Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel (7 page)

The pounding of his heart was growing faster. He stood up and began to pace the room,
thoughts racing through his head. His brain had begun to accelerate again. This time he did
not try to control it, but finally gave free rein to its full speed. The ticking of the clock on the
table slowed to a crawl as he strode quietly and swiftly across the room.

Superhuman capacity. That was what Doctor Fahim had called it. He had spent years
developing the serum into what it now was. So apparently the way his brain was behaving
was a good thing. The disconcerting sense of having objects near and away at the same time.
The sounds from horns and loudspeakers that had assaulted his ears all the way from the
hospital to his house. Watching everything around him moving at a crawl. That moment in
the hospital when he had been afraid to hug his mother. All of this was supposed to be a good
thing.

The tiny, darkened room seemed to close in around him, blotting out from his mind the
comfort he had experienced while talking to Doctor Fahim. An attack of panic built up within
him steadily. The doctor had promised they would help him control his new abilities, but he
had no idea what those abilities even were. How could he ever act normally again, when he
could barely keep his mind under control in quiet surroundings? He would have to keep his
brain under constant supervision, every second of every day. One slip in public, and his secret
would be out. He was not a trained soldier.He wasn‟t even an adult! He was a mediocre
student with no outside interests, or any experience which would indicate a special aptitude
for this kind of thing. He had never done anything before in his life that could have prepared
him for this situation.

He could not help but think how Aryan would have been the perfect choice for the
project. He had the confidence and intelligence that Neel could only wish for. He would have
treated this whole experience as an adventure and jumped to the challenge. It would have
been like a real life episode of Captain America or Wolverine or any other superhero from the
comics they had grown up reading. But Neel could not summon that enthusiasm. All he felt
was a sick worry. It was the worry he had experienced in the hospital upon waking up, when
he thought his brain had been damaged, and when he had learnt about the serum and what it
had done to him. He had spent hours deliberating upon the answer before giving it to Doctor
Fahim, yet now he had to admit the decision he had made in the hospital had been a product
of fear and uncertainty, and a not too well thought out impulse to mimic the heroes he had
grown up watching. And now he was second guessing that decision.

But what choice had he had? And who could he have turned to for advice for making
the decision? He lived alone with his mother. There was no one who could have helped him
decide, no one to tell him what the right course to pursuewas. He couldn‟t even tell anyone
the truth about the accident. He felt yet again a sharp attack of loneliness as he stared around
the silent room, as it dawned on him at that moment how truly on his own he was in this
matter. The only people who could help him were those whom he had never met before, or
knew anything about. How was he supposed to handle this situation?

The walking was not helping. His heart was beating so loud and hard it felt as though it
would burst. Neel took several deep breaths, and slowly, his mind stopped racing. Difficult as
it was, he began to finally accept the situation instead of second guessing the whole thing all
over again. Abruptly, he sat down and forced his mind to slow down. He had found it helped
to listen to the loud thumping of his heart and slow down with it. But it still took several
minutes of internal wrestling before the ticking of the clock returned to its normal speed. He
stared in silence at the wall opposite to him, feeling calmer as he accepted that there was
nothing he could do for now. He had made the decision in the hospital, and as far as he knew
it had been the right one. There was no use panicking now. He was not going to get answers
right away. Only the meeting with Doctor Fahim tomorrow would help him understand his
circumstances better.

He got up from his bed and walked slowly over to the end of the room, absent
mindedly checking the textbooks that were kept on the shelf and wondering how much work
he had missed out on at school. He glanced at the clock on his table. They had arrived at
seven. It was now almost eight. The doctors had advised him plenty of rest, but he did not
feel remotely tired. He paced the floor slowly. The bizarre, two dimensional view of the
world that he had experienced even since waking up made the room feel like a cage, and Neel
felt a great desire to be in a more open space. He came out of the room and was making his
way up to the nest when the doorbell rang.

“I‟ll get it.” he called out to his mother as he made his way down again.

 

He went to the door, and as he opened it, a female figure almost ran inside and threw
her arms around him.

 

“Thank god!” Priyanka exclaimed fervently. “We‟ve all been worried sick about you. I
couldn‟t believe it when your mother told me about your accident.”

