A Pocketful Of Peace

31. Blasted

To say that Prasanna was out of his mind with rage would be an understatement. As soon as he came face to face with Aman when he crossed the threshold, Prasanna burst into a fit of anger.

"Young man, would you care to explain yourself?" He thundered, reminding Aman of all the verbal spats he had had over the years with this adorable uncle of his. Oh! How much he had missed fighting and arguing with this formidable man... even if it was just over a couple of days since the last argument.

"What for?" He asked, trying to suppress his yawn.

"What for? Did you just ask me 'what for'?" Prasanna snapped. He looked at his daughter who had followed Aman inside and was standing bewildered, just a step behind him. "He is asking me what for!!" he said, astonished at Aman's casual attitude. "Does he even realise what agony he has caused today?" Turning back to Aman, he bellowed... "Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused today, boy?"

"What trouble?" Aman frowned. "Why don't you decide for once and for all whether it's a boy or a young man? You keep oscillating between the two endearments like a pendulum. Even I get confused..."

"Look at his audacity!!" Prasanna was aghast at his careless demeanour.

"Okay, okay! Now would you please get to the point here?" Aman finally tried to bring some sense into the discussion and the direction it was headed onto.

"Hah! How very blissfully ignorant we are over here!" Prasanna threw his arms wide open in exasperation.

Aman shrugged, genuinely at a loss of understanding.

"Where were you all this time?" Prasanna snapped at him.

"In the garden..." Aman replied, a little taken aback by this sudden onslaught of high-flying temper when he had least expected it.

"I am asking- since morning." Prasanna asked, in the same irritated tone. "Where were you since morning?"

"I was here only." Aman replied, still confused.

"What do you mean you were here? Don't you dare lie to me young man. You left home at about day break and we have been searching for you high and low in every nook and cranny of the town and beyond since then."

"But why?" Asked Aman. "I was right here at home. You could have checked my room instead of the whole town, Appa. Why didn't you just call me on my phone?"

"The phone was at home."

"And so was I." Aman insisted.

"You were at home? You mean... you were right here all this time?" Sandy asked, looking at him disbelievingly.

"Yeah. Where else could I be?" He replied. "Didn't you just hear Appa say he had the whole town checked for my whereabouts? I was nowhere to be found because I was already here, do you get that?" Aman replied.

"But.... But you had walked out in front of us at morning." She murmured.

"So? It's pretty normal for people to come back home after they leave... No?" He asked, a little annoyed at the interrogation he was being subjected to.

"When? How did you get back? I didn't see you come back home." She argued in her defence. "Where did y..."

"Oh! Come on Sandy! I don't understand the need to explain myself just because you have been ignorant of the fact that I was here all this time..." He said, his voice a notch higher with irritation barely held in check. "Now, if you will please be kind enough to end this interrogation; I need to go upstairs and get rid of this disgusting stuff you have put on me." And with that, he stormed up the staircase and a loud bang followed as the bathroom door was shut.