The Duty Of A Teacher

By Tathagata Chakrabarti

It was already 7 pm and Arun was starting to get anxious. Although his music class had ended on time, his trusty Vahaan cycle had betrayed him today and the chain broke just as he began to journey homewards. Disappointed, he started walking, his Vahaan by his side. But night descended soon and he was halfway home. He began to get anxious because he was moving through a bad neighborhood.

The road was deserted and it was pitch black on both sides. The dim streetlights darted along the road intermittently but barely gave enough light for Arun to gain sight of his surroundings. The local dogs started howling, and the chirping of cicadas added to the cacophony that had started to scare Arun. He hurried along the side of the road, praying to get home soon.

Suddenly, he could feel eyes on him, as if being watched by multiple people from behind the shadows. His heart began to pound against his chest, imagination giving birth to all kinds of criminal horrors in his mind. Was it the end then? Was the 12-year-old swimming champion going to end up dead on the side of a dark road?

He could hear muffled footsteps in the distance and broke into a hurried jog with his cycle. He was so scared he was about to leave the cycle and bolt when suddenly, the headlights of a vehicle appeared like two bright circles in the distance. The sound of the engine pierced the deafening darkness. The car was heading normally in his direction but at a short length from Arun’s location, it screeched to a halt and stood still for a moment.

Arun froze, thinking he was about to be kidnapped and his body did not listen to him in the wake of the nascent shock. Powerless, he just stood on the spot like an idiot. The car turned right and stopped right next to him. As the door opened and Arun was about to faint, a familiar face approached him and spoke warmly, “Arun, what are you doing here?” But too late, Arun collapsed and lost all sense of what was going on.

Arun opened his eyes slowly to the cold sprinkles of water that were sprayed on his eyes and face. It took him a while to get his bearings right. He was in a car seat and the face of what seemed like Mr. Briganza was peering over him with a bottle of water in hand. “Are you OK, Arun?”, he questioned with concern. “Yes Sir”, Arun sheepishly replied. “How have you been Mr. Briganza”, Arun greeted his favorite Maths teacher from school.

“I am fine, dear boy”, Mr. Briganza greeted Arun with his famous warm smile. “Let’s get you home, it’s not safe for you to be out here at this time of night. I put your cycle in the back.”, “Thank you, Sir.”, Arun replied with a big smile.

As the car headed towards Arun’s home, they conversed about class and lessons at school. Mr. Briganza had not come to school for a week, and eventually, Arun asked curiously,” Are you feeling okay, Mr. Briganza? I heard you were not well and so you couldn't come to school. We missed you very much, Sir”. Arun and his friends were Mr. Briganza’s fans and compared with a famous Hindi movie teacher whom the students revered in a similar fashion.

“I am fine, dear Arun. Just had a few personal issues to take care of.”

They soon reached Arun’s home, and the car stopped in front of the porch. As Arun got out and closed the door, Mr. Briganza moved to his side and spoke to him. “Arun, my dear boy, always be the way you are. You are one of my best students, not just in marks but in life. Never forget who you are, or stray from the path you are on.” He smiled and started the car. “Thank you, Sir, I will see you at school”, Arun shouted, but the car had already sped away.

As he closed the gate and turned homeward, Arun bolted toward his mom who was standing at the entrance and gave her a tight hug. “Where were you, beta?” Arun smiled and began to explain everything as they went inside.

The next day, Arun arrived at school and headed to assembly, where there was an eerie silence enshrouding the crowd. The teachers had donned a black band on their arms, which was a usual sign of paying respect to someone who had passed away recently. But who would that be?, Arun began pondering in his mind.

As the headmistress stepped on the podium to make an announcement, everyone listened with rapt attention. She spoke with a raspy voice, “Students, the school will be closed tomorrow, in memoriam of Mr. Jai Briganza, the Maths teacher of Classes 6-10”.

As murmurs broke out amidst the students, she continued sternly, “Mr. Briganza had been missing for almost 10 days, and no one had seen him at home, school, or elsewhere. About a week ago, his family had filed a missing person report.”

“Today, his vehicle was recovered from the bottom of the lake in a local neighborhood. The cause of death is likely to be drowning and the car seems to have undergone an accident. The time of death is likely to be around 9-10 days ago. We pay our deepest respects to…..” But the newsreader's words seemed to trail off as Arun froze with shock at that last statement. He had slipped into a state of trance.

9-10 days ago??? Then who dropped Arun home last night???

By Tathagata Chakrabarti