I knew I was late when I walked through the towering front gates; the decorations were at its finest surrounding the magnificent work of architecture the Duranji’s called home. The finest vehicles of the guests were lined up in the driveway; I haven’t even met anyone yet, but I knew that there were bundles of important people in my presence. I worked my way through the driveway, shaking the hands of fellow henchmen before stepping through the front door. There sat Marona, like a king as usual, in his abnormally large sized chair.
“Arrun! Come here! I want you to meet some people,” he called out.
I didn’t really care about meeting any one of them, but I put on my signature fake smile as I sat around a group of politicians, corporate gurus, high-ranking police officers, local thugs, along with Verone, Raja, and Miran. I was in, if it was not clear to me before, it is now. Introductions, and casual conversations over a few drinks continued to be the theme over the next hour before a time of separation. Interrupting the conversation, Marona got up as everyone went quiet. “Excuse us. Arrun, Miran, Verone, Raja, could I speak to you guys for a brief moment,” asked Marona.
We all got up, and I noticed that Miran was having some difficulty getting up. He was still wearing the brace from earlier that day, so I offered to help. “Thank you brother,” he said as I put his arm around my shoulder. After taking seat in the nearby room, Marona began to run through the plan to control Shekhar Khan.
“Arrun you were right earlier today when you said we’ve been taking the hit for far too long. Which is why I’ve come up with a plan; how do you like the sounds of taking out all of Khan’s front-runners, leading to the kidnapping of his only son. That should really shake him up. We’ll separate into groups, and have certain members deal with their respective targets. Arrun I want you running the point on kidnapping Abdul Khan.”
“Done, did the job two hours ago with Remone,” I said calmly as I stared at the floor. The room remained haunted of shock for a while before Verone got out of his chair. He came crouched down before me, looked me in the eye and asked, “Are you serious right now?” I didn’t speak a word before Verone asked me to get up. “You’re the man brother, holy fuck,” he exclaimed as he hugged me in major excitement. I took a look at the three other personals in the room and you could tell that they were astonished.
“Where is he,” questioned Raja eagerly.
“I don’t know yet, Remone is hiding him somewhere safe,” I replied.
“Find out! We need to know,” he continued.
“Raja let it be. Arrun is running the point on this remember,” interrupted Marona.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Lets celebrate,” shouted Verone as he dragged me out the room. As we walked out, Remone made his way through the front door. Verone tugged me towards Remone; he placed his arms around the both of us. The backyard of the house was decorated even grander than the front. With beautiful women, booze, and friends to company. Verone, Remone, and I took a numerous amount of shots before we separated. It has been a while since I have had this many drinks, so long that I forget how much fun I used to have drinking at parties.
Remone and I continued to sip down alcohol as Verone separated from us. Soon after an intoxicated Thambi came bulldozing his way towards us, bringing more alcohol, as if we had not had enough. As we drank that down, Renny and Sethu came rushing towards us, wasted, with more alcohol. As they held the booze in their hands I could only wonder; hey, why not right? By the end of that, we were surely wasted. To be honest it felt great, I felt loose. It felt amazing having drink with people in a positive mindset. Much greater than drinking to the negative thoughts I had a few weeks back.
It didn’t take long before we began to notice the amount of gorgeous women we were surrounded by. Renny started hollering at them to get their attention, and attention is what we got.
“Well are you guys just going to stand there, or dance with us,” questioned a beauty amongst the crowd of many. A look to my left, Thambi and Remone smiled. A look to my right, Renny and Sethu smiled. “Oh God!” I screamed as we dropped our beers at a synchronized rate, and rushed our way towards them. We danced amongst them all; I finally remembered what it felt like to actually enjoy something.
A memorable night it was, as we eventually got Verone, Miran, Raja, many other henchmen, and even Marona to dance with us. I started to get a real sense of family around this group of guys. I actually enjoyed the night enough to lose focus of the time passing by. Before we knew it, the time neared 3am; the guests began to head home as I sat at the steps of the front door with my four roommates, accompanied by a few other guys. We sipped chilled down imported Heineken beer, my favorite; it reminded me of home.
It was nearly a half hour passed 3am when most had left home. However suddenly there was this one car with bright headlights pulling into the driveway. Everyone became alerted, especially because the vehicle seemed unfamiliar. The door opened, and Nilani stepped out, she looked furious. Everyone remained on red-alert, as they recognized her as the Police Commissioners daughter. “Cool down, Cool down. She’s just a girl,” I said amusingly as she continued to brisk towards me. BAM! I nice tight slap to my right cheek, I could swear the world shook for a brief moment; I didn’t see it coming.
“That’s for keeping me up at night, with thoughts of you,” she yelled.
