Tiger's Curse (6 page)

His eyes fixed on something far off in the distance, and he smiled. “I think I can.” His voice changed. Losing its crisp cadence, Mr. Kadam’s words took on a rounded, musical tone and he began, “Long ago, there was a powerful king of India who had two sons. One he named Dhiren. The two brothers received the best education and military training.

“Their mother taught them to love the land and all the people who lived there. She often took the boys to play with underprivileged children because she wished for them to learn what their people needed. This contact also taught them to feel humility and to be grateful for the advantages they had. Their father, the king, taught them how to rule the kingdom. Dhiren, in particular, grew up to be a brave and fearless military leader as well as a sensible administrator.

“His brother was also very brave, strong, and clever. He loved Dhiren, but, at times, he felt the piercing stab of jealousy in his heart, for despite being successful in all of his training, he knew that Dhiren was destined to be the next king. It was only natural for him to feel this way.

“Dhiren had a knack for impressing people easily with his acumen, intelligence, and personality. A rare combination of charm and modesty embodied in the prince made him an outstanding politician. A person of contradictions, he was a great warrior as well as a renowned poet. The people loved the royal family and looked forward to many peaceful and happy years under Dhiren’s reign.”

I nodded, fascinated by the story, and asked, “What happened to the brothers? Did they battle each other for the throne?”

Shifting on the stool slightly, he continued, “King Rajaram, Dhiren’s father, arranged a marriage between Dhiren and the daughter of a ruler from a neighboring kingdom. The two kingdoms had lived in peace for many centuries but in recent years small skirmishes had broken out on the borders with increasing frequency. Dhiren was pleased with the alliance not only because the girl, whose name was Yesubai, was very beautiful, but also because he was wise enough to know that the union would bring peace to his land. They were formally engaged while Dhiren was away inspecting the troops in another part of the kingdom. During that absence, his brother began to spend time with Yesubai, and soon they fell in love with each other.”

The tiger snorted loudly and thumped his tail against the wooden floor of his cage a few times.

I glanced over at him, concerned, but he seemed fine. “Shh, Ren,” I admonished. “Let him tell the story.”

He put his head on his paws and watched us.

Mr. Kadam continued. “He betrayed Dhiren so he could have the woman he loved. He bartered with a prodigious and evil man who captured Dhiren on his journey home. As a political prisoner, Dhiren was dragged along behind a camel and paraded through the enemy’s town where the people threw stones, sticks, muck, and camel dung at him. He was tortured, his eyes were plucked out of their sockets, the hair was shaved off his head, and eventually his body was torn apart into pieces and thrown into the river.”

I gasped. “How horrible!”

Mesmerized by the story, I was bursting with questions, but I held back, wanting him to finish. Mr. Kadam focused his gaze on my face and continued gravely, “When his people learned what had happened, a great sorrow spread across the land. Some say that Dhiren’s people went down to the river and pulled out the torn pieces of his body to give him a proper funeral. Others say that his body was never found.

“Hearing of their beloved son’s death, the king and his wife, heavy with misery, lapsed into a deep despair. Soon, both of them departed from this life. Dhiren’s brother ran away in shame. Yesubai took her own life. The Mujulaain Empire was thrown into dark shadows of morass and disarray. With the authoritative voice of the royal family gone, the military took over the kingdom. Eventually, the evil man who had killed Dhiren captured the throne but only after fifty years of terrible war and bloodshed.”

As he finished his story, there was a tangible silence. Ren’s tail rustled in his cage, which snapped me out of my reverie.

“Wow,” I responded. “So, did he
love
her?”

“Of whom are you speaking?”

“Did Dhiren love Yesubai?”

He blinked. “I . . . don’t know. Many marriages were arranged in those days, and love often wasn’t a consideration then.”

“That’s a very sad sequence of events. I feel sorry for everyone, except for the bad guy, of course. A great story, though a bit bloody. An Indian tragedy. It reminds me of Shakespeare. He would have written a great play based on that tale. So, Ren is named after that Indian prince?”

Mr. Kadam raised his eyebrow and smiled. “It would appear so.”

