Chapter 1

  “2nd December 2004… exactly 4:30 AM.”

  Don’t imagine some grand moment. We weren’t arriving at Bengaluru Airport. We had gotten down at Majestic Bus Stand.

  The early morning cold pierced straight into the bones. Every breath felt like a blade cutting through the lungs.

  Standing beside me was my sister —not just my sister, but my mother, father, family… my everything.

  Behind every mistake I had ever made, it was her who stood quietly. When my life went off track, when I slipped into the wrong roads, it was her hand that never let go.

  When I think of my childhood, only bitterness comes to mind. To escape that bitterness, our lives were forced to change cities four times.

  She spoke softly, almost to herself,

  “At last… we’ve reached the city of our dreams.”

  I forced a smile and replied,

  “Hmm… they call it the dream city. They say it’s easy to make money here, akka (Sister).But I’ve also heard crime is high.”

  You might think I’m some police officer narrating this. But the truth is far from that.

  I’m not an encounter specialist. Not a hero. Not even close.

  Because of the mistakes I made in Mangalore, I had no face left to show there. People pushed me aside without hesitation.

  “Loafer.”“Good-for-nothing.”“Irresponsible fellow.”

  Those labels stuck to me like permanent scars. I’ll tell that story in another chapter.

  The moment we stood at Majestic, a man came and stood in front of us. Rough shirt. Hands stuffed in pockets. A sharp intelligence in his eyes.

  “Oh… you’re the kids from Mangalore, right?”His voice was rude, dry.

  My sister replied politely,

  “Yes, Raju anna.”

  He looked straight at me.

  “Hey… you’re the guy, right? The useless one? This is not Mangalore. If you behave like that here, you’ll die.In Bangalore, five minutes is enough to disappear.”

  That was my first slap from Bangalore.

  No one had ever spoken to me so directly before.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  But the moment he turned to my sister, his tone changed instantly.

  “Come, akka… let’s take an auto.”

  My sister looked at me silently —Don’t speak. Not now.

  So I stayed quiet.

  We took an auto towards Yelahanka one of the prominent place in Bangalore. We have entered into a place called Someshwar nagar, very close to Chikkabommasandra. Narrow lanes. Dirty drainage. Dim streetlights. The city swallowed us slowly.

  When the auto stopped, what we saw was a row of tiny houses. Poor. Cramped. Lifeless.

  It reminded me of our old village hut. The poverty I had lived with my parents came rushing back.

  Raju paid the auto fare.

  I said,

  “I’ll give it—”

  Then remembered my pocket was completely empty.

  My sister snapped,

  “Enough. Don’t act. This isn’t the time for drama.”

  I fell silent again.

  Inside, a small hall .An elderly woman was lying on a cot. She sat up and scanned us from head to toe.

  “Hmm… you’ve come? So early in the morning? ”No welcome. Only irritation.

  My sister immediately said,

  “Yes, aunty… sorry.”

  She frowned.

  “How many days?”

  Pain in my sister’s eyes. Shame in mine.

  Raju stepped in,

  “Amma… have some humanity. They have no one.”

  She turned her face away.

  The house is very small, compact and the drainage is very close The smell was unbearable. But what choice did we have?

  Still it is very dark, we were given a small mat. My sister and I lay down on it.

  Sleep never came.

  In the morning, my sister shouted,

  “Hey, get up! It’s already 10.We’re not guests here. The world won’t wait for your sleep.”

  From the other room, voices — Raju and his mother arguing.

  “Why did you bring them here? Another burden on us? Isn’t this enough already?”

  Raju replied calmly,

  “Amma… they have no one. At least let us show some humanity.”

  Those words went straight into my heart.

  I looked at my sister.

  “Akka… all this trouble is because of me. I dragged you into this.”

  She held my hand tightly.

  “Don’t talk nonsense. Life always begins from somewhere. We have each other. That’s enough.”

  Her eyes were filled with pain —but even more with courage.

  This was the beginning of our new life. In poverty. In a strange city. The first lesson life taught us.

  As we walked through the lane, Raju said to my sister,

  “Akka, my friend Savita works in a garment factory nearby. If you go with her, getting a job won’t be difficult. Garment jobs are easy to find these days. I’ll drop you at her place this evening.”

  Then he pointed at me.

  “But don’t take this fellow with you. Wherever he goes, he’ll spoil things.”

  My sister looked at me and said,

  “You heard that? Everyone says the same about you.”

  I smiled weakly. I was hurt, but I understood.

  Raju continued,

  “If things are Okay, tomorrow morning you can go with Savita to the factory. I’ll try to find you a small house. This area isn’t very costly. It’s safe too.”

  Inside my mind, I muttered, This city… these lanes… maybe heaven for the poor. But not for me. I need my own place. Somewhere else. A different world.

  My sister heard me.

  “What are you muttering? Do we need your permission now? If we find something here, fine. Otherwise we’ll look elsewhere. Right now, settling down is the priority.”

  I didn’t listen fully.

  But one thing was clear:

  This locality was not heaven for me. Either I had to change…or my place had to change.

  Something had to change.