Ms. Detective (I) {under construction}

20. Missing him

"Rudra...." as I reached home I found Mr. Khurana banging at the door. "What happened Mr. Khurana?" asked I.

"Everything happened just because of you...." For the first time he has yelled at me. "Rudra has locked himself inside the room...."

"Excuse me..... Do you even know what he did today? He slapped me!!! He had beaten up Harsh so badly..... And now is gaining your concern" I fumed at the top of my voice.

"He met Harsh?" His eyes widened and voice was almost lost.

"Mr. Khurana.... Please tell me about Harsh and Rudra and your family..... I'm just fed up of your sons and their secrets"

"Rudra please open the door damn it..... No one is going to harm you..... I promise....." Mr. Khurana pleaded banging at the door.

"Mr. Khurana.... He's not a kid! Let him be alone for sometime.... May be this may help him to deal with himself" I suggested.

"I have duplicate keys of this room... But I think Rudra needs some space" And this seemed working on him. Finally he nodded agreement.

I made him sit on the couch and offered him a glass of water to ease him. I must say this old man is hardly getting time for himself!!

"Mr. Khurana..... Please share with me.... You want me to treat Rudra right? Then you have to help me out..... Please tell me why did Rudra hates everyone and specially Harsh? And even his family! Why he can't trust anyone? Why he thinks that everyone is here to kill him? Why he......." before I could continue, he interrupts, "Because this is the truth!!"

"What!!"

There was a huge silence.

He just admitted that everyone wants to kill Rudra!!! It means it's not only Rudra's imagination!!!

"Please explain Mr. Khurana" I broke the silence.

He looked at me and I gestured him encouraging him to proceed.

"Rudra is my and my first wife's adopted son. We weren't ever blessed with baby, so we adopted Rudra when he was two years old. As he was our only child and so he was most pampered one. Our small family was living happy when one day......" and he broke down in tears.

It was a feeling like as if I was getting bullets one by one. I mean seriously!! He was disclosing everything today. Butterflies in my stomach kept hitting me up.

"One day?" my voice turned curious.

He looks at me and wiped his wrinkled wet cheeks. And continued...

"One day.....his mother died" He gasped. It seemed like it was very hard for him to continue. His voice was sniffling. I tried to console him placing my hand on his shoulder. "I... I was left alone.... My family was destroyed" He sniffles. "Rudra was seven then, and before a night of his mother's accident, we had a fight. I was angry on her............ The next day......... She left me alone.

My eyes were welled up all by now.

"Moreover.......... Rudra came to know about the truth, that he's our adopted son. He was hurt...... And I was sorry about him. He hate liars......."

I coughed on this. I mean I was the liar this time.

"Rudra needed a mother..... He was a kid who was always pampered..... But now.... Everything has changed drastically. He told me that he needs his mother back, that seven year kid was so stubborn to get his mother back. So I married again. But I don't know why...... Rudra was alone by now...... He has build up an invisible wall around himself. My chirping kid was now a robot. My new wife always pampers him...... But he hates her and her son, Harsh and even......His own father!!!" He cries. And I made him have some water.