The Promise Part - I

It took only ten minutes for the two of them to reach Annexe Alpha. Popeye, never known for being a safe driver even among professional stuntmen, skid and slipped through the rain-slicked roads, thundering through the ill-lit streets as if all the hounds of hell were on his tail, as Daksh hung on for dear life behind him. It was thus with considerable relief that he welcomed the dim porch lights of the apartment where Annanya's Mom and Dad were put up. As Popeye went to park his vehicle at the back of the building, he shook some life back into his frozen limbs, and mentally massaged his traumatized psyche as he climbed up to Mom and Dad's apartment.

Daksh shuffled his feet uneasily - he wondered, for the umpteenth time why he always seemed to be slightly nervous around Dad. A bigger, stronger, and more intelligent version of the scatterbrained Popeye, Daksh had come to realize that he was a nice guy really, underneath his solid exterior, except that he harbored a slightly disdainful attitude towards Bongs in general, and Daksh in particular - whom he perennially gave the look which suggested he had known all along that it had been Daksh who had masterminded the deplorable robbery of a classmate's tiffin box in Daksh's first standard in school. Daksh still remembered the day he had gotten Dad's grudging approval after plying him with a full bottle of the finest Johny Walker Blue Label he could get his hands on (all under Mom's disapproving gaze)- though when he had finally managed to blabber and stammer out his request for Annanya's hand, the shocked Dad had slammed the table so hard that he had spilled the last peg on the floor. The waste of good scotch still rankled.

Mom was a different story altogether though - gentle, kind, and understanding, she had noted the sincerity in Daksh when he had promised her that he would always take good care of Annanya, protect her with his life, try to give her every kind of happiness she ever desired, cherish her for her wonderful qualities and always stay by her side  come rain or sunshine (while furious Annanya had denied vehemently all along in the background that she needed any kind taking care, or protecting, or cherishing, or good care of any kind - the state of the weather being totally irrelevant...).

Now, as he admitted his total ignorance of Annanya's whereabouts to them, he felt guilt and remorse throbbing through him. He had been so short-sighted, so blinded by jingoism and illusions of grandeur, and he had let Annanya out of sight - he had let down all of the people dearest to him, and more than anything else, he had let himself down. But then, like the blazing Sun peeping out through cracks in black storm clouds, all too suddenly, hope and strength seemed to surge through him as tiny drops of resolve coalesced inside him to snowball into a thundering mass of determination. "I am going to find her", he told them, "I am going to go out that door right now, and not come back until I return with Annanya". It was time to fulfill his promise ...

As he headed out, already chalking out a plan of campaign, Popeye - who had been a mute spectator to the proceedings till now (a rarity for him - it was impossible to shut him up for long, unless you had a bucketful of chicken to keep his teeth busy), suddenly exclaimed," Hey Dax, wait !!! I am coming with you ..." as he reached for his helmet. Daksh sighed, but he nodded anyways. Suddenly the task of finding Annanya just got more difficult ...