Chapter 37: The Stranger

Stranger might be an overstatement. Though this was my first time seeing them, I was already acquainted with the person walking towards me right now. We had talked yesterday during my frantic car ride to the circus.

Nilima Mehta was a young Indian businesswoman in her late 20's. She had a strong chin and wore a crisp navy suit over her slim figure. Her more masculine features were softened by her large eyes and long black hair.

When Nilima was close enough, she held out her hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Kelsey Hayes."

"Likewise," I said as I took the offered hand and shook it.

Satisfied with our introduction, Nilima turned back and addressed the crowd that was still watching me and Dhiren. "As of now," she announced, "Kelsey Hayes is the official animal trainer and caretaker of the tiger, Alagan Dhiren Rajaram."

Cries of alarm issued from the audience.

"What's the meaning of this!"

"Kelsey is just a kid."

"Is this a joke?"

"You can't take our star act!"

Nilima made calming motions with her arms.

I said nothing. I just continued to pet Dhiren. He was looking between me and Nilima in bewilderment.

I felt the need to whisper to him, "I'll explain later."

He eyed me.

"I promise."

Meanwhile, Maurizio and Mr. Odoso had come to stand with Nilima, Dhiren, and me.

"Everyone, please calm down," Maurizio was saying.

"Calm down?" It was Ruth who protested, "If you want dinner tonight you better explain yourself, Maurizio!"

"Yeah!" Mrs. Gailon chipped in, "What is going on, Agostino?"

"Enough!" Maurizio shouted. "William will explain."

All eyes went to William Odoso, the skeletal circus accountant. Mr. Odoso gave Maurizio an indignant scowl.

"William," Maurizio prompted.

The accountant stood up straight for possibly the first time in his life and said, "You heard the lady. Ms. Mehta and Kelsey have offered us 24 million dollars in exchange for the tiger. Maurizio and I accepted on behalf of the circus."

There was a pause before the cries began again. This time they were excited. The crowd advanced on us and I automatically stepped back.

Nilima turned to me. "I think it's time to go. My men are waiting in the parking lot."

I nodded. I handed Mr. Davis's elephant rifle to Mr. Odoso. He hardly seemed to notice. Then I took up Dhiren's leash and said to him, "Come on."

The tiger still looked confused, but he followed my lead.

Together with Nilima, we slowly backed away from the crowd, moved past Mr. Davis and Matt who both lay forgotten on the ground, and headed off towards a different patch of buildings to get to the parking lot.

Just as we lost sight of the circus crowd, a voice cried out, "Wait!"

I turned. It was Cathleen. I stared at her.

Dhiren growled.

"What?" I said.

She looked at me, Nilima and Dhiren, and said, "I'm sorry."

Here we go again.

Cathleen did not notice my irritation. She kept talking. "When I told Mr. Davis about you coming for Dhiren and he headed off with a gun, I tried to get help but…"

I shook my head. "Cathleen, I really don't care." Of all the things she'd done, her fetching Mr. Davis didn't even register as something to be upset about. That had been a reasonable thing to do. Her lying to my face and kicking my shins yesterday, not so much.

"But Kelsey," she began.

"Go back to Matt," I said roughly. "He needs you more than I do." Both him and Mr. Davis had still been on the ground moaning when we had walked past them.

Cathleen hesitated. She really did seem to feel guilty this time, but I didn't want another apology. I had listened to enough apologies from her to last me a lifetime.

"Go." The word came out like a command.

Cathleen watched me for a moment more. "I'm sorry," she said again. Then she turned and ran back to her best friend.

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Nilima patted me on the shoulder.

I looked over at her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said.

On my other side, Dhiren nuzzled one of my hands.

I petted his head. "I'm fine," I told them. And I meant it. I knew who my friends were now, and Cathleen was not one of them.

Nilima nodded and we continued onto the parking lot. As Nilima said, her men were ready with a large 18-wheeler truck. The back was open and ready to load in the tiger.

Dhiren looked at me.

"I'm right behind you," I promised.

Together we got in.

The men protested in Marathi, but Nilima seemed to calm them down. She turned to me and said, "I'll leave you two alone for a bit. Explain to him while the guys drive."

She motioned for the men to close the door. The men exchanged looks, but did as she said. Finally, Dhiren and I were alone in the semi-darkness. His eyes glowed faintly.

