From & To Sathish #5 - Page 12

Vaanathai Pola 341

“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

All of them felt a pall of fear begin to descend on all of their minds. The stakes had been raised to a different level and most of them there realized they were totally outmatched and had been outwitted by a far superior mind than themselves.

The fear coursed freely through the room and it was visible in all their downcast eyes and drooping shoulders. The fear raged in all of their minds like a fire through a dry forest. All but one, who stood with his head held high and with his hands on his hips and stood lost in thought.

Major Param knew when he had been beaten and realizing that the odds were very high now, decided that there was no point in wasting any more time and informed Raman that he was going to call the capital and talk to the Defence minister and fly out as soon as possible and inform the Prime Minister in person at the threat that was looming and just around the corner.

' Raman, it is okay bhai. You and all of us did our best in this hopeless situation but let's face it, this foe is beyond us and it is better for the big wigs to handle such critical matters concerning the security of the nation.'

Raman nodded his head just once but his eyes wore a cryptic look and unable to read his eyes, Major Param glared at him frustratedly and asked, ' What's with the look? You think I am wrong in deciding to let this situation be handled by the Cabinet and the Prime Minister?'

Raman maintained his silence but also maintained his stare that now had a tinge of laughter and sarcasm mixed in it and unable to take it, Major Param sat down heavily in the chair and raising both his arms as if he was pleading asked him, ' Just spit it out and please stop staring at me like that.'

Averting his gaze away from Raman, he looked pleadingly at Preetha, Shaaji, Sukhi Ram, and Balbir Singh, ' We tried our best and we lost. It is okay for we cannot win all the battles that we fight and sometimes it is okay to accept our loss and wait for another day to fight again.'

' Good idea, Major Param. You should do what you think is right for Chakravyuh and for your other secret departments.'

Param turned angrily and stared at Raman for he knew what he had just heard was not right and he pounced and attacked verbally, ' What do you mean by that and why do you specifically name our department? '

Raman shook his head and said, ' I am not saying anything more to you. But, I am just curious to know when you will be exiting our place of work for we have our important agendas to look into and pursue. So,..'

Major Param's face filled with embarrassment and confusion, ' You are asking me to leave. I am being kicked out?'

' Yes. Your work was done the moment you declared that we had lost and that it was time to let the Prime Minister handle this situation. So, obviously, I am not needed anymore and neither is my team and this place that belongs to RAW for who we all work for.'

Param looked sadly at Raman and asked, ' what do you want me to do and what else is left for us to do?'

Raman heard his words and staring unblinkingly at Param, ' Okay, let's do this. Let's play this dumb game for a few seconds.'

With a ghost of a smile playing on his face, he asked Param, ' Major, what happens after you inform the Prime Minister and the Cabinet about the missing Dr.Brigadier Prakash Malhotra, the attacks on Brigadier Rajashekar, and the sudden and mysterious deaths of the two officers who investigated the attack?'

Seeing the Chakravyuh officer staring at him, Raman suddenly roared loudly, ' Humor me, Major Param, by answering my simple question.'

Even before he could answer, it finally dawned on Major Param what Raman was alluding to, and crestfallen, he mumbled, ' The Prime Minister will call for an immediate meeting of all the armed forces along with the other secret and clandestine agencies like Chakravyuh, RAW, CBI to discuss this serious and sensitive matter and .....'

' Go on Major Param' Raman egged him on and even more angrily, ' Go on and finish saying what your mind told you the moment I asked you the question.'

Major Param looked at Raman, ' In the meeting, everything about this case will be revealed and everyone there will know the complete details about our Bio-Terrorism projects, where our medical teams are conducting their researches, and who all are heading each hospital and so on and so forth.'

Raman looked at Param, ' and once again the buck will be passed to you and others, and whoever is behind all this will be privy to all the details. It won't be surprising at all if the mastermind and his men behind this evil conspiracy is someone who is high up in our nation's security and has full access to all the information that is gathered from agencies like yours and mine.'