I stood steady and speechless as she took a step closer. She stood right at my neck, as she glanced up towards me. She exhaled heavily and then she kissed me, I didn’t want to pull back, I could not pull back. Instead I placed my left arm around her waist, embracing her closer. With my right hand I graced her hair over her ear, and kissed her back. Cheering and chanting roared in the back, as I felt completely drifted to another world. All my nerves sent signals to my mind, producing millions of thoughts; scrambled, as it created enhanced feelings that had to be deciphered. The moment felt so long, but surprisingly, I didn’t mind. She slowly moved back, as my hands let go of her. Falling to reality, I heard the boys screaming in the back. I was completely intoxicated, but it definitely was not the alcohol. In fact, the alcohol seemed to have vanished completely from my body. Instead, I was intoxicated to a long lost feeling I once experienced before. Her face glowed of something similar, she walked backwards as she bit her lips. With a final smile she got in her car and reversed out; and I dropped.
Thambi caught me in the motion and lifted me back up, and when I turned around I felt like some celebrity. Everyone was hyping me, pushing me around, as I remained astonished. Looking further out, I saw Verone clapping, and of more importance, Marona with a giant smile across his face; it didn’t suit him at all, but it was good to see him smile.
What a day.
Part 3: So It Begins
Chapter 13 – To Fall In and Out of Love
The morning arrived, and drenched within my blankets I could not help but think of Nilani. It was different, usually I would be contemplating whether I could think of someone else after Hasini passed, but in this instant that wasn’t the cause for my struggle of thoughts. Instead the choice was totally up to me; there really was nothing holding me back. From the moment I set eyes on her, I felt something. I have been trying to push back feelings, but that could only be done for a limited period, before it overpowers my mentality completely.
I twisted and turned, stuffed my face in my pillow and screamed. In the world around me, I have become somewhat of a criminal icon. Yet, in my room I remain a love-struck soul. Remone knocked on my door before popping his head through.
“Bro, is everything alright in here,” he asked.
“Yeah.” I replied, hoping he wouldn’t make an annoying joke.
“Good, cause you’ve got a guest,” he said as he opened the door wider. Nilani; I sat up on my bed, using blankets to cover my boxer wearing lower half.
“I’ll leave you both to it, behave kids,” joked Remone.
“Get the fuck out bro,” I shouted, throwing a pillow at the door.
Nilani closed
the door behind her as she came and sat at the corner of my bed. I actually felt nervous, I didn’t know how to start the conversation as I watched her sit quietly. I should probably say something though. “I’m sorry for slapping you,” she spoke; just as I was about instigate conversation. “Don’t worry, I haven’t even thought about it,” I replied. We returned to our awkward silence, neither one of us had a clue of how to start the more important conversation. It would probably sound better if I speak up first.
“The both of us can’t just sit here the rest of the day. So, I might as well throw it out there. Obviously there was something different about the moment we shared last night. I mean.”
“Sorry Arrun, could I say something first? I was the one to fall for you first; I’m the one who has been drenched in a whole bunch of thoughts over the past few days. I’d rather speak it all now, and it won’t be long, so just listen. I get why you can’t be with me, it’s partially because of the things you’re involved with here. Though we both know the real reason. You still love Hasini, and there probably is no replacing her, but maybe it’s okay to fall in and out of love? I mean, I know I may never replace Hasini in your heart, and I can’t make you either. What if I could try to love you as much as she did? I can see through your dark cover, I know you have the heart to love a lot. Maybe you can give me a small portion of that love? Maybe someday I can be what Hasini was for you. I know it’s a bunch of what ifs and all, but that’s how things happen right? We won’t know unless we give it a shot.”
“You’re right, it’s a bunch of maybes and what ifs, but I’ll never know unless I give it a shot. It’s hard to explain the thoughts that crossed my mind when we kissed last night. Everything around me just went blank; I forgot about my past, I forgot about everything that has happened here but you. You were the only thought on my mind; it was all you, multiplied a thousand times over and over again. I never thought for a second that I’d find someone who can make me feel that way again, but you did. You make me feel like it’s possible to love more than once, maybe love more than the first time itself. I’ve recently felt like all cross roads in my life brought me here to live this chaotic lifestyle; now I think otherwise. Maybe I climbed mountains for you; I’ve never been a firm believer in fate, but it could actually exist. I don’t know how things will go for me from here on out, but one thing is certain. I want you in my life.”
I didn’t even finish before she jumped on top of me, holding me tight. I couldn’t breath, but I was fine with it. She slept at my side for a few minutes before she began asking me to go out with her.
“My wallet isn’t going to be a happy one in this relationship, is it?” I asked.
“Hell no,” she replied, laughing beautifully with the morning sun gracing her skin through the windows. I don’t know if Hasini was still present around me, but I know for a fact that she will be glad that I met someone like Nilani.
