I sat on the verandah stairs while wearing my footwear. The first thing I wanted to do after looking at myself in the mirror last night was to get a proper haircut. I had only cut my hair manually because Sanjana insisted.

"Baba... Baba..." Raghu tried to roll his wooden car over my arm. I hummed, letting him do whatever he liked. Janaki was crouching on my other side, eyeing the cigarette in my mouth. I didn't want to light it while the children were near me.

"Ab wapas vidyalay jaa sakti hu? Waha ki safai karni hai. Itne dino se nahi gayi..." Sanjana asked quietly from behind me.

(Can I go back to the school now? The place needs to be cleaned as well. I haven't gone there in so long...)

"Hmm... Wapas aane ke baad tumhe khud lekar jaunga. Akele mat jaana. Baldev abhi pagal hai. Ghar ke bahar mat nikalna." When she didn't say anything, I finally turned to look at her, "Samajh rahi ho ki nahi?"

(Hmm... I'll take you there myself once I'm back. Don't go alone. Baldev is crazy right now. Don't go out of the house. Are you listening?)

"Haan... Saath jaenge," she smiled. I expected her to sulk like usual. It was a relief that she was finally listening to me.

(Okay... We'll go together.)

Janaki snatched the cigarette out of my mouth that instant and tried chewing on it. "Vidyalay ke paas do theen aadmi khade karo," I mumbled while trying to take the cancer stick out of my daughter's hands.

(Ask some men to guard the school.)

"Kuch hua hai, Bhaiya...?" Keshav asked in confusion.

(Did something happen, Bhaiya?)

"Nahi... Par zaroor kuch hone wala hai. Baldev ke paas ab jaane keliye koi jagah nahi hai. Woh apni gussa utarne ke liye shayad vidyalay jaa sakta hai... Warna yaha aayega. Par mujhe nahi lagta uske paas utni himmat hai ab..." I shrugged and got up, finally. With how my daughter had bent and broken the cigarette, I couldn't smoke anymore anyway.

(No... But something will definitely happen. Baldev has nowhere to go now. He'll probably go to the school to take out his anger... Or he can come here. But I don't think he's that bold...)

"Inhe andar hi rakhna," I told Sanjana while squeezing my children's faces.

(Keep them inside.)

"Mujhe bhi aana hai!"

(I want to come!)

"Baba, mujhe bhi!"

(Baba, even me!)

They both held onto my hands, and even when Sanjana tried to pull them away, my kids didn't budge. Janaki immediately started crying.

"Saarang, inhe hatao."

(Saarang, take them.)

He had been eagerly waiting for that command as he grabbed the kids from behind and pulled them a lot more firmly than Sanjana. "Mai inhe sambhalunga, Jiju!" He grinned at me. The kids tried to kick and fight him, but Saarang was a lot stronger. I smiled, seeing how he enjoyed his new responsibility.

(I'll handle them, Jiju!)

Keshav went to the school with a few of my men while I took Gopal with me to the barber. The people were in shock, of course. Many even screamed, saying they could see ghosts. I didn't have the patience or strength to narrate the same things from scratch, but Gopal did. In fact, he made my story so dramatic that there was a crowd of amused villagers listening to him talk by the barber shop's door.

Many came forward to thank me and praise me, saying they had never accepted Gulzar as their Sarpanch anyway. I had been the one who won the election, and it was my right to be the ruler. Frankly, I hadn't stood in the elections to become Sarpanch. It was only to put Gulzar in his place. Now that he was imprisoned, the government would appoint someone temporarily until the next elections. I was definitely not going to stand as a candidate. The villagers already respected and obeyed me more than anyone. I was their Thakur. There was nothing more that I needed.

"Kahani kaisi lagi, Malik?" Gopal grinned as he drove us back home. I sighed, "Bahut khub."

(How did you like the story, Malik?)

(Great.)

"Pata hai... Maine Mallika se vada kiya tha ki agar aap Sarpanch ban jaenge, toh mai usse byah karunga."

(You know... I had promised Mallika that I'd marry her if you became the Sarpanch.)

I gave him a look of disbelief as he kept talking, "Ek saal pehle humari shaadi ho gayi, Malik. Aapke guzarne ke baad sabhi bahut udaas the... Phir bhi soch raha tha ki, aap hamesha humari khushi chahenge, isliye ek saal baad shaadi ho gayi."

(We got married one year ago, Malik. After your passing, everyone was so upset... But I thought you'd always want us to be happy no matter what, so I got married.)

"Haan, bilkul, khush raho..." I shook my head. What more could I say?

(Yes, of course, stay happy...)

