chapter 45
944 Words
" I knew it. I told you, Michael, there is some connection between you and Frank", Jasmine exclaimed.
I wasn’t surprised myself.
" What do you mean? ", Topaz Uncle asked me questioningly.
I narrated the whole incident. I described to him my life after the blast, how I met Alfred, and how his family kinda adopted me. I described my marriage with Amiya, her death, and the death of my best friend all related to Frank. He was stunned and looked as if someone has petrified him.
" Michael, I tried to find you. So many times, I had gone to the Army hospital at Damyang to get some news about you. But nothing. No one answered my pleas. I was determined to bring you back, once you were out of the hospital, but I came to know that you had been sent to Army school in Seoul. I was preparing to travel to the capital and bring you back, but a piece of news from Japan came. My daughter had met with an accident, and I had to go to Japan to her side. When I returned after a few months, I got fresh leads about you. I went and found you happy with a family. The headmaster said that the Wang family had adopted you, and you were staying peacefully. I returned to Damyang empty handed but happy that you are not in hell anymore. I was sure that one day when you are ready you will come here to visit me and your ancestral house."
Tears welled up in my eyes in gratitude. Till yesterday I had the notion that none but Wang's family bothered about me, but here was a man who literally did his best for me, despite not having any blood connection.
" What now? ", Jasmine asked. " What should we do now? "
-" I was thinking, I should go and visit my old home."
Topaz's uncle nodded.
"Michael, this hotel that you are seeing, this was your ancestral home. Your grandfather had made it out of the bamboos he sold."
Now, this surprised me.
"Whoa! Michael, you never said you are rich", Jasmine teased me with a smile.
" I didn’t know myself. Google maps showed that this is the only accommodation one can find in Damyang forest, so I booked two rooms here. Never had I imagined in my dreams that this place belonged to my family once upon a time".
Topaz smiled.
" Yes. And now it belongs to you. Everything you are seeing here is yours. You are the only heir of the Ting family and the lands, the fountains, the buildings, and the whole area is yours. I am just a caretaker, appointed thirty years ago by your grandpa before he died."
I nodded. I was too tongue-tied to respond to his words. I never thought that fortune would provide me with so much wealth, not that I desired for any. I was well happy with Alfred and his family. I always cared less for money and coins. Happiness, love, and peace were all that I have craved for so many years. This sudden revelation didn’t affect me much. It was as if my father had left a few pieces of chocolates which I knew not and after twenty years someone was handing me those wraps. Same kinda feeling.
" I don’t want these. You can either sell them or hand them over to the govt for public welfare. I dunno. I don’t care."
-" Michael, my boy, don’t pass out judgments in a rush. Think well, take your time, and then decide. I am no one to take decisions. It is all your responsibility."
I nodded.
Those things could wait, but the next plan of Frank would not. He might have already gathered information about our journey to Damyang gun. He might have already formulated his next hit.
"Come", Topaz stood up from the pool chair. "Off we go to your old home. But mind you, that place is in complete ruin. Even the government has never bothered to clean off the area. The burnt house, the broken window panes, the blast in the ceiling, all as it was twenty years ago. The floors are probably soaked damp and have become rickety. You have to tread carefully."
We nodded.
My old home was only fifty meters from the lodge.
Deep inside the jungle, surrounded by tall bamboos and dark trees, there was an old house made of wood. A small stream glided softly behind the house. Distant hills covered with snow and clouds made the ambiance cold and eerie. Creepers and hangers covered the house from the frontal view. The wrought iron gate was rusted and was gift-wrapped with vines. The garden which was once a haven for a myriad of flowers blooming and perfuming the whole area, stood empty and bare. Nothing but weeds has conquered the paradise and they ruled freely all over. The steps were covered with green mosses and were slippery.
There stood my home alone and furlong covered with specks of dust and creepers beckoning me with its tired hands trying its best to relieve its memories to me. For twenty years it had stood alone, facing all the rages of nature, with a belief that one day I would come and step my foot into its threshold again. Destiny is a very interesting word. One moment you are is a simple police officer in Seoul, the next moment you come to know that you are a billionaire and have a mansion of your own.
Does God justify his ways like this? I wondered.
- Writer
