From & To Sathish #5 - Page 111

Avan, Aval Adhu 375

The driver politely enquired, ' Sir, where to? Station or the godown?'

Inspector Anwar smiled cruelly, ' First the station, and once we have booked him and charged him for possession of drugs, then we go to the godown ' Turning to the young man behind him, ' Godown is where we do all our chatting. But it is mostly me doing the talking and the beating while you will do all the screaming and wailing.'

The young man smiled happily, ' Wow! I cannot wait to see you go down, I mean your godown. From the little time that we have spent with each other, I can imagine how fascinating your godown must be. Can't wait to step foot into it and on your face.'

Inspector Anwar yelled furiously, ' You will know soon why we call our narcotics investigation building a godown and once there, you will not be chirping like a bird like you are doing right now.'

The young man spoke in a loud voice, ' Well, so we meet at the godown. But, remember, this gentleman is all mine.'

' What? What are you going on about? Are you mad or high on some drugs? ' Anwar asked him and smiled, ' No wonder you look so calm and relaxed when instead you should have been peeing in your pants seeing me.'

Leaning towards the young man, he looked into his eyes and mumbled, 'Strange, your pupils are not dilated. They should be but are not. What kind of drug are you on?'

' Life, Anwar. I am high on life. The reason for that is being requested by my king to help him out and now you have come as a bonus. Tell me, won't you feel high on life if you get an unexpected bonus.'

' Bonus. What bonus?'

They first stopped at the Narcotics bureau and charged the young man with a dozen cases that meant that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Then the vehicle moved and after traveling a few km entered through a large gate and parked outside an old dilapidated building.

The young man stared at the building and whispered, ' A relic, remnants of our colonial rulers.'

' But a strong one and still standing. Don't be fooled by its dilapidated looks for inside, we have made a lot of changes ' and flashing his trademark evil smile, ' and all those changes concern the basement which in our part of the woods is called the godown. It is where men and women like you are broken down and some are even buried down there.'

Lighting a cigarette, he blew a huge puff of smoke in the young man's face and said, ' But, I will take my time with you before it comes to that. I promise you, it will come to that and there will come a time when you will beg for death.'

He looked at his men, ' Take him down and prepare him.

The young man's face turned sad and he cursed and said, ' Anwar, you shouldn't have said that.'

Then he used his finger and pointed to Inspector Anwar Ibrahim,

' Inky pinky ponky

father had a donkey

donkey died

father cried

inky pinky ponky' and stopped and asked, ' How many of you in this building that you so lovingly call Godown?'

Anwar smiled, ' You saw me and my three men and assumed that it is just the four of us and thought that you can take us on. You thought wrong for there are nearly a dozen of us inside that building and all of them are down in the basement waiting for you.'

Anwar stood watching the young man being taken away into the building and wondered, ' Is he mad? Who did he talk to and why did he say, I shouldn't have said that.'

' Because, he is scared and also what his mother is going to do ' a female spoke and Inspector Anwar Ibrahim swiveled around and saw a smallish, dark-complexioned woman standing before him with her hands folded across her chest.

' The fear and worries my son felt was not for himself but for you and what I am going to do to you for threatening him ' the woman said and Inspector Anwar flicked the cigarette away and looked at her and said, ' Not bad. Not bad at all. You look so good even though you are a mother of an adult. Your son mentioned the word bonus and I am forced to agree with him for his mother, you are indeed a God-sent bonus. Just when I thought the night was going to be boring and mundane, you come along and offer yourself.'

Grabbing her by her shoulders, ' I promise you, woman, after we are done f..king you, you will not be able to walk properly ' and fell silent and that silence was followed by a thudding noise several feet away.

The woman pushed Anwar's headless torso away and cursed, ' God, now I have to go and search for his stupid head, and that too in total darkness.'

She soon found it and holding it in her left hand walked into the building and yelled in disappointment, ' Son, you have done it again. You have killed everybody and have left none for me.'

The young man pointed to Anwar's head and screamed, ' Mother, you promised me.'

' Sorry, child. He spoke and crossed that line.'

