Rina's Mysteries in an Island - 'Rina's Childhood Mysteries' - Part: 2 - Continued

Ms. Gayathri: Okay, Cochin is noted. What about the others' place suggestions?
Kevin (a tall boy with a muscular frame, sitting in the last row): Ma'am, let's not go to Cochin. Many of us have gone to Cochin many times, so let's go somewhere different.
Ms. Gayathri: Okay Kevin, what you say sounds fair. Suggest any other place then.
Kevin: Let's go to Bangalore or Mysore, ma'am.
Ms. Gayathri: Alright. Bangalore and Mysore are noted. Come up with more suggestions, kids. Is that all?
James elbows Ajay to suggest Chorao and Ajay stands up and raises his hand.
Ms. Gayathri: Yes, Ajay. Go on.
Ajay (a little nervously): Ma'am, there is a beautiful island near Goa named Chorao. We can go there as it is a unique place.
Ms. Gayathri: Usually, students ask for Goa as it is a place famous for enjoyment with its beaches and everything. Why do you suggest an island near Goa instead of Goa itself? What is so special in that island?
Ajay (bites his lip nervously and stutters, and his nervousness is visible only to his friends): Ma'am, th-the island is very beautiful and it is famous for its churches and Portuguese buildings. It is attractive since there are amazing forests and a huge variety of trees and animals.
Ms. Gayathri (amidst whispers related to 'Chorao?', 'have you heard of it?', 'which place?' from the students): Hmm, sounds interesting. What else is the island famous for and how to get there?
Ajay: There is also a famous bird sanctuary there called the 'Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary' and it is the largest bird sanctuary in Goa. It got its name from Dr. Salim Ali, a popular Indian ornithologist.
Ms. Gayathri: (When she hears whispers again, close to something like 'orni…what?' among the kids) Shhh…quiet! An Ornithologist is a person who studies birds, children. (To Ajay): You seem to have done a thorough research about the place. How did you get the interest to go to Chorao? Frankly speaking, even I have never heard of the place.
The rest of the class shouts something like 'we have also not heard of the place, ma'am'. Ajay looks around at his classmates and regrets not having told them about the place earlier. If he had piqued curiosity about the place before ma'am arrived at the classroom, some of his classmates would have backed him up when he suggested the place to ma'am. Now, he appears to everyone to be the only one who knows the place.
Even the rest of the Gang is too tongue-tied and nervous to speak up. He wonders for a second what would happen if something went wrong in their secret Chorao mission and realizes that he would be the one who will be blamed. He chokes down the feeling of dread and thinks for a few seconds about what he should reply.
Ajay: One of my friends went there during the last vacation and he told me about the place, ma'am. So, I wanted to go there and see the forests and animals.
He turns and looks at the others in a gang, hoping that they would get the cue and that at least one of them would speak up in support of visiting the place.
Reshmi gets the cue and smiles to him understandingly and then raises her hand.
Reshmi: Ma'am, I have also heard of that island. I saw it on TV (not knowing what to say).
Ms. Gayathri: Is it so? That's nice.
Reshmi: Let's go there, ma'am.
In a way to not make everyone suspect the Gang, another classmate of theirs named Johan who is a skinny boy with curly hair also tells their teacher that he has heard of the island and expresses his interest to go there.
Ms. Gayathri: Great, kids. You've all come up with awesome place suggestions. Are there any other suggestions from anyone else?
Some other students voice their interest to go to Delhi, some name Agra and some others want to go to Ooty.
Ms. Gayathri: Okay, since there are so many suggestions from you all, let's do one thing. Let's each vote for our favourite place from among the places in the list and we will select the place with the highest number of votes. Do you all agree?
The students (in a chorus): Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Gayathri: That's fantastic. So, finally I'm asking. Are there any other suggestions? When none of the kids responds, she writes the list of the places suggested on a corner of the blackboard and marks the list as "Important! Do not rub!" for the other teachers to see.
After the bell rings and the teacher leaves, James (in a whisper to Ajay): Phew! I was sweating with nervousness when you were speaking to ma'am, but you were so cool. How were you so cool, buddy?
Ajay: You have no idea how tensed I was on the inside. I needed to put in a lot of effort to hide it.
James: Anyway, you did well man. No one would have suspected, I bet. Viky walks up to them.
Viky: Hey Ajay, cool place suggestion. Natalie, Roslin, Arjun and I are also interested to go there.
Ajay: Thanks, but I don't know how many others will vote for it.
Viky (winking): We'll make them vote. Just wait and see what happens after the lunch break.
The children are in their art class and their art teacher, Miss. Flora is showing them a new pattern they are to paint that day. They are divided into their art groups.
Reshmi (signals to Swathi in another group): Hey, where's Rina?
Swathi passes the information that she got an emergency call from her house and took leave for the afternoon and went home.
Reshmi turns to look at the boys and they seem to have noticed Rina's absence as well, as they are pointing to the girls' groups and talking to each other secretly. Reshmi passes the information to them as well and waits for the period to end to discuss about Rina's sudden call.
At the end of the period, the other kids walk to their classroom while the gang stays behind in the corridor outside their art classroom.
James: What could Rina's emergency call have been about? Could their parents have found out about our secret plan?
Swathi: Don't imagine too much,
Ajay: It could've been just a personal call.
James: Yeah, it could've been.
Reshmi: Yes, it could have been a real personal emergency. Anyway, we'll get to know today evening. We'll make a conference call and hear from her directly.
Ajay: They're right. It might be totally personal and unrelated to our plan. And there's not much chance that they would have come to know of our mission.
Swathi: Come, let's go. We're late.
The rest of the afternoon passes with excited discussions in the classroom about Ajay's place suggestion for their excursion, Chorao island in Goa and most of them cast their votes in favour of that place on the blackboard. Ajay and James look at Viky with bewilderment and Viky gives them a secret thumbs up under the desk and Ajay and James smile at each other (as they understand that it must have been Viky who has sparked their interest about the place more and made them want to go there) and look at the girls who look equally pleased.
That evening…
Rina (over the phone): Hello!
All five voices say 'hello', followed by a confused mix of 'Hey, what's up?', 'Rina, what's going on?', 'Hey, all okay?' and so on.
Rina: Guys, talk one by one. All of you speaking at the same time sounds like Japanese.
