sonu kumar
Posted On: 09-04-2019
  1. Home
  2. Story/ Three mistakes of my life/Twenty

Three mistakes of my life

client1

Twenty

Ish, I want to talk to you,' I said. 'We don't have time,' Ish said. 'Omi!' Mama's
scream came through the main door. 'Coming Mama. Give us five minutes,' Omi
screamed back. 'Get him fast,' Mama said.
I made Ish sit on the sofa that blocked the main door.
'Ish, can I offer a bit of logic in the current chaos,' I said.
'What? We have no time,' Ish said.
'I know. But I also know what will happen if we fight thirty people. We will all
die. They will get Ali and kill him too,' I said.
'So what are you trying to say,' Ish said and stood up.
'Giving up three lives to possibly save one. Can you show me the maths in
this?'
'Fuck your maths. This isn't about business.'
'Then what is it about? Why should we all die? Only because you love the kid?'
'No,' he said and turned his back to me.
'Then what?'
'Because he is a national treasure,' Ish said.
'Oh, and we are national filth? So maybe one day the kid will hit a few sixes
and Indians will waste the day watching TV and get thrills out of it. So fucking
what? What about my mother? What about Omi's parents? What about...,' I said
and turned quiet. I almost said Vidya.
'I'm not giving him up. You want to run away. Open the door and run. Omi,
you are welcome to go too,' Ish said.
'I am not going. But how do we fight them Ish?' Omi said.
Ish told us to follow him. He led us to the kitchen. He told us to lift a kerosene
canister each. He also picked up three buckets that we used to chill beer. We fell
in step behind him as we took the steps to the roof.
'It's heavy,' I said.
'Twenty litres each. That's heavy for sure,' Ish said as we reached the roof.
Fires dotted the neighbourhood skyline. The weather didn't feel as cold as a
February night should be.
'We are coming!' Mama said as his group pushed the rusted metal gate of the
bank open. They came to the porch and banged on the main entrance door.
'Stop shouting Mama,' Ish said.
Mama looked up to the roof.
'Where are you hiding sister-fuckers,' Mama said. The crowd hurled fire torches
at us. We stood two stories high. Nothing reached us. One fire torch fell on a
rioter and he yelped in pain. A mob maybe passionate, but it can also be quite
stupid. They stopped throwing torches after that.
Ish kept Mama engaged.
'Mama, I was born without fear. See,' Ish said and climbed on the roof ledge.
The crowd became distracted. If they weren't, they'd attack the main door.
Despite three bolts and a sofa in front, they would break it in ten minutes flat.
After that, they'd have to break the first floor entrance door and then the flimsy
one at the roof. In fifteen minutes, we would be roasted in blowtorches. Ish's plan
better be good.'Say Jai Sri Ram,' Ish shouted. It worked perfectly, the crowd had to
participate. Most of the crowd did not know whether we supported them or not.
At least not yet.
Meanwhile, Omi and I poured the kerosene out of the canisters into the
buckets. The canisters had a narrow neck and the kerosene wouldn't flow out
fast. We needed a big strike.
Ish struck Siva's poses on the ledge. A few drunk members of the mob even
bowed to him. Perhaps Siva had come down tonight to bless the rioters.
'One, two, three and go,' I whispered as Omi and I upturned the buckets. We
threw the oil forward to keep it away from the bank building.
The blowtorches in the rioters' hands acted as the ignition. A river of fire fell on
the bank's porch. Panic spread in the mob. They took a few moments to realise
we had attacked them. Ish stepped off the ledge. We hid ourselves under the
parapet. I raised my head high enough to watch the happenings below. A few
mobsters ran out of the bank gate as their clothes caught fire. I suppose it is
much more fun to burn people, than get burnt yourself.
'How many ran away?' Ish said.
'Quite a few. There's panic downstairs.' The remaining people started jabbing
trishuls on the main door. I popped my body up to count the people. I estimated
more than ten, but less than twenty.
'We have to go down,' Ish said.
'Are you mad?' I said.
'No. Let's reduce the people further,' Ish said.
'Ish, we are hurting people. Some of them may die. We threw a lot of kerosene,'
I said.
'I don't care,' Ish said, 'we have to hurt some more.'
We came down to the first floor. Ish unlocked the branch manager's office door
with the bunch of keys in his pocket. Ali awaited him inside and ran to hug him.
'I am scared,' Ali said and broke into tears.
'Don't worry, it's going to be fine,' Ish said.
'I want to go home to abba.'
I ran my fingers through Ali's hair. Home was no longer an option.
'Ali, you will be fine if you listen to me. Will you listen to me?' Ish said. Ali
nodded.
'Some horrible people want to get you. I need to lock you up in the vault. They
will never get you there,' Ish said. He pointed to the claustrophobic six by six
room.
'There? It's so dark?' Ali said.
'Here, take my phone. Keep the light on. I will be back soon,' Ish said and gave
him his cell-phone.
Ish put Ali in the safe. He gave him a few pillows. Ali switched on the phone
light. Ish shut the door and locked it. He kept the keys inside his sock.
'You ok?' Ish screamed.
'It's dark,' Ali said.
'Hold on ok?' Ish said.
'Ok, we have to cook one more dish in the kitchen. Come fast,' Ish said.
We left Ali in the vault and ran to the kitchen. The jabs at the main door
continued. I estimated we had five more minutes before the door gave away.
Ish unplugged the LPG cylinder. 'Carry this to the main door,' Ish said.Omi and I carried the LPG cylinder. We kept it under the sofa blocking the
main door.
'Omi where do we keep the fireworks?" Ish said.
'Top shelf,' Omi said.
Ish came back with boxes of leftover Diwali crackers. We usually burst them
when India won a match. Ish emptied a box of bombs on the cylinder.
He took two bombs and opened the fuse to make it last longer. The crowd
banged at the door. One main door bolt became loose.
'I open, you light and all run up. Clear?' Ish said to Omi.
Omi nodded. Ish climbed on the sofa and tried to get hold of the bolt. It
vibrated under the impact of the mob's jabs.
Omi lit a matchstick and took it to the fuse. As the fuse tip turned orange, Ish
opened the bolt. The sofa would keep the door in place for a few more seconds,
the time we had to save our lives.
'Run,' Ish said as he jumped off the sofa.
We ran up the stairs. I was four steps away from the top when the door came
loose.
'Mother fuckers we won't leave you. Killing your own people,' the mini-leader I
had tried to bribe opened the door. Him and three more men entered the room.
'Hey stop,' they shouted at me as I continued to climb. I looked behind, eight
men had entered the bank.
I was one step from the top when my ears hurt. The explosion rocked the
cupboards on the ground floor as the main door blew away. I think the mini-
leader took the worst hit from the cylinder. The other eight men couldn't have
been much better off.
I didn't know what we were doing. Preventing someone from taking revenge by
attacking them ourselves. I had never seen body parts fly in the air. I didn't know
if any of the rioters remained. I used the two way switch at the top to switch on
the ground floor tube light. Smoke and bits of paper from the old files filled the
room. Ish and Omi came behind me.
'All gone?' Ish said.
The smoke cleared in thirty seconds. A few men lay around the room. I could
not tell if they were injured or dead. The erstwhile main door was now an empty
gap. Mama entered the room with five other people. Maybe he was lucky, or
maybe he had the foresight to send others to open the door first. The five people
ran to the injured in the room. Mama looked up. His eyes met us.

Categorias

    •