Azhagan opened his eyes and looked at his wife Malar and his son Kulashekara Pandyan and said, ' I think we have done enough damage and any more will turn nasty for all of us. Moreover, I have promised Raman that I would not draw unnecessary attention to myself and to the lady that I have been tasked to watch over. We need to step back now and wait for things to settle down. It is not a joke, killing cops, even though they are evil souls and totally deserve what they got and the Tamil Nadu police department will not just let things die down. Both of you are marked and I think it is better that you leave and lie low for the next few days.'

Kulashekara Pandyam fell to his knees and touching the ground with his forehead chanted, ' My lord, my king, my father. I see you.'

Getting to his feet, he looked at his mother and whispered, ' I will wait for you.'

Azhagan and Malar stood watching their son Kulashekara Pandyan walk away into the forest and turning to him she asked, ' My lord, when will this end? Things are getting messier and messier day by day on this planet. Is there no redemption for Earth?'

Azhagan sighed and gently held her to him and then lowered his mouth to hers and said, ' Only the universe can answer that question. But, for now, you can answer my questions?'

They made love on the forest grass under the soft yellow light of the full moon as they had done nearly 800 years ago.

The boy who went into the dark and came back with light.

https://youtu.be/vNwQenaPw0I

Avan, Aval Adhu 376

In my time, I have stayed in some exotic and expensive hotels. Yet, while there, my soul aches to return, turn around and head back towards home. During the course of my passage through life, I have eaten at some fantastic hotels but let me confess that I would be a whole lot happier eating in my own home and in some of my friend's homes where I feel totally relaxed and at home. Over the course of my existence, I am sure I must have met several hundred of my own species but have strangely felt close and connected to a very few. In the presence of those friends, and fellow souls, I have felt the same safety, and peace that I feel back in my own place.

Home is not just a place, or house but a bubble, an emotion that ensconces one and more and transforms into love, and friendship. It is that state of mind when two or more hearts beat in their own cages called chests but beat on to a certain tune and vibrate in sync to a common frequency.

There is this void, a feeling of emptiness that haunts us all, and for some, it is a constant haunting. I wonder if that emptiness, loss, and void came at the time when cells and genetic material left man to meet and mate with a woman. But my heart tells me that it cannot be for it is a very shallow thought.

Maybe, this emptiness, this indescribable loss comes when we leave our mother's womb and begin our own solo and new journey. No, even that sounds a bit rudimentary because of the reproductory process.

Maybe, just maybe, we feel this emptiness, carry this vacuum until the end is because we miss something that we had in the womb of our mother. Maybe we miss someone who was present there during our Genesis and the Genesis of all that is called The Universe. What if?

Meenakshi had never felt that emptiness until the arrival of Madhu into their lives for Ravi had always been there to fill it with his presence. But then all that changed and her whole world came crashing down when Ravi started spending more time with Madhu than he did with her.

He had begun to slowly withdraw from her after she had come of age and although she had protested angrily at first, Ravi had spoken to her and had explained to her in a calm manner that things were going to be different.

' Meena, I will always be there for you and I will love you the same way as I have loved you from the time we were kids. Nothing will change that. But, your body is changing and I don't know whether you have noticed it, but I too am changing and very quickly ' and laughingly pointed to the sparse hair that had taken roots above his upper lip.'

Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, Ravi looked at her, ' Meena, you are growing up as quickly as me and now you are on the verge of becoming a grown-up girl and soon you will change and bloom into a beautiful woman.'

Meena had looked at him sadly, ' Ravi, you kissed my forehead. It felt so soft and sweet but I want you to kiss me again ' and pointing to her lips, ' kiss me on my mouth. I don't know why I am asking you this but I swear on the Goddess that we both have worshipped from the time we were kids that it has never struck me before now. Not until now.'

Ravi smiled and pinched her cheek and said, ' Podi, you and your silly mind games.'

Meenakshi had looked at him and Ravi realized that she was about to burst into tears and that was usually followed by a tsunami of emotions and that meant trouble.

He had tried to calm her down but she had looked at him and said in a threatening voice, ' Kiss me or else ' and she looked to her right and pointing to the large well that had run dry during the summer season, ' I will jump into that well and kill myself.'

