The Summer We Met

Chapter 2:Raj

".....And just as the last flower has fallen from the tulip tree, the last leaf has bid its goodbye, his memory will be a reminder for the happy memories we have spent with him as the new year arrives. Till our very last breath we shall wish for his peace and harmony and for ours. Although, Adam is no longer among us anymore, we wish and I hope he is in a better place now than he could ever have imagined to be. But most of all I wish that whoever was responsible for his untimely demise shall be punished. Thank you all. May Adam rest in peace."

Adam's father, Mr Arnold Sea got down from the podium looking determined than ever. His sick wife had passed away a weeks after his son had committed suicide.

I was standing at a corner trying my hardest not to break down. Since grade one Adam had been the only friend who would never turn me down whenever I needed his help. Although he himself was very poor he was a bright student. Everybody loved his caring and jolly spirit. Only recently for his mother's sickness was he a bit depressed. But nobody could have imagined that he would be the one to take his life. It was not uncommon for students to take their own lives. Multiple cases had been recorded of this sort for the past few years. The last few weeks has shown an impressive increase in the rate of the suicides in the town. Nobody knows the reason.

"Hey man you okay?",asked Nick patting my back. Nick has been my friend since our parents decided to live in this town. Our fathers were best friends and that was the root for our growing friendship.

"Yeah",I gulped down real hard."You okay?"

"Yeah I guess I am just going by. Man it is hard to see Mr Sea like this. For as long as I remember he was the only other person to really understand our Adam. Adam always looked up to him so much. They both were like sunshine shining over the rest of us. Protecting us from darkness. The two people I never imagined to end up like this. And I thought life couldn't suck any less", Nick let out a broken laugh. He was acting all tough for the rest of us. For Adam's father. For me.

Everyone who had ever the honour of knowing our friend was present. Except for one.

"Hey look, Raj. Sam is here. Happy to see he did not forget his only good friend's funeral. Just look at him looking all casual and composed. As if he was invited to Adam's birthday party. Does he even have a heart or what?"

"Hey guys!",said Milli scaring the two of us,"I got a call from Mr Sea. How is he doing?"

I was so shocked to see her that it took me time to really grasp her question.

"Uhhh yeah I think so. I am not completely sure. I mean he looks okay. He sounds okay. But he has changed a lot since Adam --- you know." I just could not bring myself to say the truth out loud. It hurts. It makes me feel uncomfortable to know that I won't see Adam ever again. It hurts.

But Arnold's last words were still ringing in my head clearly. What did he mean by punishing those who caused his son's demise? Why did he say that? Does he suspect something else? I have to talk to him personally. I must know what actually happened to......

"Hi kids. Thank you for coming today. Thank you for all your condolences. I hope you all will not go without eating something. I could not prepare much. But I know it will be enough for my son if his friends cherished his presence by eating something at his funeral", Mr Sea attempted at a smile. Something hard hit my already weak chest on seeing his face. I looked over at Nick and Milli and they both were frowning.

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I saw Mr Sea leaving out the back door. I tried to catch up with him.

"Excuse me. Umm I just had to ask something." For some weird reason the words refused to come out of my throat. On seeing the puzzled look on my face Mr Sea said,"I do not know why I feel this way but I feel like my son's death was someone else's fault. I feel like there must have been a better reason than his sick mother. I knew my son better than anyone else. I know he would never have done anything to hurt someone else. But the police's interpretation feels wrong. I just know it is wrong. I don't know why but I feel like only you can understand", he choked on his next words but they rang clearly through my ears." I think somebody has murdered my kid and I want that person dead too. I don't know how but I will try and I will not stop until I have achieved my goal."

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On my way back I bumped into someone big and strong. I looked up to see it was none other than Sam. "I am sorry", I said. He just nodded. That surprised me. I realized that he was no longer wearing his black sunglasses. His eyes were an intense deep brown. His face looked really composed. It looked like he had come to walk his dog around the park. He was the closest to Adam among all of us. Yet he was the most composed. It killed me to see that he was not even a little fazed by his friend's death.

"Uh mate do you know where I could find Arnold?",he asked casually.

"I don't know. Why don't you take the effort to go and look for yourself instead of wasting my time?"

"You could have just said you don't know where he is. Why you gotta be so emotional about it?"

How dare this idiot? How dare he had the audacity of calling me out for being mad at him? Has he even looked at himself in the mirror? Is he even aware of what is going on? What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Just then Mr Sea came inside with a bundle of bottles and took one look at me and then at Sam.

"Oh hi Arnold. Could I please talk to you for a few minutes?", said Sam sounding hesitant and desperate.  Mr Sea nodded and told him to wait for a few minutes there for him to return. "Thank you for your time, Arnold." Oh my god! Did Sam just say thank you to someone else or are my ears ringing? Probably the first time I have seen him showing respect to someone else.

He frowned at my expression guessing my thoughts. Mr Sea took a good look at the two of us and left smiling a little. I was more shocked at this than at Sam's sudden change in behaviour.

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Later at night, on my way back home, I was looking out of my car window when I noticed a man approaching Mr Sea with a parcel. He had hesitated to accept the box at first but the man had forced it into his hands and had left bowing. The man walked past our car and something was shining in his hands. I suddenly heard a scream. I got out of the car and ran straight towards Mr Sea. 

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