Major Param smiled and getting up extended his hand and when Raman took it, he shook it vigorously and said, ' You are one smart F..ker. I am sorry for my defeatist attitude and I am sorry for my typical capital Babu mentality.'

Placing a hand on Raman's shoulder, ' Lead us tiger and I am ready to follow.'

Raman nodded and then he looked at his four young comrades, ' starting now, this moment, we go dark. Completely silent and off the Radar of all our internal and external agencies.'

He looked at all of them and said, ' This Operation has a name now.'

Major Param and the four looked at him questioningly and Raman roared, ' This is now Operation Vijay. Vijay means Victory.'

Far away in Madurai, Dhana Shekara Pandyan opened his eyes and whispered, ' Bravo Raman. Bravo. Vijayi Bhava.'

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata

Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham

Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritam

Dharmasangsthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge

Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata,

And there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers,

For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.

Vaanathai pola 342 Raman looked at his four young comrades and asked, ' Do you trust me? and will you be able to follow me to where ever this conspiracy takes us and give me your full co-operation.' Balbir Singh, the gentle giant of a sardar glanced at his three comrades and told Raman, ' to the word co-operation please add the words, faith and devotion too, sir. Just tell us what you need and want done and we will do it.' Shaaji' face was creased with worry as he spoke, ' sir, along with what Balbir just said I also want to add my own bit although it might sound a bit selfish in nature.' From the surprised looks that his colleagues flashed him and from what he knew about Shaaji, Raman knew that there was nothing selfish about the young man from kochi but still was curious to hear him out. Shaaji looked at Raman and then turned to Major Param, ' sir, are we in any danger right now of being attacked. If so, is there any measures than can be taken to protect ourselves from such a scenario. The reason being that both my parents are not keeping good health. My dad's Diabetes has nearly destroyed his sight and my mum is recovering from Breast cancer. I know that they are old but still I want to protect them as best as possible and even if it means losing my life in the process.' Raman did something that he had never done before and which was to display his emotions to them. He gently hugged Shaaji and looked into his eyes and said, ' if it comes to that, i will put my life before yours and that of your parents. I promise. Raman looked at the others, ' This promise goes to all of you.' He looked at Shaaji, ' there is nothing selfish in worrying about one's family and their welfare. You think I don't worry about my family. I have just become a parent to a boy and girl who are just days old. Family comes first, always and that includes the families of all our citizens.' Turning to Param, ' major, if it comes to that, i want all the members of our families in a safe place with full security.' Param nodded, ' Goes without saying and it will be done.' Raman looked at all of them, ' okay. Now lets get down to work and see what or who comes out of the dark.' Major Param looked at him confusedly, ' how do we do that, Raman?' Smiling cryptically, ' we first put out the bait and then beat the grass' and seeing their faces, ' I will be both the bait and the stick that beats the grass and i guarantee you that something will crawl out of its hiding.' He looked at Major Param and raising an eyebrow looked up towards the roof and asked, 'how good are our cameras up there in the skies, Param?'

Vaanathai Pola 343 Radhu knew that he had to confide in his mother about Kavita being pregnant and there in lay the dilemma. For, the mere mention of kavita's situation would mean that he would have to then tell her everything that had happened in Madurai and in the forests of Perumalvaram. Radha Krishnan aka Radhu aka Ayan Ahmadi aka Adam connors got out of the car in the parking lot of Global Hospitals and stared at it, thinking, " i can get away by lying about even a murder with anybody else but not with my mother. I could not lie to save my skin back when i was a kid and i doubt if anything has changed since then." The bond between him and his mother had been a very close and sacred one and he had always wondered about it. For, he found very few mothers in America who doted on their children with so much love and devotion. But, now he knew why and the reason for that was his father who now lay in a deep coma inside the hospital.Only after his mother had called him and informed him about his father Brigadier Rajashekar and how he had been attacked and had practically begged him to drop everything and rush to Chennai had he finally relented. After all, she was not only his mother but his boss at work and the head of Sparta. So, Radhu had placed a bomb while the meeting of top Al-queda leaders had been going on in the desert caves of Syria and had triggered the bomb which resulted in an explosion that had killed several dozens of terrorists and important leaders. In the end it turned out to be a double whammy. Not only was he presumed dead by Al-queda but also by his own people in the CIA. Only his mother Shinogai and Old man knew that he was alive and enroute to India. She had called him an hour ago sounding very worried and had told him to rush to the hospital immediately. What was worrying was the fact that his mother had told him it was not about his fathers health but about them both. He had asked just one question, " are they on to us?" and her reply had been crptic and ominous. " not sure but may be."

