HIGHWAY 29- VILLAGE

“ For the love of god, how much farther do we have to walk”,  Martha asked, looking at Philip .

“ Well it is 2 more miles according to this map”, Philip replied looking into the map.

It had been 6 months ago when Martha and Philip decided to embark on a road trip across the country. Everything was going good till now. They had seen so many places, met so many different people. But today morning exactly at 10 their car broke down. It broke down at a desolate place on Highway. There were no restaurants, no fuel stations, no town, no houses, absolutely no life on this stretch of the highway. At least according to the map which Philip held.

“ Are you sure that the map is right”, Martha asked again,

She was feeling very tired now, it was 10 am when the car broke down and it was 3 pm now.

“ it’s the only one I have, Martha if you look into the map, you will observe that the highway goes straight and then bends eastwards to reach the nearest fuel station, so maybe we could get off it and cut through the forest, maybe it’ll cut a few miles”

“ The Forest, I really don’t know if that is a good idea”, Martha replied looking skeptically at the great stretch of forestland to their left.

She thought about the idea, at first glance it did not look like a good idea, but then again she thought of the time and effort that would be saved if they took the forest route. She relented. Both, of them got off the highway and started walking on the narrow trail that they found going through the forest.

“ Is that compass of yours working”, Martha asked Philip looking around at the dense forest surrounding them. She cast a glance at the highway they had left behind them. It looked far away, and it was going to get farther away till they found it at the other end.

“ Ya it is, we will be at the fuel station as long as we keep going in the south east direction”

They kept following the trail; it was a narrow trail, the kind of trail, which was caused as a result of people walking through the same patch again and again. The trail moved in the south east direction, Martha was thankful of that. She wondered what would they have to go through if the trail ended abruptly, or it started moving in some other direction.  Then it did end, going straight into the Banyan tree which stood in the way. No Martha thought.

“ Now , what”, Martha said staring at the banyan tree standing in their way, it was now 5 pm in the evening and day light was slowly fading away. She was starting to have second thoughts about the whole idea.

“ Nothing we keep walking in the south east direction”, Philip said looking ahead.

They continued walking south east. Martha observed that the forest was starting to get dense and the light was fading. The sounds of insects were getting louder. Darkness slowly crept over the forest. 

“ I am feeling scared, and it’s too cold here”, Martha mouthed, she was shivering.

“ What are you folks doing here”, somebody said from their right.

Philip looked at the source of the voice. He saw an old man about 50 looking at them. He was standing with a stick in his hand.

“ We are trying to reach the highway”, Martha said looking at the man.

“ You shouldn’t be here, not at this hour, it’s not safe”, he said glaring at them.

“ I know , that is exactly what we are trying to do, can you help us with that, and why is the place not safe”, asked Philip.

“ Spirits……. Spirits move around this forest after sundown”, the old man answered

“ So why are you here, you some kind of ghost hunter”, asked Philip amused with the whole thing.

“ I am the guardian , it is my duty to be here”

“ Guardian , you guarding what Spirits”, Philip mocked

“ Graves”, the old man said still glaring at them.

“ What Graves”, Martha asked curious by now. 

“ Let me lead you out of here, I will tell you on the way”