“Now stop being half-naked and get ready, I’ll wait downstairs,” she commanded, walking out the door to my room. It didn’t take too long to get ready, but on my way out the door I did something strange. I looked at myself in the mirror, something I haven’t done in awhile. I noticed that I smiled all while I got ready, a sense of light in my dark cave.
The time was around 8am when I came down, and my four roommates were already up and about. It was quite funny seeing Nilani at the table eating breakfast with them. She fit in well, and that was surely a plus point. “She’s a keeper bro,” said Remone, as I shifted my attention to Sethu. I remember how Sethu felt about the incident at the brothel. He was upset, that I attacked Miran to defend Nilani; I waited hoping for him to say something. “I was wrong about her brother, glad you’re happy,” he voiced; a little weird and quiet, but he surely did care for his friends.
Nilani had already ate breakfast with my friends, so instead of going out to grab a bite, she drove us over to a nearby beach. Marina Beach; apparently it is really famous in Chennai. Many scattered along the beach, it was actually quite surprising considering the fact that it was so early in the morning. Couples, families, and concession stands were scattered all around. It was pretty hard to find a place to sit at first, but we eventually did. Nilani was over at a concession stand, grabbing us two cups of tea. I sat there staring out into the waters, wondering of how much my life will change with the presence of Nilani. My lifestyle is meant for me to care about no ones life, but I actually have someone to live for now.
“What are you thinking about,” she asked as she took seat next to me on the warm sand beneath us. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” I replied, continuously beating my mind of the future.
“Life changes a lot from here,” I stated.
“Not really, I’m not going to ask you to change everything for me, you know what’s best for you. You’re smart Arrun, you don’t need to live the life of a criminal. You can go about and find a great job and still lead an incredible life, and it’s totally in your hands. It may be hard, starting from the bottom, but I’ll be here through the struggle.”
“I can’t just walk away Nilani, I’m pretty far into this mess. I’m surrounded by devils, not to mention that I’m no saint myself. I don’t support half the things the people around me do. Corrupt politicians, crooked officers, all bowing down to the criminal world. It’s hard to watch the lives of innocent people collapse, all because of actions of people with higher authority. Things have to change, but some people must go for those issues to be fixed. I’m drowning in issues around me, and I can’t think of change until those problems are dealt with. It does feel great though, knowing that you’ll be at my side through it all.”
“How will your dad react to us,” I questioned curiously, he is not going to be ecstatic that his daughter is with an unlawful person like me.
“He wants to speak with you, he’s observed me being unusual,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He noticed something different about me. It started the day you left me at the front gate of my house. He feels that there is more to you than an ordinary criminal.”
“To be honest, I don’t think this is the life I want to lead forever. Your presence made me realize this, but I can’t let go of the impact my position can have. My voice is actually respected amongst the group of criminals I’m surrounded by. I can actually spark a change, but it’ll have to come after we deal with a few issues.”
From the moment I saw that elderly driver killed in the street shootout, I could not help but notice that amount of lives being impacted by our actions. Then there were the women in the brothel; some there because there is no other way to support their families, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are forcefully there. It isn’t right, and after the Khan issue is over I must talk to Marona about change.
“Wait, we’ve been talking so much about me. Tell me some stuff about you,” I asked.
“Uhm my life isn’t quite as exciting as yours, so I’ll keep it short. I plan parties for a living, I know, its like, is that even a job? But yeah, I love it. Especially when you see the amount of people who come out and enjoy. I work with my friend/business partner Dipti, she’s not Tamil like the both of us. She’s Punjabi, and boy is she a blast to be around. Pretty sure you’re dying to know of my past boyfriends, there were only two, and they were both idiots. My mom passed away when I was a kid, never really got to know her. I’ve always been spoiled by my dad, he’s awesome, trust me! Beyond the tough police officer front he puts up, he’s really soft and cute! Oh there’s another thing you can probably relate to. You know Shekhar Khans son Abdul? Yeah that guy is such a pig! He annoys me so much; I think my dad must have mentioned me once. Ever since then, he’s been trying to hit on me, like nonstop! He’s such a pervert; I wish he’d just be washed off the face of the planet.”
If only she knew that we had him locked up and beaten down right now. As amusing as it was, I couldn’t let her know. I wouldn’t want her to get hurt, especially if it is because of my actions.
I wanted to continue talking with her throughout the day, but I got a phone call from Remone saying the operation had started. It was going to be a busy day, and I had to head home now.
Nilani dropped me off at my place, where I saw Remone, Sethu, Thambi, and Renny ready to go. She waived goodbye, and Remone checked to see if I was a go for today. I knew I had to keep one life away from another. “Let’s get on with it brother,” I said, as we all got in one vehicle.
Cross Roads: Pick a Path Page 10