I could have never fathomed what awaited me at the gates of my college. I was so eager to meet Hari that I was expecting only to see Hari. I was disappointed to see Mohan, who worked as driver in my father’s company.

“Mohan, what happened?” I sensed trouble by looking at his face.

“Saahib (Sir) is in trouble. He needs money urgently. I went home but nobody opened the door. I didn’t know where else to go. I only knew your college and your name. I pleaded with the security and he helped me in finding you”, he said sweating profusely.

“What happened? Wait…let me call dad first”, I wanted to confirm the details with my father.

“But, he doesn’t know that I am here…I don’t know if he will be able to pick up your call”, he said worriedly.

My father attended my call and said, “Hello, Gayu…”

“What happened? Mohan is here at my college and says you need money urgently. What should I do?” I asked.

“Look Gayu, I have no time to explain. There’s nothing to worry about. I am fine. Go home now and hand over whatever money you find at home to him”, he instructed.

“Can’t we wait till tomorrow? You can come home in the evening and take the money. I think that will be safer” I was concerned about handing over money to Mohan.

“It is urgent Gayu. Try to understand. You can trust Mohan. Please make it soon. Please do not tell this to your mother now. I will tell her later.” He disconnected the call.

I was perplexed and wondered what happened to my father. I hired an auto rickshaw and asked Mohan to come along with me.

I asked Mohan to wait downstairs and told him that I will come along with him to handover the money to my father.  He wasn’t convinced immediately but finally he complied.

I searched the whole house but I couldn’t find much money. I finally chanced upon my jewelry box which had all the jewelry my mother had gifted me over the years. I stuffed the money, my jewelry box and my mobile phone into my small handbag. I went to the kitchen and hid a small knife in the rear side of my handbag. Though, I knew that Mohan was a good guy, I had to keep that knife in my bag to feel secure.

I reached downstairs and we both walked towards the gate from where we hired another auto rickshaw and told him to take us to the bus depot.

We were on the way to bus depot.

 

“Where is dad?” I asked him curiously.

 

“He is at office.” Mohan replied.

 

“Okay. What happened? Do you know why he needs money so urgently?” I tried to find out more about my father’s situation.

 

“Do not tell your father that I told you anything. He had borrowed money from few lenders for his business. He wasn’t able to repay them on time. One of the lenders came to office with few people and started creating ruckus. He told your father to hand over his money and then leave office. His people took away his phone and even took away the car keys from me. There was nobody at office to stop them as office hours had not begun. Your father had no other option. He asked me to find help….”he shuddered when he recollected those moments and paused for a while.

 

I was aghast. I could not trust my ears.  I was not able to decipher or gauge my feelings after hearing those words.

 

“I could not think of anything at that moment. I rushed to your house hoping to find someone at home and then came to your college. I knew your college as I had dropped you there a few times. You should have stayed at home. It is not safe for you to come there. Go back home if you trust me”, Mohan said.

 

I was trying hard to remain calm. I wanted to consult someone. I could not call my mother as my father had warned me not to tell her anything. I thought of speaking to my father but I didn’t want to pressurize him more. I dialed Hari’s number and decided to consult him. But he didn’t pick up. I had to decide quickly and I decided to stay back. I wasn’t scared to face anyone but considering how vulnerable my father can become in my presence, I decided not to go.

 

I took my phone from my handbag and handed over the bag to Mohan.

“There is some money and jewelry. Please be careful while you travel. This is all that I could find at home.”

“Yes. I will tell your father to call you once I reach there and hand over this bag to him. Do not worry. Everything will be alright” he tried to pacify.

“Yes. I hope he comes back home safely” I held back my tears.

 I dropped him at the bus depot and asked the auto rickshaw driver to take me to my college. I would have died of anxiety if I stayed at home alone, without speaking to anybody. I rather decided to attend lectures and distract my mind from the situation.

I was walking towards my classroom when I saw Avinash waving his hands and walking towards me.  I could barely smile.

“Hi Gayatri”, he said.

“Hi” I said without meeting his eyes.

“I came back today morning”, he said trying to initiate a conversation.

“Okay. I’m getting late. Talk to you later”, I walked ahead ignoring him.

I had too many things to worry about and he was the last person I would have wanted to meet at that moment.