 

“All better now.” Neel said as he returned the hug and grinned at his best friend. “It
wasn‟t anything too serious. How come you didn‟t visit me at the hospital?”

“Of course I did!
Aryan and I came to see you at the hospital the night you had the
accident!” Priyanka said, stepping back and looking him up and down as anxiously as Neel‟s
mother had done at the hospital. “But you were unconscious at the time. You were covered
with bandages and stitches. I was so scared! And Aryan was absolutely terrified! We all
thought you were going to die.” Her eyes had suddenly become bright with tears that alarmed
Neel more than the bandages had done. Priyanka was not usually the weepy type.

“
Come one, all those things were justprecautions.” Neel said in a low voice, laying a
hand on her shoulder tentatively. “Really, I‟m completely fine. I know you were all worried
but…” he sighed. “I wish I could tell you just how well I am. Believe me, there is nothing
wrong with me now.” He spoke as earnestly as he could.

“I‟d never seen your mother cry the way she did that day.” Priyanka said quietly.

Neel nodded and looked away, wishing intensely at the moment that he could tell the
complete truth to Priyanka, to his mother, to Aryan and all those who had been worried for
him. But again, DoctorFahim‟s instructions held him dumb.

“Do you remember anything about the accident?” Priyanka asked him.

“Not much.” Neel said, so relieved that she had
changed the subject that he did not
even mind talking about a memorythat seemed to fill him with dread even now. “It was all
over so quickly. One minute I was cycling,the next I… I hit that woman‟s windshield.” He
remembered just in time what the revised version of the accident had been. “But now, I am
one hundred percent all right, so there‟s no need to worry any longer.” He led her into the
living room, where the light coming from the tube light brightened the gloom of the darkened
sky outside.

“Is that Priyanka?” His mother looked out of the kitchen with a smile. “So good to see
you, dear! I was going to tell Neel to go to your house after he‟d rested a bit.”

 

“Mummy saw the gate unlocked, aunty, so she sent me to check if Neel had returned.
She says to bring you both over for dinner.” Priyanka said, trotting into the kitchen after her.

 

“Thank you, dear. But I‟m not sure if Neel should eat anything too rich for a few days.”
His mother looked at Neel questioningly.

“I think I can handle it.” Neel said quickly. “All I‟ve had till now
has been that hospital
food.” He looked at her hopefully. His mother was a fairly competent cook, but not in the
same league asPriyanka‟s mother, who was famous for her excellent culinary skills.

“Very well.” His mother turned the stove off and began to put back the utensils. “Give
me two minutes to put everything away.”

 

While Neel and Priyanka waited for her to finish, he told Priyanka about his week long
hiatus from school.

“A week away from school?” Priyanka said in amazement. “I could never do it! Won‟t
you get bored staying at home all the time?” Priyanka attended a different school from the
one Neel and Aryan went to, and it was a constant source of bafflement to them that she
seemed to actually enjoy going to school. Aryan had long had a theory that the teachers there
used brain washing techniques on the students to make them like classes.

“I think I‟ll keep busy.” Neel said truthfully. “And a week passes pretty quickly.”

When his mother was done, they locked up their house and made their way to
Priyanka‟s house next door. Neel could smell a delicious scent emanating from the kitchen.
His spirit rose as his stomach growled.

“Mum, Neel‟s back.” Priyanka called out as they entered.

“I can see that, Priyanka. There‟s no need to
shout.” Her mother said as she came out to
greet them. She was a tiny, plump woman, and had the same mischievous twinkle in her eyes
that Priyanka did. Her tall, thin husband rose from the sofa and walked up to them with a
warm smile.

“Glad to see you on your feet, son.” he said, clapping Neel on the back.“You don‟t
seem much worse for wear.”

 

“It wasn‟t anything serious, uncle.” Neel grinned back.

 

“I‟m so happy to see you‟re all right, Neel.” Mrs. Ghoshsaid, giving him a hug. “We
were all so worried aboutyou.”

 

“Thanks for having us over, Amodita.” Neel‟s mother called out to Priyanka‟s mother
after greeting her father. “I wouldn‟t have had time to make anything too fancy tonight.”

