Cross Roads: Pick a Path (9 page)

Renny knocked on Sethu’s door so I can meet
him. Sethu opened his door with a joint between his lips. “What’s
up bro,” asked Sethu lending his hand out as a gesture of
friendship. Shaking his hand, I was wondering why Remone called him
the odd one. He smiled, and slowly stepped back behind his door and
closed it.

“Well, that was weird,” I said

“That’s Sethu for you, you’ll get used to
it,” responded Renny.

Renny showed me my room before heading back
downstairs; settling in I actually liked this place. In my dark
room I took a seat, everything I needed was right there for me.
Although there was one factor that needed a change, the blinds were
closed, and it was time for change. I can’t be living in the dark
anymore; pulling the curtains, I watched as the room began to flood
with light, lights of new life.

Since our arrival time flew, it would be the
appropriate time for me to get some rest. With all that happened
throughout the day, I knew that I should be expecting some wild
things tomorrow. The new life I began today is not one that
everyone often dreams of, but I think it’s growing on me.

It was fairly early when I went to bed
yesterday evening; the time now is five in the morning and I am
pretty sure the rest of the guys are asleep right now. My coffee
and cigarette routine is not one to stop so easily; so I made my
way down to the kitchen to get myself a cup. Coming down the
stairs, I turned to the right in direction of the kitchen to find
Sethu awake, sitting at the dining table rolling another joint.

“Bro did you even sleep,” I asked.

“Yeah, why do you think I closed the door on
you yesterday,” he said.

“Couldn’t you just say, you were going to
sleep,” I questioned.

“What’s the fun in that,” he responded.

What’s the fun in that? What is that even
supposed to mean, I stood there questioning myself. I was starting
to realize why he is supposedly the weird one.

“I’m going to make some coffee, do you want
some,” I asked.

“No, but I wouldn’t mind it if you poor me a
shot,” he said.

“Bro! It’s five in the morning! Is
everything good,” I inquired.

“
What? A guy can’t drink in the morning?
Not everyone who drinks is a complete mess. I just like to start my
day off with a little buzz. Reality is just too boring, a hit from
my joint and a shot of whisky and I’ll be buzzed the entire
morning. Besides it helps when you’re a criminal, with all the shit
you’re asked to do.”

“Say no more brother, I got you,” I
responded as I headed into the kitchen to make the coffee and poor
a shot for Sethu. By the time I had both in hand, he was already at
the top of the house. The house is pretty awesome seeing how we’re
able to go over to the flat surfaced rooftop and have a great view
of the entire city. It was quite amazing because it was the first
time I was able to see it myself; Remone mentioned the view as we
were on our way to the house, but I didn’t expect it to be
stunning.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it” asked Sethu as he
extended out his hand for the shot of whisky. “Breathtaking,” I
responded placing a smoke between my lips. We both stood staring
out into the open without a word, at peace. Sometimes you forget
how big the world is, and you think it’s hard to find
opportunities. Standing in another part of the world you start to
think that there actually is a possibility to live more than one
life in an existence.

Breaking our silence was the ringing of
Sethu’s phone. It was from the Duranji residence; they wanted for
us to meet up at their place in an hour’s time. “Let’s see what
today has in store for us, shall we,” said Sethu. He headed back
down to wake up the rest of the guys as I sat against the edge of
the house looking out into the city. I’ve never been such a
religious person; nevertheless I do often find myself speaking to
Pillayar, Lord Ganesha, as he’s often referred to in hopes of him
hearing.

“
I often speak to you in hopes of you
hearing my cries. I’ve always preferred to deal with things on my
own; and even though I often say I don’t believe in god I find it
necessary to turn to you in my times of need. Is it wrong? Is it
wrong, that I only turn to you when I’ve got a problem? As humans
we turn to people we trust in times of need, isn’t that what I’m
doing with you? If god did put humans on this planet, this choice
was bound by you, is it not? I’ve often been thankful for the world
I lived in, great people, and a great job, with something exciting
in roads ahead. Although in recent times, my life has tumbled down.
Sarah went to great extents to learn about Hinduism for me to have
knowledge of my inherited religion. One thing I remember her
telling me is that you are the overcomer of obstacles. Is that why
you brought me to India? Did you crash my world, to build another?
Show me another road, please god show me something.”

