Standing on the edge of the cliff,Chand thought of money and war.The game that he played with words of ethics and respect happened to be lost among his fellows. The lack of a good lead was not the case.Competition started to rule and gamesmanship started to vanish. Moment when the camaraderie seemed dramatic. Reality seemed to have lost its inside and from within was coming out mere acts of mockery and sham.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he captured those scenes that played the most vital important parts of his 79 year old life. First kiss from Pavitra , sealing the tooth on her hand for the chocolate. Days of hardsmanship at the underage jail, death of mom, birth of Sethu and the one that changed all , Vandana. "God bless my little one "- the gunlord thought.
He saw the valley beneath his legs, he felt the breeze, he felt the long chirping of birds, the rapture that nature brought into his mind and the final moment of success , the end of them all. After an hour, the gunlord started to climb down the cliff. Suddenly , a long bearded sage appeared before his eyes. The eyes were bright and an age of around 50 or so .
Seeing those powerful posture and gests, there was a feel of fear inside Sreedhar. The eyes of the old man did not take much time open. "How are you Sreedhar bhai"- asked the old man. The face was quite familiar, but it had become 30 or so since I have seen these eyes. Thoughts started to traverse, "I have seen this face during my early days, Vishwambharan ,yes Sanyasi Vishwambharan , Meena's Husband ."
"Vishwam," asked Sreedhar Chand. "Aam " - the reply came . "Meena died two years after you left and Vandana is under my care . You can meet her anytime you want but , she does not know that you are her father by blood . It is upto you to decide. Anytime you can come to my house ." ."Aam"- The sound came out again out of the tapasi. "Vandana is not willing to marry anyone and I do not know what to tell, The change that she brought in my life was more than anything else to me. The death of Sethu and the sorrows that followed. She was the reliever every time. I hope she finds a partner too. Sethu still lives through her and she finds her love at my house. "
As hours passed by, the gunlord left and there was silence all around. The house on valley where the old man and his daughter lived was clearly visible from the mid portion and the sanyasi kept staring at it for 2 continuous weeks and finally made up his mind to find a reason which would perfectly enable him to see his daughter by her face. Walking by the cliff , the two years which his eyes witnessed his daughter came in front of the old man . There was silence all around and flying papers in front of his eyes and the old man walked to the house to see his daughter, his only one who lived.
Moments later - " Aaaaah " -came out a roaring voice. " It was my fault always. I could have saved my daughter. I could have had family . I could have saved Meena. It was always my fault. Half a kilometer , that was the distance and I could not even hear her voice. What wrong did I do? Obeying my dad or living upto my family. The decisions I took has seen the dooming of all the members . I should not think of all these at this moment. Maybe I have something else to fullfill. "
Walking beside the pukka road to Durga , revenge was the mantra that rang in Vishwam's mind .The next day newspaper read - "Sreedhar Chand and Daughter found dead at Valley House".