Thirty years ago I came here searching for a place to live. This was the time when the highway was not yet built. There was a village at the place where the highway stands. A village bustling with people who used to collect wood from the forests and sell them in the city for their livelihood. I thought of trying my luck with that, so I approached the village headman. He asked me where I had come from, I told him I had come from the city up north and I knew something about different types of wood. He thought I could help him get  a better price for the wood his people sold, because he was of the opinion that merchants in the city used to fool his people. He told me I could stay in the village and help his people sell wood in the cities. In exchange for my services he promised me a place to live and food. Since, I had nothing else to do I agreed. I started going out into the forest with the villagers, I helped them with the selection of the best wood available, and help them get the best price for their wood in the city. This went on smoothly for years. Everybody was happy with my services. One day, I had just returned from the city after cracking a deal with the merchants, when the headman called me to his hut immediately. I thought something was terribly wrong . I could see it in the face of the person who had come to inform me. I entered the headman’s hut, I saw fear in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong. He told me, two of his men had cut a tree and a woman had come out of nowhere. She told them that she was imprisoned under the tree since the last 100 years. She told them she was a soul seeker, and that she could be free if she could get somebody’s soul to roam the forests in her place. The men died the next day. The headman was scared that they would come and take others from among them to take their places in order to be free. I told him there was nothing to worry about. I told him the men might have died of natural causes, and that we were panicking over nothing. But I was wrong. One by one everybody started dying. People came to know about the story, many left the village. Some stayed behind, because they could not think of anywhere else to go, or anything else to do. The chief stayed with his people in their hour of need. He asked me to leave. I could not , I had no where else to go and I owed this man a lot to leave him alone. In the end there was nobody left, except for the headman and me. He called me to his hut. He told me to stay away from the village at least for this night. He told me that he wants to die , he had no reason to live as his family was gone. He told me that if he dies tonight and his soul has to wander the forest , so be it, it was his forest. He told me to return the next day to bury his body at the same place where all his fellowmen were buried. He assured me that he will not come for my soul, but I had to promise him one favor. He asked me to guard the graves. He did not want grave robbers to get any of their belongings. I promised him and left. I returned the next day, as predicted he lad dead on his bed. I took his body to the village graveyard in the forest and returned to my hut. That night was the scariest moment of my life. I thought he would come for me to set himself free. He came, but he did not take my soul. He was happy that I stayed, that I stuck to my promise. Then he left. I never saw him again. Though I feel his presence in the forest, I have never seen him.

“ There you are, we have reached the highway, have a safe trip, and never return to this forest”. The old man said and walked back into the forest.

Philip and Martha looked at each other, they simply could not believe what they had just hear, but it certainly seemed to sent a chill down their spines.

“ What are you doing here”, the lady asked Jennifer

“ Well I was out trekking and I lost my way, I am trying to find the highway”, Jennifer said looking at the couple standing in front of her. She thought it was a bit odd for them to be in the forest at this late in the evening. So she asked

“ What are you folks doing here at this hour”

“ Well, it is a long story”, Martha said

“ Let us tell you that on the way to the highway”, Philip quipped.

HIGHWAY 29 - THE DACOIT

 

“ Of all the days why today”, grumbled Tina.

She was worried , very worried . Mom and Dad had left at 9:00 pm to go out to have dinner, it was 12 am now and they were still not back. It is not that they generally don’t go out, they go for dinner at least twice a week, but today for some reason she was more worried. The reason mom and dad had gone out today was to celebrate the purchase of their new car. Dad had purchased a new Luxury car, it was a awesome car so spacious, pearly white in color, and what was the name , Breezer. Traveling in it was really like a breeze, she had gone for a drive with mom and dad in the evening when the man from the showroom had delivered the vehicle. It was so good , everything from the A/C to the pick-up of the vehicle was awesome. She just couldn’t wait to tell her friends in school about it tomorrow. So, to celebrate this occasion her parents had gone to this particular hotel which was on highway 29, and it was far away from their house , so that was the reason for the delay. Otherwise her parents are usually home by 11. She was worried because of the news reports coming on television, which said that the notorious dacoit Raghu had escaped from prison, and was last spotted in the area where their house is located.

“ oh , please come home soon, I am scared”, Tina cried.

She shut off the television and got up and went into the bedroom to sleep. She felt hiding under the covers will calm her fears a bit, and maybe she would not feel as scared. She kept the bedroom light on and slipped under the covers. She tried calling her mom’s cell phone again, still no answer.

“ Oh god please ask Mom to pick up the phone”, she pleaded.

She heard a noise, it was as if somebody had opened a window, maybe it is the breeze she told herself, it is possible it was a windy night. But then she heard something like a utensil falling. Now she started having doubts, no the wind was not that strong. Tina quickly turned off the bedroom light and crawled towards the door, she opened the door to a crack and peeped outside. The moonlight entering the house through the windows cast a faint glow in the room. She thought she saw somebody moving. She opened her eyes wide so as to get a better view. She saw somebody, a man going from her living room towards her parents bedroom. Panic gripped Tina.

