It was nearing night and the sky was the darkest blue, dotted with stars, the air was cold and the wind was numbing. Aniruddhan was walking back from the almost vacant Emerald restaurant, a small eatery on the roadside on the way to the Paarakkal farmhouse. Everything was quiet all around, except for the wind and his tough leather sandals which were grinding the mud and gravel underneath. He felt something eerie all of a sudden, his instincts told him something was off. It was his instincts was what kept him alive in Kottayam market where he was abandoned as a child by his drunkard of a father. From there he fought with the street kids and did pickpocket and other petty crimes until one day he was caught by Chandrashekharan, Vishnu's father, for trying to steal from their goods. At first he wanted to thrash the boy, but he felt pity for the scrawny 10 year old and took him in as a servant. The boy had no head for studies and dropped out from 6th standard to help Chandrashekharan with his work which involved being a driver for long distances and strong arming people. He was close to Paarakkal family, so much so that, while in his teens, he had babysat Vishnu and Gopika and felt a kind of fatherly affection towards them.

A few months back, he was called into Vishnu's office and he heard him keep a call after saying "I will not be contacting you again..." He entered the room with a troubled looking Vishnu who got up from his seat and said, "I called you because I have something important to tell you".

Aniruddhan nodded.

"Whether I like it or not, Malu is now the wife of Pranav and the daughter-in-law of Kalarikkal. There are definitely going to be run ins with that family, and all I have to say is that, whatever happens we will not do anything to hurt Malu and by extension Pranav" said Vishnu.

"That will put us in a very difficult position. Even if we avoid him, he will not avoid us", said Aniruddhan.

"I know. That's why I wanted to make it clear, you can do anything to protect Malu, but for Pranav, use your discretion. If you think he will hurt Paarakkal family or yourself, deal with it whatever way you think fit. Otherwise, avoid any contact with him", said Vishnu.

Aniruddhan nodded, but something was on his mind. He remembered the week leading to Vishnu's marriage. when he got drunk and cried for the first time since he became a man. His soul looked like it was shredded to pieces at the thought of never being together with Malathi.

"Do you still love her?" asked Anidruddhan.

Vishnu's eyes faltered and after a pause he spoke. "You don't really understand what she means to me. She had saved me in more ways than one. I do love her, but not as I used to. Let us leave it at that".

Tonight, the ominous atmosphere was putting Aniruddhan on high alert. He had parked his jeep at a distance and just as he was about to get in, he was grabbed by some unknown men. His old instincts of fight kicked in and immediately punched one in the gut and pulled another over from his back and beat him to the ground. But a resounding punch knocked him back for a bit and he staggered and turned to look at Dinesh. He then heard footsteps behind him and in a flash took out his dagger and tried to ram it into the man behind who immediately caught his unarmed hand, but was not able to reach the dagger which was almost going to get buried in his chest. Aniruddhan paused for a second for the man who had grabbed him was Pranav. That one second pause gave Dinesh enough time to put a cloth sack over his face to debilitate him. But Pranav stood in shock; why did this sworn enemy of his pause?

Aniruddhan was quickly tied down and placed into an Omni van by Udayan and the rest of his gang. They were closely followed by Pranav and Dinesh in their jeep. Once they reached the shanty town where they got the weapons, Aniruddhan was pulled out of the van and thrown into one of the huts.

"What next?" asked Dinesh.

"Sub registrar Renjith", said Pranav. "He is in the nearby town. We need to get some principles drilled into him".

Aniruddhan stayed in the shack for the next three days. He was given food and some fresh clothes and was kept reasonably well for a captive except whenever he tried to escape. On the fourth day, the door opened and Pranav entered. Aniruddhan was sitting on the bed with his hands tied together.

"Had lunch?" asked Pranav drawing a chair to sit in front of him.

Aniruddhan spat on the ground.

"You have enough anger to kill me?" asked Pranav.

"More than you could ever imagine. Why don't you open my hands and you will see", replied Aniruddhan.

"Why do I have a feeling that you would definitely beat me, but never kill me?" asked Pranav.

That question surprised Aniruddhan, but he kept quiet. Do anything to protect Malu, the words said by Vishnu resounded in his mind.

"Why do I have this feeling that its something to do with my wife, Malathi", said Pranav. Aniruddhan's gaze fumbled, and Pranav got the answer.

"Why does Vishnu have so much concern for my wife? I think you know the answer", said Pranav. He was greeted with stone cold silence. Seeing that he won't be answering and no way Pranav was going to force the man who spared his life to answer the question. "We got the land resurveyed and the registration is complete. Now the Chakkalakal Spice Estate will be known as Kalarikkal Spice Estate. We reeducated the sub-registrar on his duties as well. I just came to say that you are free to go now, you will be escorted to Paarakkal estate by our boys".