Instead of being scared, I felt good. If anything, Dhiren looked more nervous than I did.

"It's alright," I told him.

He didn't look convinced.

"Dhiren. Look into my eyes. I'm going to try to do the thing." I took a deep breath and stared into his blue eyes. I willed that feeling that I used to dread. I summoned the scents that were so familiar to me.

Dhiren's eyes went wide in surprise but then he returned my gaze with the same intensity. The world shifted.

When I opened my eyes, I didn't feel disoriented like I usually would. Because this time, I was in control. I knew exactly what I would find. I was inside my palace bedroom in the dream world. It felt like ages since I had first seen this place and stood on the balcony outside. However, after so many repetitive dreams, the silk hangings, plush pillows, and lush bed were a familiar sight.

"Kelsey," Dhiren said.

I looked over at him. Dhiren was standing on the balcony and human once again. "Please," he said, "I beg of you. Explain to me what just happened."

I smiled at him. "I called that number you gave me."

"I gather that, but…" he shook his head. "Kelsey, what is going on?"

"Come in and sit down," I said gesturing to the pillow cushions that seemed to litter the bedroom floor. "And I'll tell you the story."


Yesterday…

After I dialed Dhiren's mysterious phone number, the phone seemed to ring and ring. I held my breath until the phone clicked and then an actual female voice answered.

"नमस्कार? हा खासगी नंबर आहे."

It wasn't English. At the time, I thought it sounded like Hindi, so I had swallowed and said the one Hindi phrase I knew.

"मुझे ज्यादा हिंदी नहीं आती। क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं?"

There was a pause and the voice responded. "Yes. I speak English and Hindi for that matter. Who is this?"

Here we go.

"My name is Kelsey Hayes. I'm a friend of Dhiren. He gave me this number."

There was another pause.

"What can I do for you?" she asked in a business-like tone.

My eyes went wide. It actually worked. I couldn't believe it. It…but how?

"Hello?" the voice asked.

"Sorry. Um…I don't need your help, but I think Dhiren does."

"Alright."

"He's a tiger." I couldn't resist adding.

"I'm aware, Miss Hayes. I am also aware that Dhiren isn't a normal tiger. Tell me what the issue is and I'll see if I can help."

I let out a breath. This was really happening. "Okay," I said. "Okay."

I told Nilima about the whole situation. I started by talking about Dhiren's general unhappiness. Then I told her about Lisa's mistreatment, Dhiren's appearance at my house, and finally the kidnapping. As I spoke, Nilima asked me questions about everything from my personal history to the circus's estimated earnings. I might have been more cautious if this whole thing wasn't so crazy already. As it was, I did my best to answer everything she asked.

Finally, I finished by saying, "I'm worried about him. I thought Lisa was an isolated incident, but I'm afraid they are mistreating Dhiren as well. Dhiren told me…" I hesitated. I hadn't mentioned the dreams yet and she hadn't asked.

So, I started over. "I know you have connections to the Waghdhare Circus. Would it be possible to relocate Dhiren to there or to another circus?"

There was yet another pause before she said, "That depends. Do you think he would be willing to leave Circus Maurizio?"

It seemed like a ridiculous question, but then I had stayed at the circus far longer than was wise. I thought about it seriously. I remembered when Dhiren first talked about me going to another circus. I had asked if he would come with me.

"Yes," I told her. "Yes, I think he would."

"Really!" For the first time, the voice lost its formal tone and sounded excited. She said something lightning-fast in what I now know was Marathi and then she said in English, "Kelsey Hayes you've given me the best news I've heard in the last 5 years."

"I have?"

"Definitely," she said. I could hear the smile in her voice. "So, here's how this is going to work. Tomorrow, I'm going to buy Dhiren for the Waghdhare Circus on three conditions, alright?"

"Um…okay?" I said still stunned. This was really happening. "What are the conditions?"

"First, I'm putting ownership of the tiger in your name," she said.

"Sure," I said, dazed.

"He'll prefer it that way," she added.

"If you say so." It was weird, but I was not going to argue with the lady over that. "And the other conditions?"

"Second," she said. "You have to help transport him to India. Do you have a passport?"

"I do," I said slowly. I'd had a passport before I had gotten my license. Every traveling circus performer benefited from having identification.