Vaanathai Pola 344 .Radhu's phone vibrated and seeing it was his mother Shinogai calling, answered it. ' Ayan, I am not in the room but in the restaurant on the ground floor. Meet me there.' Radhu's senses went on high alert the moment he heard his mother say where they were meeting, which was away from the family. That meant the danger was from another quarter and that meant his parent organization, The CIA. Radhu had always known that they would evatually be tracked down for he knew very well what resources the United States of America had at its disposal. Even now, his fear and worry were about the safety and welfare of his mother for he had covered his tracks very well and knew for a fact that both, his real employer, USA and his erstwhile employer, Al-queda were still in the dark about his plans. They could spend years trying to sift through the burnt bodies in the debris from the bomb he haf triggered and still would come up empty handed. The Al-queda and ISIS were good in fighting and were armed with all the latest weapons but they would come up empty handed when it came to crime scene analysis and DNA testing. Radhu doubted if his recent Al-queda bosses would even spend time crying over their dead comrades. As always in matters concerning power Radhu knew that there were lot of bitter rivalries and factions inside the Al-queda and it would take some time before things settled down in the middle east and they regrouped as one. That was the Al-queda and when it came to the CIA it was a totally different ball game. There was a clear heirachy and a well defined power structure in place that worked perfectly and brooke no nonsense. Everyone worked for one purpose and one goal. The furtherment of USA, period and everyone reported to the boss in the Oval office. Radhu's concern was mainly about his mother Shinogai who was not only the head of Sparta but reported directly to the director of the CIA and the President himself. Now she herself was missing and that meant the entire intelligence network would be buzzing with rumors. The CIA would be desperately searching for her and they would not stop until they find her, dead or alive. This was a serious breach in their security and intelligence and that meant quick and lethal reactions. The countdown had started and time was running out for both of them. But more for his mother than for himself. Radhu entered the restaurant and his eyes and feet unerringly found shinogai sitting in the farthest corner with her back against the wall and with her eyes glued to the single entrance, watching everyone and everything that came in and went out. She sat at that table for it also gave her a clear line of view to the kitchen entrance that was at the farthest corner and all it would take was a flick of her eyes to observe and discount threats of any nature that might approach her. Radhu smiled appreciatively as he went towards her for she sat at a place that would give her the seconds she would need to either defend herself from a sudden attack or launch her own attack. In American parlance, " casing a joint" is a term used for a criminal checking out a shop or a place to steal something. The same term was loosely used in the business of spying and casually used by all law enforcement officials. ' my mother is no criminal but one of the most lethal and deadliest women currently walking the earth' he thought and went into the arms of his mother, Shinogai and both exchanged kisses and he looked at her, ' Ammi, what is it?'

