Episode 8: Once a Brother
Back at the den of the Killers Society, Kabir and Damini returned along with the bag of valuables they had gotten from the house of Riyaz. Raja was sitting upon his throne like chair, turned away from the two. "Raja bhai...the job is done." Kabir said.
Raja cackled as he turned around in his chair towards Kabir and Damini. He lit his cigar, letting out a big puff as he smoked it. "Did you get what I wanted?" Raja asked.
Kabir dumped out the bag, releasing the jewels and stacks of money onto the ground. Raja got up from his chair, and bent down, looking at the money and jewels. He looked at them carefully, holding the notes near the dim light and rubbing his fingers against the surface of the jewels.
"Good work, Kabir. As usual." Raja said.
"Raja bhai, thank Damini as well," Kabir said. Damini turned to Kabir in surprise. "After all, she was the one that helped me complete the job."
Raja looked at Kabir, looking as surprised as Damini was. He then tried to plaster a smile on his face as he turned to Damini and said, "Thanks to you as well." Damini nodded without saying a word.
"Now...why don't you two go to your rooms. You need to rest up." Raja said.
"Yes, Raja bhai." Kabir agreed.
And with that, Kabir and Damini headed down the right hall, going into their respective rooms, while Raja went into his own den.
Inside her room, Damini had just came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. She walked in her usual uniform, wiping her hair with a white towel. She sat down on the bed, pondering. That boy actually acknowledged my help, she thought to herself. Interesting. A man giving credit for a woman's help. No man hardly credits the fact a woman gave birth to him. Yet him...he's different. But why am I thinking about him? No. Don't, Damini. It will only cause trouble for you.
As she continued to wipe her hair, she turned around in shock to see Sahir standing outside of her room. Damini stood up, dropping the towel on the floor. Sahir slowly made his way into the room, walking in a weird stupor. "What are you doing here?" Damini asked. "Shouldn't you still be in the lock up?!"
"You think that could hold me in?" Sahir asked as he made his way closer to Damini while she tried to back off. Sahir's voice brought upon an odd odor to which Damini could catch a whiff of. "You're drunk, aren't you?!" Damini asked. That was when Sahir grabbed Damini by her arm. "What do you think?!" Sahir asked as he tugged onto Damini's arm. "You think you will stay around the realm of men, acting like some tough, deadly woman! A woman is a woman no matter what she does. And already you and Kabir placed me in a trap! Now...I'll take care of you and then him." Damini tried to get away from Sahir's grasp as he then continued to try and get closer to her. Before he could get nearer, Kabir hit Sahir from behind right at his head. The force of the hit made Sahir hit against the wall and Damini fall on the floor. Sahir retaliated by punching Kabir in the face, which made Kabir hit his head near the headboard of the bed. He got up to Sahir punching him in the stomach. Kabir grabbed Sahir's arm before he could hit him again, throwing him on the floor. Raja and Aryan entered the room, getting hold of Sahir. "What happened here?!" Raja asked in a yelling tone.
"I don't know how he escaped!" Kabir replied. "He was behaving sleazy with her. So I tried to stop him."
"Aryan, take him to his room!" Raja ordered Aryan.
"Yes, Raja bhai." Aryan agreed softly as he took Sahir away from the room.
Raja took a look at Kabir, who was bleeding on his head from the head injury. "Are you okay,Kabir?" Raja asked.
"I'm fine, Raja bhai." Kabir answered.
"That boy will never change! I'm storing the beer away for a while," Raja bhai said. "You need anything for your head?"
"I'll take care of it." Damini said.
Raja and Kabir turned to Damini astonished. Raja looked at Kabir, who continued to look at Damini. Without saying a word, Raja nodded and left the room.
Kabir sat down at a chair in the room while Damini got some first aid materials. Kabir felt hesitated to sit alone in the room with Damini. She began by wiping off the wound with a soaked cloth. Then, she came near him and began to bandage his head, wrapping a white cloth around his head where the injury was. Kabir was left in a trance, staring at Damini's glowing face as she continued to wrap around the wound. He tried to look away from her, but couldn't help himself. "Are you fine now?" Damini asked.
"Huh?" Kabir asked, paying more attention to Damini's face then her speaking.
"Are you fine now?" Damini repeated.
"Oh...yes," Kabir replied. "What about you?"
"Meaning?" Damini asked.
"Did he hurt you?" Kabir asked.
"Why does that concern you?" Damini asked. "Even if he misbehaved with me, why do you care?"
"I...I...I just asked. There's nothing more to it." Kabir said as he stood up from the chair, getting ready to leave.
"Are you sure?" Damini asked.
Kabir paused in his movement. "What do you trying to instigate here?" Kabir asked.
"Fine then," Damini said. "Leave it. Then tell me about that Sahir. Is he always so reckless? Or was today a special occasion?"
"Don't talk about him like that."
"Why? After all, who is he to you? From what I've seen, he's the less clever one out of you three. One moment he succumbs to drug dealing. The next its drinking. Only a weakling acts as such."
Kabir began to show feelings of rage as Damini continued to talk. He turned around to her, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her closer to him. Damini looked directly at Kabir, shocked.
"You talk as if you know everything!" Kabir shouted. "You don't! Sahir is like a brother to me. Don't try to bring him down like that when you know nothing of what has happened for these years!"
Damini continued to look at Kabir as he held onto her arm. "Then what don't I know?" Damini asked.
Kabir remained silent as he continued to glare at Damini. He let out a deep breath and began, "Me and Sahir may not be related by blood. But our relation goes back to when we were kids. I was trained under Raja bhai alone. That's when he brought in Sahir. Sahir came from a rough background. His parents died at a young age and custody of him was given to his uncle. But his uncle tried to sell him for money. Raja bhai saved him and killed his uncle. When Sahir came here, he was scared and hesitant. I tried my best to welcome him with open arms. And eventually...we were inseparable. We did everything together. We would race each other in the streets and play around with our guns. That's when I knew...we were like brothers."
"Then what happened?" Damini asked.
"I still don't get it till this day," Kabir continued. "It probably started when we were out on one our killing sprees. He came across a large amount of money and took every last note of it he could find in that dead man's house. That was when Sahir's money obsession started. I remember he hid the money in his room and Raja bhai found it and scolded him for it as well. That's when the distance between me and Sahir started. Sahir would do anything to get his hands on cash. And I could tell he was getting jealous by Raja bhai's increasing attention towards me. Things have never been the same then. I still consider him my brother. But he sees me as an enemy."
A tear came down Kabir's face to which Damini noticed. He wiped it off with his hand and then looked right into Damini's eyes. "Don't blame him," Kabir said. "He's not in the right state of mind. All I want is for him to come back. And then you talk of how low he is. He may be low. But somewhere inside of him is a brother left." Damini didn't say a word, astounded by Kabir's speech. She looked down at the grasp Kabir had on her arm. "You can let go now." Damini said.
Kabir looked to see his hand still held onto Damini's arm and he immediately let go. With that, he left the room, leaving Damini in confusion. More and more...this boy continues to intrigue me, Damini thought to himself. Is there ever such innocence in a man?
Edited by -Meryl- - 10 years ago
Anupamaa
24