Cross Roads: Pick a Path

Cross Roads:

Pick a Path

Janaath
Vijayaseelan

Copyright © 2015 Janaath
Vijayaseelan

All rights
reserved.

ISBN:
9781311721228

DEDICATION

To my family and friends, who have stuck with me from
the beginning of my cross roads.

When we walk through the paths of life, we
come across many roads. With every road comes another cross road.
Cross roads that will present you with gifts and glory. Lest we
forget, no life is a fairy tale, because every trip of success can
quickly turn into a series of unfortunate events. Such is the case
of a twenty-seven year old software engineer, Arrun Durai living in
Toronto, Canada. Arrun being an individual who lost both his
parents to a brutal murder at the age of one, actually managed to
live a pleasing lifestyle thanks to a Sarah Gellis; a single mother
raising six orphaned children, and of them included Arrun. Well at
least until Arrun stumbled into the pit that resulted in a chain of
events that he least expected.

In recent days Arrun sits in a dark room,
secluded from the world, and the people who were once his life.
Crowded with the dense smoke of marijuana, accompanied by the
burning sensation of alcohol, all in hopes of forgetting what once
was, what she was. Hasini Ravichandran, the girl that walked into
his life and altered it forever, only to suddenly part ways in
their journey. She left behind a boundless breach within his soul.
What bad is there to say of an angel, and that she sincerely was; a
beauty that stays posted to your eyes. There is no consumption of
drugs or alcohol that ever gives him the peaceful rest he once had.
Instead he is endlessly reminded of her smile that kept him going,
her eyes that showed a reflection of the complete person he was,
her voice he would willingly sit and listen to without complaints.
Nothing can help him forget, but to him it is the only way to
reminisce in the great times they shared. In contrast to the one
incident that made everything collapse.

The time, 2:34am and not content with his
daily dose Arrun decided to meet up with his routine dealer, who
lives approximately two blocks away from his condo. What he did not
know is that his next test of life awaited him, one that is going
to lead him to a place where he will have to embark on a journey
like none before. A journey that will show him the true colours of
what life has to bring.

Unlike every other day in the criminally
active city, this night presented itself with the presence of a man
who is portrayed as a god to the criminal underworld, Marona
Duranji. Only the privileged know of how a man from Chennai, India
became one of the most feared dons of the 21
^st
century.
Though standing at a mighty six feet three inches in height, with a
large build may have something to do with it. Marona at the age of
fifty-six is the definition of fear in present times. Hey maybe
old, but there is no one, local or of higher authority who has the
courage to break him. His ventures in drug trafficking, extortion,
kidnapping, prostitution, assassinations, and the business world
have led him to pursue a life drenched in cash. Though for a moment
of this night, it seemed as if the empire would finally come
tumbling down.

Similar to every other day of the past three
months, Arrun met up with Remone. The twenty-seven year old
henchman of Marona who usually handles the small marijuana deals
with the locals. Arrun has been off work for sometime now, has been
low on cash. He has been increasing in debt as well, which
eventually led to a small dispute with Remone. The small argument
eventually started catching the attention of the others around. One
of them being Marona, who did not actually seem to show much care.
Though something was not right; as Arrun began looking around in
humiliation he spotted one of the henchmen standing in the near
distance pulling out his pistol, and setting aim towards Marona.
Without any hesitation, Arrun rushed towards the henchman tackling
him to the ground, receiving a bullet to his right shoulder, one
that was meant for Marona. As Arrun laid on the floor breathing
heavily looking up at the night sky, occupied with the glow of the
stars he knew there is something coming his way. He was ready for
it.

July 11 1986 was the day a woman by the name
of Sarah Gellis, changed my life forever. Sarah, as she desired to
be called was twenty-five when she adopted me. I was not the only
one she saved from a life of emptiness; Benny, Mahat, and Asha were
all brought into the family at the same time as myself. A year
later we were fortunate to have the addition of Rohini and Thiru. A
year younger than the rest of us, and they both are without doubt
the most bothersome twins you will ever meet; though I still love
them with every passing moment my heart beats. Yes we were all
orphans, but we never suffered the need to be upset. Brought over
from India, she gave us all a better shot at life, raising us in a
Western society. Though Sarah was young, and a single mother, she
filled the void better than anyone possibly could.

Sarah herself was the product of a single
mother, an extremely wealthy single mother at that. When her mother
passed away in the year of 1984, she was left with a bulk sum of
money, and she had the ability to spend her money on anything she
desired. Which raises the question, why didn’t she go out and enjoy
all that money for her own pleasure? Especially seeing how it would
be a reasonable thing to do at twenty-five. I never paused to
question her because there was always something strangely
remarkable about her. She had enough money to enjoy a luxurious
lifestyle, but she did not want that. Although we all lived under
one roof, she wanted us to be brought up as friends over a
conventional sibling relationship. My siblings and I all grew up
knowing her beliefs were not customary at all, but that is what
made her amazing.

She was a complete role model and teacher to
the six of us, which is why it was difficult when we lost her at
the age of forty-nine on July 16, 2010. She was a strong woman, but
sometimes even strongest fall preyed to the devil that is cancer.
Times were hard, but it becomes a bit easier when you are one
amongst a group of people that were raised by a tough, independent
woman. Leaving us with a place to call home, education to live, and
knowledge of life, she opened the door to our future.