Ravi stared at her confused and in a panic-stricken voice asked her, ' What's wrong with you Meena? You will kill yourself for a kiss. What's so great about a kiss and that too from me?'

' Kiss me now or lose me ' she said in a voice that had changed and somehow morphed into something deadlier, if that was even possible in a 13-year-old girl, Ravi thought and yelled, ' Okay. All right. I will kiss you. If that's what you want then I will do it.'

Then his eyes suddenly began to stare at everything from tree, sky, and ground but her and grumbled, ' I don't know how to kiss. I have never kissed before.'

Then before he could say anything more and before he could turn to her, she pulled his head down and buried her mouth against his and she would never be the same again.

Deep in the throes of sleep, Meenakshi began to cry and her tears slowly stained the pillow, ' I love you, Ravi. I love you so much and I miss you so much. I wish I could turn back the clock and go back to that time when we were just five and six and lived as one and breathed for each other. I want that again.'

She heard the voice speak, the same familiar voice that she had heard earlier that day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1CCk4ndrnE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL2tFTrYQfQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VcYXdtoyhc

Avan, Aval Adhu 377

Is this a dream? O, if it is a dream,

Let me sleep on, and do not wake me yet!

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Meenakshi's soul was full of Ravi and the memories they had shared for many years but not the real essence of him and what he stood for. Her heart, her soul, her every breath was full of him and her love and need for him. Her every moment was both a dream and nightmare and somewhere along the way, she had shed the sheath over her thoughts that is called Conscience. Our conscience is the armor that protects and shields us from stepping over the line into darkness and into evil.

Deep in her sleep and drowning in her happy dreams, Meenakshi looked at Ravi and said, ' At least you are here, in my head and in my heart.'

Then darkness begin to surround her from all sides and the same darkness began to descend from the skies and Meenakshi whimpering in fear turned to Ravi who she knew would throw his arms around her and protect her.

But, there was no Ravi but darkness and more darkness and inside that darkness, something moved towards her. Something very large and powerful stood in the darkness staring at her.

Meenakshi yelled in fear, ' Who are you? Reveal yourself, you coward?'

Nothing happened for a few seconds and then her heart nearly froze in fear as her eyes saw something come alive inside the darkness. She saw two green eyes staring at her and then heard a deep voice speak to her.

" This is the end. There will be no mercy after this night. This is my final warning. I am watching you.'

She opened her eyes and screamed her fear and came awake and came out of her nightmare and lay in the bed with her body still trembling in shock and confusion and sweating profusely.

She sat up and slowly took control over her thoughts and body and then her mind came alive as it connected the voice from the dream to the voice that had so boldly and calmly told her that he know everything concerning her missing brother.

' The same person. No mistaking that strange voice with that strange accent ' Meenakshi told herself and then hearing her mobile phone call out to her, she quickly answered it hoping for some good news.

Sub-Inspector Maarimuthu greeted her, ' Good morning ma'am.'

' SI, I hope you have some good news for me.'

' Sorry, ma'am. But, I don't and the news that I have is not only disappointing but scary.'

' What is it? What happened? Does it have something to do with that young man that you handed over to Inspector Anwar?'

Then before he could answer, she yelled happily, ' Oh, he is dead. Did he die while he was being questioned by Anwar? Don't worry about him, for Anwar will take care of that case and I will tell him to keep you out of that case.'

Sub-Inspector Maarimuthu's voice was full of fear, confusion, and contemplation. ' Amma, the young man is not dead and I am sure he is alive and safe somewhere where no one can reach him.'

' WTF are you telling me? You mean, he escaped. No problem, Inspector Anwar, will track him down in a matter of hours. Let him run for it will make things easier for Anwar who will shoot him dead and the papers will report it as a police encounter. I am sure by now, Anwar must have alerted the entire Madurai police department and sent the absconding man's photo to all stations.'

' Amma, you are right about the young man's photo being sent to every station in Madurai. But...'

' What, but....'

' But you are wrong about Anwar and his men looking for that absconding criminal.'

Meenakshi screamed angrily, ' Enough with all this suspense s.it. Just spit out what you have to say.'

' Amma, that young man did not just run away but he killed Anwar and twelve other cops working for the Narcotics Bureau before making his escape.'