Avan, aval, adhu 34 Gayatri sat bewitched, watching time and life as it unfolded before her eyes. She had been struggling to make sense of it all, and now she began to understand what Ravi, his mother, Kumarapalayam, the people and the children who flocked around him really meant. This was a magical place. A Utopia. A heavenly abode where happiness and peace reigned together as king and queen. In the center of it all, he stood, the wizard conjuring and casting magic spells that drew and held everything in its coils. She knew now what the spell was and yet could not describe it using just one simple and a much flogged word, love. Ravi looked at all of them and then turning to Gayatri winked mischievously and whispered in a conspiratorially tone, ' you think they are kids but all of them are really little demons who have come here with a pre-planned agenda.' Using his eyes suggestively, he signaled to Gayatri to look at all the vegetables and fruits that the children had brought as gifts to him and said, ' the purpose behind these gifts is to hire me as their chaperone for today and also use me as a bodyguard while they run riot all over the village and in the forests around it.' The eldest girl among the children who looked to be around 13 or 14 years of age smiled and told Gayatri, ' kindly excuse me for interrupting your privacy but I could not help overhear what master sir just told you for he lied by omitting a vital piece of information. He is not just our chaperone but also our most favourite person in the world.' She looked pointedly at the other children who screamed happily, ' true, very true. Master sir is our favourite person.' The girl's name was Mekalai and as the noise subsided she looked at both of them, ' favourite trounces chaperone anyday.' Soon, Gayatri's ears were filled with thoughts and opinions from the other kids who yelled ,' master taught me to swim, master sir only taught me to ride a bi-cycle, master sir taught us how to play cricket, master sir taught me poetry.' Gayatri smiled as she felt the magic seep into her own soul and her eyes brightened with tears of joy and realization that he was in reality, a shepherd with his flock and a parent to his children. She looked at him and wondered, ' how can all this magic be possible? I have heard only stories about such pure love and existence but this is real and happening. There must be a reason for all of this and i hope i can find it before I leave.' ' Gayatri, do you want to join us?' Ravi asked her and she nodded and replied, ' yes, i would not miss it for the world.' She looked at him and asked, ' okay, but where are we going?' to which he replied, ' you will soon see for yourself.'

Avan, aval, adhu 35 She saw for herself and experienced it for herself and in the end the day turned out to be the best days of the life she had lived so far. Ravi who finished eating, hurriedly washed his hands and mysteriously vanished from their sight using the rear door. Gayatri did not think much of it at first but could not help notice the effect of Ravi's exit which seemed to evoke a strange response from the children. The children who until then had been largely quiet began to mutter and mumble and this forced Gayatri to look at Rasaathi ammal for an answer who just smiled as if she was used to this ritual. Then the uneasy quiet was shattered by the noises of a Tractor and then all hell broke loose. The subdued animation that had been simmering in the children erupted now with loud and joyous yells and all of them got up and rushed towards the entrance of the house. Wondering what the excitement was about and curious to know what had triggered it, Gayatri rose to her feet and walked toward the entrance to join the children who were all loudly cheering at something and that something was Ravi sitting behind the wheel of a tractor. She looked at Rasaathi ammal who too had joined her and asked what was going on. Rasaathi ammal smiled and said, ' Today being a sunday, Ravi and the children are going to spend time playing cricket and then spend time exploring some of the ancient sites around our village.Then a swim in the large tank before returning back.' Gayatri excitedly raised her hand and waved it at Ravi who looked at her and raised his own hand and everything and everyone fell silent. ' What is it Gayatri?' he asked her and she answered with a question, ' can i join you all?' He smiled and said, ' please do.' ' can you wait just a moment while i grab my camera bag and other stuff' gayatri said and getting them placed them inside and got up and sat next to Ravi who looked at all the children and nodded and all of them clambered up. The time was 11.00 AM.

Vaanathai Pola 345

Radhu sat down with his eyes staring and searching his mother's green eyes for any clues to the source of his mothers worried call that she had made to summon him to the hospital. But, to his surprise, he saw that her eyes were calm with only the barest hint of worry and betrayed nothing else. Then, he saw. Radhu saw more as he opened his own mind and entered his creators mind. He saw with the powers that had brought him back from death and beyond and he read her mind with the powers that the forest of Perumalvaram had graced him and raised him back like Jesus had raised Lazarus after being dead for three days.

'Ayan, baby. What is it? Why are you staring at me and why do i sense your thoughts in mine and also why am i getting this strange feeling that you are trying to read my thoughts?' Shinogai asked gently grasping his hand.

Radhu shook his head and quickly turned away embarassed and ashamed of what he had done. His mother was not just that and much more than that. She was his best friend and confidant and one with whom he could talk about anything under the sun without any inhibition. He kept his head turned away from her jade green eyes and thought, ' this is my soul and my mother. I cannot betray her with something that has been strangely bestowed on me when it was she who gave me this life to begin with. I have to tell her but how? Where do i begin and where do i stop?.