“ Oh god , oh my god , no”, she mouthed, mug shots of Raghu which were shown on television were going around in her head. She bolted the door to her room and moved the bed against the door and went and sat on her bed. She was scared , she felt very afraid , very alone. She couldn’t think what to do. Her mind was just not working. She hid under the bed . Beads of sweat were racing down her forehead, she was shivering, in spite of the sweat , her body felt cold, very numb. She felt like screaming, but it was as if her voice had left her. Big help screaming would do anyway, it would lead the dacoit directly to her. She wanted to go out of the house, but how, her window had grills. Her father had put grills to her window, cause he wanted to protect his precious daughter. She cursed herself for agreeing with her father on that, the protection had become a trap for her. She heard footsteps outside the door, she felt like crying.

“ Please god, please help me”,

The door knob turned, Tina rushed out from under he  bed trying to find a place to hide. She opened the closet, pushed her clothes aside. She stepped into the closet and moved her cloths in such a way, so that she could hide behind them. Somebody started pushing  the door to her room. Tina froze, completely unable to move. Her mind started thinking about what would happen if the man entered her room. Would he kill her, would he kidnap her, she prayed to god that he should not enter the room whatever happened. She saw the bed move, and the door open an inch. Why did mom and dad have to go today , Tina sobbed. The door moved again . The man outside kept pushing the door till it opened enough for him to step in. In the faint moon light entering her room Tina could see his face, she was right , it was Raghu. She could see him smiling. He looked around the room as he entered. He ducked and checked under the bed. Tina felt glad she did not stay there. Raghu stood again.

“ I know you are here, come out whoever you are, or I will find you and kill you “, he thundered.

Tears welled in her eyes, she could taste the salty taste in her mouth. She so desperately wanted to cry out loud, she wanted her dad. He was so strong, and he had a gun handy. Oh how relieved she would feel now to see her dad here. She saw Raghu move towards the window, then he turned facing the closet.

“ Now there are not many places in this room to hide, I know you are in the closet , come out, come out, or I will pull you out.”,

He moved towards the closet. Then Tina heard a noise, as if somebody had banged the front room door against the wall. Raghu heard the sound too, he turned and walked to the door to see. He peeped out. Tina heard a gunshot ring in the house. Dad finally .  Raghu bolted towards her window, saw the grills turned back and raced out of the room. Tina stood in the closet, without moving. She saw that the lights in the house were coming on. But she still did not move. She wanted to make sure she was safe before coming out. Somebody appeared at her door. Dad. Tina felt so relieved. She rushed outside the closet and hugged her dad and started crying.

“ Dad, what took you so long , I was so scared”, she bawled.

“ You, are safe now don’t cry”, her dad said, holding her tightly.

“Were you the one who fired the gun dad”, Tina asked still sobbing.

“ Yes, I saw the front door open , so I thought something was amiss, so I sneaked in and took out the gun from the drawer, so I fired in the air to warn whoever was in here”.

“ Did you see him dad, it was Raghu, the dreaded dacoit, he escaped from jail”.

“ Yes, I did see him , he escaped through the kitchen window before I could catch him”.

“ Where’s Mom”, Tina asked finally realizing that her mom was not there with her dad.

“ Well, I asked her to wait outside, I will go and get her, you go to sleep Tina”, her dad said.

“ No papa , I don’t want to sleep alone, I will sleep in your room , I am very scared”, Tina pleaded.

“ Tina, you are a brave girl and besides I will stay outside your room”, her father said looking at a distance.

Tina wanted to protest, but then she saw that her dad looked tired, and even she was tired and sleepy so she agreed and slept on her bed. Her father pulled the covers on her, and kissed her on the forehead.

“ Good night , sweetheart”

“ Good night, Dad”.

Tina closed her eyes, she was so relieved that her parents were home, she still felt a bit odd that her mom had not come and talked to her, maybe it was a big party they had, she thought. She will talk to mom in the morning and scold her for not giving her a hug. She pulled Teddy, her cute little soft toy teddy bear from the bedside shelf and hugged him. Finally she could sleep peacefully.

“ Control room, can you hear me”.

