The rain woke him up.
He opened his eyes to see the drops of water patting against the window
pane. A stray dog was barking somewhere in the distance. Rain in Delhi during
the month of June was horrible to say the least. Not only was it heavy and
continuous but also it carried the deposits of garbage into the nooks and
crannies of the city. The strange aroma of the coffee mixing with the unique
smell of rain filled his nostrils.
He got up ever so slowly and walked over to the window. In the distance
he could see the tall structure of one of the most sought after tourist
destinations in the whole of Delhi, The Qutub Minar. It felt as if the famous
monument was within arm’s reach, partly because it was. Everything in this city
was so close to everything else that nothing seemed too far away. Yet today was
an exception.
He had hoped to get some sleep but in vain as he was up all night
wondering about his future and its uncertainties. He was yet to recover from
the trauma of last month and already he felt a new fear setting in. If only his
Father had not been brave, he would still be alive. If only....
Flight Lt. Ajay Menon had been on a mission in the state of Uttarkhand,
evacuating the flood victims when his chopper crashed due to bad weather
conditions. He knew of the weather but still decided to carry on, which proved
to be fatal.
As he was standing near the window, he heard a voice call out to him.
The voice was only too familiar. Ever since the tragedy had struck, his mother
would personally take the pain of waking him up every morning, though the fact
that she didn't need to never occurred to her. Her voice repeatedly calling out
his name did the job quite well.
He managed to get himself downstairs to have breakfast. As they were
seated gulping their food his mother reminded him to keep in touch with the
current affairs and read the newspapers. Something his father did every day. He
knew his exams were drawing near and felt he didn't need this constant reminder.
He was in the tenth grade and the exams were ever so close, but he didn't care.
He just couldn't.
It was time for school and as he was heading off, his mother handed him
his lunch carrier, which he’d forgotten again. She gave him a kiss on the cheek
and said that she loved him. He knew that. He had always known that. But he
thought she couldn't love him as much as his father did. No one could.
Things at school went on as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. Somehow he felt that time was moving very
slowly and had to wait for a long while before evening came. As he was heading
home, he noticed some of his friends being picked up by their fathers. Though
his father never used to drop him or pick him up from school on a regular
basis, he felt a strange emotion. One he’d never felt until now. Sadness. Until
now, he was either denying the fact that it had happened or was filled with
anger whenever the thought came to him. Until now. He pushed aside the tears
rolling down his cheeks and walked home, alone.
Dinner progressed in silence, with neither he nor his mother wanting to
break it. When he was finished, he left the dining room to go upstairs, where
he could find some solitude. He hoped tonight was the night he’d get some sleep
but knew that he was being overly optimistic. As he was lying there in silence,
he couldn't find a reason as to why he loved his father so much. He thought
probably because his father was always out there helping and saving complete strangers and whenever
he’d get the chance he’d come home to see his son. He had never missed his
birthday and he was always there for him whenever he needed him. He saw his
mother day in and day out but his father was rare, special. He was deep in
thought when he realized something.
The Air Force official had come
the day after the tragedy and had handed over some of the things that belonged
to his father along with a package that was addressed to him by his father. He
hadn't cared to know what was in the package and hadn't opened it. But now he
was curious and jobless.
He gave a quick look around the room. The room was a mess and the dust
quite conspicuous. Finally he spotted it. The package was sandwiched between
some of his books. He quickly went over
and picked it up, all the while his mind racing as to figure out what he’d find
in the package. He broke open the seal, his heart now beating faster every
second. Trying to erase his anxiety, he looked inside and found a photograph
along with a note. He instantly recognized the photograph, him being sandwiched
between his parents in front of the great Deodar Bridge in Darjeeling. The
famous bridge connected two twin hills which was a breathtaking tourist
attraction. They had been there last year, when they were visiting Darjeeling.
He opened the note. It read:
Dear son,
If you are reading this, then probably you’ll know that I have gone on a
one way mission. It is understandable that you are angry with me for leaving
you at such short notice. You also might be denying the fact that it happened.
