Saturday, Afternoon.
This part of Marudur was called a “slum” for many generations. The new generation hated this name and preferred to call it “Firdaus Garden”.
The overwhelming majority of Marudurians used to live in this neighbourhood. It was densely populated. But, it wasn’t a slum in a real sense.
Firdaus Garden people were poor even by Marudurian standards. But, it was also a fairly safe neighbourhood just like other places in Marudur. If not for this slum, no one could say Marudur is backward.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
Firdaus Stadium was situated within this neighbourhood. It was a fairly big playground donated by Firdaus Hajiyar, Minhaj’s father, when he was alive. It was a Sadhaqathul-Jaariya, a long-lasting charity in his words.
After he passed away, the ground was named after him.
Youngsters and kids used to play cricket and other games during evening hours in Firdaus Stadium.
All youngsters call the slum “Firdaus-Garden”, as Firdaus Stadium was situated within its neighbourhood. Many old ones call it infamously “slum” which is frowned upon by youngsters. Recently, there was even a quarrel as the area name was referred to as ‘slum’, in a funeral announcement.
“Mohideen Hajiyar should step-down”.
“There won’t be smoke without any fire”.
“All these time we believed in Mohideen Hajiyar and Firdaus Hajiyar. What sort of people have they been?”
“There isn’t any truth in that leaflet. Marudur-First is merely power hungry”.
Firdaus-Garden folks started discussing and debating the leaflet that the Marudur-First had distributed last Friday. For most of them, it did not have any personal appeal. It was just like commenting on a cricket match. Each one was happily taking their sides.
It was just another evening of gossiping in Firdaus Garden.
“Mohideen Hajiyar is a rich man. It’s not our problem whether these things are true or not. Rich people normally cheat each other. They can’t even bring up their kids properly. These rich kids do all the dirty things in the world. That is also their problem, not our problem. But what I ask is what on earth has he done for this slum? ” a man in his mid-fifties was asking other folks.
He was sitting on his veranda. Some other men and women were listening to him sitting in their house verandas. All the houses were situated close by where his voice could be heard in many houses. In between the line of houses, there was a mud walking path.
“Look at my house. It is a mud house, despite being furnished and painted for my daughter’s wedding. Did he ever help us? No. I don’t know what he is going to do with all his money. Maybe he is thinking he is going to take all his money to his grave when he dies”.
“That’s right. That’s right”, many voices replied in chorus.
A decent looking young man came outside from the house right opposite the old man’s house. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was very dark-skinned, thin, and tall.
“What are you going to do with Mohideen Hajiyar’s money, uncle, if he ever gives you his money? Take it to your grave?” the young man asked.
Once again many people laughed in chorus.
“Surely he will take it to his grave”, someone said with a deep voice.
“No, he is very young and strong. He has plenty of time to die”, another one said.
“Ah? Our Rashad son was inside?” the old man asked.
“I was writing my research report. I couldn’t concentrate on it because of your sound. So I stopped and came outside to listen to your sermon”.
“You do research? So, we are going to have another Thomas Alva Edison in our slum?” a woman in her mid forties asked sarcastically. Everyone laughed again.
“I think Edison and I have something in common. I am an electrical engineer. Very close to his field”, the young man said with a smile.
“I can’t believe we have an engineer in our slum. Are you really an engineer as you always say?” the old man asked Rashad.
“So you don’t believe I am an engineer?”
“It’s not difficult to believe. These days everyone is an Engineer. Today afternoon they telecast a Tamil movie on television. Did you watch it?”
“No, uncle. I have more important things to do than watching movies”.
“They say everyone in India is an Engineer. But, no one has got a job. Those days engineers were respected like doctors. These days things have changed”.
“It isn’t true, uncle. Engineers are very important people. If an engineer has no job, the problem is not with engineering. It’s an economic problem. Economy is unable to produce enough jobs. That’s it”.
“Whatever it is…! Now you sound like an educated man. You talk about economic problems. That's exactly what we were talking about. We were talking about Mohideen Hajiyar. He does not help us”.
“Uncle, Mohideen Hajiyar is not Bill Gates. Even Bill Gates can’t help each and every one of us. We should learn to live with our dignity without expecting others' hands”.
“You are wrong, Rashad son. Don't you remember what Hazrath said in the Friday sermon yesterday? He said very strongly that it is the responsibility of the rich people to give alms and charity to the poor. Poor have a right on the money of rich people”.