“Arrun, its time to leave,” said Remone,
standing at the stairs leading to the rooftop.

“Cool, I’ll be down just now,” I
replied.

~

By the time we made it to Marona’s house
many of the men were already there. Walking into the palace of
residency, I was still in amazement; the architectural work was
astonishing. Raja and Verone were both right at the entrance to
greet us. I even saw Miran surrounded by some of his friends; his
face said it all; he was not happy with my presence. Walking down
the stairs, Marona let us know of what had occurred, and the plan
for what will happen next.

“
As most of you know Shekhar Khan thought
that he could kill me earlier yesterday. Last night a little birdy
came over to let me know that Shekhar Khan apparently has a little
deal with the Tamil Nadu Police Commissioner, Muthumaran Selvaraj.
The plan is set so that I’m out of the picture, clearing criminal
activities in Tamil Nadu. We can’t let that happen now can we?
Around 2am last night we kidnapped Muthumaran’s loving daughter,
Nilani Selvaraj. We’ve kept her hostage at a brothel house a few
miles from here. Arrun, I want you and your group of guys to go
there and keep watch. There shouldn’t be any problems, there aren’t
many who know the whereabouts; just keep an eye on her. “

Miran didn’t seem to like the idea of Marona
giving me the responsibilities; he rushed out the door knocking
over objects in sight. I guess he might have taken offence to it,
but I could care less of what he thinks. “Alright, let him act like
a little girl,” said Marona. Some of the men were actually laughing
at Marona’s joke, even though they knew of Miran’s attitude. Maybe
they lost fear in him, watching an outsider like myself come into
the picture to face him.

There was no need for us to stick around
after Marona filled us in; causally waving to Marona I walked out
the door as Remone, Renny, Sethu and Thambi followed. As I got into
the front passenger seat, Thambi said, “Miran seemed to be really
pissed of brother.”

“Am I supposed to be scared of him? He’s
just like you and me,” I responded.

“Yes! You should be scared, the guys a
psycho,” said Remone.

It was pretty obvious that everyone believed
for me to be Miran’s primary target, even amidst all the occurring
problems. I didn’t really see the need to care for him, after all
Hasini’s death was surely a greater problem for me to deal with.
Although the strange happenings over the past few days have got me
wondering if I am moving on.

On pace to the brothel I just stared at my
legs, completely lost in thoughts. It was weird; I could not
understand how I went from losing myself months ago to the verge of
forgetting. I guess it makes sense, as humans we can never live
every second of our lives feeling the same emotion. Every second
changes us; the unbearable will become a thing of the past, as life
presents new opportunities and challenges. Hasini will be the most
unforgettable person in my life, but life must go on.

Life must go on, and I am realizing that
now. Yet I do not feel regret for leaving everything back in
Toronto. I had a life many people would kill for, but I prefer the
life I have started to build here. I don’t know how long it will
last, but as of now this is exactly where I want to be.

“Arrun, you got some nice legs, I get why
you can’t stop staring at them,” said Renny laughing hysterically.
“Shut up bro,” I responded as I smiled; I often forget how it must
look to others while I get absorbed in thoughts. Remone turned left
into an off road trail, and we drove for another fifteen minutes
before reaching the brothel. The place did not really seem like a
brothel to be honest; I had all these ideas as for what I should be
expecting, but all expectations were failed. I guess, I just
thought of it to be similar to what I would see in movies. The
house itself seemed pretty nice, painted all white, with a numerous
amount of windows. The gardening in front of the house was so
exquisite that I was in complete denial to call the place a
brothel. There were a few luxurious cars that were parked up at the
side of the house. It could explain why the house itself looked so
nice; the place was probably a brothel for high-end rollers.

Walking into the brothel, I wasn’t sure of
what to expect. The moment we walked through the door the five us
just stood in awe as our jaws dropped. So many beautiful girls; it
is a shame that they have to resort to prostitution for means of
income. I looked to my left and right as I stood in the middle of
us five, the excitement on the faces of the guys was as if they won
the lotto. As the female hosts approached us they were generally
really touchy.

