Malathi charitham (The history of Malathi) (Kalarikkal series - 2)

14. Clandestine

It was nearing night and the sky was the darkest blue, dotted with stars, the air was cold and the wind was numbing. Aniruddhan was walking back from the almost vacant Emerald restaurant, a small eatery on the roadside on the way to the Paarakkal farmhouse. Everything was quiet all around, except for the wind and his tough leather sandals which were grinding the mud and gravel underneath. He felt something eerie all of a sudden, his instincts told him something was off. It was his instincts was what kept him alive in Kottayam market where he was abandoned as a child by his drunkard of a father. From there he fought with the street kids and did pickpocket and other petty crimes until one day he was caught by Chandrashekharan, Vishnu's father, for trying to steal from their goods. At first he wanted to thrash the boy, but he felt pity for the scrawny 10 year old and took him in as a servant. The boy had no head for studies and dropped out from 6th standard to help Chandrashekharan with his work which involved being a driver for long distances and strong arming people. He was close to Paarakkal family, so much so that, while in his teens, he had babysat Vishnu and Gopika and felt a kind of fatherly affection towards them.

A few months back, he was called into Vishnu's office and he heard him keep a call after saying "I will not be contacting you again..." He entered the room with a troubled looking Vishnu who got up from his seat and said, "I called you because I have something important to tell you".

Aniruddhan nodded.

"Whether I like it or not, Malu is now the wife of Pranav and the daughter-in-law of Kalarikkal. There are definitely going to be run ins with that family, and all I have to say is that, whatever happens we will not do anything to hurt Malu and by extension Pranav" said Vishnu.

"That will put us in a very difficult position. Even if we avoid him, he will not avoid us", said Aniruddhan.

"I know. That's why I wanted to make it clear, you can do anything to protect Malu, but for Pranav, use your discretion. If you think he will hurt Paarakkal family or yourself, deal with it whatever way you think fit. Otherwise, avoid any contact with him", said Vishnu.

Aniruddhan nodded, but something was on his mind. He remembered the week leading to Vishnu's marriage. when he got drunk and cried for the first time since he became a man. His soul looked like it was shredded to pieces at the thought of never being together with Malathi.

"Do you still love her?" asked Anidruddhan.

Vishnu's eyes faltered and after a pause he spoke. "You don't really understand what she means to me. She had saved me in more ways than one. I do love her, but not as I used to. Let us leave it at that".

Tonight, the ominous atmosphere was putting Aniruddhan on high alert. He had parked his jeep at a distance and just as he was about to get in, he was grabbed by some unknown men. His old instincts of fight kicked in and immediately punched one in the gut and pulled another over from his back and beat him to the ground. But a resounding punch knocked him back for a bit and he staggered and turned to look at Dinesh. He then heard footsteps behind him and in a flash took out his dagger and tried to ram it into the man behind who immediately caught his unarmed hand, but was not able to reach the dagger which was almost going to get buried in his chest. Aniruddhan paused for a second for the man who had grabbed him was Pranav. That one second pause gave Dinesh enough time to put a cloth sack over his face to debilitate him. But Pranav stood in shock; why did this sworn enemy of his pause?

Aniruddhan was quickly tied down and placed into an Omni van by Udayan and the rest of his gang. They were closely followed by Pranav and Dinesh in their jeep. Once they reached the shanty town where they got the weapons, Aniruddhan was pulled out of the van and thrown into one of the huts.