“You misunderstood the sermon, uncle. It is the responsibility of the rich to give alms. At the same time, it is a commendable quality of the poor not to beg and not to expect others”.
“Whatever..! We are not begging, Rashad son”, the man started getting angry, “you sound like you are supporting Mohideen Hajiyar. You are one of the people who published the handbill against him, aren’t you?”.
“No, I am not against anyone. I didn’t publish anything. I am in Marudur-First, because it is an organization of educated people. I have no idea about this leaflet. I didn’t participate in their meetings for the last few weeks, because I was in Colombo”.
“But, I would say he must step-down, whatever you say”, the man emphasised his point again, “there cannot be smoke without any fire”.
“Okay, uncle. You can say whatever you want. I am going to the ground. It's been a long time since I played cricket. Let me go and come”.
Rashad started walking towards the ground, the Firdaus Stadium.
The fifty-year-old man was still gossiping even after Rashad left.
“Now look, we shouldn't speak about the ones who have passed away. But, I couldn’t help it. Even Firdaus Hajiyar did not do anything to us when he was alive. He donated this cricket ground. What is its benefit? Nothing. Our children and youngsters go and play there and waste their time. They would have done the same thing at their homes”.
“You are right. When children play more, their education gets spoiled. That’s what happens to kids who go to famous schools. In those big schools, they give more importance to games than studies”, an elderly woman added.
****
Sunday, Night.
The meeting started after sunset prayer in the Akbar mosque. It was an extraordinary emergency meeting. The starting time was mentioned in the invitations. The ending time was not mentioned. Because no one was able to say the ending time.
The meeting ended at midnight, after extremely harsh boiling arguments.
Mohideen Hajiyar was not present in the meeting.
Zubair Hajiyar, the secretary of the Marudur Mosque Federation and Marudur Welfare Association announced the summary of the meeting.
“Peace be upon all of you.
In the name of Allah, the most gracious and the most merciful.
The Marudur mosque federation has traditionally been the civil leadership of Marudur. When late Firdaus Hajiyar was the chief of the federation, Marudur Welfare Association was formed as a subordinate organization of the federation. By the same period, the constitution of the federation was written down.
For the last ninety-nine years, there have not been any similar incidents like today’s one recorded in the history of the village.
Exactly ninety-nine years before, Usman Lebbe, the grandfather of the departing chief Mohideen Hajiyar, became the chief of the federation.
He held the position for the next forty-five years straight. Then, his second son Aydhuroos Lebbe was selected as the chief. He held the position for 34 years straight. Then, Firdaus Hajiyar was selected for the position. He held the position for eleven years. For the last ten years, our stepping-down chief Mohideen Hajiyar has been the chief.
There have been just four chiefs in the last ninety-nine years and we know that all of them were legends. They were inspiring personalities. They sacrificed a lot for the well-being of this village. They worked selflessly.
This is the first time in the last ninety-nine years, a chief is resigning from his position, which is unfortunate.
We were discussing in today's meeting whether to accept the resignation of Mohideen Hajiyar or not. Eventually, we decided to accept his resignation.
I hope the new leader Japan Hajiyar will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. Let me remind Japan Hajiyar, our new chief, again that his predecessors were legends. Therefore, Marudurians have extremely high expectations of the new chief, Japan Hajiyar.
Marudur-First, another village welfare organization, has expressed its willingness to work cooperatively with the federation and the Marudur welfare association. Therefore, the trustees of the mosque federation are willing to assign one of the nominees of Marudur-First to the secretary post, as a friendly gesture.
They, Marudur-First, have nominated Mr Shareek for the position. So, let me congratulate our new chief, Japan Hajiyar and the new secretary, Mr Shareek.
We hope those two of them will carry on their responsibility in a just manner always with the fear of God. As the constitution of the federation states, the chief and the secretary of the federation will also be automatically appointed for the same positions in the Marudur Welfare Association.
Having said this, let me add a personal note. I have been the secretary of the federation for the last many years. Since a new secretary has been appointed, I have to step down from my position and from my post as a trustee in the board of trustees of the federation.
Our departing chief Mohideen Hajiyar is not present at this meeting. He and I are not the ones who are free from faults. We are not angels or machines. We are humans. We are prone to errors. We could have made mistakes during our tenure. Please, forgive us if we have ever committed any mistakes in our capacity. I call upon our new chief and the secretary to accept their posts”.
