Chapter 4
12 YEARS LATER
The years rolled on and Lamchwa grew into a strong young man filled with experience and confidence. His working skills became more proficient and he achieved other skills through the course of his years. He learnt how to drive a lorry while working at a coal depot and also improved his mathematical knowledge with the help of his brother.
Marbōd and Salan were diligent students and were now both attending the same College at the nearest town, Khliehriat. Marbōd was pursuing a B.Com degree while Salan had joined the college as an XIth Standard student having recently completed her matriculation.
Today was the 12th anniversary of their father's death and as they had been doing so every year, the three siblings and their mother had visited his grave in the morning and placed wreaths of flowers and candles on it. After saying a few prayers together, they spent several minutes in silent prayer and then headed back home.
Lamchwa had been engaged for several months now with a contractor for supervising the construction of a house at Mōjem - a neighbouring village five kilometres away from his own village. He was late by an hour for work that day but he had already informed his boss the day before and was excused. When he reached the construction site, the other workers were glad to see him come at a time when they were about to set up the scaffolding for the painting work. He was good at supervising the work but he was not comfortable with just giving orders. So he used his skills to give them a hand and supervise at the same time.
He was returning home after work and was walking along the path at a leisurely pace. His mind was filled with memories of his father and the times they were together; even after all these years, he could still feel emptiness and regret within him whenever he thought of his father.
The sun was setting behind him as he now reached the point where the path met with the main road. He turned right and continued walking along the main road towards the direction of his village. Up ahead, he could see a car stopping and a man getting out of the driver's seat. He recognized Mr. Kiang Khonglah's car because he had worked for him on several occasions at his mines ferrying the coal from the mines to the depots in a lorry.
Ma Kiang, as Mr. Kiang Khonglah was called by all in those parts, was a popular businessman and a mine owner (In Jaintia Hills, a man is addressed respectfully as ‘Ma’ which means uncle). That day, he was dressed in a suit and wore shiny shoes. As he got down from the car, he looked at the rear wheel that was flat with a puncture and cursed it within his breath. He looked at his suit and his shoes and muttered to himself, ‘All this dressing up is useless now!’
Kiang had already removed the spare wheel from the boot and was taking out the jack and the wrench to change the tyre. Lamchwa had reached the car now. He greeted Kiang first and then said, ‘Let me do it for you, Ma Kiang; you will spoil your suit. Here, let me do it. I am already dirty from work and changing your tyre won't make much difference to me.’
Lamchwa gave no time for Kiang to respond. He took the jack and the wrench from his hands and set about changing the tyre.
Kiang was only too glad to comply. He muttered a thank you and looked again at his suit and said to himself, ‘So, this suit is lucky for me, eh!’
He observed Lamchwa as he got busy and noticed that he was quick with his hands and quite strong too. Shortly, he said to Lamchwa, ‘Don't misunderstand me, Lam. I was invited by my friend Da-me, your fellow-villager, to his granddaughter's first birth anniversary celebration and so I came dressing like this. This tyre has been unlucky several times getting punctured every now and then. Maybe I should throw it away to teach it a lesson.’ He said the last words with a smile. Lamchwa also smiled at his sense of humour, but he didn't say anything and concentrated on finishing the job.
Lamchwa had finished replacing the tyre and put the flat tyre and the tools back into the boot. He wiped his hands with a rag he found in the boot and as he closed the boot, Kiang thanked him again and asked Lamchwa to join him in the car since they were going towards the same village.
As Kiang drove the car, he commented on the bad condition of the road and how it was being neglected. Lamchwa nodded in agreement and did not say much. They were silent for some time until Kiang asked him, ‘So, where are you working now, Lam?’
Lamchwa replied, ‘Wherever there is work. Currently, I am engaged with constructing a house in this village here nearby. We are nearly finished with it -just the painting and wiring jobs are left.’
Kiang just said, ‘Oh’ and remained thoughtful for a few seconds. He was saying to himself, ‘I think I should replace the Manager in my hardware store with Lamchwa since my Manager has not returned from his leave for many weeks now and there is no word from him. I know I can trust Lamchwa.’
He turned to Lamchwa and said, ‘So, if I ask you to work for me at my hardware store, will you accept?’
Lamchwa answered him with a question, ‘I thought you already have enough of staff there, don't you?’
‘Yes, you are right. I have enough ofstaff there,’ Kiang replied. ‘It is my Manager, you see... he had taken a week's leave and has not returned for more than a month now and I've had no word from him since then.’ Kiang looked apparently agitated as he said this but his mood changed swiftly as he said, ‘Maybe, he has found a woman who has tied him to the house!’ Kiang laughed at his own attempt at humour while Lamchwa simply smiled at him.
Kiang continued in a serious tone now, ‘Good people are hard to come by these days, Lam. I know I can trust you because you've worked with me in the past. So I am asking you again, will you come work as my store manager?’ He looked at Lamchwa and then at the road ahead as they were approaching a turn to the left.
Lamchwa was thoughtful for a moment but finally said, ‘I will talk to my mother and see what she thinks about it and then I will give you my answer. I also have to complete the job on the house we have been working on at Mōjem village. Once they are done with the painting, my job is done there. So it may take another week or so before I can take up another job.’
Kiang seemed happy with his words and said, ‘I know, your mother won't object to your working with me. Your late father used to work for me too, you know. I can wait another week or two. That is not a problem because my daughter is managing it now. But she will be going back to the university soon, so I need you to manage the store for me.’ He paused to look at Lamchwa and continued, ‘Don't worry; it is easy once I show you how to do it. Talk to your mother today and send word to me as soon as you can.’
Lamchwa got down from the car when they reached the path that led to his house. He thanked Kiang for the ride and went on his way home. It was already dark now.