Page 117 - Musings 2022

‘You are naive Nikki. You have no idea how he…’ I could not speak further. My eyes welled

up as I was reminded of those horrible days from twenty years ago. The torture, the piercing
screams, I could picture it all as if it was just yesterday.

By now the neighbours had heard my outburst and had come out from their houses to gather
stuff for gossip. Nikki immediately offered me some water, ‘Are you okay?’, she asked. She

had never seen me like this and was obviously petrified. How could I tell her that the man at

the door had once tried to kill her!
‘I am fine. But please Nikki, I beg you, take this man away from here,’ I requested.

‘Come on Neil, he is…’ I cut her off before she could complete her sentence.
‘Stop it Nikki. This is preposterous. Do you even know how cruel he is?’ I asked her, pointing

towards the man in anger.

‘Cruel? No, you are mistaken. He is not…’
‘He is our cruel FATHER! And all these years, we never let you meet him because he is a

terrible person. He is a sadistic torturer who did nothing but inflict pain on a woman and a four
year-old boy…’ Tears rolled down my cheeks as I finally poured my heart out.

‘A woman and a four year-old boy....? You mean you and Mum? Are you serious?’ Nikki asked
in surprise.

‘Yes! He even tried to kill you in Mum’s womb! Can you even fathom such a cruel act?’ I

spoke, sobbing and sniffing, and finally drank some water to calm down.
‘No bhaiyya, now listen to me. He is not our Dad.’ Nikki was finally able to have her say. I

could not understand what she meant by this and was waiting for her to elaborate.
‘I think I should sort out this misunderstanding. So, when I met him on the plane, at first, I too

was shocked. You might be unaware of this, but I have already seen Dad’s pictures in the

albums that Mum keeps secretly in her cupboard. Ever since I was a child, I have been curious
to know who my father was. However, everytime I tried asking you and Mum about him, you

guys would always change the topic and not tell me anything. Today I understood the reason
for their separation and that you were just trying to protect me.’ Nikki said as she was getting

teary eyed.

‘So yeah, this man at the door is not Dad, but his twin brother. He told me Dad passed away a
few years ago… Mum knows.’ she added.

Everything now started to make sense. Even though I hated him with every ounce of my being,
I could not digest the fact that it had been more than five years since we had lost him. Mum

had kept this a secret from us, and I guess what she did was right.

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