Son, always remember, denying the truth doesn't change it. The only thing you
have to know is that I love you. I always have.
Here comes the surprise which you were waiting for.
I've left you something, something that will possibly inspire you to
forgive me. Remember nothing comes for free. You’ll be worthy enough to locate
it if you decipher these lines.
Hidden within these stony walls,
A treasure, soothingly calls
Out to you, inconspicuous as ever it lies,
Beneath these crimson tiles.
You’ll find it.
Only when
nothing is awake,
More than open eyes it will take;
Seek with an open mind,
Caught in a fix? Just rewind.
When he finished reading, He thought ‘what the hell!!’
He was ready for a lot of different things that could have been in the
package. But a photo with a letter containing a poem about some treasure was
definitely not one of them. For a moment he just wanted to throw the letter
away and go back to sleep or at least the notion of it, but finding a hidden
treasure by deciphering some gibberish lines seemed far easier than finding
sleep.
He started thinking.
OK. So ‘hidden within these stony
walls’ and ‘beneath these crimson
tiles’ definitely meant that whatever was hidden was hidden inside the
house and not outside it. Yup. But the house was not so small as to pinpoint
the exact location. At least he was getting somewhere....
‘Only when
nothing is awake’ was the only clue regarding how to actually find
it, but he thought it was a little too ambiguous. The reference could have only
been to the night. But what time? May be it didn't really matter or may be it
did....?
He was pretty sure that it should be early in the morning, because he
knew that staying up late in the night was a common thing these days. Earlier,
he remembered, he could never get up early in the morning. Even during exams.
So he decided four thirty in the morning to be the ideal time for his venture.
He was awake for most of the time and when it was time he slowly got out
of bed and made his way to the stairs. He descended very slowly as not to wake
his mother. He was about to grab a flash light when he heard sounds coming from
the kitchen. He froze, his heart beating faster now.
He tiptoed carefully across the dining hall to see what the noise was
when he noticed his mother in the kitchen watching over the vessels on the
stove and doing the dishes simultaneously. He had no idea that she got up so
early. He knew that she slept late, after finishing all the chores of the house
and cleaning up stuff. He now realized that she would hardly have the time to
catch some sleep at all. She continued working without the slightest idea that
he was there. She was like a ubiquitous presence, doing so many different
things, simultaneously without the slightest discomfort.
It was impossible to search for whatever he was looking for at this time
with his mother up, he thought. Perhaps he should get up a little earlier or
stop this madness altogether. The latter seemed more sensible. With this
thought he slowly went upstairs, hoping to find his long lost sleep.
The familiar voice of his mother woke him up from his slumber and he
stumbled downstairs for breakfast. Everything was back to normal. His mother asked him how he had slept and he lied that he
had slept great. Once again she reminded him to read the newspaper before he
left for school. How could she, he thought, remember to remind him every single
day, since his father passed away, about one godforsaken thing. How could she?
How could she get up at four thirty in the morning every single day just so he
could go to school in time, satisfied with a good breakfast and carrying more
than a mouthful for lunch? Did she love him that much, so as to not get bored
of doing the same things over and over again? Of seeing his rotten face each
and every day? He realized that she was so inconspicuous that he hadn't noticed
all these things until today. Until
today....
And then it hit him.
He finished his breakfast without another word and went to change for
school. Everything started to fall into place as he climbed the stairs. ‘Inconspicuous it lies’ he thought. He
remembered all the questions that were surfacing in his mind for the past one
month and now realized that he was staring right at the answer all along. A
smile spread across his face as he put on his shirt. He was asked to ‘Seek with an open mind’ and he could not believe how stupid he was. How
stupid he had been all this while. He had found his treasure today early morning;
he just had not realized it.
The smile on his face grew even wider now as he came down the stairs. As
he was about leave, he did the same old thing that he did every day, although
this time he did it intentionally. His mother asked him to wait as she brought
his lunch carrier and gave him a kiss. And then he did something he had not
done for a very long time. Kissing his mother on the cheek, he bid her goodbye
and walked into the morning sunshine with a strange feeling that he was not
alone. Not any more.
