He stared helplessly, paranoid, at the pile of blood and human flesh that once was his master, Satyam. He’d unscrupulously butchered his master’s head and body with the broken, jagged end of the whisky bottle he’d been gifted. Drenched in sweat, he stood with the corpse, bewildered.
He’d been selected for the scholarship from among 150 other candidates from the tiny village school. Showing exceptional excellence in academics, the lanky boy who could’ve anytime been mistaken for a country bumpkin was a rare breed, remarked the principal. That night, his impoverished grandmother, his only family, cooked rice and chicken curry for her superstar grandson.
Avoiding everybody else’s eyes, he and his master in tow headed for the car. The silver briefcase was handcuffed to Satyam’s hands. Silently they left the apartment complex and without a word he raced to 120 kmph once they were on the highway. As per prior instructions, he was supposed to reach the airport. The detour had been taken keeping an iron heart. If only he hadn’t seen the diary. A split second decision led him to the new yet unused bridge. “A flat tyre”, he exclaimed, jumping out. As soon as Satyam bent down to investigate the cleverly put decoy,..
A deafening crash, followed by shards of glass everywhere..
“The time has come, Parvati, for you to repay the debt. We’re sorry for your daughter’s untimely death but business is very bad these days. We can’t compromise on the growing costs, can we? Try to understand, Parvati…” And so his lodging was shifted to Ramdas’ outhouse, oblivious to him, to serve his new master all his life. All for his mother’s marriage to a drunkard, who had murdered her before laying himself on a track seeing an oncoming train.
That evening he’d inconspicuously seen Satyam carrying the silver briefcase discreetly into his black Honda Accord. Earlier that afternoon Satyam was unmistakably looking too agitated for words. Pacing about his room, ears to the phone and an uninterrupted flow of tense words; anybody could presume things weren’t actually going well. He stole a glance at the silver briefcase when he entered with his lunch and gaped astonished at the neatly piled crisp currency notes.
The landlord Ramdas took him as his driver. His son Satyam had just returned from Tokyo and had established a booming iron ore business here. He would be wanted for transporting Satyam to his office and back. And within a few months both servant and master had developed a strong bond. Both shared their life’s tales, mostly the pathos he had faced in his troubled youth. Satyam understood him well. My grandma sold me off to this caring master, he thought with chagrin.
Satyam trusted him now. Having been his driver for six long years, he’d won Satyam’s trust due to his own merit. Faithfully taking him everywhere, being punctual, not misusing the freedom given to him in the luxurious car; no matter other drivers conspired jealously seeing him steer the Accord. He lived in the storeroom inside his master’s house, ate with him, did small errands and even pressed his master’s feet while he slept. Hence, being in Satyam’s bedroom wasn’t very embarrassing for him. Like he served his master lunch every afternoon, he’d entered unassumingly sensing his dear master’s troubled mood.
That’s when the silver matte had caught his eye.
He flipped through the pages of the silver diary in his room. He had stolen it from right under his master’s unaware eyes. Exquisitely fashioned covers hid one of the deepest darkest secrets that had been kept from him. His grandfather, Ramdas, had killed his daughter in law to amass her entire wealth. He had then kicked his wife out to live comfortably with his only son. It had been stated with pride. That was when the whole plan had been conspired.
He would destroy Ramdas. He would win the confidence of his son, his life, for whom he had faced all those traumatic years living alone. Then, slowly, like a dangerous poison, he would kill him. He would avenge his family’s end the in the same way. He would put an end to his tormentor.
He would remain his master’s faithful servant.
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