Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 76 : The Letter

I adjusted myself and turned towards mom making sure to look directly into her eyes. "What mom???"

"I know you think, dad didn't try enough, but would you have done something different to change the course of destiny?"

I guess mom was right to ask me this question. “Take your time sweetheart, there is no hurry?" she got off the bed and continued "I will be with your dad outside... he needs someone to comfort him." Saying that she left the tent too.

I kept thinking about what I could have done differently. The longer I kept thinking about it, I kept hitting a blank spot. I guess probably dad was right. As I was about to get down from the bed, I saw the letters that dad was talking about earlier. I picked up the letters and decided to read it.

The handwriting was a familiar sight. It was Abhinu's.

Dear Uncle, Jairus,

Thank you for everything you have done for me. I know it won't be long before my family members would find out where I am. The last 3 days were probably the few days I felt safe after my father's demise.

I know you don't believe a word I told you about having to live my life as a girl. I don't blame you at all. Nobody with the right mind would believe something awkward as this. However, I thank you for at least taking care of me and asking me if you can relocate me somewhere else. I thought of asking your help, but I knew my uncle is a very bad man. He would anyway track me down and if anyway he finds out that you have helped me escape, he would have hurt you too. I cannot let the death of a good man in my hands.

Before my dad attained martyrdom, He told me that if any day I felt like Uncle and Aunty would try to hurt me, I can get back to my mother's home. He gave me a phone number and told me to call up that number and ask for a Lt. Commander Jairus Christopher. He also told me that he can help me get away to a place where no one will be able to find me at all. I tried to call the number but the person on the other line informed me that Lt. Commander Christopher has been promoted to a Commander and they won't be able to disclose his location as he is an Intelligence Officer. I guess I must have hit a dead-end.

Uncle, I don't know who you are or if you are the same Jairus Christopher that I am looking for since you have the same name as my guardian angel, I don’t even know if you will even help me with this, but I got to try. Can you please get in touch with Commander Christopher of the Army Intelligence and tell him that Lt. Col. Sujoy Banerjee's son is in trouble and needs his help? If you think this is difficult, can you at least post the other letter to 17 Boroughbridge Road, Birmingham B2 5GR. One of my aunties lives there and she will definitely come to help me out.

I would never have come here if things went out of hand. I was born a boy, but please imaging the situation, when another boy thinks that I am a girl and dances with me or asks me out on a date, my friends make fun of me because I am not allowed to be dressed as a boy. They have scorched all my male attire so that I don’t attempt to try a male attire. I am not even allowed to step out of the house.

The other day 4 of my classmates, and my 3 sisters together assaulted me till I was unconscious. At times they keep me hungry for 2 to 4 days as a method of coaching me. They keep punishing me for petty reasons. And most of the time it is due to the fact that they feel that my body language is tomboyish, and they expect me to be effeminate or more womanish. Sir, I really cannot explain in words how I feel whenever I meet Monika nowadays.

Sir, if the discomfort of living like a girl is not enough, the thing that bothers me more is that off late I seem to forget a lot of things. I don't remember how my mom looked, or I seem to forget many things about my past. Thanks to dad that he asked me to write down my daily activities in my diary. I am afraid a day will come when I might even forget my past.

The other day aunty said she is pregnant, and after conducting the tests, she says that she is going to have a boy. Please imagine my miserable life the day my brother would be born. Eventually he will grow up and when he gets to know that I am a boy dressed up as a girl, how would he react to it. He might even bully me more than my sisters.

I am not sure how long I will survive in this hell. However, for the sake of Monica, I am going to pull through. Monica was my best friend in this whole world who has promised me that she is going to protect me and keep me sane. Her promise is the only thing keeping me strong. I can be a failure but there is no way I can see her fail.

Please uncle I beg you to get in touch with Commander Jairus Christopher so that he can take me away from here I will be forever in your debt.

Regards

Abhinu Banerjee.

*** O my god… I don't believe it… if only dad could have read this letter back then, he could have done something. But I should be thanking him for letting me be around Abhinu. ***

I kept the letter aside and that it suddenly dawned on me about what was written in Abhinu's letter. 'Jairus Christopher is an intelligence officer' and then the day when Aamaya di and I went to Aarohi's grave and the voice I heard, it was definitely Dad's. Dad's way of investigation and trying to find the whereabouts of Abhinu during the initial days, Every single incident that I could recall, dad was directly or indirectly involved in it. Could it be that the Phantom is none other than my Dad himself?

I decided to ask him about it directly. As I got off the bed, I found dad had got down from the jeep and was talking to mom. She was holding dad's hand and was probably trying to confront him. I began to walk towards them, still in a dilemma whether to ask him about it or not, and finally without a second thought stood in front of him as asked "Dad... are you the Phantom?"

