Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 39 : The Reunion

After what I witnessed a few minutes ago, I was totally confused about what was happening. I mean up until a few days ago Aamaya di was like a tyrant for Abhinu, but today she was allowing him to sit on his bed as if nothing has happened.

With all these thoughts in my mind, we began to walk towards Aarohi's grave. It took us about 30 minutes to reach our destination.

"Monika... are you sure this is the place Amy didi asked you to be?" Aamaya di looked at me and asked.

Well, the truth was that the time was about 10:35 and we were about 5 minutes late. There was not a soul to be seen in the graveyard other than a couple of families who were paying their respects to their departed ones.

"Of course Di... this is where they asked me to come..." I replied.

"Well, maybe I guess we were a bit early. Let's wait for some time..."

the 2 of us sat next to Aarohi's grave and as we were waiting for Amy didi to come, I asked "Di... can I ask you something?"

She smiles as she looked at me and said "Sure sweetie... you can ask me anything"

"Why am I getting the feeling that you might not be returning back home?"

She stood up and placed her right hand on the cross where Aarohi's name was written on and said "It's nothing like that dear..." as she was about to continue we saw Daniel dada, Amy didi, and a few others approaching us.

The moment Aamaya di saw them, she began to run towards them and suddenly jumped into the arms of one of the boys who was walking next to Amy. He picked her in his arms and began to pat her head with his right hand. Amy didi also hugged the 2 of them. Something tells me that this might be a long-lost family reunion.

About a couple of minutes later the man approached me. Aamaya di was still in his arms. She was looking happy.  Amy didi, Daniel dada, and a couple of others approached me.

Daniel dada decided to speak. He looked at me and said, "Honey... you might be wondering what's going on here and what's with the mystery of Helen Harper?" 

It was something I really wanted to know, I replied "Yes dada... this is indeed something I want to know..."

"Well..." he took a brief pause and continued "before I tell you about it, there are a few things you might have to know about?" and then He began to introduce me to the rest of the team members.

The person who was carrying Aamaya di in his arms, his name was Amell Harper. He was really a handsome dude and was quite well build. right next to him was another guy who was also as good-looking as Amell. Daniel dada told me that his name is Vidyut and that he is a police officer. Right next to him was another taller guy but before Daniel dada could introduce me, I replied that I know him. He used to be a well-known football player and had also represented the country in many international matches. His name was Andrew Rodrigues and finally, the last one his name was Gaurav. His full name was probably Gaurav Rao Deshmukh. I knew that person too. He is a politician, probably from the state of Maharashtra.

Daniel Dada began narrating "Honey whatever I am going to tell you is a secret which the Banerjee's have been hiding for almost 13 years... and today you will be among the few people who will know about this. be aware that whenever this secret comes out, someone life gets threatened... and are you absolutely sure you really want to know about it..."

The moment he said those words, I was scared. I was not sure what to say and then I heard a voice on their walkie. For some reason, it felt like I knew whose voice it was. "Daniel... you can tell her the truth... she needs to know... and don't worry, I will break his head if he dares to touch my child..."

"is that you dad..." I was pretty sure it was dad who was on the other line.

"See Amell I told you my daughter is smart..." the voice went silent and then continued "It's me, honey... you dad... I want you to listen closely to what Daniel is saying and don't be scared... everything will be perfectly fine..." and then dad went silent.

I was not sure what to respond to and decided to listen to what they have to say.

Daniel dada continued "13 years ago, Mr. Banerjee tried to do the same experiment on Amell Bhaiya and failed. So in order to teach the Harpers a lesson, Mr. Banerjee kidnapped their youngest daughter Helen and forced them to bow down to his wills..."

"Wait a minute dada... you mean to say the bad guy is Uncle Banerjee and not aunty as I have been thinking all these days."

"You are right dear... Mr. Banerjee and his Son Abhishek have been committing these crimes and was trying to blame it on Mrs. Banerjee and Aamaya..." he paused and then continued "the truth is after Helen was kidnapped, he relocated to Mumbai and began to raise her as his daughter. Helen was only 3 years old so it was easy to brainwash her into believing that they are her real parents. As time went by Helen almost forget about her true identity. After a lot of search by the Harpers, they were finally able to find their little daughter but the moment Mr. Banerjee learned about it, an incident happened and Mr. Banerjee vanished with his family and Helen Harper was lost once again."

He paused again and then continued "6 years later, thanks to Abhinu's dad Lt. Col Banerjee we were able to find the whereabouts of Mr. Banerjee once again... it so happened that Lt. Col. Banerjee was awarded the special service medal by the governor of West Bengal and his only sister Mrs. Banerjee came to the ceremony. Vidyut who was on deputation as the CSO for the governor of West Bengal happened to see her and then Amell Bhaiya sent me to Kolkata to get close to Helen and so I joined your school."

