“Homework… done, cleaning my cupboard…done. Now what next?” said twelve year old Rohan to himself. “Aah! Why don’t I call Veer over?”
He ran to the phone and dialled his best friend’s number.
“Hi Veer!”
“Hey Rohan!”
“Veer, why don’t you come over for some time. Dad said he’s going out for some urgent work and won’t be back before 8 o’clock. So in short, we can have a blast!”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” replied Veer.
Rohan ran to the kitchen to prepare some delectable snacks for his friend. Hardly had he finished preparing the snacks when he heard the doorbell.
“Hi Veer!” he said excitedly as he opened the door, “Come in!”
The host led his friend to the drawing room.
“Come let’s watch some television.” said Rohan as he switched on the television. The duo went on flipping channels as they didn’t find anything exciting.
Just then the headlines of one particular news channel caught their attention.
“SERIES OF BLASTS ACROSS MANY PARTS OF MUMBAI”
“Come Rohan lets read more about this on the internet” said Veer.
“Yes Veer. I definitely want to find out more about this.” He replied.
Without wasting even a second they switched on the laptop and began reading an article on the blasts.
“Three bomb blasts have taken place in the commercial capital of India. One in Churchgate, one in Dadar and one in Bandra. Around 200 killed and many more injured. The Anti-Terrorist Squad chief, Mahesh Rane suspects Ajay Sharma to be the mastermind behind these blasts.”
“Ajay Sharma!” gasped Veer, “Isn’t that your dad, Rohan?”
“Yes!” he replied. There was an expression of worry in his voice and on his face. “Let us read further.” He said.
“In his statement, Rane mentioned that even though they did not have any photograph of Ajay Sharma, they have news that he has been staying in Mumbai only.”
Poor Rohan sat on the couch as still as a statue.
“All okay Rohan?” asked Veer.
“Now I get it!” replied Rohan.
“Get what?” yelled Veer. “Please can you tell me what’s going on. I’m getting goosebumps now!”
“Now I get it why dad didn’t tell me where exactly he was going today. And when I asked him to take me along, he just refused!”
“What are you trying to say Rohan?”
“The person responsible for these blasts is no one but my father!” said Rohan.
“WHAT!?” gasped Veer.
“Yes…I don’t want to say this, but I’m quite sure now that MY DAD IS A TERRORIST! Do you see ahead, the one which is always locked? Dad never lets me enter it. I’m quite sure that he stores all his weapons and secret stuff there. Also, he’s never properly told me about my mother. All that I know about her is that she died in a car crash when I was just three years old!” said Rohan. He tried hard to control his tears, but in vain.
“What if he killed your mother?” said Veer. By now he too was as frightened as Rohan. “Or what if he’s not your father only? Maybe he is just going to use you as a suicide bomber?”
“I don’t want to die such a gruesome death Veer!” said the poor boy.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you till I am there” said Veer trying to take charge of the situation, “Do you remember what Tara Mam ha told us? Whenever we land up in a situation in which we need help, we should ask our elders. Why don’t we call your neighbour Rita aunty?”
“But she’s an old woman, how will she handle a seasoned terrorist?” asked the innocent boy.
“We’ll explain the situation to her and then ask her to call other people from the society for help.” Said Veer.
“Yes, that sounds perfect. Veer, just imagine, we will be awarded a medal by the police force for our bravery!” said Rohan as the two walked towards their neighbour’s house.
The two boys explained the entire situation to Rita aunty, who in no time had gathered the entire society.
“We all will hide in the bed room and wait for that terrorist to come, only you’ll two will open the door so that he doesn’t see us and flee. In the meantime, I will arrange for a few hockey sticks and baseball bats, just in case he has weapons along with him” said Singh uncle.
Everyone sat there waiting for him to arrive. Just then the doorbell rang! The two boys’ hearts were beating like a drum! They opened the door and saw Rohan’s ‘Dad’ standing there with a basket in his hand. No sooner did he enter the house than all the people got out of the room where they had been hiding.
“Hands Up!”, yelled Rita Aunty.
“What all do you have stored in that basket? Guns? Grenades?” asked Singh Uncle.
Rohan’s dad stood there with a blank expression on his face. The others present were going to bombard him with more questions, but just then they heard a squeal.
“What is that?” exclaimed Rohan.
“A puppy, son. This is what I had gone to get. It’s a surprise present for you .” replied his dad.
The people present in the house first stared at each other and then burst out laughing. The two boys then told Rohan’s father everything.
After he had a good laugh, he said,” I keep that room shut and don’t let you enter because that’s where all the old and unwanted stuff is kept, and it’s very dusty in there. And coming back to the medal part, you two should definitely get a medal. Not for your bravery, but for your imagination.”