Sanjana was already dressed up when we returned home. She was far too excited to accompany me to school. Even though I had seen it from afar, I hadn't been able to visit it properly. Even though my wife was educated, I remembered how annoyed I had been that she couldn't put that wealth to good use unless I stepped up and did something. That was why I had begun building the school in the first place.

Later, she amazed even me by naming it after me and taking full ownership like I wanted her to.

"Bahut se cheeze dikhane hai aapko," Sanjana held my arm as Gopal drove us there. It was safer for the kids to remain home, so we did not bring them with us. But separating them from Sanjana was a hard chore as both devils burst into tears as soon as they saw their Maa wearing her footwear.

(I want to show you lots of things.)

I hummed, "Iske baad mujhe Paramesh se bhi milna hai. Ab bhi us DSP se bahut se baat karne hai... Gulzar ki saza pakki karni hai."

(I need to meet Paramesh after this as well. There's still quite a lot to discuss with the DSP... I need to make sure that Gulzar stays in prison.)

Sanjana's face dulled as soon as I mentioned my lawyer's name. "Kya ho gaya?" I asked, but she didn't reply for a while.

(What happened?)

"Aap ab bhi us Barrister se dosti kyu rakh rahe ho?"

(Why are you still friends with that Barrister?)

I wondered what she was on about. "Woh kaafi samajhdar hai... Mujhse kya chupa rahi ho?" Gopal was glancing at us in the rear-view mirror. When I asked him if he knew anything, he said he didn't.

(He's quite smart... What are you hiding from me?)

"Koi nahi jaanta..." She sighed, "Jab aap... Yaha nahi the... Paramesh hamesha vidyalay aata tha. Usne mera haath manga... Shaadi ke liye."

(Nobody knows... When you were not here... Paramesh used to come to the school often. He asked for my hand... In marriage.)

I froze. He did what?

My hand automatically tightened around Sanjana's as I pulled her closer, "Aur tumne kya kaha?"

(And what did you say?)

"Bhaad mei jao... Aur... M-maine thappad bhi maara..." she whispered while fidgeting with her fingers. Never had I been more proud of her.

(Go to hell... And... I- I slapped him...)

I pressed a kiss to her cheek immediately, "Sahi kiya. Aisa hi karna chahiye."

(Good job. You did the right thing.)

She pouted at me, tears in her eyes, "Aap nahi jaante ki log kitne bure hai... Gaonwale yeh bhi bolne lage ki mujhe Keshav se shaadi karni chahiye, kyunki bache bina baap ke bada nahi ho sakte. Aur Baldev toh har roz peekar vidyalay aata tha... Aap ek saal jaldi nahi aa sakte hai?"

(You don't know how awful people are... The villagers even began saying that I should marry Keshav, because the children shouldn't grow up without a father. And Baldev used to come to the school daily after getting drunk... Couldn't you have come a year sooner?)

She hadn't told me all that before. Hell, I'd have tried my level best to come sooner if she did. I kissed her forehead again and whispered an apology against her skin, "Maaf karna, meri gilehri. Meri wajah se tumhe itni pareshani hui... Tumhe kuch nahi hone dunga." I pulled her into my chest, and she stayed there, clutching my shirt. Baldev and Paramesh were both going to pay for even dreaming of owning my woman.

(I'm sorry, my little squirrel. You suffered so much because of me... I'll never let anything happen to you.)

"Bheed kyu hai?" I frowned, seeing a lot of villagers gathered around the school. We got out of the car soon and heard a man screaming.

(Why's there a crowd?)

"Aaj sab jala dalunga! Sab kuch! Gulzar Sultan ke aadmi se panga lene ki himmat?!"

(I'll burn everything today! Everything! How dare you mess with Gulzar Sultan's men?!)

It was undoubtedly Baldev's voice. Sanjana's eyes went wide when she saw him and his lackeys throw alcohol bottles at the school. They were also dousing it with petrol as Baldev screamed and laughed like a madman at the villagers. My wife couldn't bear it anymore, and she squeezed straight past the crowd before I could stop her.

"Malik... Aapke Bhai..." Gopal gulped as he gestured at Keshav lying flat on the ground. He was coughing up blood and looked quite beaten up. One of my men was with him. When Gopal asked a nearby observer, he mentioned that Baldev had stabbed another man who tried to protect Keshav, and my brother instructed that he be rushed to the vedh immediately. He was far too selfless for his own good.

(Malik... Your brother...)

Baldev looked really pathetic in the center as he flailed the petrol can in the air. His eyes were bloodshot. I nearly scoffed. The man had lost everything in life, literally, and now he wanted to stoop as low as to ruin others' lives as well.

He wasn't going to get very far while I was around.