Just to ensure things seem real, Amell Bhaiya asked Sam for help. She was one of the children Amell rescued from the streets of Pune. Sam instantly agreed to help and the 2 of us were sent to Kolkata to be close to Helen." He paused and then said, "by the way you might have realized by now Helen is none other than Aamaya..."

"Yes..." I replied softly.

"Once Daniel confronted Helen and told her the truth, she was not willing to believe anything and so she asked Mrs. Banerjee all about it. Mrs. Banerjee confirmed her doubts and told her the truth. She also told her the consequences if Mr. Banerjee learns that Aamaya knows everything."

"But as luck would have it, somehow Mr. Banerjee found out that Aamaya knew the secret and threatened them that he will hurt the 2 younger ones if Aamaya tries some stunt, or tries to contact us, and just to make sure, she doesn't forget, this is what he did." I saw Amy didi lift up the palazzo which Aamaya di was wearing and there I saw the most inhumane sight. She had a leather belt tightly strapped to her thighs and it has a lock so that she cannot take it off.

I have been seeing Aamaya di limping for a few days but I never thought this could be the reason behind it.

I placed my hands over my mouth shocked to see that uncle could perform such an inhumane act. Amidst all of these, the amount of hurt she is inflicting on Abhinu could very well be justified.

"Then why did aunty suddenly decided to let Aamaya di go... you just said uncle will hurt Darika and Garima if Aamaya di tries some stunt"

Daniel dada handed me a cell phone and asked me to check a video in it. My nerves froze the moment I saw the video. I couldn't believe what I was watching and as I completed watching it and returned the phone back to him, he said: "Mrs. Banerjee might not have been her birth mother but she has definitely raised her... she finally felt enough is enough and decided to take the decision to reunite Helen with her birth family."

Suddenly Amy didi placed her hand over my shoulder and said "You are really a brave girl taking such a risk only for the sake of the boy you love the most... you are truly a female version of Amell Bhaiya..."

At that moment I saw Amell Dada blush a little and then I asked "So Amy didi... will you protect Abhinu from his bullies..."

"Of course sweetie... you have kept your part of the bargain... now it's our turn..." she looked at Daniel dada and said, "You know what to do Daniel..."

Daniel dada gave a nod indicating that he understood what to do. I was happy that Aamaya di is finally getting reunited with her family, but I still had my doubts if they are indeed going to keep their part of the bargain.

As I was deep in thought something unexpected happened. I would never have believed if I wouldn't have seen it with my own eyes. I saw Aamaya di got down from Amell dada's arms and suddenly said "Dada I know mom had asked you to take me away after what happened that day... and thank you for everything... I know how much you have struggled to find me, but if I leave the house, Darika and Garima would make Abhinu's life into a living hell... which I cannot allow..."

At that moment Amy didi said, "what if Daniel and some of your school buddies ensure that every time the kids bullies Abhinu, they get bullied in school too..."

"But di if I know the girls right, every time they get bullied in school, they are going to make sure that they will inflict 2 times more harm to him... and Abhinu is so noble at heart that even though dad had turned him into a girl, he will still not lay a hand on the 2 girls... he still feels that boys shouldn't hit girls..."

Aamaya di stopped for a while and then said "Dada you know I have all of you wonderful people to take care of me, but Abhinu has none... he lost his dad a few months ago and now other than Monika there is no one to take care of him... it won't be long before Abhinu would attempt the same thing that Allen attempted 9 years ago... I cannot let the blood of another innocent soul whom I loved dearly, in my hands... if you really want me to go with you... I want you to rescue Abhinu first... The day you will find out a way to rescue him... I promise I will be there for you too..."

I was surprised at the reaction and then Amy didi and Amell Dada stepped towards Aamaya di and placed their hand on her head and both of them said together "My dear sister, you have proved that you are the true descendent of our King David... We are proud of you..." They paused a little and continued "If you really want to go back to the family we won't stop you... but we are going to make sure Mr. B pays for what he did to you..."

I saw the 3 of them hug and then Aamaya di and I left back for home. However, they let her go on the condition that every 2 months, she will have to come to meet them at least for an hour which she happily agreed. On our way back home, Aamaya di made me promise that no matter what happens, I should never let Abhinu know that Aamaya di wants to protect Abhinu. She also told me that just to make sure Darika and Garima believe that she is on their side, she will occasionally try to bully Abhinu but she will also make sure that no one other than her will get to lay a hand on Abhinu as long as she is alive. 

All the while I was surprised to finally know the other side of Aamaya di today.

                                                        TO BE CONTINUED...

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the truth is Aamaya is Amell Harpers youngest sister and