Through Rebels and Ruins

Part 1: The News

I suppose it was the 18th of May, my younger sister's birthday. We were celebrating, when Dinesh Chacha, our local 'Dakiyah' or postman. He was very anxious as if something bad happened. I gave him a cup of water, then, he told us something that would shock everyone, he said "Ravi Bhai, his train arrived, so I went to pick him up, but he was not there. When I asked the conductor, he said he didn't board the train. He also said he saw him at the station he was supposed to board, the Ashaval railway line". He was talking about my father, Ravi Mehta, a prominent rebel in Ahmedabad.

I was there alone with Chacha, so nobody heard about it. I said, " He must not have boarded the train then". But then Chacha said " That is what I thought, so I contacted him, but his phone did not connect. So, I contacted the guards, and they said he entered the station but did not exit anytime. Then I got to know, he had gone missing"! 

I was shocked, thinking about what would happen if me or Dinesh Chacha told everyone about it today. So, we both decided to keep it a secret for today. The next day, Dinesh Chacha came and told everyone that my father had died. I knew he had not died as Chacha himself told me. I guess he was thinking of not making a fuss about finding him, but I was enraged still because how could he falsely declare him dead? 

I went to my sister, who was crying and told her not to worry as our father was alive, out there somewhere. A few days later, my friend's parents also disappeared. Me and my friend, Ghanshyam Lal decided to go out of our village and find our parents, wherever they were.