The Memoir

by Vaibhav Reddy IVN

  ‘Well, when boys express their love to girls, they give her roses because they believe that girls love them. Similarly when a girl has to propose, she must gift him his favorites. So, I thought boys like alcohol and cigarettes,’ she said, blushing apparently.

  It slowly began to make sense. For a moment, I thought it was some prank. But a bell of honesty rang in her words. All the barriers I laid over the past months seemed to explode by her words. At that moment, she seemed like a witch, who destroys a kingdom’s vast defenses with a single spell, except only in good senses. I feared that my legs would disobey my orders and begin jumping. However, they complied. I wanted to play my trump card.

  ‘OK, I get it. Where are the cameras? Are you going to upload this video on YouTube?’ I joked.

  She was awestricken by my statement. For a moment, I thought she was going to weep, which I believed strongly by the tears rolling in her eyes. Instead, she dropped the properties onto the ground, charged at me and raised her knee to land it in some unexpected place. I shielded the blow by retarding her knee with both palms and let her foot onto the ground. I placed my hands on her shoulders, which seemed romantic and protective at the same time, and looked into her face.

  ‘Sorry Margaret, I was just kidding. Just kidding, I love you very much, dear girl,’ I said.

  The expression on her face changed and there was a wide grin from one ear to the other in that baby-like face. She shoved my hands off her shoulder and hugged me. I looked around for any signs of living beings and embraced her and the moment.

  ‘I love you Daniel,’ she said.

  ‘I love you Margaret,’ I said.

  BACK FROM THE PAST

  ‘She was a true “Evil Princess”,’ he said.

  Daniel felt a sense of euphoria after narrating the episode. Yet, his disoriented mind added a sense of queerness, which seemed to counteract his euphoria. He turned sideways to glance at Cynthia, whom he expected to show any signs which could add to his excitement. The scenario was in contradiction to his expectations. She was weeping silently into her handkerchief.

  ‘Cynthia, are you alright?’ he asked, stopping the vehicle.

  She wiped off the tears and said, ‘I am alright. Your episode reminded me of my relationship with my boyfriend.’

  ‘Oh, I am sorry about that. But, you deserve someone better than him.’

  She nodded her head. ‘Well, can you, if possible, suggest me a safe motel to stay in?’

  ‘Don’t you have a residence in this city?’

  ‘No, I live in Silvinkeria. I came here two weeks ago to meet my boyfriend. However, I was unable to find him anywhere. Later, I found that he has been cheating me with another girl since the past one year. Even though I intended to leave to Silvinkeria, the military has halted all public transport for two days following yesterday’s protests. So I was stuck here in a motel until yesterday, when it was raided by the military and evacuated forcibly.’

  ‘OK, you can stay with me until you find someplace safe. But, I can’t guarantee you that my place is safe, since I live there owing to the unaware courtesy of a stranger.’

  She displayed a face, which reminded him of his class’s expression when they were first lectured about the ascending and descending tracts of the spinal cord. ‘Do you always speak in riddles?’

  ‘I shall explain it later.’

  Once they were home, Daniel helped himself to a pack of oatmeal, which did not take him long to cook. He served it to himself and Cynthia, which they ate in the bedroom.

  ‘So what were you doing in the channel office?’ he asked.

  ‘I actually have a sort-of friend, who works there. She is actually the last person I could think of for help. However, I was unable to meet her because of the raid.’

  He nodded his head as he chewed the oats. Even though the taste was semi-terrible, he had to satisfy his stomach with it. As he looked around the room, he found something on the bulletin board, which caught his attention. He placed the bowl beside him on the bed and walked over to the bulletin board. He found a paper clipping pinned to the board. He removed it off the board and read the headlines, which said- ROCHEN FORT TRAGEDY CLAIMS FORTY-TWO LIVES.

  The word “Rochen Fort” sounded familiar. He tried to recollect where he had heard it before. As he dug deep into the archives of his memory, he found a string.

