Cross Roads: Pick a Path (12 page)

The time was around 9:45pm, I asked Remone
to drop me off at the Duranji residence before taking Abdul Khan to
a safe house. I have already been receiving phone calls from Raja
and Verone for being late. As soon as it maybe, even Miran gave me
a call to reach the party as soon as possible. The drive wasn’t too
long; Remone dropped me off at the front gate as he drove off
quick. We did not want to cause a commotion, just in case the
guests noticed the unconscious body of Abdul lying in the back of
the vehicle.

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.

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.