The hand that had gently reached out to him now slowly flexed around his like a coil of steel and the same steel reflected in her voice as his mother spoke, ' i knew the moment you entered the room that there was something different about you.'

Letting go of his hand, Shinogai leaned back and looked at Radhu, ' what is going on Ayan? What is this strange aura around you that i can feel in my soul and in my womb? '

Radhu slowly turned to face her and locked eyes with hers and stared and continued to stare into them for a few moments. Moments that felt like minutes and time stretched to impossible limits.

'Ammi, whatever I am about to tell you is the absolute truth and it really happened. How it happened and why it happened are questions for which i have no answer as of now and i doubt if they will be ever answered.'

Shinogai's eyes widened in shock and the green depths filled quickly with worry and concern for her son who needed no mind reading powers to see and understand his mothers thoughts.

He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and opened it a bit and that was enough to reveal a bit of his chest and the bit above his thick abdomen muscles and Shinogai gasped in horror and whispered in despair, ' those are bullet holes, Ayan. New wounds that have healed but new' and looked at her son, ' when did you get shot and that too four times.'

Her forehead furrowed as she tried to make sense of what she had just seen and unable to do so shook her head and mumbled, ' i dont get it baby. Were you shot while you were trying to escape from your undercover operation in Syria. But, you would have been in a critical condition and it would have been impossible even for such a tough and strong person as you to even walk a step without help. Who helped you through this and why didn't you tell me that you had been so grievously wounded.'

A rueful smile lit up Radhus lips and sighing slowly, he looked at his mother. ' I was not shot in Syria mother. These bullet holes are not months old but days old.'

Shinogai gasped her exclamation of surprise with a simple, ' WTF are you saying.'

' I am telling you the truth, Ammi and you just saw the four bullet wounds on my upper torso and not the other three' and pointing down to his right thigh, ' one nicked my femoral artery and the other two went into my left thigh and calf.'

Drowning in shock and disbelief Shinogai's voice trembled as she spoke her thoughts, ' baby, ' you have been shot 7 times and that too from the size of the wounds not by a handgun but by a larger machine gun.'

' an Ak 47, ammi" radhu added as he recollected the moment when he had flung himself between Kavita and the oncoming bullets that one of her assassin cops hired by the late Jagatratchagan head of the Thevar community had fired.

' How are you still alive, Ayan?'

' Honestly, I have no answer for that, but' Radhu paused and looked at her and said, ' but i think it was a miracle that took place in a miraculous place called Perumalvaram.'

Her hands that had been clenching the edge of the table had turned pale with the effort and sent howling complaints for her to ease off and her brain finally alerted her to it and letting go of the table, Shinogai slowly massaged her palms and said, ' magic, miracles. What kind?'

' I don't know mother and even if i tell you what little i saw with my own eyes, you will not believe me and probably think I have become a lunatic or suffering from extreme PTSD.'

Shinogai smiled as she recollected something and said, ' i do believe in magic Radhu and I do believe in miracles. For, i was witness to both, a long time ago when your father valiantly fought single-handedly against his own people and my people to protect and save me from a certain death. If he had not stood between me and them, then you wouldnt be here in this world.'

She looked at him with gentle and kind eyes , ' what happened in the forest, Radhu?'

Vaanathai Pola 346

Ayan Ahmadi aka Adam Connors aka Radha Krishnan heard his mother, Shinogai Ahmadi's question, loud and clear. He closed his eyes and recollected the events of the past few days and remembered everything in vivid detail.

He smiled and the years seemed to drop away from him and she remembered him as he was during his teenage years. ' I fell into a rabbit hole and I have been tumbling ever since, ammi.'

' Baby, you are not that pretty Alice and this is no wonderland. This is life and not a fairy tale. But, your choice of words are intriguing and since I know you better than you know yourself, I will listen to your tale.'

Then remembering something, she excitedly slapped the table and said, ' was there a rabbit? a talking rabbit?'

Radhu shook his head once and smiling mysteriously and mischievously, ' no rabbit but something bigger and better.'

