The Trail to Spring

Chapter 10

I had never thought that I would be capable of doing the things that I had done in a matter of a single day- lying to my parents and going off on my own, deserting my most awaited trip, meeting up with drunk strangers and pulling off the guts to talk to a police- officer.

All these experiences were completely new to me and honestly, it felt kind of liberating for a change. I could literally do anything that I wanted to now with no chains attached to me. I may have missed out on the trip to Puri but I was happy that in any case I was getting a taste of the real freedom that I had longed for so long. But to be certain, I was not as desperate as my brother to get that freedom. I knew that some things are more important than others and I was sure my brother would have thought the same if only he was a bit older.

As we travelled to 26, B.B Ganguly Street via the public bus, my thoughts continuously turned towards Grandpa and how just the previous day I was waiting with baited breath for him in the hospital. I wondered how he was now and decided to call him once we finished for the day. Atifa, on the other hand, moaned on about how badly she wanted to eat the unfinished chocolate pastry that we had left behind in the café and wondered out loud who Rahul would take with him to his fancy restaurant now that she would not be going to Puri with him.

The weather was nice and cool since it was still January and hence we were spared the uncomfortable humidity that plagues our city in the summer months and makes 'travelling in the public bus such a pain', according to Atifa.

We had imagined the detective's place to be some kind of a big house or something, with a lot of servants and maids, since he was the son of a millionaire. So when we got down from the bus and found ourselves in front of a shabby looking three- storied apartment building, both of us were pretty taken aback. And we were further surprised when we found the detective's front door in the second floor open and without any lock so that anyone could enter his place if they wanted to.

"Should we enter?," Atifa asked. She pushed open the door slightly and peeped in.
I noticed a bell beside the front door and both of us agreed that ringing it would be the best course of action.

A middle- aged man of average height greeted us after a few seconds. He flaunted a neatly trimmed goatee and his hair was tidily combed back. The man was clad in a chick grey suit and a Rolex watch adorned his left hand. He had an air of quiet sophistication around him that immediately gave the impression of a respectable gentleman.

I was surprised to find a man with such sophisticated tastes in such a tiny and shabby apartment but if there was one thing that I had learnt from my experiences today, it was that the world was a much stranger place than I had previously given it credit for. I was about to greet him but Atifa beat me to it. She took hold of his hands and shook them warmly.

"I am so honoured to meet you, Mr. Barui," she said, plastering the fakest smile that I had ever seen in a face, "I have heard a lot about you."

Mr. Barui smiled back and welcomed us inside.

"Sorry about the front door," he said, "I have told my son so many times to mend it but he just won't listen."

"I am sorry, sir, but do you stay here?" I couldn't help asking.

"No, no," he said, laughing gently, "This is my son's place. I just came here to check on a case that he is currently handling. Whom shall I introduce to him?"

Atifa nudged me with her elbow to make me introduce us.

"Oh, right," I stuttered, "My name is Maya Ganguly and this is my friend Atifa Hussain. We hoped that Mr. Rakesh could help us a bit."

Mr. Barui nodded. He opened the door leading to an adjoining room and closed it behind him before I could spot the detective on the other side.

I looked around myself and realised that I was in the bedroom. The room itself had no furniture other than a book case and the bed which was neatly covered under a plain white sheet.

"He's kind of handsome, isn't he?," Atifa asked, looking around the room.

I ignored her and stole a glance at the book case. The first two racks were filled with several books about Mechanics, Aerodynamics, Harmonics and a book named Problems in General Physics by I.E.Irodov. I figured that the detective surely had a major in Physics or was pretty interested about the subject. The last shelf was filled with books that I could identify with better. There was The Great Expectations and Oliver Twist by Dickens, along with a few books by Chetan Bhagat. This was complemented with the few latest editions of the Anandamela magazine and a CD box set of Feluda's two movies by Satyajit Ray.

I was busy figuring out the detective's character from his book case when the faint murmur of the conversation from the other room floated to my ears. I edged closer to the door and realised that Mr. Barui was describing us.

"One has long hair tied in a braid, and she seems to be of college going age. Her friend is about the same age, has a much bigger nose, shorter hair, and is a bit fatter and taller than the other one."

I had recently grown my hair quite a bit so I usually kept it tied in a braid to look presentable. I looked back at Atifa. She had much shorter hair, hardly reaching her shoulders so she didn't have to worry about it. She was also much taller than me and anybody who saw us together could hardly miss the fact. She was over five feet six inches while I was a measly five feet three.

I realised that the conversation had stopped and just glided out of the way at the last moment before Mr. Barui opened the door again.

"I have finished. You can go and see him now," he said, "And I hope you won't mind him much if he's a bit cranky. He has been awake the whole night."

Bowing ever so slightly, he walked out of the apartment and we in turn, entered the detective's room.

Author's Note:

As usual, I would really like to hear your thoughts in the comments.