Swathi: Hey, Rina! What's up? You left school early. Is everything fine?
Rina: Hey Swathi! Yeah, everything is fine. Grandfather was sick, but now he's getting better. Thanks for checking on me.
Swathi: Oh, sad to hear that. What happened?
Rina: His sugar level shot up. Now, he's okay. There's nothing to worry.
Swathi: Okay. Good to know that he's better.
The others talk to her next. After some time,
Ajay: Okay guys, now that we've got the news that everything is fine with Rina, shall we end the call?
Reshmi: Wait, I need a minute. Rina, when will you come to school?
Rina: I'll come the day after tomorrow, Reshmi. Grandpa is getting discharged from the hospital tomorrow.
Reshmi: Okay, take care of your grandpa. Which hospital? We'll come to visit.
Rina: 'Dr. Kumar's Clinic, Porur', but, don't strain yourselves guys. He's sleeping most of the time due to effect of the pills and won't be able to talk much to you even if you come.
After he gets discharged, all of you come home leisurely and visit him. He's getting better, so it's okay.
Reshmi: Okay.
Ajay: Anything else, guys? Or, shall we hang up?
They decide to end the conversation and bid goodbye to Rina, asking her to convey to her grandpa their wishes for him to get well soon.
Two days later…
'Why won't your parents let you come? Let me talk to them. Come on, it'll be so much fun', Karthick says to Srisha who is sitting sadly, with her hand on her cheek.
Sunil: Hey Karthick, what happened?
Karthick: Srisha's parents are not allowing her to come to the excursion.
Sunil: Why Srisha?
Srisha: I don't know. They're saying the place is too far.
Karthick: Last year, fifth standard students went to the Taj Mahal in Agra, do you know? This place is not that far.
Srisha: I know. I told them about it, yet, they're not convinced. I think I will miss the excursion this time.
Sunil: Hey, don't be upset. We both will speak to your parents, okay?
Srisha: Okay, but I don't know what their reaction will be. Anyway, you can try.
Sunil: Leave it to us. We'll take care.
The day of the excursion arrives and the children are getting ready for their trip. 'Hey Rina, come on. It's getting late', Swathi says to her from behind. Rina turns to see Swathi among her classmates in their coloured dresses and chatting with each other excitedly about the trip.
Swathi is wearing a long red top with white leggings and matching red sneakers.
Rina: Wait, Swathi. I will come.
After a few minutes, Rina comes running hurriedly to catch up with her friends. She is wearing a blue top and black jeans, with white sneakers. Swathi and the rest of the gang are waiting for her. Riya is wearing a green kurti with patiala pants and Reshmi is wearing a purple frock. Ajay is wearing a brown t-shirt and blue jeans and James is wearing a cream t-shirt and black jeans.
Swathi: Everyone else is here. What took you so long? Hey, I was on a call with Srisha's parents.
Rina: What happened? Did she forget something?
Swathi: No, her father didn't allow her to come for the excursion.
Rina: Why not?
Swathi: No idea.
Rina: That's really sad.
Swathi: Yeah.
Rina: Okay, come on, let's go. I can hear ma'am's voice.
The school has arranged a deluxe video airbus for the kids to travel to Panaji.
After a long journey,
The kids get down at the Mandovi bridge and take a car ferry to the city of Panaji, the capital of Goa. There are gorgeous islands lined up just across the Mandovi river and it takes them only a couple of minutes to cross over on the car ferry. On the other side, they see unpopulated fields of marsh grass, astonishing views, and perfect peacefulness.
They relish the astonishing sights of the beautiful city of Panaji. Then, they take a ferry to Chorao island from Ribandar, situated on the road to Old Goa, which is around three kilometres from Panaji.
They reach Chorao and begin their drive to their accommodation. During the drive, they enjoy the greenery and the beautiful sights of the island.
They reach the 'Borem Guest House', a small and beautiful guest house overlooking the Miramar beach. The guest house has air-conditioned rooms and a spacious lounge. Each room features a kitchen, a flat TV with cable, and WiFi. Every room also has a balcony with a garden view. The owner is very friendly and helpful.
Ms. Gayathri (from the reception): Come, children. Check your room numbers here and get settled in your rooms quickly. You will have two hours to rest, and, after that, we will leave for our first sight-seeing trip. It's sure to be fun and let's make sure we start early so that we can reach there before the scorching noon begins.
The kids begin chatting excitedly about their first sight-seeing trip on the excursion, and phrases such as 'Do you know? There are more than a hundred beaches in Goa' and 'My dad told me about the meaning of the name Panaji - the land that does not flood' are being heard everywhere, some true and some cooked up.
Rina, Reshmi, Riya and Swathi get different rooms and are upset about it, as they cannot plan for their mission if they are in separate rooms. Ajay and James have got the same room and tease the girls from the place where they are standing with the other boys by giving thumbs-down signs, and get glowers from them in response.
A few hours later…
The kids get ready to go on their first sight-seeing trip and they wait in the hotel reception for their bus to arrive. Riya forgets to take her water bottle from the room and she goes with Swathi to her room to take it. The bus arrives and all the kids get in. Rina tells Ajay and James that Swathi and Riya have not yet returned from Riya's room.
While they are talking, they hear footsteps behind them and Swathi and Riya come running, shouting, 'wait for us'. Swathi gives Ajay a piece of paper and whispers something in his ear, and Rina and Reshmi give her a 'What-was-that-all-about?' kind of look for which Swathi signals 'later'. Then, the Gang except Ajay gets into the bus and James asks the bus driver to wait for Ajay. Ajay goes straight towards the reception, speaks something to the receptionist and then gets onto the bus.
Inside the bus, the rest of the gang asks Ajay to reveal the information immediately and are impatient about it.
Ajay whispers something in James' ear, but music is being played loudly inside the bus, and so, James is not able to hear him. Ajay then shouts in James' ear, 'You got to listen to me. (At this moment, the currently playing song stops and there is a pause for the next song to begin.) We have to persuade ma'am to give us time to…'
Every head in the bus turns towards them and every face gives them suspicious expressions, including Ms. Gayathri's.
Only then does Ajay realize that the music has stopped, and he pauses, thinks for a few seconds and continues his sentence 'to…to…to do SHOPPING', stressing on the last word and this leads to a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs' followed by exciting chatters of famous things to shop in Panaji among the students and teachers.