Shinogai waved her hand dismissively as if his reply was a fly that deserved to be swatted away from her presence and looked at him and replied with both mischief and sarcasm filling her beautiful features, ' bigger than a talking rabbit.You mean a talking dog or a talking lion.'

The rest of her thoughts froze instantly as she caught her son's eyes who remained serious, and leaning forward, she asked in a voice now bereft of sarcasm and mischief and filled only with urgency, ' what, what was it?'

' A talking lion, Ammi and no, his name was not white lion like the white rabbit in Lewis carrol's story.'

Shinogai leaned forward, her interest fully piqued and asked, ' A lion. You mean like the real lion in africa and he had a name and he spoke.You mean he roared words.'

' He spoke Ammi, and not in roars or growls, but in English which by the way was far superior to what you and me speak and probably better than that of all the professors from our college faculty and he was called Buddha by his companion.'

Shinogai could not believe her ears and looked sharply at her son, ' Ayan, please stop this nonsense right now for it has gone far enough.'

Radhu looked at her and his expression changed and his eyes filled with fear and worry and he grabbed Shinogai's hand that was on the table and asked, ' why, why did you make the call, ammi? What was the necessity for you to contact them and that too when we were just beginning to get a picture of who is behind this?

Shinogai bewildered by this sudden and strange line of questioning from her own son asked confusedly, ' Ayan, what are you raving about? Who is this person that you are accusing me of having contacted?'

' Bill. William Bradley. You have spoken to him and that too an hour ago' Radhu replied angrily.

Shinogai's eyes opened wide like lotuses in full bloom as she stared at Radhu and asked, ' how the heck did you find that out?' and snarled angrily, ' have you bugged my phone? Have you been spying on me, your own mother?'

Radhu leaned back in his chair and looked at his mother with surprise and said in a calm manner, ' you know me better than that, mother.'

Shinogai exhaled slowly and looked at him with guilt laden eyes, ' you are correct' and raising her hand in a resigned manner, ' my bad.'

Mother and son stared at each other across the table and the world around them fell away and they were as they had been for a long time, existing in a bubble of their own. They had a special bond between which meant that to each of them the other came first before everything and anything. Radhu had felt this strangely peculiar but beautiful love from the time he could remember and he was blessed with a very good memory and that which had started from the time he had been two or three years of age.

His hands reached out to hers and taking them in hers, he gently held them and said, ' Ammi, this is me. This is your Radhu speaking.'

Shinogai's eyes glittered as a film of tears suddenly covered her jade green eyes and Ayan continued, ' I used Radhu because i know in my heart that you like that name better than my other names., Ayan and Adam.'

He looked at her with tenderness in his eyes and said, ' I know you like the name Radhu better because Dad liked that name and also because you think that you are Radha and he is Krishna.'

The film of tears that had glittered in her eyes bloomed into tears as buds bloom into flowers and Shinogai whispered to her son, ' yes, and like their love, we were meant never to be and you my son are that object of my love, his love and our love.That is why you are my Radha Krishnan.'

Wiping her tears, she smiled and then looked at her son, ' I am sorry, baby for accusing you of such an act. I am under a lot of stress and I couldnt control it anymore.'

'It's allright mother for I understand it but now, i want you to understand me and trust me completely.'

' I trust you, Radhu.Please continue.'

There was no other way but the right and straight way and taking it, he whispered to his mother, ' i knew about the call you made to William Bradley because I saw it in my own mind as clearly as it is in your mind.'

Shinogai nodded, 'But how?'

He smiled and said, ' Buddha, the magic of that forest and a blind beggar called Dhana Shekara Pandyan.'

Shinogai leaned back and looked at her son and said, ' Tell me what happened in that forest called Perumalvaram.'

Vaanathai Pola 347

Radhu was her son and he was her love child. He had come into her womb not just as his father Brigadier Rajashekar's seed but from his soul. He had been created out of pure love and not just sex that involved bodies. When Raja had made love to her, he had done so only because she wanted him to and only after she had conveyed her need of him. Thirty-two years had passed by from that time when they had both made love on that sheepskin rug and she remembered in exquisite detail everything from that moment. Radhu was not just her son, her child but was an object made out of pure love.