"I beg your pardon Monika... what?" 

"Are you the Phantom... the person whom uncle Banerjee is terrified of?"

Mom and Dad's faces looked as if they were surprised at the question I just asked them. "What makes you think I could be the phantom sweetheart?" 

"for starters... the letter stated you are commander Jairus Christopher from the intelligence wing, and the way you rescued me from the crooks, and then the day when Aamaya di and I went to Aarohi's grave to meet Amy didi... I am pretty sure it was your voice..."

I saw Mom and Dad looked at one another and as they were about to say something to me, we heard a siren. It felt like it was coming from the Horizon. We turned to look towards the direction of the siren and found a group of vehicles approaching us.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was about 6:30 p.m. The sun has still not set. A Group of Army man came running out of their tents. They had with their automatic weapons and pointed them towards the approaching vehicle. Brigadier sir and my dad stepped towards the vehicle. Dad asked me to be with mom and not follow him. 

Even though it had the word WEST BENGAL POLICE written on it, but it's a known fact, that they take the security of their base very seriously.

I saw Nishi Jethu stepped out of the Jeep. Brigadier sir lifted his right hand indicating his men to lower down their weapons. Capt. Sagar stepped forward towards Brigadier Sir and started discussing something, and then he turned back and went towards a concrete house that they have constructed on the corner of the camp. It was right next to Captain Sagar's tent.

Brigadier sir and N.N. Kaku started discussing something and then a group of officers carrying a stretcher approached Nishi Jethu’ s jeep. They picked up someone from inside the car and laid it on the stretcher. Upon having a closer look, I came to know it was none other than Aamaya didi. She was probably unconscious or sleeping.

They picked her up and took her towards the concrete building. Nishi Kaku, dad, and Brigadier sir follow the medics towards the room. I ran towards mom as she was also trailing them along. We entered the room and saw that they have laid Amaya didi on the bed.

One of the doctors stepped towards the 6 of us and said "I think she is only unconscious. Everything else seems normal. She should be awake in a few hours."

Nishi Kaku looked at Brigadier Sir and replied, "Actually I asked my men to knock her out unconscious."

“Sorry sir… I didn't get you… Why…?" asked the brigadier.

"We both know that she was raised by a wanted man, and you never know what is her mental condition right now... how loyal she is towards that man... I didn't want her to know where she is being taken to, and so I felt like knocking her out was a better choice."

I guess the brigadier agreed too and started discussing something with Capt. Sagar and Nishi Jethu. I did not understand what they were talking, but mom told me that they were speaking the local Assamese language. After a while Nishi Jethu Left.

Mom caught hold of my left hand and said "Let's go back to the room dear. You need to rest; the next 2 weeks is going to be very difficult and exhausting for all of us… we will need all the rest we can get."

I asked mom if we are going somewhere, but she wouldn't say anything. While walking back to the room, I asked her what they were discussing.

She replied: "They were discussing about calling Major. Annie, one of the lady officers from the military police. She was the officer assigned to the case behind the death of Abhinu's dad. Back then they didn't know it was a plan by the NIA to make the army believe that Colonel Banerjee was dead because of the nature of the mission. The NIA made it look like a Naxalite Attack and the case was closed."

"However the recent turn of events and the involvement of your dad and the letter by Colonel Banerjee to your dad suggested it otherwise. They learned from him about the mission, and just to confirm the facts Mr. Tribeni Mazumdar got in touch with his sources and figured it out that there was no attack on any army base or any army convoy during the period from April to September 1992, in any part of the country. According to then, an operation, this successful where 9 soldiers, of which one of them is of the rank of a Lt. Colonel, were killed would require extensive planning and would require approval for their supreme commanders and Mr. Mazumdar being one of the founders, denies any knowledge of such an incident."

A few days ago, Amell Harper, your Aamaya di's brother called us and confirmed that he and his team were able to rescue Colonel Banerjee from the hands of his abductors and is currently getting treatment under his care. The Military police are re-opening the case once again."

As we were leaving the room, I saw that the security for Aamaya di's room was increased and J.P. sir had personally taken it on himself to keep a watch on her. I guess they believe she probably knows something which might come for their aid. Mom also told me that she is worried that Major Annie might be there during the interrogation. She has a bad reputation in the army too for being stone-hearted and expert with interrogation techniques.

As we were entering the tent, I saw dad leave the tent in a hurry, trying to avoid looking at me in my eye.

*** It felt like he was trying to avoid talking to me or probably it was the feeling that his 6 years of investigation has finally borne results even though it's not how he expected it to be. I saw him climbing on top of the bonnet of one of the gypsies parked there and lay himself down. He was probably in some deep thought. ***

                                                            TO BE CONTINUED…

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