Ms. Gayathri's suspicious expression then changes into a serious one and she begins talking to the students about their lack of time for shopping on that day and about how shopping can be included in another day's itinerary.
James (whispers): Phew! That was close, Ajay. You would have got us all in trouble. Don't ever risk something like that again. The rest of the Gang nods in agreement and all of them heave a sigh of relief at the narrow escape.
Ajay (casts angry looks at them and then speaks in a muffled voice): Who were the ones who kept staring at me impatiently until I broke the news?
Swathi (guiltily): Ok, we're sorry, Ajay (looks at Riya who nods in agreement). Let's reveal the matter to the others after getting down from the bus itself. Do you agree, guys? We just can't risk it here.
They others agree and wait silently for the bus to reach their destination, as their minds are full of what the three could have found out.
First, they visit the Fortaleza de São Bartolomeu de Chorão and see a beautiful castle, which protected the northern part of Chorao island once upon a time. The place had a natural charm and the kids enjoy their time there.
Next, they visit Dr. Salim Ali bird sanctuary. They go through a mangrove forest path.
Inside the sanctuary…
Inside the sanctuary, they see various species of birds, like the striated heron, western reef heron, red knot, jack snipe, pied avocet, and more. They also see fiddler crabs, mudskippers, and other mangrove specialists.
The amazing flora and fauna they see there make them forget their mission for a few minutes, but after sometime, reality sets in and they give each other apprehensive looks.
Reshmi breaks the ice and speaks out the minds of those looking for answers in the gang. 'Who is going to tell us what happened? We can't wait any longer'.
Ajay: Okay, I'll tell you, but before that, let's move a little farther. Ramesh and Sam are near us and they can hear us very well. See, there are many benches. Let's go and sit on one of those benches and talk. Then we'll have more privacy.
They walk some distance and get seated on two benches. Rina: Make it fast, Ajay. Someone might come looking for us.
Ajay: Okay, so here it goes guys. When Riya and Swathi went to Riya's room to take her water bottle, the door of the room that is three
rooms away from the room opposite to hers was slightly ajar and they heard voices from inside. Since they were not able to open the room lock easily and were standing there for a long time struggling to open the lock, they heard the entire conversation. There were three men inside that room but the girls couldn't see their faces as their backs were turned to the door. But one of their voices sounded familiar to Swathi and caught her attention, but she was not able to recall who he was, and, till now, she is not able to recall.
Swathi (suddenly shouts): I got it! Yes, yes, I got it!
Rina: Shhh… Softly, girl. Someone might hear us.
Swathi (softening her tone): Okay, I remember who he is now. The others (together): Who?
Swathi: He visited the house of our neighbour once.
Rina: Which neighbour?
Swathi: You know him, Rina. Do you remember you came to my house last month to return my Science notebook to me? When you were about to leave the house, do you remember that one uncle walked past our house towards the lift? He enquired about my dad, remember?
Rina: Yeah, I remember his face vaguely. He is a lawyer, right? Swathi: Yeah.
Reshmi: Wait a minute. What does a lawyer have to do with a rogue? Something's wrong.
Swathi: Yes, that's what is shocking for me too. Also, that uncle has a good reputation among everyone in the apartment. Maybe the guy was a client of that uncle's, in any criminal case.
James (thumping his hand on the bench): Great, guys. We've got something solid for our mission.
Riya: True, but don't get your hopes up too high. It might be a case different from the one we are dealing with. He is a rogue after all and he must have plenty of criminal cases up his sleeve.
Ajay: She has a point there, dude.
Riya: What is that uncle's name?
Swathi: His name is Mr. Rajesh. I've heard dad talk about him. He's a famous lawyer in the city, in fact. Okay, Ajay, tell them the rest.
Reshmi: Go on, Ajay. What did those men talk about? Did you get any clues for our mission?
Ajay: One of the men said to the other two, "take the ferry on time", and, pointing to the one who Swathi knows, he said, "You remember his hut, right?" Then, the man who Swathi knows said, "don't worry. I'll direct him" and that's when Swathi recognized his voice as being familiar somehow.
James: Okay, what does their conversation have to do with our mission?
Ajay: Hold on, let me finish. Then, the man who Swathi knows and the other one got up to leave, and the man who gave the instructions said something that caught the attention of the girls. He said, 'There are 35. Second house, isn't it Sundar?' and the man who Swathi knows nodded.
Rina: Door no: 2 and number 35 is what the prisoner told Miss. Mini too. Yes, I think this is related to our mission. What are they up to? If only we had more clues!
Swathi: They spoke about a ferry also and that's another relevant point.
The gang nods in agreement and Ajay continues, "Then, the man who Swathi knows'…
The others: Mr. Sundar, right?
Ajay continues: … yeah, Mr. Sundar, told the chief, well, the girls think he's the chief, 'I'll see to it' and left the room along with the other man. While all this happened, the girls continued to pretend to struggle with the lock even though the lock was open by that time.
Riya: What was in the paper? And what did you ask the receptionist?"
Sundar dropped a paper while trying to keep it in his pocket in a hurry, as he was about to leave the room, and that paper has some more clues for us.
The see the paper. In it, an address and a landmark are written. The address is Door no: 2, M…… (the handwriting is not clear and they cannot not decipher the word starting with 'm' in the address).
Landmark: Near the Krishna temple
I asked the receptionist about the famous Krishna temples in the area given in the address and she told me that there are two famous Krishna temples in the area. I asked her if either of them is in a place starting with the letter 'M' and she told me that one of them is in a place starting with the letter 'M' and that the place is called 'Marcel'. She is not sure of the place in which the other temple is situated, since she is new to Chorao.
Rina: So, we have to find out which one of the two temples is our landmark. Since it is a temple, we can easily convince ma'am to take us there. But, how do we find out which temple it is? How do we plan our mission from there? And who will cover up for us?
Swathi: Shall we ask Viky to help us? But we should give him some other reason. What to tell him? This mission is not as easy as I thought.
The others agree to what she says.
Reshmi: How do we find out which temple it is among the two guys?
From all the information that we have, let's see if we can find a clue about which of the two temples we should go to.
James: Okay, let's think.