Shinogai saw with her mother's eyes as her son's own eyes drop down slightly as they recollected by traveling back to the days that had passed and she saw him shudder and shiver uncontrollably.

Reaching across the table, she took his right hand and clasped it in her own hands and said in a beseeching tone, ' No Radhu. No baby. There is no need for you to talk right now for it is obvious how disturbing and painful the experience has been. Let it rest for now and we will come to it later.'

' No Ammi. It is not about the experience' and looked at her with the same expression that he had been giving her from the time he had stood upright and had fallen many times in his attempts to walk, toddle, and to move.

It was an expression, a look that conveyed dismay, confusion with a bit of understanding thrown into them both as his mind tried to come to grips with what was going on and how to make sense out of it.

He looked at Shinogai, ' Ammi, you know how much I loved my dead wife and our son, Zareen and Abu and how much their deaths affected me?'

' I do, baby. I was there with you in the house after you came back from Iraq and I remember the times when I feared that you might just do something extreme....' and unable to finish the sentence, she turned away trying desperately to hide her emotions.

' This is different, Mother' Radhu said and Shinogai turning back to face him, stared at him, ' different what, how?'

' I don't know how to express it mother but it was like I was meant to meet Kavita in that book store and I was meant to love her and travel to Madurai with her to save her and....'

He shook his head a few times,' It's as if, I mean I feel life itself was conspiring for us to meet, our lives to cross paths and if that is true, then it is the very same life that put me there to die and to come back as someone else or something else....'

Shinogai nodded, ' Yes Ayan. It is true what you say and, feel in your heart, for I too have felt that all these years. That moment with your father on the Himalayas when he stood singlehandedly fighting his own people and my own people who had come to kill me by putting his life between them and us and buying us valuable time to make our escape.'

' Ammi, if that is true then everything else is true and was always meant to be.'

Radhu smiled, ' I met her, and then I meet her again the next day at the hotel and intervene on her behalf and the others and take down those thugs from Madurai. Then I accompany her on a peace-making mission that the Chief Minister has sent her on and end up visiting that temple inside that forest while outside fate and destiny are playing their respective parts as they caught up with Jagatratchagan and his father.'

He began to speak and slowly he narrated to Shinogai all that had taken place from the time he had driven away from Chennai to join Kavita in Madurai and to be with her, disguised as her personal bodyguard.

Vaanathai Pola 348

' Ammi' Radhu said softly and then bending his head, smiled to himself as if he was recollecting an old joke that only now made sense after all these years.

Shinogai asked in an even softer voice. A voice of a mother who loves her son more than anything else. More than God and more than her own life. ' Ayan, I know all the shades of your smiles and this is not a happy smile. What is it? what memory makes you rue, thus?'

' Ammi, the clues as to what lay in the forest of Perumalvaram was displayed to me much before we were witness to it and much before we entered or even neared the forest.'

' What clues are you talking about? How could you know in advance what lay in store for you and Kavita in that magical forest?'

Radhu's eyes flicked from one end to the other end of the restaurant taking in all those who were there, quickly assessing any threats they might pose to him and his mother and quickly discounted them and said, ' The clues came in the form of an old man called Palam Swamy who had come to escort us and guide us through the forest and to the ancient temple of Perumalvaram.'

He told his mother how Kavita had introduced him to the old man as " Odyssey Pandyan" her personal bodyguard but the old man had smiled with twinkling eyes and had instead greeted him as Radha Krishnan.

Shinogai startled by this new information looked at Radhu in confusion and asked, ' How did he know your name? you think Kavita had informed him earlier about your arrival and that you would be accompanying them into the forest?'

' No mother. I seriously doubt that. Kavita knew the trouble I was in and the threats to my life from Jagatratchagan whose son Selvam I had killed while attempting to protect her and the others. So, I am sure it was not her.'

' What about the Chennai cops and that Commissioner who came to see you in the hospital from where you made your escape? You think he some other cop from the department could have informed that old man that your real name is Radha Krishnan?'

