***
The next morning, the boys took a cab to Hina's family's home. Raj had insisted that until he came to know the truth about Hina's mom and her possible connection to Raj, he didn't want to involve the girls, particularly Hina. Vijay and Lucky had agreed that it was the best approach, but it meant that they couldn't ask Carrie for a ride.
The three sat on the ground by a clump of trees in the park across from the house for nearly an hour, hoping that they might be able to catch Hina's mom alone if she came outside, but no one had come or gone from the home since they'd arrived.
"I don't know, guys. I think I should just go ring the bell," Raj said, getting impatient.
"Sure, and what are you going to do when Shoaib opens the door?" Vijay asked.
"Kiss his boo-boo," Lucky snickered.
"Well, we can't wait here all day," Raj replied. His stomach was in knots, and not because he was afraid of Shoaib.
"Eeh, I do not have anywhere important to be," Lucky said, linking his hands behind his head and leaning his back against a tree. Just then, Vijay slapped his arm.
"Oww!"
"Look!" Vijay said, pointing at the house. An older man walked out the front door, and the boys watched from a distance as he got into the car and sat for some time. They could see that he was adjusting the rearview and side mirrors of the car, and moving his seat forward. Once he finally got situated, he started the engine and slowly backed the car out of the driveway. His actions seemed nervous and hesitant, and Vijay thought that perhaps he didn't normally drive. The car idled in the middle of the street as if the man was indecisive about whether he actually wanted to go anywhere, and Raj thought briefly that he might change his mind and pull back into the driveway. But finally he shifted the car into gear and slowly drove down the street. When the car turned at the end of the block, Raj jumped up. "Stay here, guys. Please. I'll call you if I need you."
"Raj! What if Shoaib is there?" Lucky called out.
"I'll just have to take that chance," Raj replied, and after a quick look to the left and to the right, Raj hustled across the street.
When he reached the front door, Raj's nerves got the better of him and he broke out in a cold sweat. He wiped his palms on his jeans and smoothed back his hair. Now or never. He rang the bell and waited.
Nothing.
He looked across the street at Vijay, and Vijay made a frenetic motion with his hand. Raj turned back to the door, and pressed the buzzer again.
The door suddenly swung side open, banging against the inside wall, and Hina's mother bore down on Raj with a fury he had not anticipated.
"What do you want from us now?" she screamed. "You haven't done enough already? You attack my son and put him in the hospital so that your friend could steal my daughter from me, and now you dare to show your face at my house! Get off my porch or I'll call the police!" The woman slammed the door in Raj's face.
Raj's heart was pounding. The woman was understandably distraught, but he wasn't going to leave without answers. He couldn't. But this was an upscale, private neighborhood, and Raj knew better than to make a scene, because if she didn't call the police, he knew somebody else would. He was at a loss as to what to do. Surely she wasn't going to answer the doorbell again.
Raj looked across the street, and Lucky had his arms and hands raised in the air in a "what are you going to do?" gesture. Raj thought for a moment, and then took his locket out of his pocket. Caressing it with his thumb, he brought it to his lips, kissed it, and pushed it through the mail slot. It was his last hope.
He heard the locket hit the floor on the other side of the door, and he waited.
The door remained closed, but Raj's feet stayed rooted to the porch. Time slowed, and his breathing suddenly seemed very loud in his ears. He could hear his own pulse, the sound of his blood rushing through his veins. The smell of fresh cut grass reached his nostrils. It was in this moment - here, on this porch, on this day as the sun shone down on his face - that he felt the most alive he'd ever felt. The answers he had sought for so long were right there on the other side of this door. Just the thought that he might finally be able to put together the pieces of his life's puzzle provided an overwhelming sense of relief, and for this brief moment, the deadness that had sat like a stone inside him for ten years was gone. Raj turned around and leaned his back against the door, sliding slowly to the ground. He was prepared to wait there forever, if necessary. He was almost positive that his mother was behind this door, right now, looking at his locket. But even if he was completely wrong about everything, even if this woman was not related to him at all, he was not leaving without his locket.
He saw Lucky and Vijay start to come towards him, but he put his hand up. Stop. No.
Vijay and Lucky paused, their faces full of concern and heartache for Raj. Raj cradled his face in his hands, and sat leaning against the door for several more minutes. Suddenly, he heard a click, and then he fell backwards as Hina's mom opened the door. Scrambling to get up, Raj turned to face her.
The woman's face was pale, but her voice was eerily calm. "Where did you get this?" she said in a measured tone, holding the locket in her hands.
"Someone left it with me when I was born," Raj answered.
The woman looked up into Raj's eyes and then collapsed to the floor.