Page 50 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

The YHS team captain shook hands with us. “I am from Mongar. I am glad you won. Congratulations.”
We bowed and shook his hands. “Thanks, captain.”
A tall man in blue jeans appeared from behind and said, “Congrats, goalie. I am Kinga, a big fan of yours.”
My jaw dropped. “Thank you, sir.”
“You play well.”
“Really? Thank you.”
“Boys, come, let’s take a photo,” said Coach.
Kinga squeezed between Baggio and me. He slipped his arms around my shoulders. As the flash streaked across
our eyes, I smiled at my best pose.
“Okay, done,” said Coach.
“Let’s go to my place for dinner,” said Kinga.
I glanced at Coach. “Thanks, but—”
“Please,” he said. “I insist.”
Coach studied Kinga from head to toe but said nothing.
“Please, Coach,” said Kinga. “Allow him.”
Coach said, “You want to join him, Dorji?”
I shook my head.
He turned to Kinga and said, “Sorry, he doesn’t want to go.”
“Please, Coach,” said Kinga.
“Make sure you come back before 8:00 pm, okay?” said Coach.
“But Coach—”
Kinga said, “Come on, goalie,”
Teammates watched as he walked me across the road.
“You are a great goalie,” he said. “I mean it.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
He gave me a chewing gum. “What’s your name?”
“Dorji Wangdi,”
“I am Kinga. People call me Jack.”
“Jack?” I said. “What should I call you?”
“Which name suits me? Kinga or Jack?”
“Jack.”
As the darkness crept in, we scurried through the heavy traffic and narrow passage. We climbed the stairs to the
third floor. He pushed the door open and led me into a living room furnished with burnished antique furniture.
“You live alone?” I asked, glancing around.
“With my brother and his family,” he replied.
An obese man was watching TV in the next room. He glanced at me. Kinga tweaked a piece of banana from a
comb. “Have this.” He peeled one for himself.
I can’t believe I am at the stranger’s place, I thought. What am I doing here?
“Follow me,” he said.
“Where?”
He led me to the next building. “To my room,”
“This building is half completed,” I said. “Are you sure this is your place?”
“Yeah. After me, please.”
It was on the first floor. Except for a mattress on the bed and a closet next to the window, the room was empty.
It smelled of cement and there was no light fixture.
“Let’s fix the light first.” He brought out a bundle of wire from under his bed. “Hold it, I will connect it to the
main switch.”
I held the other end of the wire, peering against the faint light that darted through the open window. “What’s this
all about?”
As he gnawed the wire, his eyes bulged and rolled, and his body twirled to the ground and flinched. “Auck!
Auck!”
“Hey, what happened?” I blurted, flinching back. “You scare the hell out of me. Get up.” I looked around.
“Where is anybody?” I rushed out of the building and scurried to my place.
“What’s going on?” said Baggio. “Why are you panting?”
I held my chest, leaning against the door. “That man is crazy.”
Baggio shot me an intense glare. “How could you trust a stranger?”
“Wish I hadn’t gone with him,” I said. “He is epileptic?”

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