“ Loud and clear, identify yourself and continue”.

“This is constable Jondhale, from the highway patrol unit 2S, There has been an accident on highway 29, white colored car , make ‘ Breezer’, two people in the vehicle, a man about 38 years of age and a Woman about the same age”

“ What is the status”

“ Checked their pulse, both are confirmed dead, I repeat both are dead, time of accident estimated to be about 9:30 pm based on initial reports cause of death……..

Tina slept peacefully, in the empty house again, she could find peace because she did not know it was empty.

HIGHWAY 29 - SIBLINGS

“ Why are you even here …? …. You never cared for him … you were never there for him all these years …. And the best part is he leaves everything to you “, Jason said looking at his brother with contempt in his eyes.

“ I have always been there for him …. Whenever I could … and what do you mean by he left everything to me “

“ Jack … Jack …. Always the naïve one aren’t we …. You know very well what I mean …. I read his will … the house, money and everything down to his stupid collection of stamps … he’s left everything to you… there isn’t a nickel in the will for me”.

“ That proves who was there for him”, Jack said , with the hint of a smile showing on his face.

“ When were you there , as far as I remember you have spent the last 10 years of your life getting in and out of prison… I mean look at you …. You are the one standing handcuffed at our Father’s funeral”

“ I have had my set of problems, but that in no way means I did not care for him, I was the one who visited him when he was in the hospital , even when I was in prison … and you hot shot lawyer that you are … you never turned up”

How did they turn up like this Jack wondered, Jason was 2 years elder to him, the respected son of the family. He was always good with studies, graduated from the best law school in the country, and now worked with the most respected law firm in the country. Jack had always wondered what made them so different. Both were equally good in studies in school. He still remembered how proud their mother was, always telling anybody who would listen how good her sons were. She would say god has given her the most ideal children anybody would ask for. Jack was still in school when their mother died , he was still 12 years old. That is when the differences between him and Jason started to crop up. Jason behaved as if he was the boss of the house, as if he owned Jack. Their father was always away at work and mother was no longer at home to stop him from bossing around. Jack tolerated it for some time , partly because he thought he was too small to fight his brother and partly because he was still grieving his mother and somewhere deep down he believed that mother would come back and teach Jason a lesson. He had had enough of the harassment by the time he was 15 and ran away from home. That is when he fell into the wrong company. He indulged in petty thefts and drugs and was arrested for the first time on his 17th birthday. Somebody told the cops that there was drugs involved in the party, the cops arrested him and put him to into a correctional facility. Some correctional facility it was, that is where he came to know the others who would eventually lead him to a life of crime. He still remembered how his father had wept seeing him in that state, but then he was already too deep in it to come out. He felt bad for his father , but then he would think of Jason, how he would treat him now , it always strengthened his resolve not to return home. He was not all that bad … the situation made him so. The irony of the situation that was now amused him… his father had left him the house he never intended to return to, the house where Jason always thought he was boss…. Fate behaved in strange ways indeed.

“ You must be feeling very happy now that you have everything”, Jason inquired looking away from his brother.

“ Jason, you never understood me, you never will …. How do you expect me to be happy on my father’s funeral, I don’t have a heart of stone mind you “.

“ I did not care for you … that’s what you think … what do you think motivated me to be a lawyer in the first place”
“ Hah … that is some crap , you never defended me in any case as far as I remember”, Jack said looking disgusted.

“ I did not , because I couldn’t … I was not allowed to take outside cases, my firm did not allow that, but that does not mean I did not look into your cases, where do you think your lawyers were coming from , who do you think briefed them “.

“ Look at you … you are still trying to show your greatness … you still think you own me like you did 20 years ago, you know why I ran away from the house …. Because I was sick of you , sick of your bossing me around”.

“ Jack …. Whatever you think about me, I never wanted to boss you …. It was just that mother had died , and father was always busy with work… I thought it was my responsibility to look after you “.

“ And you did a mighty sloppy job of it “ , Jack said still feeling disgusted.

Why was Jason trying to be nice to him, was it because he wanted his share of the property or was he telling the truth. It was true Jack had never seen it that way, he had always thought of his brother as somebody who wanted to own him, boss over him. But then did he do that because he was really concerned about him.