Zubair Hajiyar sat down. The crowd was still very silent. He had not talked in a loud voice. He was obviously not an orator. But, his speech had made a powerful impact on the crowd.
When Japan Hajiyar came to the stage, he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He never thought he could be appointed to this position. He knew it was a position held by legends.
He had a feeling that he was still amidst dreaming and he would wake up to find out that everything that he was witnessing was no other than a simple dream.
He was never used to speaking in front of big crowds. He was trembling. He could remember the way Mr Shareek trembled a few days back when he hit him in the street. The same man was standing next to him, with a broad smile.
Japan Hajiyar asked Mr Shareek to talk.
Mr Shareek did not hesitate. He talked confidently with his Barack-Obama smile. He was used to this sort of speech. Moreover, he had done his homework. He and other Marudur-First leaders had accurately assumed the final outcomes of the meeting.
“We, in Marudur-First, were demanding that Mr Mohideen should step down from his position since Marudur-First was started four years before. We did not demand it for any of our personal problems with him. In fact, no one had any personal problem with him.
Our demand was based on moral grounds. We had mentioned some of those moral reasons in the leaflet that was distributed last Friday.
A famous orientalist once said that history is more just than conscience. Today it proved to be true.
As our former secretary, Mr Zubair said, this is the first time in the last ninety-nine years a chief is resigning. In fact, he is resigning on moral grounds, which is unfortunate.
Let’s make sure this never happens again in this village. Let’s make sure we select truly deserved leaders. Not the actors.
Anyone could preach. Very few could live up to what they preach. Let’s select the ones who are genuinely truthful for the position they hold. Let’s select the educated professionals, not the uneducated country fellows. I don’t like to talk a lot. Let me finish my speech, thank you”.
Before the crowd scattered, Mr Shareek said again. “Please, excuse me for taking an extra-minute. All of us are in community work. When we are in community work we are used to fighting with each other. These quarrels are for the wellbeing of the community, not for our self-wish desires. Let’s forget our past quarrels and let’s work together. I start it with our chief Japan Hajiyar. He is a very generous man with remarkable qualities”.
Mr Shareek shook hands with Japan Hajiyar and embraced him in a friendly manner.
****
Japan Hajiyar started walking towards his house. It was a walking distance from Akbar mosque.
Everyone had left the mosque compound soon after the meeting. The neighbourhood looked terribly empty and silent at midnight.
He felt lonely and anxious. The new posting did not give him any sort of contentment in his heart. The thought of the future was scaring him. He couldn’t think how he was to bear the burden of the post. He wished he denied accepting it. But, now it’s too late.
There was a voice calling him from behind.
“Uncle”.
Japan Hajiyar stopped and turned.
It was the principal’s son, Hamzi, walking towards him. This was the first time Japan Hajiyar met Hamzi since he paid one million rupees for the ‘cover up’. He got angry at once, but decided to keep calm.
“Uncle, congratulations for being selected as the new chief”.
“Thank you, son. But, you can congratulate me later. First tell me why you told your father you don’t have any idea about that money?” Japan Hajiyar asked Hamzi angrily.
“What did you want me to tell my father, uncle? Uncle Japan paid someone one million rupees to cover up the news that his son hit you with a cricket bat? Is that what you wanted me to tell him, uncle?”
“....”.
“I know you would be upset, uncle. I didn’t tell him only to protect you. If I had told him, would you have been selected as the chief today?”
“.....,” Japan Hajiyar started getting confused.
“The fact is, uncle, my father still doesn’t believe it was your son who hit him. You read the leaflet, didn’t you?”
“yeah, I could understand”.
What Japan Hajiyar couldn’t understand was why the Marudur-First team unanimously backed him in the meeting. In fact, it was the Marudur-First team that made him the chief. Most of the others were uninterested in his appointment.
“Uncle, if you had anything, you could have asked me. But you started a fight with Mr Shareek. He is a very respected man in Marudur-First. For your luck, he or my father didn’t take the incident seriously. That is why you have become the chief today. You are so lucky, uncle”.
“Yeah”.