The atmosphere outside the Paarakkal farmhouse was tense. For three days Aniruddhan hadn't answered calls and their goon Jeevan and his men were unable to trace him. Fearing that Chakkalakal family might have something to do with his disappearance, Vishnu came back and dragged an unwilling Vasudev along with him who was forced to give up his jeans and t shirt for the shirt and mundu just like his brother and his hair also was cut to suit his look.

Aniruddhan was dropped near the farmhouse and just as he was getting into the compound, Jeevan shouted to Vasudev and Vishnu, "Sir, chettan is back".

Even in the faint light of the evening, they could make out the injuries on him.

"Who did this?" growled Vishnu.

"Kalarikkal Pranav", replied Aniruddhan.

Both Vishnu and Vasudev were too stunned to speak.

He kidnapped me four days back and kept me in some shack. And they also bought and registered the Chakkalakal estate in their name. I am sorry", said a defeated Aniruddhan.

"Its alright. I shouldn't have left you alone. There is a limit to how many people we can fight off", said Vishnu.

"That bloody Pranav! He deserves a beating", said Vasudev.

"And who will do that?" asked Vishnu in anger. "How many times had I asked you to come and stay here while I was away. He would have thought twice before trying this on someone from our family. Its not just our people protecting us, we also protect our people. Now both of you get a jeep ready and take him to hospital", shouted Vishnu.

Vasudev dejectedly followed Jeevan to the garage to get a jeep.

"I am sorry that I put you in an impossible situation", apologized Vishnu.

"There was an instance when I could have possibly done away with him. But then I remembered you and Malathikunju and I could not do it" replied Aniruddhan.

Vishnu kept a hand on his shoulder and the unspoken words were clear to Aniruddhan.

"Vishnukunje, he kept asking about your relationship with Malathikunju", said Aniruddhan.

"Lets see what will happen", said Vishnu. The jeep came and Aniruddhan got into it and left for the hospital with Vasudev and Jeevan. Vishnu was left with the unpleasant task of relaying to his grandfather about the loss of the spice estate.

***

To say that Subramaniyam was livid was an understatement, he was so angry that he almost kept the Paarakkal house upside down. The others watched, either joining in anger or in fear of his wrath. Vishnu, Vasudev and Aniruddhan were called back home. Aniruddhan got a light scolding, but Vasudev got an earful for ignoring his duties.

"What shall we do to those Kalarikkal dogs? They should pay the price for putting their nose in our business", shouted Subramaniyam.

"Lets ruin their businesses", said Chandrashekharan.

"Right. Sabotage their lumber mills and paddy", said Subramaniyam to the approval of the others.

***

The night was pretty different in another part of the village. Everyone else was asleep except for Malathi and Pranav. Since Malathi worked she was only home on weekends and this week there was an extra holiday. She had come earlier than usual and had gone to temple with Sridevi and the aunts. After dinner the entire family had slept, Malathi and Pranav waited until midnight; to make love. It was pretty difficult to get privacy in the house with elders and a bunch of unmarried young men, so they did it in the dead of the night. Tonight Pranav was in ecstasy with the win over the estate and that she was with him. The jasmine flowers she had worn earlier in the evening had been removed from her hair, but the smell was still there driving him mad. As he thrust with fervor, a gasp left Malathi's lips.

"Shhh.. I will take you some place where we could be a bit more free", he said to her.

"Where?" she asked.

"Does it matter? All you will be seeing will be the ceiling", he replied.

  She smacked him on his shoulder and said "How could you be dead serious on the outside and in here be so shameless?"

"Because you made me so", he replied with an intense french kiss.

He then got up, pulled her impatiently towards himself and drove into her until she finished, then he took his own time to reach the same. Finally exhausted he lay next to her and she wrapped her arms around him and cuddled with her head on his chest.

"Something happened in the past few days which you do not know" he said.

"What?" asked Malathi with curiosity.

Pranav recounted the happenings from the time Thomas asked his help and by the time he ended, Malathi's face was filled with anger and disappointment.

"You kidnapped Aniruddhan chettan? How could you do something like that?" she asked.

"For what they had done, it was the only possible solution. Look this is how our world works, I do not come to your office and tell you what to do. So stick with the same in our matter", he said.

"Not when you are breaking the law!" she replied.

"Malathi, this is how its done here", he said.

Malathi remembered what Vishnu had said about his own family, maybe you have to be ruthless to fight against other ruthless people.

"But I do wish you remain on the straight and the narrow", she whispered.

"I do try", said Pranav, kissing her on her quivering lips. "But its not easy when you have to fight with the rich and the powerful for survival. Malathi, you know Vishnu and Aniruddhan, but you may have never seen their bad side; but we have, we always have. Right now, I am sure they are looking for ways to harm us. So don't pity them too much", said Pranav.

True to his words, in the northern paddy fields of Kalarikkal, some masked men entered and with pick axe and spears, they broke the mud embankment that controlled the water flow and ten acres of paddy fields were soon under water. It was a small damage, but it was also the warning shot that Paarakkal sent to Kalarikkal.

********************************************

Please vote, share and comment this chapter

********************************************