  THE MEMOiR

  I was in the Mercupo Islands for a trip I had with my friends after my graduation. The trip was mainly to cheer me up, a boy orphaned just two months prior to his graduation. As reciprocation, I had to enjoy it, which I did not seem to. Margaret always took the chance to keep me involved. She would wander off to some place near-by, so that I had to find her, which was her play.

  On one such event, I stumbled upon something, which, I believe, must have changed my life completely. While I was wandering a few hundred meters away from the site of our camp, conscious of being questioned by some military official or soldier, if caught, I came across a sedan and a group of about five people near it. Since I was facing their backs, I stayed out of their field of vision. One of them was having his hands tied behind his back and the others were wearing black overalls and carrying firearms. They spoke for a few seconds in muffled tone and then dragged the tied-one to a spot few yards in front of the sedan. The headlights of the sedan illuminated the battered and bruised face of the man, which looked familiar.

  It did not take me long to get familiar. The bruises on his face and the duct tape to his mouth did not mask the striking features of the man, who often appears in my dreams and remains an emotion rather than a person, my father. He remained a biological relative and a social stranger, whose name, whereabouts and appearance remained a mystery for me throughout my childhood, mainly because of my mother’s reluctance to discuss him. I first remembered him from a childhood memory where he oscillated my swing back and forth, which I dreamt in my early twenties. However, trying to extract information about him proved fruitless. He remained a stranger, whom people come across on the streets.

  The setup was self-explanatory. They were going to execute him. The four armed-men stood facing him, and one of them walked forward. He pulled something out of his holster, which I assumed to be a silencer, and fixed it to the muzzle of his handgun. He pointed it at my father’s forehead and said something, which was inaudible except for the words “Operation Rochen Fort”.

  I felt the increasing urge to storm into the scene before it was too late, and save my father. But my knees buckled and my legs felt weak. My heart raced and adrenaline rushed through every vein and artery of my body. But it did nothing to mitigate the fear, which had paralyzed my body, the fear of death. I let him pull the trigger, the bullet to pierce his head and let the life evade his body.

  I experienced a sense of vertigo and my anti-gravity muscles felt lax. I held onto a tree, while they loaded the body into the trunk of the sedan and fled the scene. That was when I blacked out.

  BACK FROM THE PAST

  Cynthia was by his side as he went through the lines of the newspaper. He pinned the clipping back to the board and looked at the others. Everything pointed to the Rochen Fort Blasts. Numerous photos from the blast site, memorials and courthouses adored the clippings. The courthouse clippings mainly concentrated on a single person. His name was Ross Wud Jankis. The clipping described him as the main perpetrator behind the Rochen Fort Blasts, who also happened to be a member of Fremian Democrats Party. In one of the photos, he was clicked alongside Daniel’s father, whose name was quoted “Gary Pti Fernandez”, and described as Ross’s friend in Fremian Democrats Party.

  Daniel felt a kind-of relief at finally finding his father’s name. He stood staring at his father’s photo and tears streaked down his cheeks, which met with the paper and smeared it. He wiped it off the paper and wiped tears off his eyes.

  ‘Daniel, are you OK?’ Cynthia asked.

  ‘Yeah, I am fine. My father’s photo brought me tears.’

  ‘Your father
?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ he said, pointing his father in the photo. ‘That’s him. He was somehow connected to something called Operation Rochen Fort. That cost him his life.’

  ‘Your father is related to Operation Rochen Fort?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, do you know something about it?’ Daniel asked.

  ‘No, but my father was, I believe, related to it. That cost him his life too,’ she mumbled, weeping.

  Daniel took her into his arms and soothed her. A paper pinned to the board caught his attention. He reached out and pulled it off the board. It said “SOURCE” on the top with some names written below it. Daniel had a feeling that it would help him find what led to the deaths of their fathers. For a moment, he experienced a mental conflict between meeting Margaret and digging deep into Operation Rochen Fort. On his way home, he heard on radio about the military detaining the people from the news channel’s headquarters. His inaccessibility to Margaret now made him vote in favor of Operation Rochen Fort.