Avan, Aval Adhu 378

' Amma, that young man did not just run away but he killed Anwar and twelve other cops working for the Narcotics Bureau before making his escape '

Sub-Inspector Maarimuthu told her and it sound so incredulous that Meenakshi did not even realize that she was laughing as she told him, ' Stop joking Mr.Maarimuthu for I don't take it very kindly when people try to act funny with me and that too early in the morning.'

The silence was potent in its emptiness and the ominous clearing of his throat as Maarimuthu tried to gather breath and courage to speak up was enough. More than enough for Meenakshi to realize that what he had said was true. No matter how incredulous and far-fetched it sounded, she knew that what he had told her was the absolute truth.

The realization that the news was true felt like somebody had punched her right in her gut and had then proceeded to punch her in her face, and Meenakshi suddenly found it difficult to breathe or think and she called upon all her powers and said in a dull voice, ' SI, I will call you back. Thank you.'

She did not know how she managed it but she did it somehow and stood under the shower and let the cold water rain down on her naked body as she lost track of time and only came back to her senses when she heard the voice of her maidservant call out to her.

' Amma, a person has come to see you and is waiting outside the door.'

Opening the door, Meenakshi peeped out and after glaring angrily at the maid, screamed, ' I am not seeing anyone right now. Tell the person to come back some other day ' and was about to shut the door when she realized that the maid was still standing there.

' How dare you disobey my orders? You dumb cow, didn't you hear what I yelled at the top of my lungs?'

The maid servant to her credit, stood her ground and replied in a calm voice, ' Amma, it is not just any man or any ordinary visitor that is waiting outside for you. But....' and Meenakshi growled angrily and cutting her off said, ' I don't care a damn if it is God himself or Amman herself that is waiting to see me for I am not in the mood to meet anybody right now. So tell them to f..k off and you too f..k off for if I see you again in my house, I will burn you alive. Now get the f..k out of my sight.'

The maid nodded and said with a smile, ' Okay ma'am. But before I go, I want you to know that the man waiting to see you is namma iyaa, Master Sir himself. '

Meenakshi heard it and her eyes opened wide and she gasped in shock and in surprise and then a huge smile split her face and she yelled, ' dee Kaveri, don't go. Go wait outside with Ravi Iyaa and tell him that I will be out as quickly as possible.'

Then she quickly added, 'Inform the cook that a VIP has come to meet me and ask him to prepare a breakfast that will make even a God happy and as soon as possible.'

Ravi who stood staring sadly at the gate that led to the road turned hearing the maid call out to him.

' Iyaa, amma is having a bath and she told me to tell you that she will be out in a few minutes ' and pointing to the expensive chairs, ' Sir, please sit down.'

' Thank you. But I prefer standing while I wait for your mistress to come out.'

Kaveri nodded and then instead of leaving him to wait in privacy, took a few steps closer to him and whispered softly, ' Saami, I have heard so much about you. People talk so reverently when your name comes up. But, I have heard your name spoken here so many times by amma herself.'

Ravi frowned and looked at her with a puzzled expression but remained silent.

Kaveri the maid servant said, ' Iyaa, amma says your name over and over again and calls out to you every night. All of us here in the house hear her cry out to you as she cries herself to sleep. I have been with her for more than ten years now and not a night goes by without her crying out your name. It is heartbreaking to hear her cry like a little child. But, none of us dare speak to her about it for fear of the consequences that will follow our words.'

Then suddenly Kaveri quickly stepped back making Ravi wonder what had made her retreat so abruptly and he wondered no more for Meenakshi walked out of the door with a bewitching smile on her beautiful face and stood in front of him.

Kaveri vanished into the house leaving Ravi alone with Meenakshi.

They stood man and woman and looked at each other.

Ravi smiled and said, ' Hi Meena ' and then before he could even finish it Meenakshi stepped into him and hugged him tightly and they were once again Kutty Ravi and Kutty Meena running around Kumarapalayam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u-ZxQ3aEfc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jxImjlJBc8&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK9eLe8EQps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1IuJLebHgM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVTmQvXN_Zk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_BFm33yIYM