't certain which of the four men facing him were the owners of the mansion. But because the elderly man - who called himself as 'chacha jaan' - had the friendliest face of the lot, kaka directed his attention towards him.

'You're welcome...' chacha jaan finally nodded, his quirky mannerisms and wrinkly smiles making him look older than his age - especially since his three other companions were smartly dressed youths in their twenties 'Ibrahim Mirza, Sayyid Baig, and Azeez Shah' they'd introduced themselves as, with a Mughal adaab, soon after they'd arrived at the reception room..

Here come the heroes! 😛

'Ibrahim...'

A commanding baritone from the corridors, muffled all chatter and murmurs in the busy room. Ibrahim, Sayyid and Azeez dropped whatever they'd been doing, their shoulders stiffening in respect, while chacha's jovial temperament changed into something mellower.

And here comes the main hero!

'The haveli that you're staying at... the stables where your horses are parked... the canal from which you just fetched your water... and the lands as far as your eyes can see... belong to a very eminent horse merchant called Akbar Mahmoud Khan...'

'Ask ANYONE in these regions who Khan Sahib is, and they shall tell you!'

Through the grand archway a shadow emerged, which thereupon morphed into the man-behind-the-voice himself.

For a while, none of the guests said anything. They couldn't. For, the man-behind-the-voice had just stunned them into a prolonged spell of speechlessness.

'HE is the stranger... !' Bindiya yelped, recognising the voice as soon as she'd recovered from the shock.

😆

*** ***

'Oh ladies... please give me a moment' she shushed them gently, buying herself some more 'thinking' time. It wasn't long since the frantic maids had come barging into her chamber and bombarded her with a slew of startling news. The reality was still sinking in, word by word, bit by bit. 'Khan Sahib?' she muttered under her breath, once again 'The horse merchant?'

Truth be told, the fact that the lone traveller belonged to this area was something she had already guessed. Even the fact that he was the owner of the haveli, didn't astonish her much. After all, they did meet him in a forest not far from here. Neither did he need a map when giving directions, nor was he was a stranger to the local thugs. Besides, he seemed very familiar with his way around the canal too.

It was the fact that he turned out to be the owner of the auction horse that had left her speechless. And despite the ladies calling this unexpected connection with the merchant as an 'ill-fated coincidence', Heera thought differently.

Somehow or the other, it was Khan Sahib's horse that'd turned out to be jiji's most cherished purchase - the pet with which she enjoyed her best moments in life! It was also this very Marwari racer that had managed to dodge Khalil's men and warn her about the attack, thus fulfilling jiji's last wishes.

Then, how could she label such a connection, as ill-fated?

Exactly! 😳

*** ***

'What do we tell them...' enquired Ratan kaka, when they stopped by a large arched window that overlooked the vast scenery of meadows, fields and stables 'Last night, I managed to evade the Kotwal's enquiries... but, I'm certain the question will come up again... all they know, is that we are in mourning!'

'As discussed, kakasa...' Heera sighed 'Just tell anyone who asks, that we're heading east, to visit a few relatives. If any further questions arise, we will have to fib that we're from Dhaalori... I doubt anyone would've even heard the name of that village!'

The famous place Dhaalori that has come up in many-a-puzzle lately!

'All right...' he paused 'So, shall I repeat this information to the guards and maids too?'

'Yes please...' and before the man could step away, she added a crucial piece of advice 'Also tell them to keep an eye out for anything out-of-the-ordinary... be it here, in the haveli grounds... or around town...'

'Yes bitiya...'

*** ***

'An eminent horse merchant called Akbar Mahmoud Khan... it seems, anyone in these regions can recognise the name Khan Sahib!' she recalled what the maids had told her about him. But then, how could one so young achieve such fame? What if those claims were just an exaggeration?

His men are not exaggerating... the man is well-known, around here...' having said that, the answers only gave rise to further doubts 'But, if he's prominent-enough that the local thugs know him... that the Kotwal respects him... why wasn't he travelling with any guards in the forest?' Her solemn frown curved into a sceptical one 'Then again... why WOULD he need protection, if his senses are smarter than mine, and his skills are sharper than a warrior's?'

Continuing to have mixed feelings about the entire scenario, she recounted once again, the scenes that were still fresh in her mind.

This sort of expertise with knives and ropes, was not commonplace. In fact, as a Rajput, she was no stranger to brave men and their art of warfare - and somehow, the businessman seemed capable of surpassing most such skills that she'd read and heard about.

