The Unexpected Son Read Online Free PDF Page A

communalism. From what she’d gathered, at the moment they were doing a fine job of butchering those Kannada boys.
    â€œThose young chaps could be dead,” Som said, voicing her own fears.
    She shuddered at his words. These kinds of violent conflicts between the factions were happening too often in Palgaum lately. And the bloodshed was escalating each year, too. Sometimes a minor disagreement turned into a battle. Nearly a dozen casualties had affected both sides within the past three years.
    Along with Som she watched as several members of the offending gang were rounded up, handcuffed, and tossed into the police van like sacks of potatoes.
    The sad part was, there wasn’t an iota of remorse on any of their faces. Although most of them looked either angry or defiant, one or two of them sported smug smiles.
    She saw one of the policemen go down on his knees to examine the fallen youths. Their clothes were filthy now, and soaked with blood. They lay facedown on the street, limp as rag dolls. The policeman gingerly turned one of them over onto his back. The face was a mangled mass of blood and flesh. Vinita turned away in despair. The nausea returned in a rush.
    â€œLet’s hope that’s the end of that,” said Som, expelling a long sigh.
    â€œIt’s not over yet,” she cried, pressing her bag to her churning stomach. “It’ll never be over as long as the clashes continue.”
    â€œYou’re probably right.”
    They stood in silence for a minute, immersed in their own thoughts. Then he finally said, “They’re loading them in the Jeep. Probably driving them to a hospital.”
    Or the morgue, figured Vinita, swallowing her distaste. Their town didn’t even have an ambulance. Patients were driven to hospitals in ordinary vehicles. Now that the moment had more or less passed, she realized the enormity of what had just happened.
    â€œYou’re shaking.” Som scowled again as the Jeep took off, belching puffs of exhaust. “Why don’t I buy you a cup of coffee? You look like you need something to calm your nerves.”
    She shook her head. How could he mention coffee when two young men had just been battered to a pulp?
    â€œI know what you’re thinking,” he said, reading her thoughts. “But there’s not much you and I can do for those chaps. The police will take care of them.” He gave a casual shrug. “The world is full of violence, Vinita. Let me help you feel a little better.”
    At his words she instinctively raised her hand to pat her disheveled hair back into place. There wasn’t much she could do about her swollen eyes. “Thanks, but that’s not necessary.”
    â€œYou need to collect yourself before you go home.”
    That part was true, Vinita allowed. She couldn’t return home looking like she did. Her mother would want to know the reason for it. Taking a few calming breaths, she willed her stomach to settle. As her mind started to function more rationally, a thought occurred. “Did you say you were close behind me?”
    He nodded.
    â€œBut you don’t live around here.” Everyone knew the Kori family lived in a more exclusive part of town. In a mansion, no less.
    â€œWell…actually I was trying to catch up with you when it all started,” he said.
    â€œWhy?” All at once she became conscious of the people around them. Now that the crime scene had been cleared, a few were staring at Som and her.
    â€œBecause I wanted to talk to you in private,” he confessed. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a bright red, plastic lighter. With practiced ease he held one hand against the breeze, lit the cigarette, and pocketed the lighter.
    Vinita felt something flutter inside her breast as she watched him draw the smoke deep into his lungs, then exhale very slowly, like it was the most sublime experience he’d ever had. In that instant she