章 32: Chapter 32 : Parents

"Chacha, you don't need to worry about me. I already have a job, also I'm going to complete my graduation in three more months. It's all well and good for me." Das replied with a happy face.

"That's good... That's good..., Das, I'm really happy for you." The warden gave a cheerful laugh.

Das quickly completed his food while busily chatting with the warden. After completing the food, the warden took Das for a quick walk around the orphanage. The warden happily discussed the incidents when Das was a child. They happily laughed at the past memories from the orphanage.

"Das, did you remember this well? This is where you jumped inside to save a small boy who accidentally slipped inside. But the irony is that you also don't know how to swim at that time."

"Haha! Thank God! I came, in time to save both of you." The warden laughed loudly as he remembered the scene of Das shouting from inside the well.

"Chacha, don't mention it. That is the most embarrassing scene of my life. That matter spread through the orphanage, and after that incident, the children started laughing at my face." Das said in a complaining tone.

While walking slowly, they reached the orphanage gate and took a turn back to the main hall.

"Das, if your parents are alive, they would be proud of having a son like you. In all these years, you worked very hard to reach where you are now, and even then, you never forgot this old man. Thank you for coming here, Das. I really feel hope for the future of these orphans whenever I see you." The warden spoke emotionally.

"Chacha, don't talk like this... didn't you say that I'm also part of this orphanage, and I really feel this as my home."

"Chacha, you are the one who raised me like your own son. I'm forever indebted to you; please never say thank you again." Das said while holding the hands of the warden. Das spent more than one hour chatting with the warden. Finally, they stopped outside the main building, where Das peddled his Enfield bike.

Suddenly the warden face changed to a serious expression and he started talking in a heartfelt tone.

"Das, in all these years, I have concealed an information related to your parents. I thought of saying it after you became an adult, and now I think the time has come to reveal this information." The warden said it with a serious face.

(Author: His parents already died, and they won't have any hidden backgrounds. So, don't expect some family revenge drama. (:-)

Das was really surprised when the warden mentioned about his parents. As far as he knows, Das has never seen his parents faces. Except for this orphanage, Das never knew anything about his origin or childhood.

"What is it, Chacha? ..." Das asked with expectation in his eyes.

"I know the place where your parents were buried. As far as I know, your parents don't have any close relatives, and I was the one who made arrangements to bury their bodies. Previously, I didn't want to burden you with this information. But now that you have grown up, you should visit the tombs of your parents. "The warden said it with a heavy heart.

Das took a moment to think about what the warden was saying. and Das he was trying to look normal without showing any emotions on his face.

"Chacha, where did you bury my parents?" Das asked while controlling the tears in his eyes. In all these years, he has never known a single thing about his parents. Many times, Das thought he was abandoned by his parents as a child. Despite his repeated inquiries to the warden about his parents, the warden remained silent on the subject.

"Das, your parents are buried in the Aarey forest area which is at the centre of Mumbai city." The warden explained the detailed location of his parents' tomb.

"Das, don't go there at this time... Visit during the daytime." The warden added at the end.

Without saying anything, Das took out the money stacks from his Enfield seat pocket and placed them in the hands of the warden.

"Thank you, Chacha... In this life... I can't repay my debt for you. At least use this money for the welfare of the children." Das said as he started the Enfield to leave the orphanage.

"Das!... wait... This is a huge amount. I can't accept this..." The warden tried to give back the money. But Das had already left the orphanage gate.

"Wait… Das…" The hurried voice of the warden calling him came from behind.

The warden was standing outside the orphanage while staring in the direction of Das. After looking for some time, he went back inside the orphanage while nodding his head horizontally.

Das, who had hurriedly left the orphanage, was driving straight towards the Aarey forest at the centre of the city. (People call this forest the green lung of Mumbai city.)

Das came to the orphanage to gain a peaceful mind from the restless thoughts of Luna. But now his thoughts became more agitated after finding out the information about his parents.

With his moist eyes, Das raced through the busy traffic of Mumbai. The mobile in his lower pocket had been buzzing for a long time, but Das kept on driving the bike without answering any calls.

Das took entire three-hour journey to reach Aarey Forest. It's almost midnight, and there's no sign of any people near the forest entrance. Das parked his bike at the forest entrance. As there is a hilly area ahead, he decided to take a walk.

In the dense forest area, Das was walking alone with the help of his mobile flash light; there was no fear or any nervousness on his stoic face. He carefully followed the path described by the warden.

After walking for fifteen minutes in the right direction, Das reached the location where his parents were buried. In the shade of the moonlight, he can see the outline of the two tombs, which were constructed side by side.

He focused his torch closely on the head side of the tomb. The names of Krishna Das were written on the right-side tomb, whereas on the left-side tomb, Anjali Bai was written in a Sanskrit language. Except for the names, there are no other details on the tomb.

After looking at the tombs for a long time, Das sat on the tomb with a dazed face. It is not a big shock for Das to see his parents' tomb. He already knows he doesn't have parents from his childhood. But, after coming to this place, seeing his parents' names on the tombstones really made him cry with emotions.

But Das controlled his tears. For one hour, he sat there in a trance, thinking about what would have happened if they were alive.

Suddenly, Das came out of his stupor with a rustling sound in the distance. After careful observation, he heard the sounds of someone fighting in the distance. Das immediately stood up and started slowly walking in the direction of that sound.

As Das was nearing the source of the sound, he saw a mob fighting with bare fists. To observe them closely, Das started moving towards them without making any noise. After reaching a sufficient distance from them, Das hid in a bush and started observing the fight with his eyes wide open.

It was actually not a mob fight. One single woman is fighting against more than twenty men with a single bow in her hand. In this close fight, she was skilfully using bow in her left hand to cover her back while attacking people at the front with her left-hand fist.

In between, she gained distance from them and released an arrow straight at the head of the enemy. Whenever she took a distance from them, one person died on the opposite side.

The shocking thing is that she is not holding any arrows. Das looked closely at the bow without batting an eye. After observing for the third time, he clearly saw what was happening with the bow.

The woman was not loading any arrows into the bow. The bow automatically generated a blue energy shot (an arrow in the form of energy) whenever she pulled the string. Das rubbed his eyes to see whether he was seeing things. But the women killed yet another person with a single shot from the bow.

Slowly, the fight tilted in the favour of the mob, as they were not giving her any chance to gain distance from them.

At one point in time, she received more than three punches simultaneously on her back. After closely observing, Das found another interesting detail. There was a small baby tightly banded with a silk cloth around her chest.

The woman was at a great disadvantage because of that baby. She took more beatings to avoid the opponent's punches on her chest area. As the fighting progressed, the situation favoured the mob. She slowly started loosing control over the fight.