Riya: Do you guys remember, during one of our meetings, Dr. Yasar told us that the rogues we are dealing with meet at a famous shack every week? We can see which place has a famous shack.
Riya: True, but this idea won't be of much use as Goa is full of famous shacks.
Ajay: Guys, wait! The man in the hotel room said, 'be ready at 11am'. What if it is the timing of a ferry? We can check to which place a ferry is available at 11am. It might not be a ferry's timing but we can give it a try.
Rina: Brilliant, Ajay! It could be a ferry's timing. There are a lot of chances for that.
The others agree and get excited, since there are high chances that what Ajay said may be true.
Swathi: Anyway, let's check and confirm.
Ajay: Let's not forget. Mr. Babu asked us to inform an officer here named Mr. Joseph about the meeting venue. Shall we call him from the shopping area and tell him about the temple? He might know which temple it is.
Reshmi: Great. Actually, we can tell everyone that he is a relative of one of ours. Then, no one has to cover up for us when we talk to him.
Don't know how he is going to take us to the destination when ma'am and the others are around. If ma'am takes us for shopping, we can sneak out while the others are busy shopping, but the shopping plan is not yet confirmed.
Ajay (grins mischievously): What if we make ma'am take us for shopping? Rina: How?
We can find out what is famous for women here and try to attract her to buy it. There is no lady who will say no to shopping.
We should finish our mission by the time everyone finishes shopping.
Riya: By the way, there is a ferry at 11 am to Marcel and also to some other places starting with 'M'. So, Marcel might or might not be the place we are looking for. But the possibility of it being the right place is high. I just Googled.
Reshmi: Great, Riya. So, we need confirmation if the place we have to go to is Marcel.
The others agree.
Ajay finds out that the place is famous for pretty shawls and spreads the news, and their teacher gets tempted to go for shopping, just as they expected.
All of them set out for shopping. During their shopping time…
Ms. Gayathri gets all engrossed in shopping.
The shop she visits has a huge collection of gorgeous shawls, from Kashmiri shawls to various other kinds of shawls.
Ms. Gayathri (to Ms. Sneha, the 7th standard Science teacher, who is also accompanying them on the trip) Hey, look. This shop has such a beautiful collection of shawls.
Ms. Sneha: My mom and I wanted them too. How's this?
The kids also enjoy their shopping a lot.
Archana (to her friends): Come with me. I'll show you the best jewellery store in this place.
They go with her excitedly.
Inside another store, there's no one else but the Gang (as the shopkeeper has gone for lunch and the owner of the shop next door checks on the store now and then), which pretends to shop. They call up Mr. Joseph and tell them where they are, and since he is nearby, he comes to the store immediately.
He speaks to them in secret.
Mr. Joseph: Hello kids, I'm Joseph and I am a social worker and a friend of Mr. Gaurav. You must know him, I believe. Listen, before the others finish shopping, we have to finish our mission and be back, so we have to leave from here as soon as possible. I have spoken to your father's friend Mr. Lokesh about this, Rina. He is happy and proud that you are supporting us in this mission.
The gang gives him shocked looks. He understands those looks.
Mr. Joseph: Yes, we wanted your help to get some information from Mr. Lokesh and wanted to talk to you about it at the right time, but he himself came to visit us one day and gave us the information we need. He had come to know through someone about the wrong things happening here and also the location where those things are happening. We overheard him talking about this to someone and we wanted to ask you to find out the details. But there is no need as he himself came to meet us one day and told us the location, without revealing the details about who told him about it, as it is confidential, it seems. Since it is not necessary for us to know
who gave the information, we didn't pressurize him to tell us about the person.
The gang tells him what they found out at the hotel and also express their suspicion of Mr. Ramesh, Swathi's neighbour, and his visitor. He dismisses their suspicion saying he has heard of Mr. Ramesh and that he is a good man and a respectable lawyer.
Mr. Joseph: The location Mr. Lokesh told me was 'Marcel'.
The kids get excited and tell him that they know the full address, and they also tell him about how they came to know the address. Then, they tell him how they were wondering which of the two Krishna temples is their landmark and that now the information he gave has shown them the right temple.
Mr. Joseph: That's fantastic. Your discovery makes our mission much easier. Great job!
Everyone in the Gang: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Joseph: We'll search for the house together with the help of the address and landmark. Once we locate the house, enter it and do as I say.
He tells them the secret plan.
James (as the Gang has discussed earlier): Sir, we can't come with you without our teacher's permission, sorry. Can you carry out the mission from here, please? We've given you a lot of information, right?
Mr. Joseph: Don't worry. I am not sneaking you out without your teacher's permission, but taking you only with her permission. As my friends and I have discussed among ourselves, we will not let you six get into any trouble.
Swathi: What will you tell our teacher, sir?
Mr. Joseph: I'll take care of that. I also wanted to make sure that at least one of your parents knows that you all are coming with me. Mr. Lokesh knows me, so I asked him to get permission from your father, Rina, to take you all to my office here, to help me in answering some questions for survey for a study that I am involved in.
He gave his consent and he also told Mr. Lokesh that he will inform your parents too (to the other five).
The gang goes with Mr. Joseph after getting Ms. Gayathri's permission.
Mr. Joseph gave her the same reason he gave Mr. Lokesh and Rina's dad. Mr. Joseph gives them a tiny camera that looks like a button and on seeing it, the kids are reminded of the tiny insect-shaped camera that they had seen with Ms. Mini last year.
Mr. Joseph: Do you have a notebook?
Rina (laughs): Sir, this is an excursion. Books are strictly prohibited.
Mr. Joseph laughs at what she said.
Everyone laughs. After a few seconds, the kids become tensed to think that they are nearing their actual mission.
Mr. Joseph: Be careful in everything that you do. If you follow my instructions, there won't be any problem. And, as I told you, be assured that my team and I will never allow you six to get into any trouble. He buys a notebook and asks the kids to keep the camera inside the notebook.
They, then begin their search for the house. They locate the house easily with the address and landmark they have.
Mr. Joseph leaves them when they are a little farther away from the house and tells them that he will wait for them at a shack nearby.
The Gang reaches the house. The six of them take a deep breath. They notice that the house is a typical Goan style house and that the door looks ancient.
Swathi: Someone knock the door.