~

A year passed, and with time wounds healed.
We grew accustomed to life without Sarah. There and now her absence
remained strong at the back of our mind. Time turns, and things
eventually took a turn for the better. During the span of the year
we were urgently in need of a diamond in the rough. A few months
after the passing of Sarah, Rohini met Akil. Akil, like myself is a
software engineer, and truly the spark the entire family needed. I
always knew she would be the one that falls in love first amongst
the six of us, but she delivered a shock when she announced their
marriage only after a year of meeting one another.

I still remember the day she told us like it
was yesterday. She called us all into the living room, and
alongside Akil she screamed, “We’re getting married!” Only God
knows how annoyingly loud she was. With Asha joining in, the both
of them were soon jumping in circles of joy. In that moment, I was
truly more worried about them knocking down the TV in excitement.
Putting my feelings aside, I walked over to congratulate Akil; I
did not forget to warn him of what he is in for. When Rohini
finally began to settle down I stepped towards her, and gave her a
hug. Then asked her, “Is this what you truly want,” her smile said
it all; you could actually tell that she found love. I was never a
believer of eternal love, though being raised by a woman that lived
life without a partner may have something to do with it. As
everyone stood around the living room congratulating the soon to be
wedded, I stood curiously wondering whether I would ever stand as
ecstatic as Rohini and Akil were in that moment.

“Champagne, Champagne, Champagne”, the
chanting came from Benny, Mahat, and Thiru. I remembered then of
the bottle of Cristal Champagne sitting in my room collecting dust
from my trip to France a month ago. Running up the spiral stairs I
turned into my room; I had no clue of where the bottle was sitting.
While digging through all the junk I brought over from my recent
travels, I found the bottle sitting under a pair of my boxers; I
will probably keep that part from the rest of them though. When I
walked back into the living Benny, Mahat, and Thiru all had the
glasses ready with a smile on their face, as if they knew I had it.
I wasn’t surprised; those three were always the sneaky ones.
Standing in a circle, pouring champagne, I thought it maybe the
appropriate time to make a toast.

“
We all knew it would be Rohini to first
find love, and Akil like I said good luck dealing with this one.
Jokes aside, I know that I speak on behalf of us all when we wish
for a long and healthy life for the both of you. Together. We maybe
all adopted, and refer to one another as friends, but what an
amazing feeling it is to have family you can treat as friends.
Rohini if Sarah were here with us today, she would be incredibly
proud of the beautiful woman you’ve become. Akil, if Sarah were
with us she’d be pleased to bring in another son to the family.
Akil, you are now one of us, and if you ever need help I want you
to know that your family will always be here for you.”

As my eyes opened the pain was obvious, but
where I was seemed rather vague. At first my vision felt a bit
blurred, but as it became clearer, it was very noticeable that I
was actually in a dark abandoned warehouse; must have been a big
factory or something. Looking out the window to my left I realized
that it was an abandoned warehouse that I have driven by a numerous
amount of times. That is when I heard voices. Nearly twenty men
stood a few meters apart from the table I assume they had left me
on, after being stitched and bandaged. Over their heads, I could
see the man that shot me, chained and beaten to the pulp. It was
rather obvious that he will not live to see another day. Against a
metal beam leaned a shattered mirror with dried blood, and it hit
me that I have been so lost in thoughts that I forgot how I used to
look. The man in the reflection with a beard and fairly long hair
could not be me, but it was. We constantly evolve, and how we
adjust to it determines whether you climb higher, or plunge gently.
For me, it was time to adapt to my surroundings, like I once used
to.

I walked towards the group of men, and I saw
Remone’s holstered handgun at his waist, and when I took ownership
of his gun all eyes were on me. In that moment, I did not pay
attention to the men in disbelief, or the ones preparing to fire at
me. My focus was purely on the target alone. I stepped towards the
man that shot me; I brought the gun towards his head, and pulled
the trigger. As the bullet gored through his skull, I hoped for
change. It was something poetic; I have lost people, but it was
something new to be the person taking away ones existence. There on
the floor laid the body of a dead man, one of whom I will never
know the name of. Taking turn towards the astonished audience I
stood a cold blood killer, and stepping before me was Marona
himself. I wasn’t that stunted in height myself, but even at six
feet in height I had to slightly tilt my head to look the man in
the eye.

“You are coming with us to Tamil Nadu.” he
said with his dreading voice.

I didn’t need to say a word. It is almost as
if he knew that I would come. Maybe he could see the slash in my
soul; after all he was the devil. As he took off with a smirk on
his face, the henchmen started to make their way towards me. Two of
them walked right by me and carried the body away. I stood there
without a care in the world of killing a man, and Remone stepped
towards me. “Welcome to the family,” he said.

Family, it’s funny that the importance of
family has not stricken me in sometime now. At one point in my life
it was the only thing I lived for, I have not even considered much
of why I pushed my family away, even through their constant
attempts to talk sense into me. It maybe because I do not have the
love I once had to allow people into my life, or it is simply
because a lone walk in life sometimes the more favorable
option.

On the morning of May 26
^th
, 2011
I woke up to what was arguably the worst hangover of my life. It
was also the day before Rohini and Akil’s wedding. I have the
impression that it was just a few months ago; we were in our living
room, making a toast to the newly engaged couple. I guess they must
have really been in a rush to get hitched. At times, I do believe
Rohini is always in a rush with things, and to be honest I actually
would not be surprised if she makes me an uncle in a few months.
She is always in a rush to do things, but I knew that she
considered everything repeatedly a million times over before
committing to a decision. So I was confident that her decision to
get married would not have come without a long thought process.