I looked over at the tiger and grinned. “See, Ren, you’re a hero! You’re one of the good guys!” Ren pricked his ears forward and blinked his eyes, watching me. “Thanks for sharing that story with me. I will definitely be writing about that in my journal.”

I tried to pull him back to my original question, “But, it still doesn’t explain why your employer is interested in tigers.”

He cleared his throat while looking at me obliquely, stalling for a moment. For someone so eloquent, he fumbled awkwardly through his next words. He answered, “My employer has a special connection with this white tiger. You see, he feels he is to blame for the tiger’s imprisonment—no, that is too harsh a word—for his capture. My employer allowed himself to be ensnared in a situation that led to the tiger being caged and sold. He has followed the tiger’s whereabouts for the last few years, and now he’s finally in a position to make amends.”

“Huh. That’s very interesting. It was
his
fault that Ren was captured in the first place? It’s very kind of him to continue to be concerned about an animal’s welfare like that. Please thank him for what he’s doing for Ren.”

He bowed his head toward me in acknowledgment, then, hesitating, fixed a somber gaze on me and queried, “Miss Kelsey, I hope it’s not too forward of me to ask, but I need someone to accompany the tiger on his journey to India. I will not be able to tend to his daily needs or even travel with him for the entire journey. I have already asked Mr. Davis if he could accompany Dhiren, but he must stay here with the circus.” He leaned forward on the stool and gestured slightly with his hands. “I would like to offer
you
that job. Would you be interested?”

I stared at his hands for a moment, thinking that a man such as he should have long, tapered, manicured fingers, but his fingers were thick and calloused, like a man accustomed to hard labor.

Mr. Kadam leaned forward. “The tiger is already used to you, and I can pay a good wage. Mr. Davis suggested you as a likely candidate and he mentioned that your temporary employment here is almost at an end. If you choose to accept the job, I can assure you that my employer would appreciate having someone who can care for the tiger better that I can. The entire trip should take about a week, but I have been instructed to pay for your entire summer. I know that doing this for me will take you away from your home and delay your search for a new position elsewhere, so you will be duly compensated.”

“What exactly would I have to do? Wouldn’t I need a passport and other paperwork done?” I asked.

He inclined his head toward me. “I can, of course, arrange all the preliminaries for the trip. The three of us would fly to Mumbai, what you might still call Bombay. Upon arrival, I must stay in town on business, and you would then continue to accompany the tiger on the drive to the reserve. I will hire drivers and loaders to assist you on the journey. Your primary responsibility will be to care for Ren, feed him, and see to his comfort.”

“And then . . . ?”

“The journey over land is about ten to twelve hours one way. After you arrive at the reserve, you would stay there for a few days to ensure he is acclimating well to his new environment and comparative freedoms. I would purchase a return plane ticket from Jaipur, so that you will be able to ride the Jaipur tour bus that goes from the reserve to the airport, then fly to Mumbai and home from there, making your return trip a little bit shorter.”

“So it would be about a week altogether?” I asked.

He replied, “You can choose to either fly back home immediately or, if you like, you may stay on vacation in India for a few days and enjoy touring before you go home. Rest assured, I would provide for all of your travel as well as any other necessary accommodations along the way.”

I blinked and stammered, “That’s a very generous offer. Yes, my position here at the circus is almost at an end, and I would have to start looking for a new job very soon.”

I bit my lip and started pacing, mumbling indecisively to myself as much as to him. “India’s very far away. I’ve never been out of the country before, so the idea of it is both exciting and scary at the same time. Can I think about it and let you know? When do you need for me to give you an answer?”

“The sooner you say yes, the sooner I can make the necessary arrangements.”

“Alright. Let me call my foster parents and talk with Mr. Davis to see what they think about all this, and then I’ll let you know for sure.”

Mr. Kadam nodded and mentioned that Mr. Maurizio knew how to contact him when I was ready to inform him of my decision. He also said that he would be around the circus for the rest of the afternoon finalizing paperwork.

With jumbled thoughts, I grabbed my things and walked back to the main building.
India? I’ve never been to a foreign country before. What if I can’t communicate with anyone? What if something bad happens to Ren while he’s under my care?

