The Trail to Spring

Chapter 27

I would have felt afraid in walking through the dark and forbidding mountain lane up to the Mall if not for the seething desperation boiling inside of me to make some distance between the detective and myself. Once I had finally reached the Mall, I called up Sukhiji and he helped get a room in one of the hotels.

I started pretty early the next day with Sukhiji. He was initially surprised that Rakesh was no longer with me but didn't ask any questions. 

I visited three hotels of the five left to be checked by lunch time and none of them had kept a customer register that dated so long back, so I didn't have any clue whether dada had visited those places or not. I took out the piece of the paper with all the hotel names listed on it again. Rakesh may have wasted an entire day trying to sneak into a murderer's house instead of helping me but he did make this list so there was that.

I could have easily returned back to Mrs. Majumdar's place and reconciled with the detective but I couldn't bring myself into forgiving him so easily.

I had just finished my lunch and was walking back to Sukhiji's car when I found him trying to push a man who was sitting in front of our car.

"Look, miss, this blind man just won't move from here," Sukhiji complained.

I leaned down in front of the supposed blind man and observed him carefully. He was almost bald with little to no hair on top of his head, he had a rough beard and moustache on his face and he was barefoot. He had a long stick in his grip and was wearing dark glasses. The glasses were far dirtier than the detective's and its lens were broken in places which partly showed his eyes staring blankly somewhere. I stood there watching him, when he suddenly started blabbering something in Nepali in his croaky voice.

"Meile mero bato haraisakeko chhu"

"He says that he has lost his way," Sukhiji translated for me.

"Please ask him where he stays," I said.

The blind man said something in Nepali again.

"He says that his present address is under the sky but he'd like to visit the Mall if we'd help him get there," Sukhiji said.

"What do you say, Sukhiji? Should we take him to the Mall? It's just a short distance," I asked.

Sukhiji shook his head.

"I wouldn't advise it, miss," he said, "These kinds of people just create trouble. Nothing more."

The man seemed to be shivering from cold. He was wearing just a tattered sweater. He somehow reminded me of the main character of The Last Mountain Standing, who also had to spend time on the streets where he had almost died of starvation. I felt sorry for the blind man so I pulled him up from the road with the help of Sukhiji and helped him get inside our car, much to the dismay and chagrin of Sukhiji. But I needed to help him and Sukhiji didn't complain further.

Sukhiji parked the car a bit short of the Mall because cars weren't allowed inside. I helped the blind man get out of the car and slowly led him towards his destination. I remembered the time yesterday when the detective had pulled me away through this very road on our way to the Mall while being chased by the angry couple. I had felt so free then.

It has always been like this since forever. The moment you start trusting people, they get a free pass of taking advantage of your faith on them. Maybe Atifa was right. I was wrong in believing a complete stranger.

Meanwhile, the blind man bumped his head on a lamp post and backed away.

"I am so sorry," I said, pulling him towards the middle of the road again. I had forgotten for a moment that he couldn't see.