Finding Arun Read Online Free PDF

he didn’t know about the letters.’
    ‘ Surely he must have known something ? You can’t keep something that huge a
secret.’
    ‘Apparently you can,’ retorted Aaron
sarcastically.
    ‘What did the letters say?’
    ‘They were mostly just updates, but she seemed ... I
don’t know, just really, really grateful to my mum, like she owed
her whole life to her or something. She talked a lot about what she
had been doing; I think she runs some sort of shop. Oh, and
apparently I also have a brother and a sister. She talked about
them quite a bit too, especially the boy. It sounded as though he
was recovering from something in some of the earlier letters, an
accident maybe, but she seemed really quite proud of his
achievements.’
    ‘Did she ask about you at all?’
    ‘Oh, all the time. She was always asking after me;
asking how I looked and what I liked to do, about how I was doing
at school, those sorts of things. A few times she thanked Mum for
sending her photographs too; she obviously still cared about what
happened to me.’
    ‘Does she know that you thought she was dead all
this time?’
    ‘That’s the thing, I don’t know. It’s odd that she
would ask so much about me, and that Mum would tell her everything
so freely, but that she’s never asked to see me, except for in the
most recent letters. She mentioned some kind of agreement, so maybe
she did know? She also said she’s sick, really sick by the sound of
things; maybe that’s why she’s suddenly changed her mind?’
    ‘This is mental, mate, what are you gonna do? Are
you gonna go and see her?’
    ‘I thought about it, but I just don’t know if I want
to go through all of that again.’
    ‘Go through all of what?’ queried Jez.
    ‘Getting to know someone, getting close to them,
only to lose them. It was hard enough with Mum.’
    ‘How can you say that? We’re not talking about just
anyone, Aaron, this is your mum. The woman that gave birth to
you!’
    ‘But that’s just it, Jez, she’s not my mum, is she?
We buried my mum last week. Right now I don’t even know this woman.
I never thought that I’d get a chance to meet her and I was okay
with that. Now suddenly she’s here and she’s sick; what’s the point
in going to meet her if she’s not going to be around for much
longer anyway? I think it might be easier just to leave things as
they are.’
    Jez looked at Aaron disapprovingly.
    ‘What are you so afraid of?’ he challenged.
    ‘I’m not afraid of anything, I just –’
    ‘Just do it, mate,’ interrupted Jez, ‘otherwise,
you’ll always be wondering, trust me. If I ever found out where my
dad was, I’d be straight over there. In fact, this woman can
probably tell you about your real dad too.’
    ‘But maybe there’s a reason that Mum didn’t tell me
about her? Maybe she’s dangerous?’
    ‘If she was dangerous, why would your mum have been
writing to her?’ Jez answered coolly, raising his pierced
eyebrow.
    ‘No, I don’t think so. It’s too far anyhow.’
    ‘Whereabouts is she?’
    ‘India.’
    ‘INDIA,’ exclaimed Jez loudly, this time spilling
his own cup of tea over the arm of the sofa.
    ‘Where were you expecting her to be?’
    ‘I don’t know. I mean, I know that you’re Indian,
obviously, but I didn’t realise that you were, well you know, a
proper Indian from India.’
    Aaron couldn’t stop himself as a slow smile spread
across his face and a laugh burst forth from his lips.
    ‘Don’t laugh, mate, I’m being serious,’ grumbled Jez
irritably.
    ‘Why are you so surprised?’
    ‘Well, because let’s be honest, it’s another world
over there, isn’t it? Those Indians are different, backwards, not
like the ones that are born here. But you’re not like them.’
    ‘ Oh really? And what exactly are they like then?’ answered Aaron
bemusedly.
    Anyone else might have been offended by Jez’s
comments, but Aaron knew that they were born more out of ignorance
than malice.
    ‘Well they’re a