Despite all the
what ifs
that were rolling around my brain, a part of me was seriously contemplating Mr. Kadam’s offer. It was very tempting to spend a little more time with Ren, plus I’d always wanted to visit a foreign country. I could have a mini summer vacation and be paid too. Plus, Mr. Kadam didn’t strike me as one of those creepy men with bad intentions. In fact, he seemed trustworthy and grandfatherly.

I decided to ask Mr. Davis’s opinion and found him teaching the dogs a new trick. He confirmed that Mr. Kadam had offered him the same job and that he’d been tempted to do it.

“I think it would be a great experience for you. You’re terrific with animals, especially with Ren. If that’s something you think you’d like to focus on in a future career, then you should consider it. The job would look good on a résumé.”

Thanking him, I decided to call Sarah and Mike, who wanted to meet Mr. Kadam, check his credentials, and find out what kinds of safety measures he planned to use. They suggested throwing an impromptu birthday party for me at the circus so they could celebrate with me and meet Mr. Kadam at the same time.

After taking some time to think about the pros and cons, I felt my excitement for the trip melt away my nerves.
I really would like to go to India and see Ren settled on the tiger reserve. It would be an opportunity to do something that I’d never get the chance to do again.

I walked back to the tiger cage and found Mr. Kadam already there. He was alone and appeared to be talking quietly to the tiger again.

I guess he likes talking to tigers as much as I do.

Just inside the door, I paused. “Mr. Kadam? My foster parents would like to meet you and wanted me to invite you to my birthday celebration tonight. They are bringing cake and ice cream after the evening performance. Can you come?”

His face lit up with a radiant, delighted smile. “Wonderful! I would love to come to your party!”

“Don’t get too excited. They’re likely to bring soy ice cream and gluten-free, sugar-free cupcakes.” I laughed.

After speaking to him, I called my family to finalize the plans.

Sarah, Mike, and the kids came early to watch the show and were thoroughly impressed with Ren’s performance. They loved meeting everyone. Mr. Kadam was polite and charming and told them that it would be impossible to accomplish his task without my help.

“I assure you that we will be in constant communication and Kelsey can call you at any time,” he said.

Mr. Davis later added his two cents. “Kelsey is more than capable of doing the job as Mr. Kadam defines it. It’s essentially the same thing she’s been doing at the circus for the past two weeks. Plus it will be a great experience. I wish I could go myself.”

We all had a great time, and it was fun having a circus party. Sarah even brought normal cupcakes and my favorite brand of ice cream. It might not have been a typical eighteenth birthday, but I was content to just be with my foster family, my new friends at the circus, and my carton of Tillamook Mudslide.

After the festivities, Sarah and Mike pulled me aside and reminded me to touch base with them often during my trip to India. They could see on my face that I was determined to go, and they immediately felt as comfortable with Mr. Kadam as I did. I hugged them excitedly and went to share the good news.

Mr. Kadam beamed a happy smile and said, “Now, Miss Kelsey, it will take me approximately one week to arrange the transportation. I will also need to obtain a copy of your birth certificate from your guardians and arrange traveling papers for both the tiger and yourself. My plan is to leave tomorrow morning and return as soon as I have the necessary documents.”

Later, as he prepared to leave, Mr. Kadam walked over to shake my hand and held it for a minute, saying, “Thank you very much for your help. You have assuaged my fears and given hope to a disillusioned old man that has anticipated only calamity and disappointment.” He squeezed my hand, patted it, and stepped quickly out the door.

With the day’s excitement behind us, I went to visit Ren. “Here. I snuck in a cupcake. Probably not on your tiger diet, but you might as well celebrate too, huh?”

He gently took the cupcake from my outstretched hand, swallowed it in one gulp, and then started licking frosting off my fingers. I giggled and went to wash my hand.

“I wonder what Mr. Kadam was talking about. Calamity? Assuaged fears? He’s a bit dramatic. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I yawned and scratched him behind the ear, grinning as he leaned his head into my palm. “Well, I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed. We’ll have a fun trip together, won’t we?”