 

“I know, Nisha. Now just sit at the table with Neel and relax.” Mrs. Ghosh said
soothingly, steering them towards the dinner table. “Priyanka, help me get everything ready.”

 

“So he‟s completely all right now?” Mr. Ghoshasked Neel‟s mother.

“
The doctors seem to think so.” Neel‟s mother said, looking at himdoubtfully. “They
all said he‟s recovered very well. And he does seem very healthy. But they had to perform
surgery on him, and that‟s what worries me the most. Although they said it was just to push
the arm back into the socket properly.”

“Young people are very resilient.” Mr.
Ghoshremarked. “Neel and Priyanka and
Aryan have had no end of accidents on the terrace over the years. Remember when all three
rolled down the steps all the way from the top? They usually manage torecover well.”

“I suppose.” Mrs. Dervin sighed as Priyanka brought in two large casseroles. “Amo, at
least let me help set the table.”

“
I told you to relax.” Mrs. Ghoshbustled in carrying plates and crockery. “I know how
tired you are. You‟ve been travelling nonstop from your office to the hospital for days. You
need to rest, too.”

The phone rang, and Priyanka went to answer. A grin appeared on Neel‟s face when he
heard the caller‟s voice. “Yes, he came back today.” Priyanka spoke on the receiver. “He says
he‟s fine. Yes, hold on.” She looked over her shoulder at Neel. “Aryan‟s on the phone.”

Neel was already walking towards her. He took the receiver and heard his other best
friend shouting to someone on the other end.

 

“Yes, mom,he‟s back, and she says he‟s fine.” Aryan was saying. Then, in a more
serious voice, “Hello, Neel?”

 

“So I had surgery and you just call me up on the phoneto check on me?” Neel said
lightly.

“Oh, come on, dude. I just wanted to make sure you‟d come back, and then I was going
to come over.” Aryan said defensively. “But mom says I should let you rest for tonight
instead, just in case.”

“Well, I‟ve rested plenty, and as tired as I am, I thinkI‟ll manage to find the strength to
eat the food that Priyanka‟s mom is making.” Neel said. Aryan laughed.

 

“Okay, then. Have fun stuffing your face, and I‟ll come overtomorrow.” Aryan said.
“You‟ll be at school?”

 

“No, not for aweek.” Neel said quickly. “Doctor‟s orders.”

 

“I thought you said you‟d recovered completely?”
“This is just to make sure I don‟t have a relapse or something.” Neel said, trying to be
as vague as possible.

 

“But you‟ll be back in time to see the match against St. Joseph‟s, right?” Aryan asked.

“Of course, no way I‟ll miss that match.” Neel said enthusiastically. “It‟s going to be
pretty close.It‟s not like it was easy last time. Our team barely made it and the score was
only zero to one.” He stopped suddenly.

“But this timewe‟ve been practicing really hard.” Aryan was saying equally
enthusiastically. Neel tried to pay attention, but his thoughts were on another track.

He had always been interested in sports, and football was his favorite. Aryan had gotten
into the school team recently, and Neel had been hoping he would be able to get in next year
if he practiced really hard. But now a completely different worry had suddenly appeared in
his mind. With his new strength and speed, could he still play? He could crush iron with his
bare hands. What if he got carried away and kicked the ball at someone really hard?… What
if he crashed into someone by accident?…

It was an unpleasant thought and he pushed it aside, deciding to think about it later.

 

“So you‟re sure you‟re all right?” Aryan was saying.

 

“Oh, yeah. Totally.” Neel said.

“Okay, I‟ll see you tomo
rrow night, then. Take care of yourself. And mom and dad also
told me to tell you to take care, and not to overexert yourself, and get plenty of rest.” Aryan
said.“Oh, and Prince is looking at me like he wants to tell you to take care too, so a wag from
him.Good night, man.”

Neel was grinning as he put down the phone and returned to the table. Dinner began,
and soon the plates were piled high with toasty Aloo Paranthey, gajar halua, paneer and other
delicaciesthat Priyanka‟s mother had „managed to throw together‟. The talk shifted from
Neel‟s health to Priyanka‟s school, to Mr. Ghosh‟s job and Mrs. Dervin‟s boss.