Reshmi: Yeah, knock the door, quick.
James: Ajay, knock the door.
Ajay: None of us is opening the door but only asking the others to knock. One thing is for sure. We are all scared like crazy.
Swathi: True, but we must not show it out. Everyone else looks at her nervously.
Rina: What Swathi says is right. Even though we are scared on the inside, we should never show it out, or we'll get caught.
Everyone nods in agreement.
Rina (takes a deep breath): Okay, guys. Be ready. I will knock the door.
Rina knocks at the door. After two or three minutes…
A bearded man with a bald spot on his head opens the door. He has a scar on his cheek and his face looks cunning.
Ajay (mustering up courage): We have to go to the Margao's market, uncle. Can you tell us the route to go there, please?
The rogue (pointing to a building and a road): Do you see the road opposite to that newly constructed building? Take that road and go straight. Then, take the first left and then three rights. Now, off you go. I am busy.
James: Thank you very much, uncle. We also want another help from you, please.
The rogue (impatiently): What is it? Tell me quickly.
James: Can we get spices in the market? I want to buy some for my uncle.
Their camera is for them to record the happenings in the house. They have to keep engaging the man in conversation to fulfil the mission.
The rogue: Yes, now go away. I told you I have a lot of work.
Ajay, in his nervousness, drops the notebook. The man, in a hurry to chase them from his house, bends to pick the notebook.
Suddenly, they hear a scream from inside and someone shouts 'stop, I'll do it'.
The kids get shocked. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ajay pretends to fight with James and James pretends to fight back, and James pretends to hit Ajay.
'Behave yourself, kid. Don't they teach you manners at school?', the rogue with a bald spot on his head said to James.
'I'll knock your head if you don't give it NOW'.
The ancient-looking door suddenly shuts behind them.
The rogue tries to open the door but it seems to have been locked. He knocks the door and another rogue opens the door and apologizes to the rogue talking to the gang, saying he didn't notice him standing outside.
He looks at the fighting kids.
James: I'll hit you, Ajay.
The second rogue: Really? Will you now? What are you all doing here, brats?
James: He's not giving me my phone. I have to call my father.
The noise these kids make and the mischiefs they do… can't tolerate them. Don't know how their parents are putting up with them.
Ajay tries to distract the rogues by pretending to fight with James more severely and then pick up the notebook from the ground.
But only Samar, the rogue who opened the door first, gets distracted, whereas Kandan, the rogue who locked the door from the inside, bends down and picks up their notebook from the ground.
The kids exchange disappointed looks since their camera is gone. Then, the kids share apprehensive looks with each other, thinking about how to retrieve the camera and complete their mission.
Reshmi coughs (acting quickly): Uncle, please give me some water.
Rina: I also want water, uncle, please.
Samar: I am busy but you kids are bothering me a lot. Wait. I'll get it. Drink it and go immediately without uttering a word.
Since the rogues do not allow them inside the house to get water, the kids wonder how to enter the house. Just then, a small girl comes to serve them water and she is dressed in rags.
James (to the girl), taking advantage of the situation: What's your name? Shall we play?
He enters the house (and signals his friends to do the same) pretending to try to play with the girl.
His friends also pretend to try to persuade the girl to play with them.
The girl: I don't play.
Saying so, she goes to another room immediately.
There is a small factory inside and there are many boxes on one side. There were thirty-two boxes filled and sealed, 'probably with currency and ready to be given to the officials who accept bribes', says Swathi to the others in a hushed voice.
The gang tries to identify the source of the screaming noise. When the man had gone inside the kitchen, the kids press their ears to the walls but can't hear anything. Then, Rina's leg gets caught in a carpet and she falls down. Then, suddenly, she presses her ear to the ground.
Everyone in the Gang: What happened?
Rina: I swear I heard something.
The children think there is something fishy going on in a separate room underground, the trap door of which might be on the floor on which they are standing.
There are totally three rogues in the house and two of them go out of the house to a nearby shop. The third rogue goes into the kitchen to fetch them water.
Ajay (whispers to the others): Let me go and try to engage him in conversation and distract him.
Meanwhile, try to find the entrance to the underground room. Once you are inside, take pictures and videos of whatever is happening down there. Let's call Mr. Joseph when we have proof with us instead of calling him now when we don't have any proof with us. They decide to whistle when they were ready and when Ajay can call Mr. Joseph.
Ajay goes to the kitchen and tries to engage the man in conversation. Ajay: For how long are you living in Goa, uncle?
Kandan: I've lived here all my life, boy. I love this place, I sure do.
Rina tries frantically to remember from where she heard the noise and looks for the opening to the underground room and the others join in the search.
Reshmi: Hey, look, here's a big nail.
Rina: See if any other nail is there. All of them notice nails on all sides of a particular square on the wooden floor.
James: There is no way we can unscrew the nails from the floor without making noise.
Rina: He's right. What do we do? (Turning to her left suddenly): No need to do that. The entrance to the room where something suspicious is going on is not here.
Swathi: Then, where is it? (pointing to the place which Rina saw) And what did you see on that side?
Rina: I'll tell you, but before that, quickly go to that room (pointing to a room on her left) and pretend as if you're searching for mobile network to make a call if anyone sees you. When you're in the room, notice where the man with a food tray is going and follow him. He is wearing a grey shirt and lungi. There are actually four rogues in the house and we didn't notice the fourth one. If you notice something fishy, try to take a video of what's happening without risking being seen. Finish it and come back quickly.
Reshmi: Okay.
She goes to the room. As soon as she enters the room, she sees the man with a food tray and wearing a grey shirt and lungi and she follows him. He climbs up a ladder, goes inside a room upstairs and shuts the door behind him. Reshmi follows him and climbs the ladder. She presses her ear to the room door to see if she can hear anything but she isn't able to hear anything. She climbs down the ladder to hide somewhere and think of what to do next.
As soon as she climbs down, she hears a noise and gets startled. She hides behind a table that is in the room. A bald man with a long beard enters the room and goes up the same ladder which the rogue
with a food tray had entered and enters the upstairs room, but he leaves the door open.
From her hiding place, Reshmi is able to see what is happening in the room.