"Good. And the last condition is that you have to audition for the Waghdhare Circus. Those are the terms. So, what do you say?"

I stared at the phone. She was asking me to go to India. Lisa was still healing and I didn't even know if I wanted to audition for this fancy-pants circus. Still, if it would save Dhiren…

"I can do that but…"

"But?"

"I can't go to India to transport Dhiren anytime soon. I can't travel right now. I told you that Lisa's injury is serious. She might not recover if I don't personally take care of her."

All she said was "I see…"

I knew it was too good to be true. I knew it was too easy. I was going to fail another negotiation. "I'm sorry," I said, "I just have a responsibility to Lisa-"

"Of course," she said.

"And she...wait what?"

"I understand Miss Hayes."

"You do?"

"Of course. Not everyone is prepared to leave at a moment's notice."

I allowed myself to breathe.

"Though I do think it'd be best to relocate Dhiren as soon as possible. I suppose you'll just have to explain things to him before he leaves. As for the audition, you can come to India after your bobcat recovers. That should be in the winter, correct? Would you be willing to visit then?"

"Yes!" I said excitedly. "Yes! I will visit then."

"Excellent," she said. "Now that that is settled, all you need to do is text me your email address. I'll send you the details. Alright? If you have no other questions, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at the circus."

I stared at my phone. Had I really done it?

"Miss Hayes?"

I breathed. "I'm sorry I'm just overwhelmed. This is more than I hoped for. Thank you," I said. "Thank you so much."

"Oh no, trust me," she said. "I should be thanking you. I can't believe Dhiren actually befriended someone. It's a miracle, honestly."

Dhiren was some sort of magic tiger and she thought that that was a miracle?

"Anything else," she asked after a bit.

"No, I don't think so," I began, but then I realized something and said, "Wait. Yes. There is one thing. What's your name?"

"Oh!" she cried, "You're right. I almost forgot to mention it. My name is Nilima Mehta. It is nice to meet you, Kelsey Hayes."

"Likewise," I said, though nice did not begin to cover it.

"Now, if that's all, I should go. I need to set things up for tomorrow. Call me back if you have any questions and be sure to text me that email address. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Miss Hayes."

"Me too," I said though again it was not enough.

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

The phone clicked off. I texted the mystery number my email. My fingers were shaking. The number had been real. For all her questions, Nilima never asked me about how Dhiren had given the number to me or how I knew what he wanted. She had just accepted it. Still, I waited.

Within an hour, Nilima had sent me flight plans, a contract of ownership, and info on the Waghdhare Circus. I read through everything. Then I looked up Nilima to confirm some things. She was indeed a real person. She worked for a small Marathi company called Rajaram Industries. She was the executive secretary. I even found articles that show that the company did indeed have ties to the Waghdhare Circus. Just to check everything, I emailed her company email and I got a response:

Fact-checking, Kelsey Hayes? Yes, we did just talk today, specifically about Dhiren and Circus Maurizio.

That was what did it. There was no room for denial anymore. I sat back in shock. It was all real.

I don't know how long I stayed in the car after that. My mind went over everything I thought I knew about myself, Dhiren, and the world in general.

At some point, I got hungry. I left my car and went into the gas station convenience store. I bought some snacks and returned to the car. When I bit into one of the candy bars that I had grabbed, my shock melted into something like joy.

Pure and simple joy.

I wasn't crazy. My dreams weren't just dreams. They were real. Last night had been real and so was Dhiren. The man who had comforted me had been real and I was going to rescue him.

Those thoughts supported me as I drove to the circus to scout out the place. I arrived during the night show. I snuck around to learn the layout of the new fairgrounds and stayed long enough to make sure that Dhiren was okay.

After that, I returned to Sarah's house, fed Lisa, and got into bed. It felt like my soul was sinking into the sheets. I closed my eyes. Sleep hit me almost immediately and I slept all night without a single nightmare.

When I woke the next day, today, I had felt energized. I had fed Lisa and gotten ready for the day. I even put ribbons in my hair. Something I had not bothered to do since I had arrived at Sarah's house. I felt worthy of them again. I felt like I was ready for anything which turned out to be true.

This afternoon, I had left Sarah's house with the intent to free Dhiren from Circus Maurizio and several hours and a few gunshots later, I had done just that.

A/N: Two more chapters to go.