Japan Hajiyar didn’t believe that Mr Shareek and the principal did not take the incident seriously. He could still remember how Mr Shareek was trembling on that day. They in fact took it very seriously. But, they had decided to disregard it for some reasons. Japan Hajiyar had no idea why.
“Take it easy, uncle. Simply enjoy your position. I think you have changed your mind and want your money back. If you really want your money back, I will talk to that person and see what happens. But, I can’t guarantee anything. It could have consequences. The choice is yours. All I wanted was to help you, uncle. But, I don’t want any trouble. If my father comes to know about it, he will eat me alive. That day when you fought with Mr Shareek, it was a close-call”.
“No, son. I know you just wanted to help me. Leave it. I am extremely worried about what happened with Shareek”.
“Come on, uncle. Forget about it. This is the time to enjoy. You have picked two mangoes with a single stone”.
“Thank you, son. Everything still sounds like a dream”.
“When you wake up tomorrow morning you will realise this is not a dream. Okay, uncle. I have to leave now. My friends are going to enjoy your victory”.
“What are you going to do?”.
“It is going to be a small party in Aman Hut. Bye, uncle. See you later”.
Hamzi left.
Japan Hajiyar was watching Hamzi leave for a few seconds and started walking again.
He could spot another human being behind the darkness of the street. It was Fahim Sir.
“Ah, Fahim Machan? What are you doing in the street?”.
“Just walking home. I like walking leisurely this way at midnight. I used to do it when I was a teenager, you know, when I come home after group-studies”.
“Fahim Machan, I wanted to tell you. I never thought you are such a powerful man. You have done what you said. You have made me the chief”.
“I made you a chief? I wish I had that much power".
“I never trusted you when you were talking about it that day. But, you made it”.
“Please reduce your volume, Japan Machan. I have enough problems on my own. I can’t afford more”.
“I never desired this post. But, surely I will be grateful to you, Fahim Machan, for what you have done”.
“I don’t want anything. God has put you in a situation where you can get this post. Otherwise, you don’t deserve this for what you did that day”.
“You mean my quarrel with Shareek?”
“Yes”.
“That’s true. True enough. But, I don’t understand why Shareek and his men supported me”.
“It’s very simple. They think they can use you as a puppet”.
“Really?”
“Yeah, Mr Shareek is going to be your secretary. He is going to veto any idea that you are going to bring in. You are checked-mated now”.
“Really?”
“Japan Machan, I leave you tomorrow to my new school. I wish I could be with you to help you. But, I can’t. Let me tell you one thing. Never take any decision without consultation”.
“....”.
“Do you know what was the strength of Mohideen Hajiyar?”
“No”.
“He always consults with suitable people. He always keeps suitable, educated god-fearing people around him. He always seeks their consultation. I don't mean he is their puppet. It is simply that he is a very good team player”.
“....”
“Do you understand what I said, Japan Machan?”.
“I try to digest what you said”.
“You are in the hot-seat. Be careful”.
“I am already scared. You make me more scared. I never wanted this position. You are the one who put the seeds of desire for this position in me. Now you try to make me scared".
“I never thought things could take such a quick turn. No one could have imagined it,” said Fahim Sir thoughtfully.
“Maybe God is testing me,” said Japan Hajiyar.
“God is testing all of us,” said Fahim Sir.
****
Hamdha’s diary
My father has resigned from all his positions in the village organisations. He did not like to be dismissed in a disgraceful way.
His resignation was accepted at the meeting on Sunday.
I was not in a mood to go to university this week. I stayed home with my family.
“Let’s move to Colombo. Enough with these villagers,” my mother said.
“Really hard to deal with the village,” my mother had been repeating the stanza as if pronouncing a mantra.
By Monday evening, the news of the change of village leadership had spread throughout the village. But, no one talked about the resignation of my father. For them, it was like my father resigned simply to save his face.
“Hamdha, we have decided to shift to Colombo. What do you say?” my father asked me.
“What can I say if you have already decided?”
“Not yet completely decided. I am going to discuss the matter with you. You know, my daughter is my adviser” my father said.
“I don’t have any particular choice in this matter, dad" I said.
I continued after a few seconds, "Colombo is a city. We will have our privacy there".
"Yeah".
"But, at the same time, we will not have any real friends there. We won’t even be familiar with our neighbours in Colombo”.
“Things are the same even here. We live like foreigners in this village,” my mother uttered, "People don’t consider us as one of them”.