She sees a small girl wearing a dress that is stained with charcoal and her hands are also full of charcoal. The man who had taken the food tray into the room earlier is talking to the man who entered the room just now. The girl, making use of the men's distraction, sits down for a while, obviously tired from whatever work she was doing. The man who entered the room secondly addresses the man who went with a food tray as 'Charles' and Charles addresses him as 'Kunal'. Charles then notices the small girl sitting and shouts at her asking her to stand up and get back to work. The girl then sobs and says to him, 'My legs are paining. I want to go home'.
Charles: Your parents sent you here knowing very well that you have to work till 7'o clock right? Shut up and get back to work. You can leave at 7. (Moving a few steps further inside the room) What are you all staring at? Stop staring and work.
Reshmi then realizes that there are more children inside the room and tries to move a little farther from her hiding place and see how many children are there. What she sees shocks her. She sees around twenty to thirty children inside the room.
The gang had planned to record the happenings in Rina's mobile as the camera which Mr. Joseph gave them got stuck inside the notebook which fell down from their bag and which the rogue took away.
Ajay is in the kitchen, trying to coax the rogue into giving him the notebook. If he is unsuccessful, he is supposed to send Reshmi a text message with a downward thumbs up symbol, signalling failure.
Reshmi gets the downward thumbs up and understands that they are going to execute plan: B, which is to gather together, somehow make the rogues move out of the room and then enter the room and lock the door from the inside.
The Gang gathers together and hides under the same table where Reshmi is hiding. Swathi tells Reshmi how they escaped from the rogue.
Swathi: "Ajay went to the kitchen and tried to engage the man in conversation. Doing so, he tried to search for the notebook but it was not anywhere to be found. Since we had already spoken of executing plan B if he doesn't find the notebook, he made a plan. He took a water bottle from the kitchen, gave it to us, went back to the kitchen and started speaking to him continuously. The man grew increasingly impatient and irritated and didn't reply properly. Ajay realized that we didn't have much time left and that the man might chase us out of the house anytime. When the man's back was turned away from him, he signalled to us to leave the living room and come here and join you, and we crept out slowly and came here first. Then, Ajay also drank water and pretended as if we were still in the living room and that he was speaking to us.
He pretended to say to us, 'Ok guys, I'll convey your thanks and goodbye to uncle. You leave first. I'll say bye to him and come'.
To prevent the rogue from doubting the lack of the sound of footsteps, he raised his voice and said, 'Ok, ok, bye, sure, sure, I'll tell him.' Then he said goodbye to the man. Then, Ajay wondered how to escape and join us.
As if to help him escape, the man said to Ajay, 'Now off you go. Run', and then went to the backyard from the kitchen.
Taking advantage of it, Ajay said goodbye to him and pretended to walk out of the door, and, when the man was out of sight, he escaped from the room silently and came here and joined us."
Then, the Gang realizes that, as soon as they enter the room and gather evidence, they have to call the police, since Mr. Joseph's phone number was only linked to their camera but not was not in any of their phones. Everything must happen within a few minutes, before the men get any doubt. Reshmi tells her friends that she noticed one of the men, the one with the food tray,
using his smartphone as if he were well-versed with technology. She recalls that he had spoken to another rogue about a mobile app called 'Find a friend'. It is an app which can locate the phone numbers of the people nearby, if they had also registered themselves in the app. She quickly installs the app and gets his number from the app. She then sends him a text message saying 'Come to the kitchen. This is my new sim card' - Samar. He reads the text and leaves the room.
The Gang wonders how to send the other man out before the ones in the kitchen suspect the mischief behind the message. The kids don't have much time left but have to act in instantaneously. They begin to hear voices from the kitchen and Samar's voice is louder than the other rogue's: 'Who told you I changed my number? Were you dreaming? Get back to work.'
Charles (also shouting): Who was dreaming? What about this message then?
The kids realize that the men might suspect something unusual and come back to the room any moment and that they must act fast. In fact, they must act right then. As a reflex action, Ajay takes a box from the table and throws it some distance away. As he expected, the man inside the room shouts 'watch out' and comes out of the room to see where the noise came from. Under the table, the friends conceal themselves well. Again, as they expected, the man goes to the living room as the box that Ajay threw had landed in the living room, since Ajay must have used a lot of force since he was tensed.
Taking advantage of the minute, the kids quickly go into the room and lock the door behind them. They see the mystery for themselves. What they see shock them as there are about twenty to thirty children in the room, dressed in rags and covered with dirt all over.
They are working using different materials and sharp instruments to make a spare part, but when the Gang enquires about the end product, they don't know what it will be. The Gang feels sad to see the kids and sympathises with them. Suddenly, a girl cuts her finger and screams aloud in pain and Rina walks up to her and consoles her. Only about ten children in the room are about their age, whereas the others are a little younger. They notice that all their faces are sad and that they all look tired and worn out. A girl about their age walks up to the kids and says to them, "Did your parents also give them permission to make you work here?"
Reshmi: No, did all of your parents give those men permission to make you all work here?
Girl worker: Yes, because they don't have money and they think our job is easy. These men told our parents that we will work for only half a day and training will take place for half a day, but they don't give us any training and make us work the whole day. We are not able to work the whole day. We get tired in the afternoon itself. Our job is also not easy. Those men lied to our parents that our job is easy.
Reshmi: Do you cut the materials yourselves?
A boy shouts from the group, "Yes, we have to do everything ourselves".
Swathi: Listen friends, before the men come, I want to know if any of you saw a pink notebook with a flower picture in any of the men's hands. If you saw it, did you notice where the man kept it? (She asks them about the notebook since Ajay had informed the rest of the Gang that the notebook was not with Kandan.)
The little girl who got wounded says, "Yes, Charles sir brought a notebook. (pointing to a cupboard) He kept it in that cupboard over there."
James: Good. Now, all of you, do as we say and we will get you all out of here. We will also make your parents understand that they don't treat you well here, so you never have to come back to this place again to work.
All of the children become happy immediately and nod in agreement.
Riya goes near the cupboard and opens it but she doesn't find the notebook inside. She says to them, "The notebook is not here. Listen, all of you. Think well again and try to remember where you saw him keep the notebook. There is a camera inside it which is connected to the phone of an official who will help you get out of this place. We are going to call him and he will be here with his team as soon as possible.
Before that, those rogues might come and knock at the door and try to scare you all, but you must not panic. You must also not open the door at any cost till we tell you to open it."
