CHAPTER 4
It was almost five o’clock in the morning. Mihir pulled the long jacket closer while a cold wind blew over his face. Trying not to shiver, he held a map and walked in the direction of the soup kitchen, which was thirty minutes away from the university.
The roads were empty as it was too early and cold for anyone to be around.
A job.
Although he had served his people right from his childhood along with his older brother and sister in the Singoor region, he had never worked for money before. The idea felt strange.
But when Chitra proposed that he join a job where she worked, he decided to take her up on the offer. It wasn’t for money. It was to spend more time with the beautiful girl who continued to captivate him.
Even though he had barely known her for two days and spent only a day with her, he knew right away that she was someone special.
He smiled as he recalled the moments from the previous day. She was not only beautiful, but she was also funny, friendly, and generous-hearted.
“Hey you, stop right there,” a man’s voice spoke.
Mihir looked up from the map, and he saw two men standing in front of him. They were in black clothes and were wearing masks over their faces. One of the men held a knife in their hand.
“Give us your money,” one of the men instructed.
Mihir had been told by his university roommates about incidents where many students got robbed by masked thieves outside the campus. The incidents usually happened late at night. But right then, since it was early morning and the place was deserted, it made the thieves bold.
“Did you not hear us?” the man snapped. “Give us your money!”
Mihir looked at the two men for a moment and took out his wallet from the back pocket. He opened it and took out something.
“Give us all your money!” one of the men growled.
“I am giving you all the money,” Mihir calmly said as he handed the wallet. “This is a photo of my family.” It was a picture of him with his older brother and sister.
The masked man snatched the wallet from Mihir’s hand.
“Whoa! There’s a lotta money,” the man remarked in surprise, looking at the cash inside.
Mihir didn’t say anything. He opened his jacket slightly and placed the photo into his shirt pocket.
“What’s that you wearing!” the other man remarked.
The man was looking at the gold chain around Mihir’s neck.
“Take it out and give it!” the man demanded.
Mihir calmly removed the gold chain from his neck. But before handing it over, he removed the Thakvar insignia ring, which he had put as a pendant in the gold chain. He slipped it into his pocket.
“Give that one too!” the man demanded.
Mihir looked at the masked men. “You can take the gold chain, but I cannot give the ring. It is important to me.” The Thakvar insignia ring was an important part of his heritage.
The men looked at him menacingly.
“We don’t care if it’s important to you,” a man growled. “Give it or you’ll die!”
“No,” Mihir replied calmly. “I won’t give the ring. Take everything else that you want.”
The two men looked furious. “Then we’ll take the ring from your dead body!”
The men lunged forward.
Mihir kicked the men in their stomachs. The men fell back, bent over in pain.
“We’re gonna kill you!” the man holding the knife said before getting up and attacking again.
Mihir held the man’s wrist and punched him again in the stomach before letting a flying kick to the other man’s jaw. Mihir was careful to avoid punching the men’s noses because it could cause their noses to bleed. Mihir didn’t want any blood on his clothes on the first day of his job.
The men fell to the ground, groaning in pain. When they looked at him, there was no longer anger in their eyes. Only fear, along with pain.
“Don’t hurt us! Here, take back your things.” They threw his wallet and gold chain in front of him.
He picked his things from the ground and put them in his jacket pocket. The men got up and were backing away when Mihir heard a shout.
“Stop!” a familiar feminine voice shouted.
Mihir turned and saw Chitra running towards him. Before he could stop her, she stood before him with her arms spread protectively.
“Don’t hurt him!” she said. “He’s new here. I’ll give you money.”
The men looked at Chitra in shocked surprise before raising their eyes to look at Mihir. Their eyes widened, seeing a frown on Mihir’s face.
Until then, Mihir had a calm expression because he knew he could handle the men easily. All Thakvar heirs were trained in the art of war from childhood. Swords, spears, and arrows were used in training along with ancient combat methods. He could even fight a dozen men.
But he was frowning because Chitra stood in front of him in harm’s way.
“I’ll give you money!” Chitra repeated. She was reaching for her purse when the men started to run away.
Chitra looked at the men in confusion before turning towards Mihir.
“Are you all right, Mihir?” she asked urgently. There was worry in her beautiful eyes.
“I’m fine, Chitra,” he replied.
She let out a relieved sigh before looking at him.
“You are not supposed to wander in empty streets,” she scolded. “It’s not safe. That’s why I said I’ll come and get you.”
Mihir smiled. “But it’s not safe for you either.”
He still couldn’t believe that she had protected him from danger while risking her own safety.
She shook her head. “I will be fine as I’m used to these streets and people. They know me.”
The masked men seemed to recognize her. But Mihir wasn’t entirely sure if she would be safe on her own from thieves.
“From tomorrow, I want you to wait until I come to your university to pick you up,” she instructed sternly. “We can walk to work together.”
Mihir nodded with a smile. “All right.” He didn’t want to trouble her, but he wanted to ensure she was protected on her way to work in the early mornings.
Chitra looked at her watch. “Oh, let’s go! Or we will be late for work!”
Smiling, he walked next to her as she hurried them to their destination.
The place was a large brick building, and several people were waiting outside.
They stepped inside, and Chitra took them to the middle-aged woman who was instructing the workers.
“Good morning, Mrs. Daisy,” Chitra greeted. “This is Mihir, the new student I told you about yesterday.”
The woman looked at Mihir. “You are quite tall and appear strong too. Will you be okay working in the back kitchen sometimes?”
Mihir nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Daisy.”
“Great. Chitra will show you around.”
Chitra’s smile widened. “Thank you, Mrs. Daisy!”
Chitra explained more about the place. “This is called a soup kitchen,” she said. “They feed the poor and homeless people here. The food is freshly made and quite nutritious and filling, and most importantly free.”
The Thakvars sponsored many such meals for the people in Singoor. He had joined his brother and sister in distributing free food and warm clothing to the needy.
“The pay isn’t as high as working in a supermarket or a restaurant,” Chitra stated. “But this is the most convenient for you with your classes. Once you find another job, you can quit this one anytime.”
He knew he wouldn’t quit, and he didn’t mind working for less pay. He also intended to donate all the money he earned from doing the job.