☺️

Heera was only going to be halting for a few days, but she was going to have those unresolved doubts put to rest. She was going to learn more about this mysterious Persian who'd drawn her out from the jaws of death. Where did he travel so late at night? How could one so young, achieve success, all by himself? And what was it about him that was not-so-commonplace?

Because, it was the answers to these very inquiries that would let her know if his presence at the canal was fate's way of intervening - or, if it was something else altogether!

A bit of both maybe? 😉

Later that night, she got some more details about the horse merchant..

'Baisa...' the guard stepped forward 'I did as you'd asked me to...'

'Go on...'

'We tracked a few of Khan Sahib's men...' he disclosed, in very low tones 'Made a few hush enquiries in this town... rode to the next town... and made enquiries there too...'

'And?'

'Basically, Khan Sahib is a Persian merchant... has been running this business here for nearly 5 years now... his men have been here for just as long ...'

'And...'

'No one knows anything about his family, since he's never spoken about them... most people presume his family must be dead!'

'Oh... I see...' her expressions turned solemn

'I heard that they travel a lot... they visit auction fairs... journey up north, to purchase horses for breeding... apparently, even when we met him at the forest yesterday, he was on his way to the next town, to wrap up an urgent deal, baisa'

'Thank you Bajrang...' nodded Heera, when he seemed to have relayed all the information he had 'Is that all?'

'Actually...' Bajrang paused, realising there was one point he'd missed out 'There is something else...'

'What is it?'

'I learnt... that he has connections to the capital! To the royal family!'

'Connections to the royal family?

If only you knew what it was! 😲

'He trades with the Emperor and his sons... his horses adorn the royal stables... in fact, the royal family value his breed of horses very highly!'

*** ***

Akbar, in his quarters..

Having removed his rings and neatly arranged them upon the dresser, one after another, his tough gazes were drawn towards a particular one. An oval-shaped ring set with a topaz that was fortunate to possess a rare yet vibrant shade of light brown. Akbar Khan instantly knew what it reminded him of.

Picking the ring up, he felt compelled to do something else - he held its stone in front of the soft light of a night lamp. The earthy glow that shone through made it appear more ethereal than any other gemstone he had seen.

Not only was this hazel-brown topaz unique, it drew its elegance from being clear-cut and subtle.

Clear-cut and subtle...

'I am not bizarre... but I am blind... actually, partially blind!'

There were dark circles under those eyes and worry lines above them, but the charm in their depths could not be ignored. The garb of a maid did not dull their beauty, the fear of water did not dampen their spirit. In fact, the 'Sahiba's' eyes had many stories to tell - that is, if he had cared to listen. If he had cared to read them.

But, he cared not.

Heera, as she lay upon her bed..

Heera's glimpses fell upon the diamond ring that adorned her finger - a ring that'd been jiji's favourite, and thus now her own favourite one too. After losing the person with whom she shared all opinions and thoughts, the ring was beginning to fill an emptiness by becoming a passive friend of sorts. And, during every sleepless night over the past week, the lonesome younger sibling had found herself spending a good while staring at that precious possession. Conversing with it. Wanting to unload her many worries upon it.

😭

This night was no different either - except for the fact that she wasn't silently crying herself to a stupor. Instead, Heera was having a mellow conversation with her companion..

'I know you are watching out for me, jiji... but isn't this a rather odd way of getting me to stop crying? And let me tell you... it's not working!' she lied, wiping a soft tear from her cheek 'I can't think of any other reason why you'd send me puzzle after puzzle to decode... at first, it was the unexpected connection with the horses... second, it was a voice that intrigued me... strange events happened... I took a reckless path I'd never taken before... straying off from my retinue, nearly drowning in a canal, lying to my friends... but, it somehow led to solving the 'mystery' of the voice...'

'You could never win a game of riddles against me... so, are you playing it now, from up there? And talking of puzzles... there's one more...' she wiped the mistiness in her eyes, as she tried to concentrate 'Why would a man who trades with the royal family... and one who regularly journeys up north, live so far away from the capital?' she paused for a while 'Why would such an eminent merchant live in a run-down haveli... in a small town like Aidabad, so far away from riches and splendour?'

Why? Why? Why? So many koschuns..

periyamma finally found a men's topaz ring that perfectly suited her imagination of what he'd be wearing!

Beautiful abridged section 3 Periyamma... so nice to read it all over the again... the 'how it all started!'🤗