BALI 100 KM (Book 1) ✔

Chapter 24

Bandu had to buy groceries, so he got down near a shop on the outskirts of the village. After his purchases, he rode again till the narrow lane leading toward his house. Maneuvering the cycle through that dark alley was dangerous, so he walked it out. There were about twenty-five houses in this clutter-five houses in one row, and his abode was at the far end, house number 25. Observing the house in darkness, he headed straight to Partho's room next door, the only place where Nand would likely be this late, after parking his bike. On receiving a call to enter after knocking, he went in to find Maithili preparing dinner and Nand nowhere in sight.

"Have you seen Nand? He is not at home,"

"Yes," Maithili said, smiling. "He has gone with Partho to the tailor. Partho had bought some cloth to stitch himself a trouser and believed extra cloth would be available for stitching one for Nand, so he took him along to the tailor for measurements. They will be back soon, don't worry."

"Oh, in that case, I will get down to preparing dinner before he comes."

Halfway through his dinner preparations, Nand appeared in the kitchen with a packet in his hands with a broad smile hanging on his face. He handed it over to Bandu, who unpacked it, sensing the child's eagerness. There were some sweets in it, which they both relished and wasted no time in the tasting.

"Did you thank Partho for the sweets?" asked Bandu and received a positive reply.

"Good," Bandu said, smiling up at him. "I will be going to collect your report tomorrow at the hospital and from there will go to the shop, so don't expect me for lunch. I will prepare it in the morning for you. See that you have it on time," he instructed the boy with his next day's plan.

Bandu wondered how quickly the boy had become a part of his life. As though he was always there and had been staying away for some time to be reunited again. He treated the boy as his own family and never felt otherwise.

In the middle of the night, some noises had disturbed him. He lay awake, trying to sense the direction of the noise. It came again, now like someone was banging something on the wall. It was the common wall of the house that he shared with Partho.

Then, a scream followed in the dead of the night. It jolted Bandu instantly out of his bed towards the door. It was Maithili's scream. He tried to open his door, but to his horror, the door would not budge, and he was baffled. Another frantic shriek followed, and Bandu desperately used all his might to push and pull at the door, to release open the jammed door, but no success.

He switched on the lights. There was another cry just then. Following behind, he heard Partho's voice, shouting out, "THIEF! THIEF!"

Bandu began to bang his door loudly now. He moved to the window and opened it. He observed lights were blinking alive and could hear banging from around him. He could hear people shouting. Then there were lanterns and torches flashing in the dark and the sound of crowd approaching. He quickly moved to the door, banging it once again. He stopped when he heard someone unlatch his door. The neighbor informed him that someone had blotted his door from outside, similar to other houses in the neighborhood. They were vouching for this to be the work of the thieves.

That reminded him of Partho, and he dashed over to the room where people had gathered. He squeezed himself in, but the tiny room made it difficult for him to locate Partho. He saw Maithili, sitting in a corner, crying, clutching the baby in her arms, and Ammudevi sitting beside her, trying to console her. Partho was seated on the bed, and a cloth pressed to his forehead from where blood had oozed out, staining his face.

Hurrying towards him, "Are you alright, Partho," Bandu asked, sitting beside him, "What happened?"

"Thieves had entered after breaking down the door. Awakened by the noise, I was on my feet, but before I could react, they took me by surprise, making me lose my balance, and hit my head on the edge of the bed before falling to the floor. Maithili, having got up after hearing the scuffle, began to scream. Fearing at being caught, the thieves fled."

"Come, let us go to the doctor and bandage your head."

"Yes, Bandu, take Partho to the doctor. I will stay with Maithili until you come back," Ammudevi said.

"This has never happened before in our neighborhood. We have to report this to the police tomorrow morning," said Ammudevi's son.

"They were surely not from around here, I think." speculated another person.

"How many thieves were there, Maithili?" someone asked.

"I think two...no, maybe three, I am not sure. It was dark, and when I switched on the light, the men were gone. The thieves had a torch with them." she said, still trembling from the shock.

"We too did not see anyone while we rushed here. We heard banging from inside other rooms and approached them and found many of the houses locked from outside. I think the thieves had done that so that no one would come for help if you shouted." another neighbor put in.

Before taking Partho to the doctor, Bandu checked on Nand, who was sleeping undisturbed. They reached the doctor's clinic and knocked at the door. The clinic was a one-storey building. The doctor conducted consultations on the ground floor and used the upper room as his residence. Since it was only 3 am the doctor did not open the door immediately.