My mother preferred the thought of moving to Colombo. She hated the village and the villagers.
“To be honest, I hate Colombo, dad. I hate the climate in Colombo. It’s so humid and sweaty. You can’t spend a single minute without a fan. Here, in Marudur, the weather is pleasant. Just like being air-conditioned. Night hours are silent and peaceful”.
“So, you don’t like moving to Colombo because you like this village and these villagers?” my mother asked me sarcastically, “shall I ask you something? Do you worry about anyone in particular to leave behind?”
My mother never used to talk to me rudely this way ever before. I kept silent. I know she was hinting about Minhaj.
“Ziyana, stop this nonsense. She is already broken”.
“Everything happened because of you, Hamdha’s father. I warned you before. You never listened. I told you not to take Minhaj with you abroad”.
“Ziyana, I already told you. It was irrelevant. It had nothing to do with what you were afraid of,” said my father, “They just drew a line between two irrelevant dots and came up with a story of their own. It was their wicked mind that was the problem”.
“It is us who finally got affected, Hamdha’s father. In fact it had complete relevance from the beginning. It was you who was under the darkness. The pamphlet was not without some facts, the facts about our children. Deep-down the earth, there has been a fire. The smoke came only out of it. It didn’t come from a vacuum”.
“Please talk like Hamdha’s mother, Ziyana. You talk just like another gossiping villager”.
The same conversation seamlessly repeated again and again. I started losing my patience.
“Please, stop this nonsense, both of you. I agree. I have no objection to moving to Colombo,” I finally said.
I hated the idea of moving to Colombo. We cannot leave the village, in the middle of this chaos. I must prove the innocence of my father and my family.
'We also have witnesses to suggest that the only daughter of Mohideen and the elder son of the late Firdaus have a crush on each other'.
I don't have any idea whether Minhaj had any crush on me. But, I had a crush on him. It was a fact. I can’t deny it.
It was Shakira who put the seeds in my empty heart. The whole thing started only after the incident in the restaurant.
'Hamdha, you have a crush on Rushdha's brother, don’t you?'
But, I never crossed my boundaries. I can tell it with my full conscience.
I never try to contact him or to impress him.
It was just a sort of hope and not a real 'crush'.
I cannot live my life alone. I need someone to share my life with. I should get married to someone. Why can’t it be Minhaj? That was the kind of hope that was all I had.
I thought Minhaj might be a potential marriage partner, nothing else.
I never crossed the boundaries my God has set for me. I was never unfaithful to my parents. I never cheated on them. After all these things, is this so-called ‘crush’ a crime to punish me with this severity?
I am just a humble human being, after all.
I have been created in a way to have an opposite-sex attraction, just like any other human being.
This attraction is one of the vital ingredients of human creation. It is remarkable for the continuation of the human race on the earth. If not for this attraction, no one would get married and reproduce, and the human race would have vanished from the surface of the planet-earth long before.
I couldn’t see any reason why this simple ‘crush’ could possibly become a crime as long as I keep my moral boundaries.
The more I thought about it, the stronger my persistence became.
I must remain in this village and prove my innocence. But, my parents had already finished making their decision to leave the village and shift to Colombo.
****
Shibly’s Diary
Friday afternoon, I went home.
Marudur-First pamphlet was to be distributed after the Jumu'ah prayer that day.
“Do you go home today, Shibly?,” The principal asked me that morning.
“Yeah, sir, I feel so tired. I must go home,” I said.
“Can’t you go home after praying Jumu'ah prayer here in Marudur?,” the principal asked me, “we have to issue handbills today".
I have never distributed leaflets in my whole life. Issuing pamphlets and pasting posters would be the final thing my parents would ever approve of me. I couldn’t imagine myself distributing leaflets.
“I thought of praying in Vijayapura and taking a bus soon after,” I said hesitatingly.
The principal read the expression on my face. “Okay, Shibly. You have worked a lot. We can manage without you,” the principal said with a compliment. Once in a blue moon, I sensed a sort of rare empathy in his voice.
I went home and spent my weekends within the comforts of my home.
The weekend was uneventful for me. My mind and body felt so exhausted. All I did at home was to sleep.
Monday morning, I got back to Marudur.
“Congratulations, Mr Shibly, you have done it. Pamphlet has worked extremely well. Mohideen has resigned,” the principal delightfully congratulated me in the morning as if I was the one who made Mr Mohideen resign.
