Hide and Seek

Arin was not sure what woke him up. He expected to see an alarm clock
somewhere. Or, perhaps the maid. As he rubbed his eyes he looked
around. The room seemed unfamiliar. There was a throbbing pain at the
base of his neck. He hardly knew why. He got up from his bed and moved
through the open door into the next room. It was a drawing room. A big
man with a salt-and-pepper beard was sitting on the sofa along with a
frail, kind-looking lady. The big man addressed Arin, "Hello, son. You
were late from the disco last night. It is already ten am. Your friends
are waiting for you downstairs. Get ready and go to college with them.
And yes, take your own bike-don't ride pillion with anyone.". Much as
he tried, Arin could not remember having visited the discotheque the
night before. Also, the man with the beard was not his father. Before
he could say anything, the kind-looking lady said, "Now do what your
father says, Arin. And give Mummy a kiss before you leave for college."
Arin was aghast. He had no idea that he was before his own parents.
These people appeared concerned about him. But, somehow, they did not
look like the people he knew as his parents. In fact he did not
remember having a mother at all. The house in which he found himself
now was not familiar, the people around him were strangers. He decided
to go to college though. It always made him feel better. When he was
about to leave, the man who claimed to be his father said, "Don't spend
the whole day in college, son. Remember, your sister is getting engaged
in the evening." Arin was confused once again. He had always known that
he was an only child. When he came out through the gate of his house he
found some people waiting for him on motorcycles. The people were all
big and strong. They looked capable of breaking necks with a single
embrace. As Arin started his bike, so did his friends. After a while
Arin realized that his friends had been deputed to keep an eye on him.
They followed him as he rode to college. He knew that he studied
Chemistry but his friends asked him to go to the Geography department.
They said that Arin had been studying Geography for two years. He had a
test today. When Arin tried to protest the 'friends' surrounded him and
were about to take out hidden weapons when Arin acceded. They walked
Arin to the Geography classroom. As he went in, the 'friends' waited
outside. Indeed, there was no Geography test and Arin found the
lectures quite boring. While returning from college, Arin was once
again 'looked after' by his friends. When Arin stepped into the house
he had left in the morning he sensed that the mood was different. The
whole house had been decorated. There were a lot of well-dressed people
in the house, all talking loudly. They greeted Arin enthusiastically.
Some asked about his college, some about his cricket and some about his
music. It seems that these men and women knew Arin, his past and
present, quite intimately. But Arin did not recognize anyone at all.
After his sister, whom he did not recognize, exchanged rings with her
fianc?, a very tall man called John everyone seemed happy. There were
smiles all around. A thin girl, with beautiful eyes, kept coming to
Arin. She would look at him, smile sweetly and then go away. Suddenly,
she spoke to Arin, "Give me ten pounds.". Arin did not know what to do.
He gave her the money. As the girl disappeared into the crowd with the
ten pounds Arin's 'father' said quite loudly, "Ladies and Gentlemen, in
an year's time, we will be ready to announce the engagement of Arin and
Janet." Arin assumed that the girl who had asked for ten pounds was
Janet. After a while there was some dancing and everyone encouraged
Arin to dance with Janet. But Janet was a very poor dancer. Arin was
bored through and through. It was eleven pm when the last guests left.
The next day was a Sunday. In the morning Arin asked for the newspaper.
He was given the newspaper immediately. But the front page was missing
from the paper. When Arin mentioned this to the man with the beard he
said that the newspaper boy would be scolded for the oversight. But it
happened again the next day. Like before, Arin went to college with the
people who kept watch on him as long as he stayed with them. As long as
he was in the house, he was not allowed to go anywhere. When he
mentioned to his 'father' that he needed to go out to get fresh air, he
said things like "Do you expect me to look after your poor mother all
by myself?" or something similar. The man apparently did no work and
had no visible sources of income. Arin spent his evenings sitting alone
on the balcony. At nine pm, on a Sunday, there was a lucky break for
Arin. A tall girl was passing by. From his first floor balcony the girl
seemed familiar. On an impulse Arin took off his shirt and waved it at
her. The girl was taken aback at first. Then, she knew who it was. At
midnight, the house where Arin was staying was surrounded by policemen.
It was a two storey building with balconies jutting out everywhere. The
man with the beard and his henchmen positioned themselves on the
balconies with sophisticated guns. But there were only a few of them
and they were soon killed by the large police team. The frail lady who
claimed to be Arin's mother fought hard too. But in the end she was
captured with two weapons. Arin was rescued from his room. He had been
kidnapped from his college after being struck in the neck with a baton.
He was then taken to the bearded man's house. Once there, he was
addressed as the man's son. The man actually had just one daughter. The
news of the kidnapping appeared on the front page of newspapers. So
Arin was not allowed to read the front page. Ransom demands had been
made and were about to be met. The tall girl who had seen Arin in the
balcony was Suzy, his actual fianc?e. Arin's father was a widower and
was very happy to get his only son back.