  He showed the paper to Cynthia and said, ‘I think we can find the truth using this. Destiny has set us on this path together for a reason, Cynthia. We can make this happen.’

  THE COUNTRY OF CHAOS

  JOINT OPERATIONS FORCE HEADQUARTERS- ELEVEN DAYS POST THE JUDGMENT DAY

  KALYN RYU BELOIT, Director of Joint Operations Force, was furious after he received a hundred-page file from the Headquarters of EGAF, which explained the powers of the Joint Operations Force under their rule. Even before he was through the first ten pages, which he managed because of his leisure, he knew that Gen. Levisohn had decided to tie down his arms and legs to strings, and was curious to entertain himself. While he was watching the news about the military raid of the office of a major channel for telecasting content against EGAF, his personal secretary appeared to announce a call from the General himself.

  ‘Good Afternoon, Gen. Levisohn,’ Kalyn said, lifting the receiver off the hook.

  ‘Good Afternoon, Mr. Beloit. Have you heard of the raid on the channel office?’

  ‘Yes, it’s on the TV right now as we speak.’

  ‘I see. Then have you received the file from our office?’

  ‘Yes, I have received it first thing today’s morning.’ And I fucking hate it!

  ‘Well, then, I need not go through the protocols and all. From the people we took into custody from the office, there are certain people who belong to a social media group called “Debate Fremia”. Right now, they are on their way to your office for interrogation. They-’

  ‘Excuse me for interruption, why don’t your guys get done with that?’ Kalyn said.

  ‘You see, Mr. Beloit, our people are good at using brutal force. In the present scenario, it would be counter-productive to subject them to such forces…initially. So, I believe in your people to handle this as sensitive as the matter is. I just need you to find out about the intention behind their activities and everyone involved. I shall send Col. Fischer to supervise the interrogation.’

  ‘Fine General, I will take care of it,’ Kalyn said, ended the call and began cursing the General under his breath. Kalyn realized that the General had intended the call to be a show-off rather than a permission to use their services for the interrogation.

  The detainees arrived in a military truck twenty minutes after the General’s call. Kalyn’s men made the necessary arrangements for the interrogation. Col. Fischer and Lt. Wayne arrived in an official sedan behind them and discussed about the interrogation with Vincent Wud Benedict, Executive Director of Joint Operations Force. Once the preparations were made, Agent Jamie from JOF and Lt. Wayne interrogated them one by one, as Col. Fischer, Kalyn and Vincent supervised the investigation from the adjacent room.

  The detainees were Karl Sla Rogers, channel presenter, Margaret Qyx Aniston, a neuropsychologist and Bernard Wos Gunner, a journalism student and an active social activist. They were questioned one after the other. Agent Jamie used the printouts of certain important discussions on their Facebook and Twitter pages, which they had prepared after Prime Minister Miller asked Joint Operations Force to look into the group. They answered some questions and were reluctant to answer yet some others.

  ‘We believe that your group “Debate Fremia” might turn out to become another terrorist group like The Invincible Army,’ Lt. Wayne said, which was more than an exaggeration.

  ‘So, what do you suggest, Mr. Military?’ Margaret asked. ‘Are you indirectly threatening to kill us like those people you kill, branding them as terrorists? Is that why you deprived us of the right to have our attorney present during this interrogation?’

  ‘Who the hell do you consider yourself? Just answer the bloody questions or else, the military court is going to put you away for a long time on grounds of violation of EGAF constitution,’

  ‘When did this so-called constitution come into action?’ Margaret bellowed.

  Lt. Wayne rose from his chair and bent forward, so that his face was few inches away from hers. ‘It is none of your concern when it came into act. All you need to worry about is giving the fucking answers to our questions and go free, or rot away in prison for the rest of your life.’

  ‘I am not the one to be frightened by a fucking pussy like you,’ she snapped.

  Lt. Wayne and Col. Fischer lost their cool at the same time. Lt. Wayne banged his fists heavily on the table and moved closer towards Margaret, while Col. Fischer stormed out of the room. Lt. Wayne grabbed her by her hair and pulled her off her chair. Margaret spit in his face and drove her fist into his abdomen. He recoiled from the blow and dragged her out of the room.