' No Ammi. I think that old man who calls himself Palam Swamy is magic himself and is part of whatever that is going on in that wonderland called Perumalvaram.'

The subtle signs of disbelief in Shinogai's eyes and flickered on and off like an old Bulb that was about to die and go where old bulbs go and seeing it, sensing it, Radhu smiled again and said, ' Mother, I understand that you find all this hard to believe. But trust me for I was there and felt the same way that you are feeling right now.'

With a smile playing on his thin but shapely lips, Radhu leaned forward and looked at Shinogai, ' Ammi, I guess one could have gotten my name from some unknown source and seen through my disguise. But, how do you explain away the fact that the old man knew that I had spent time in the desert?'

His face turned serious and a bit of melancholy crept into his eyes and he looked sadly at her, ' Ammi, he told me to let go and that Redemption was at hand.'

' Uh, uh. what? what do you mean, let go? let go of what?'

Radhu stared at her silently and recollected and repeated the exact words that Palam Swamy had said.

' Son, you cannot build on something that has been lost forever. Your wife and child were taken from you and yet you have been given another chance at love and redemption. Please, trust your fate and importantly trust in your God's faith that he has in you for it is he that has sent you from the deserts of Arabia to the land of three-eyed God.'

In case you want to understand this chapter better, please use this link as reference for it will take you back to those times and those chapters that we left behind, many months ago.

*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 155 | Sensational South

Vaanathai pola 199

Radhu who had yet to recover from the shock that an old man who probably spent most of his time in a protected forest knew his real name and had seen through his fake identity of a middle-aged security guard was now beyond shock and astonished and was now feeling disturbed and his Spartan instincts kicked in and he placed a hand and blocked Kavita from moving forward and told her, ' I am sorry but I don't think we should proceed and that too without your security team.'

Pointing to Palam Swamy, ' we don't know who he is and what his agenda is and now, here we are about to follow him blindly into a forest, without weapons and without even our mobile phones in case we need to make an emergency call.'

Kavita did not know what to say and she looked at Palam Swamy and at Radhu who stepping closer to her whispered in her ear, ' how does he know who I am and who my father is and how the bloody hell does he know that my father was attacked?'

He looked at her with concern, ' Kavita, I care two bits for my life but I will destroy the world if I have to before I let even a scratch hurt you in any way.'

Palam Swamy looked at him, ' so much anger. So much power and yet so many old and sad memories.'

Radhu felt the tenderness in the old man's grip and yet he felt a strange vibration run through him and he listened to him, ' Son, you cannot build on something that has been lost forever. Your wife and child were taken from you and yet you have been given another chance at love, and redemption. Please, trust your fate and importantly trust in your God's faith that he has in you for it is he that has sent you from the deserts of Arabia to the land of three-eyed God.'

Radhu nodded and Palam Swamy looked at him and said, ' All your questions and doubts will be cleared by the Guardian of this forest and the God who watches everything and misses nothing.'

Palam Swamy pointed in the direction of the East, ' come, my children for I have been told to move quickly for danger is approaching us and we have to reach the village before that.'

Radha Krishnan angrily, ' WTF old man, you say some kind of danger is approaching us and yet you want us to follow us into the forest. I just don't get you at all.'

Palam Swamy smiled like an angel ' believe it or not, we are totally safe inside the forest and it is out here that we are most vulnerable and lastly I sense the forest beginning to stir and it is best that we are not here when it begins to act on its instincts.'

Radhu and Kavita followed the old man Palam Swamy through the open gate that the forest department officers kept open and one of them smiled and said, ' Ma'am, nothing to worry in there and trust me when I tell you that no harm will fall on you. '

One of the constables of the six-member security team slowly vanished into the forest after informing his team leader that he needed to pee very badly and the moment he was out of sight, he made a call on the phone given to him and whispered, ' Iyaa, she has just entered the forest of Perumalpuram and it is just her middle-aged personal guard and an old man.'

He listened to what was being asked and whispered, ' No, all three of them are on foot and without weapons and phones.'