“How can we help you boys today,” asked one
of the girls.

“We’re here on business, Marona sent us,” I
replied.

“Oh the crying girl upstairs,” she
asked.

“Nilani?” I asked for confirmation.

“Yeah, she’s right up the stairs; two doors
to your left,” she replied.

Turning to my friends I let them know it was
fine if they wanted to “hang out” with some of the girls. It was
just one girl; she can’t be so much trouble. The guys didn’t even
think twice, they agreed to my proposal and went their ways with
the girls. The funniest of the four was Thambi, who left with two
girls. As I began walking up the flight of stairs, Remone called
out my name. “Here keep this gun,” he said; there was no point in
me having it, but I took it anyway.

Nilani was out cold as I walked into the
dark room, I noticed that her plate of food and water reminded
untouched. Walking next to her, I took a seat on the bed as I
attempted to wake her up. I didn’t want to tap her on the shoulder,
she might think that I had come here with wrong intentions; we were
in a brothel after all. Simply saying, “wake up,” didn’t work; I
had no other option but to dump the bottle of water on her face.
She woke with fear; I turned completely drawn to her eyes opening
wide as tears dropped like rapid tides.

“
Please don’t do anything to me! Can I go
home, I don’t know what I did! Is it money that you want? You can
call my dad, he’s the Tamil Nadu Police Commissioner; he’ll give
you whatever you want. This place gives me the creeps, please take
me home; I’ll let my dad know not press charges. Are you going to
rape me, I’m not like the rest of the girls in this house; I’m not
a prostitute”

“
Could you shut up? I’m not going to rape
you! You’ll just have to stick around here for a few days at most.
Learn to eat your food, cause you aren’t going home anytime
soon.”

She glared at me for a brief moment before
giving a nice spit to my white t-shirt. Surprisingly I felt no bit
of anger towards her; instead I took grasp of her hand and used it
to wipe her spit.

“That is gross,” she screamed.

“What? It’s your spit,” I replied.

Her displeasure of my presence reminded me
of something similar to my first conversation with Hasini at the
bar in the Dominican. I guess I was never bound to have a nice
first meeting with attractive girls. Nilani was just as beautiful
as Hasini; though their similarities were limited. Her long tied up
hair, absorbing brown eyes, and beautiful cheekbones made her quite
the attractive girl. “Can you stop staring at me, it’s kind of
creepy,” she said. There was still a weird feeling about Nilani
that reminded me of Hasini. “Sorry, you just had me thinking of
someone I knew,” I replied.

I continuously asked her to eat and she just
stared at me like I had something on my face.

“How am I supposed to eat with my hands tied
up,” she asked.

“I can’t untie your hands, wouldn’t want you
to do anything dumb,” I said.

“Then feed me,” she suggested.

“Seriously? Are you cool with that,” I
questioned.

“How else am I supposed to eat you idiot,”
she retorted.

While feeding her she began to ask questions
of why she’s being held hostage. I really should’ve just left her
remain asleep.

“
Why are you being so nice? Are you
trying to play nice? I know about people like you, don’t start
thinking for one second that I’m not aware of your true intentions.
I don’t even know who you are; what’s you name? Why am I here? I
think you’ve got the wrong girl, I don’t get why I’d be
here.”

“
Wow, could you just slow down for a bit.
My name is Arrun, and I work for Marona Duranji. Your father is
making deals with some really bad people to kill my boss; and
you’re only here for a few days to send him a message. Don’t worry,
no harms going to come your way as long as I’m around. Now eat your
food so I can leave for a smoke.”

She was starting to cooperate a bit more.
After she finished eating, I found it to be an appropriate time to
move out for a quick smoke. I let her know that I’ll be stepping
out to the balcony around the corner for a brief moment. “Arrun, I
guess you’re alright,” said Nilani, as I was walking towards the
door. “Stay awake, I’ll come back and talk to you for a bit,” I
said closing the door behind me.