A tall boy with a mature face says to her, "We will get into trouble if the door is locked for a long time. Why don't you open the door, leave us here and then go out and bring the officials here yourself"?
Reshmi: Without any other choice to make the man go out of the room, I sent a false message in Samar's name. The men will find out the truth any minute, become suspicious and come rushing to this room to check on you all. There are other reasons too, but I don't have time to explain. Now, we have to act fast. My friends and I will explain everything later.
The children nod in agreement again, but with fear and panic evident on their faces.
At this time, there is a loud and rapid knock on the door and the children cling to each other in fear.
They hear Samar's voice saying, "Open the door. Who asked you to lock it? If I find out who locked the door, I don't know what punishment I'll give to the brat."
The boy who spoke to Reshmi earlier asking her to go and call the officials herself goes near her and says, "Please do something. We'll also get into trouble along with you."
Reshmi reassures her that she and her friends will not allow them to get into any trouble.
James gestures to the children to search for the notebook and the gang also searches for it desperately. Meanwhile, Ajay searches for any other way of escape from the place. After two or three minutes, the gang finds the same kind of trap door that they saw earlier on the living room floor.
They find a sharp object and with difficulty, they unscrew the nails of the trap door without making noise and open it.
The trap door leads to an underground room but the room is dark and they are not able to see what is inside. Swathi turns on the flashlight in her phone and they see that the room is a storage room for the materials needed for the industry.
James says to the others, "I'll jump into that room and see if I can find any way out from there. Then, you can make the kids jump right after and you all can follow them."
The rest of the Gang gives him thumbs-ups and he jumps in first.
The rogue keeps knocking the door, fiercer by the minute, and the children panic more and more.
Rina gets more tensed and begins searching for the magazine again. She hides her panic from the kids and asks one of them to give the man any silly reason for not opening the door.
A little boy of about seven to eight years of age goes near the door and shouts 'Two minutes, sir, we will open the door'.
'Why have you locked the door', you little rascal?
We locked the door by mistake and we don't know how to open it.
'Am I a fool to believe you? Open the door now or you all are going to get spanked by your parents. I'll tell them that you all are useless and that I can't get any work done. They will be disappointed with you since you are not fetching them any money when they desperately need it. They will hate you all as you are of no use to them.'
Some of the kids cry and some get scared. The gang consoles them while pleading with them to not make noise.
James jumps into the underground room and finds that it is a storage room that is larger than what he expected. There are various things kept in
different large-sized barrels and there are plenty of cupboards too. The room has the smell that usually accompanies rooms that have been closed for a long period.
He searches the room desperately for an opening to escape, but doesn't find any way to escape. There is only one tiny opening for ventilation on the roof, but, other than that, there is no other window or any other opening. That one tiny opening is also very high above and there is no way he can reach it without a ladder or anything. He is about to go back to the room on top when he suddenly hears voices. For a minute, he thinks the voices are those of any of his friends or those of any of the children in the room above, but then he remembers that they are supposed to be quiet since the men outside are scolding and threatening them. He listens to the voices more keenly and realizes that they are adult voices, but he is unable to identify the source of those voices.
He goes to every wall and presses his ear to it and tries to listen but he is not able to hear anything. He looks at the small opening which he saw earlier on the roof and looks around the room to see if he can find any ladder or object which he can use to climb, but he is not able to find any such thing.
At this moment, Ajay sends him a text message asking him if he was able to spot any way of escape and if he needs anything. He replies saying he didn't find any opening to escape except the tiny opening he saw on the roof. He asks him if there is anything in the room which he can use to climb on and check out the opening.
One of the kids gives him a ladder that is in the room, which the men had kept. James climbs on it and when he is about to reach the top, he suddenly hears footsteps above him, very close to the opening and sees shadows, so he gets down the stairs again in a hurry, to prevent being seen.
Once he reaches the room, the sound of the footsteps stops and the adults begin talking again. This time, he hears their voices louder than before and he assumes that they must probably be standing on the terrace. He assumes that the ventilation space must lead to the terrace. He hears the voices of two or three men and strains his ears to hear what the men are
talking about. The voices are those of different men and not those of any of the four rogues he and his friends had met. So, he assumes that there must be more than four men in the house. Actually, it is a house and also a factory. He climbs up the ladder again and peeps through the ventilation hole and see the men standing in the terrace, at a distance from the ventilator and talking. He slowly places his phone camera at the ventilator opening, turns on the 'zoom' mode and records a video of the men talking. His phone is at a safe distance away from the men and he hopes to record their conversation soon, before they could notice the phone.
The men are talking about vacating the house and planning to take all their things and hide them in a secret spot and they suspect that Mr. Joseph who had sent the gang knew his place and might bring the police anytime. But, from what they speak, James gets to know that the rogues don't know about their Gang or doubt it, and he heaves a sigh of relief.
He records what the men are speaking. The name of the secret place where they were planning to shift their operations sounds like the 'Mayem lake'.
Then, one of the men says, 'in the store room of the shack'.
They plan to shift all their materials and equipment immediately and inform some men to come immediately and take all the things away to the secret spot. James realizes that he and his friends have to pass this information to Mr. Joseph, the official who sent them there. He also realizes that the kids must open the door of the upstairs room quickly, as, otherwise, he is sure that the men would break it down. At least if they open the door, the men would enter the room and begin packing their things. He takes a risk and climbs the ladder again and notices that the men have left the spot.
The men had spoken a lot about their illegal business. They had discussed about meeting a notorious rogue the forthcoming week to talk about their requirement for more child labourers.
They had also spoken among themselves with pride about how they trick parents into sending their kids for hard labour. James had recorded everything. Since he had recorded proof against the rogues, James thinks he can make things work without including the rest of the Gang. He doesn't know Mr. Joseph's mobile number as it is saved only in the
camera which is still missing, but he thinks fast, recalling everything that the officer had told them. The officer had spoken about his favourite shack near the famous Krishna temple the Gang found out about, which was near the rogues' house.
So, James guesses that that is where the officer must be.