The big shot of the Marudur village had resigned from his post the previous night.
The news of his resignation did not have any emotional appeal for me.
In social media, Marudurian had started fighting for leadership again. But, I had not noticed the news of his resignation yet. It was the principal who informed me for the first time.
Monday and Tuesday, I did not have any work in Marudur-First.
Big-shots of Marudur-First were engaged with other work somewhere else. Thankfully, I did not have any work.
For the last few weeks, I have been obsessed with work. I could not remain idle. Am I becoming a workaholic?
I am a person brought up too attached to my parents and my sister. Marudur life makes me homesick. The only salvation from my homesickness was working. For the last two weeks, my evenings were spent with Marudur-First work. When I engage with Marudur-First work, I don’t usually feel lonely, despite the workload.
But, things had come to a sudden halt. Marudur-First did not have much work this week.
Some work had, of course, been scheduled. But, the principal or Mr Shareek were not so interested. They seemed to have more important work outside.
"Leave it, Shibly. We'll do it later," the principal told me.
The evenings during this week were empty.
I had no friends in Marudur.
Minhaj was my only friend here. He was not in touch for the last two weeks.
I tried again to reach him, but he was unreachable.
It had been two weeks since he left. It sounded like many years.
It was Tuesday evening.
I thought of going for a walk outside. But I wasn’t comfortable walking alone.
I didn’t feel comfortable staying alone in the room either. Lonely evenings made my homesickness worse.
I decided to visit Minhaj.
I know his house. I have once visited there before. It was the black day on which the principal was attacked, the unforgettably depressing day.
It was the first day of my teaching career. I will never be able to forget that day for the rest of my life. The memories of the day will remain with me forever.
I will receive my first salary within the next few days. I must buy a cycle as a first thing. It is an important survival tool here.
Cycle? Then, am I going to be here for so long? Can I lead the rest of my life this way?
What am I thinking? I entered this profession after long thinking. I will never change it in a sudden.
I was standing in front of Minhaj’s house.
I pressed the doorbell. I wasn't sure whether the bell was ringing. So I knocked on the door.
To my relief, it was Minhaj who opened the door.
I was expecting Minhaj with his usual broad smile. Contrarily I couldn't spot any smile on his face. He had changed a lot since I last saw him. He looked very mature and serious.
"Come in," the welcome wasn't as warm as I had expected.
"Thank you. I tried to contact you. You were unreachable. That is why I came straight to meet you. I will come later, if you are busy".
"No. I am not busy. Come in," said Minhaj, "Actually, I got a new number. I think you tried my office number. I gave that sim back to Marudur-First when I was leaving the school".
"Ah, that is why your number was always unreachable. How are you doing, Minhaj?"
"Doing fine, Shibly. By this time I should be in Saudi Arabia. Everything got ruined".
"Got ruined? What happened?"
"What happened? You don't have any idea, right?"
"No, I don't have any idea".
"Well, I heard you are with Marudur-First these days," Minhaj said. I could sense a hostility in his voice that I had never spotted before.
"Yeah, I thought of doing some good work," I struggled to emphasise why I was with Marudur-First. But, I wasn’t sure for myself why I was with it.
"Of course, you are doing good work. Did you go through this pamphlet? It was distributed last Friday".
Minhaj showed me the pamphlet of Marudur-First that was distributed last Friday.
"Of course, it is the Marudur-First pamphlet. In fact, I am the one who designed and prepared it".
"Really? Do you have any idea who Firdaus Hajiyar was?".
"Firdaus Hajiyar?" I was thinking.
The name sounded familiar. Yes, it was there in the pamphlet.
His entire wealth is late Firdaus’ money. Mr Firdaus, for his turn, had stolen the money from his business partners.
"Yeah, that name was there in the pamphlet".
“Do you know who he was?”
“No, I don't know”.
"He was my father".
I never expected it. All of a sudden the darkness of guilt filled my universe.
((To be continued))
_ _ _ _
Next chapter: chapter 22 (1) - A lonely path
Previous chapter: chapter 20 - the solar system turned upside down
* Characters, events and the places in this story are fictional and a mere product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real-world events or characters is merely coincidental.
** Vijayapura and Marudur are fictional places.
Riza Jaufer
Akurana -Kandy,
Sri Lanka