“ Ya I did do a mighty sloppy job … you ended up in prison after all “

“ Look I just want to get this over with and go back to my cell, I am too drained to have any such conversation now”, said Jack

“ Fine have it your way , but I just want you to know that you are wrong about me , I did care about you , I still do , and ya I did visit father in the hospital more times than you did , we had conversations till the time he could talk , he told me himself that he was leaving everything to you , I agree I was angry on him for that, he said he had his reasons for doing so , I found it difficult to understand them then, but I think I do now, hope you understand them one day”,

“ And what were the reasons”, inquired Jack looking genuinely surprised at this sudden revelation by his brother.

“ Forget it , you would not believe me if I said anything “

“ Try me “

“ He said he was giving you a second chance at life, hope you take it properly “

“ Second chance … what second chance” , said Jack , he was really curious to know by now.

“ He said he has already given me everything he could, good education, a good life … but he could not give these things to you , he could never be there for you , so he wanted to give you whatever he had , so that you would understand him and maybe lead a respectable life after you come out of prison”

“ what “ , that is all Jack could say , he look bewildered

“ I know you don’t believe it , but that is the truth , and frankly I don’t mind not getting the house or the money , I just feel sad that I did not get anything , I mean he could have left me the stamp collection at least, even I have the right to some memories of him”. Jason looked at Jack , his eyes were watery , the pain inside him genuinely showed.

“ I did not even realize all this … I did not even know … I mean how could I know, I always thought of you as somebody mean who wanted to own everything I have …. I never realized you cared “

“ Let it be Jack… let’s get the funeral services started, let us leave our bonding for some other day”

The police took off the cuffs, the services started. Both the brothers did what needed to be done , said their final good bye’s to their father. People came and offered their condolences, there was aunt Martha, Uncle Lenny , Neighbors Sally and Samantha, Relatives who had come all the way from across the country. Jack never knew they had so many relatives, some looked at him with disgust, some looked sad to see him in this state , one even tried to shame him in public by listing out all his crimes , but then Jason prevented it, always the protector, how he had misread him , how he had always thought his brother was trying to own his life, but all he was trying to do was protect him from becoming what he had become. More people came and went and finally it was just he and his brother left with the two policemen who had escorted him here and were waiting to take him back. Jack looked at the spot where his father was buried , tears welled up his eyes , oh how he missed his father, if he had not been the fool he was , he could have had many conversations with father, had many more years to spend with him, many more years to actually understand what his brother was , Jack hated himself for missing out on those years. Never again he vowed to himself. Never again will I go to prison. I will be a changed man when I come back . I will spend more time with my brother.

“ Time to go “ , the policeman said to Jack bringing him out of his thoughts

“ Just a moment sir , I really need to tell my brother something”

“ Jason, I really don’t know what went wrong between us , why did I never understand you or your intentions , but I promise you one thing , I will be a changed man once I come out of prison”, Jack looked sorry for his actions

“ Father has given you a second chance, take it well , and ya always remember I will be there for you if you ever need me”

“ Jason, I don’t want it , I don’t deserve it, I will leave all that in your name, you are right we’ll stay together , like brothers for the first time since 20 years, it will be great”

“ Jack , lets discuss this some other day “

“ No , no really , somebody might misuse the property when I am in prison, and who knows , if I end up doing drugs again , I might just pawn off the house , I can’t trust myself on that front anymore, and what is the harm in you taking care of the house, it is our house, you are my brother”

“ Ok if you really think that would be the best course for both of us , so be it , I will send some papers to prison tomorrow you can sign them”

“ you do that , and Jason I love you , am sorry for all these years” Jack said finally extending his arm towards the policeman who was standing ready to cuff him

The policeman handcuffed Jack, and he was escorted back to the police car waiting to take him back to prison. He felt good about what he had just done. Jason had always been the responsible of the two . Jack knew he had done the right thing. Oh Father would be so happy.

Jason looked at the police car drive away, He looked at his father’s grave

“ Jack … Jack …. Always the naïve one aren’t we ….”, he smiled and walked back to his car.