James acts fast and escapes from the house through the ventilator on the roof. He runs as fast as he can before the men can catch him. He reaches the shack, becomes relieved to see Mr. Joseph there exactly as he had guessed and shows him the recording. Mr. Joseph appreciates him for the good job done and advises him to ask the rest of the gang to escape one by one through the same opening from which he had escaped and to ask the kids there to open the room door and act as if the kids did not go into the room.
James sends a message to Ajay's phone, telling him what Mr. Joseph wants them to do.
The rest of the Gang escapes from the house the same way James had escaped and meets the officer. Meanwhile, inside the house, the kids open the door and the rogues enter and don't suspect anything as the kids had cleverly collected different objects to show to the rogues convincing them that they're objects with which they had tried hard to open the tight door.
In the shack…
The officer discusses with the Gang about whether he and the other officials should catch the men at the house or in the new place where they are planning to shift.
They decide to catch the men at the house itself, as otherwise they will lose access to the children, as they will return home after labour at 7pm.
The officials leave the Gang at the shack, catch the rogues red-handed at the house, show them the recording saying they were the ones who recorded.
Earlier, the officer had asked the Gang to bring the men outside the house and make them reveal the truth there and record it, but exactly what he wanted had happened coincidentally as the men themselves went to the terrace. They had planned to use the recording made outside the house to corner the men and the recording made inside the house secretly, to not reveal the Gang's identity.
They arrest the men and send the kids out, asking them to wait at the place where the Gang is present. So, the rogues have no idea that the Gang is also behind this, and, according to them, they were just a bunch of noisy kids who randomly happened to visit their house to pester them. The gang feels thankful that the officials had kept their word and made sure that they did not get into any danger and that no one suspected them.
The kids meet the Gang at the shack and thank them for saving them. In the recording, the men had also spoken about making the kids do even harder tasks in the future, some of which might even be dangerous for their health, and also threaten them not to reveal the kind of work they do to their parents.
The friends ask the kids to go to their parents and tell them everything that happened.
The kids do as they were instructed by the Gang. After knowing the truth, the parents of the kids feel bad for sending them to work, not knowing the tough jobs they were made to do. They promise their kids that they will never again send them to work, but instead, send them to school.
Mr. Joseph returns to the shack after sending the other officials with the police and the rogues. The escaped prisoner, Somu who Ms. Mini had spoken to comes running to meet Mr. Joseph and he says he was a part of the group of rogues but that he repented of his mistakes, but the group placed the blame on him, sent him to jail, and escaped from the police. He had escaped from the prison to catch the rogues red-handed, gather proof, hand them over to the police and then surrender to the police. So, it turns out that Ms. Mini is innocent.
Seeing the prisoner, the officer had asked the kids to hide since there was no time to run away and the kids had hidden themselves and listened to the conversation.
Somu had also said that he had contacted Ms. Mini for help as she is a child psychologist and also since she is involved in many activities for the welfare of children.
The officer arrests him but promises to appeal for him and reduce his punishment as he has repented and also given witness about the rogues, and that, even though escaping from prison was wrong, he had done that wrong act only for a good cause.
After an official who Mr. Joseph calls to the place takes Somu away, the officer tells the kids everything that Somu had said and he also spoke of Ms. Mini with high regard.
The friends ask him about the teacher being accused by the police once for a case. He tells the gang that it was a different case and that her enemies made a false accusation about her but that she was proved innocent.
He tells them that some people think she bribed the police since she is rich and since she sometimes takes great risks, is too straightforward and even speaks to criminals, to investigate the truth for herself. He says that some people who don't know her well have a wrong opinion about her, and tend to believe gossips about her.
In the suitcase that Ms. Mini had given the prisoner were clothes for him to change into, as he cannot roam around with prison clothes. Rina tells the officer about the other suitcase which the teacher gave the same man before the award ceremony. He tells her that they need not worry as that suitcase had nothing but used things which were in good condition, for the poor kids and their families.
The Gang also asks the officer about Ms. Mini's suspicious file that the rogues gave her, containing some papers, which they came to know of last year. The officer tells them that those papers were nothing but proof about the rogues and their illegal activities and that they need not worry about them too.
The kids ask him if their Principal knew about Ms. Mini's activities and he says she knew and supported her.
The gang feels bad for suspecting their teacher whom they did not like in the beginning, then started loving a lot and then again started suspecting. They now develop a new respect and admiration for her, as she is a person
who speaks up for the truth, in an age when most people only mind their own business and don't care much about others.
The officials return after handing over the rogues to the police and tell Mr. Joseph and the gang that they prevented the rogues from moving to their new secret place. They say that there is nothing more to worry about the rogues and that the situation is under control. But is it, really?
Before the excursion could end, the kids get to know something else about the secret place to which they rogues had planned to shift their illegal operation.
The men had spoken about a shack near Mayem lake in the recording that James had made, and as the kids return by bus from Chorao after their excursion gets over, their bus passes the same lake and the same shack, very close to them. From the window, the kids see a person they know very well in that place and he is talking to a stranger. The person known to them looks around him with fear and then gives the stranger something in secret by covering it with both his hands and points to the shack again and again and tells him something in secret. He had only checked if people on foot were watching but had not bothered much about the bus that passed by very closely.
Who is that person? Will their discovery lead to a new adventure? Time will reveal.
For now, everything ends well and the kids leave Chorao after an exciting three-day tour in which they visited many famous places there and had a great deal of fun (and, as for the Gang, a thrilling adventure too). The kids' secret mission had happened on the second day and they had enjoyed the third day of their tour with no additional burden on their minds.
As the bus crosses the lake and the shack and moves farther away from them, the friends realize that there is nothing mysterious about the island but that a group of people comprising of individuals from all over the country have chosen that spot temporarily for their activities and that such criminals will keep switching places for their illegal operations.
They wonder among themselves about which place the rogues would have chosen next if they had not been arrested and realize that it could be anywhere, even their own city, Chennai. They shudder at the thought. They
had seen that the island, as it is, is beautiful, mesmerizing and serene. Will the kids face any mystery in the forthcoming year because of their recent discovery, or is there something else that awaits them?
Does their recent discovery have anything to do with the same group of rogues or is it about a new network of criminals? Time has to answer.
The six friends feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction at having helped many kids and their families who were in trouble, and they feel like real life heroes and heroines. Somehow, they get the feeling that their school life is never going to be just plain routine thereafter but that adventures will somehow seem to discover them.
The end