  ‘Soldiers, bring the others too!’ he commanded the soldiers stationed outside the room. He glared at Margaret and said, ‘you will taste the bloody taste of the rusted iron of the prison bars, you arrogant bitch.’

  The soldiers escorted the detainees out of the building with the Colonel and Lieutenant behind them.

  ‘The rest will be taken care of by our people,’ Col. Fischer said, as he shook hands with Kalyn.

  Kalyn was left at the crossroads as to why they had come there when they did not intend to conduct a proper investigation. Agent Jamie felt pity for the detainees as they disappeared at the far corner of the corridor.

  MALORY STREET, SILVINKERIA- NOVEMBER 1991, THE DAY BEFORE THE ROCHEN FORT BLASTS

  Agent Santo Galvan, forty-five, had been a spy in over a hundred missions. But he had never encountered anything so boring as his current mission. He was stationed outside a tiny villa, which belonged to someone, whose name he was informed, yet referred as Priority-2. He thought that referring them as “Priority” gave the mission a touch of seriousness. His job was to do as instructed, not to know the names of the subjects if unnecessary and not to make acquaintances with them. Having understood them, he sat back in his van and waited for any sign to provoke his attention.

  Santo Galvan had made his career as a spy at the age of twenty-nine after he failed to secure a position in the JOF, despite excelling in his training. He knew very well that his feud with the son of one of the higher ranked officials’ had denied him his well-deserved opportunity. He owed his success as a spy to the current Prime Minister Godwin Nyl Sanders, who had recognized his potential and used his abilities for Fremian National Party to spy over their political opponents, which he successfully did. Ever since he lost his chance at the JOF, Santo had taught himself a set of principles, which he did not wish to cross. As a spy, he dedicated himself to satisfy his employer, whatever mission he was assigned. As long as he enjoyed it and his employer was satisfied, he did not care about the consequences. He had stopped believing in karma since his lost chance and had set money as the only goal, whatever good or bad it resulted in. There was no looking back until he recently lost his wife, Carol, to breast cancer. The string of events that followed mangled his abilities and his mental stability. After recently suffering a nervous breakdown, which his wife’s death triggered, Santo had realized that he was not as reflexive as he used to be befo
re. He attributed it to the nervous breakdown, which had proved to be his toughest opponent so far. It had snapped him to such an extent that he had nearly hanged himself out of sorrow. But a proper psychological assistance proved its worth, when he succeeded in reconstructing himself partially, if not completely. He had finally settled down to make a living in the countryside, farming his inherited farms, before Godwin came knocking at his door for one last favor, which was more of an obligation. Santo obliged and put on his boots for one final duty.

  At about nine in the morning, the said person, whose photo he received and named “Priority-2” exited the house, kissed his wife goodbye and got into his car with a boy, whom Galvan assumed to be his son. According to his instructions, Galvan followed the car from a safe distance, all the time ensuring his anonymity. Priority-2 dropped off the kid at Meridian School and drove to West division of Fremian Ordnance Factory. Galvan picked up his Sat phone, called his employer and updated his status.

  ‘OK, wait outside. Follow him once he comes out. This time, he comes out along with another person, whose photo we mailed you. He is Priority-1 and he is the man you must follow next. I believe you got it,’ his employer said.

  ‘Yes sir.’

  Fremian Ordnance Factory is the sector of Department of Defense Production, of Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for production of ammunition and explosives to serve the needs of the military personnel.

  At about two in the afternoon, both the priorities emerged from the compound in the same car and drove to a nearby diner. Galvan also had his lunch in the same diner, but failed to get a table in hearing distance of their table. He kept an eye on them and had a light meal before resuming his stalking procedure. He had to wait until six in the evening, before he found the peach colored Ford exit the compound. According to his mail, it belonged to Priority-1, whom he was supposed to tail next. He followed Priority-1 to his house and had to wait until eleven in the night to receive his next instructions.