BEAUTY OF INNOCENCE

The construction work of Ulhitiya house was almost completed. Kapilasena was in high spirit as he could achieve his target earlier than expected. He insisted Koinmenika to see the new house. Despite her poor health she got ready for that. Bernard was not very pleased to see Koinmenika going on trucks with Nandana Menike. Yet, he didn't interfere with their journey. He volunteered to give them a lift up to the point where the truck had parked in the morning. Nandana Menike had to sit at the back with people with diverse age groups. The front seat next to the driver was reserved for Koinmenika and another elderly woman who was older than her.

"Koinmenika… Shall I hire a vehicle for you to go there…?" Bernard suggested in a low voice to Koinmenika as he understood travelling by that truck was rather uncomfortable and difficult for her age.

"Since all of us going in this way… it are alright Hamu… it's not nice to go by another vehicle…" Koinmenika said kindly without hurting him.

He gazed at the truck until it disappeared from his eye sight. A feeling of emptiness crept into his mind. He lay down on the settee and started having a drink. He took the Chess board and arranged the Kings and Queens and played alone to chase away his loneliness. Without any prior notice, Victor, Satish and a few more relatives of him came to the bungalow by noon. The parents and a sister of Satish were included in that group.

"I could have arranged lunch if you had just informed me earlier…" Bernard simply told Victor.

"Ah… it is alright… Let's get something arranged slowly… no problem…" Victor also responded in a similar tone.

"Where are you all going…?" Bernard raised a question glancing at Satish.

"Came to see a land close by… Once the reservoir comes up, it won't be easy to buy a land from this area… Even by now, the prices have gone up…"

"To build a tourist hotel…?" Since he knew their business background, he asked that question.

"Found a land…?"

"Got one… evening also, going to see two or three lands…"

Bernard called out Periyavar and asked him to prepare lunch for them.

"Mother, there's a village aunty who is an expert in cooking…" Satish told his parents about Koinmenika without directly asking about her.

Bernard guessed the intension of their arrival. He was reminded of what Sandra told him a couple of weeks ago over the phone. He purposely didn't say the absence of Koinmenika at the bungalow.

"Hm… you have already started the job today…." Victor made that comment looking the bottle of whisky, which was beside the settee.

"Last evening, a friend of mine came… a friend… I mean… from the Project… Can't take him up… So… had a chat with him here… Couldn't take it away…" Bernard lied with a view to misleading Victor.

Satish and his father inquired about the Bernard's lands which would be submerged and also his future plans, with much enthusiasm. They came out with the idea of seeking the possibility of using a part of Bernard's land which would not go underwater, for their hotel industry.

"If you like Bernard… give us ten acres from the land above the road, for our hotel… That land is open to the reservoir… ideal place for a hotel… Once the business starts, you can easily get your share without doing anything…"

"Let's see it…" Bernard in a very subtle manner avoided the suggestion.

It was a puzzle for Victor for not being able to see Nandana Menike or Koinmenika's presence at the bungalow. Bernard observed that Satish's parents and sister from time to time looked at Victor as if they were expecting something from Victor. Bernard could understand their body language. Finally, to inquire about them, Satish broke silence.

"That… that aunty… who prepared delicious food that day… where is she today…? Gone somewhere…?"

"Ah… they went to Ulhitiya…"

The family members looked at each other as it was an unexpected answer and also an unfamiliar name.

"Where...? Ulhitiya…?" That question was from Victor.

"Yes… they got a new land from there… They went there a couple of days ago saying that there's some work to be done"

A sign of disappointment was visible on Satish's face.

"The child also went….?" Victor was inquiring about his daughter.

"Which child…?" Bernard knew Victor was referring to his daughter.

"That fair girl, who was here that day…" Satish looking at Victor joined him.

"Ahha… you are asking about Victor's daughter…!"

There was a pale look on Victor's face. He didn't expect such an answer from Bernard.

"That child also went with her grandma… I think they will stay there about one week…" Bernard said light heartedly.

The discussion about Nandana Menike followed afterwards. There was a request from Satish's side that they wanted to propose Nandana Menike to their son, who was by that time, was divorced after an unsuccessful marriage. Satish's father elaborated that Victor's consent had already been given and he proved that an equal right had been declared from Nandana Menike's side.

"Victor is Nandana Menike's father… That's true… But the full custody of that child is with her mother… Yasawathi and Koinamma…" His words clearly explained that the decision regarding the custody of Nandana Menike should be taken not by Victor.

"Mr. Bernard, if you tell them, they will agree… The other thing… according to her social background, it is not an easy thing to get a proposal from a family like ours…!"

Bernard keeping his eyes closed contemplated what Sandra informed him well in advance.

"If we speak, they will agree I suppose…" Satish's mother glancing at her daughter suggested that hoping to get her contribution also to the decision.

"How old is Satish now…?" Bernard asked that from Satish.

"Forty - two plus…" Satish's father replied.

"Then he is four years older than me… the other point is… I don't know if Koinamma would like a person who is already married. Anyway, let's ask and see…" Bernard presented his opinion making them rather disappointed.

Satish's mother and sister leaving the discussion, walked up to the Sandra's and Bernard's huge photo in the living room.

With Bernard's approval, Victor arranged a whisky bottle before taking lunch. Satish's mother and sister in response to Victor's request went down to the first floor to assist Periyavar to arrange the lunch. The bottle of whisky turned out to be an ideal appetizer for them to have a chat till the lunch was prepared. After lunch they left for Kandy as they had booked a hotel for the night.

"They have come here not to look for lands… Hamu…"

After they left the bungalow, Periyavar closed the gate and told Bernard that he had something important to inform him.

"Why…? Did you feel anything special…?"

"Hmm..." Periyavar cleared his thought.

"Tell… then..."

Periyavar felt elated as he saw Bernard was getting ready to listen to him.

"They have come here with an idea of Chuti Menika…"

"Idea… means…?"

"I understood from their chat… The moment the two ladies came down, they were inquiring about Nandana Menike, where Koinmenika's new house is in Ulhitiya…, how to go there..., how to get information about the place… I think they are planning to go there tomorrow…"

"'There' means… Ulhitiya…?"

He nodded his head in agreement.

"How do you say it precisely…?"

"I heard the younger lady telling the elder woman that if they visited the Project Office, they would be able to get to know where Koinamma's house is".

Bernard's suspicion was correct. Why they were staying the night in Kandy would be easy for them to visit Ulhitiya the following morning and meet Koinmenika. Getting information about the resettlements from the Project office was not a difficult job. Victor had even the ability to inquire about the people of the estate. Bernard could comprehend their strategic plan to meet Koinmenika, misleading him.

"Periyavar, Tomorrow morning I'm going to Ulhitiya… I'll keep the car under the portico… If someone, who came here today, asks... tell him or her I just went out with a friend close by…" Bernard had taken a decision.

The cab which was parked under the portico of the second floor was usually used by Bernard for long journeys. He thought of taking the cab instead of his Volkswagen car to prevent Victor and others from identifying him easily if they happened to meet him on the way. Even Periyavar often prayed god to protect Nandana Menike from all sort of evil forces.