The Headmaster

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The night was well advanced. I looked at the time, even though it was unnecessary. I had been summoned, to the headmaster’s residence. It read a quarter to ten. I could not gauge the reason, and that is why I felt a bout of uneasiness overcome me. Perhaps I could always display an act of forbearance if it were not to my liking. I was a young teacher, with an advanced degree in numbers. Calculating almost every aspect of my life came naturally to me. I put on my green jacket and walked into the cool night air.

It was September. In the darkness, I could feel the damp mist that clung to the hills of Kalimpong. The headmaster’s house was at a distance away from the cottages of the resident teachers. I looked at the road ahead, then turned back. The trees stood with stoic indifference as if they were on jury duty. The vista was devoid of humans. There was a chance Aaron Daju could grace me with his ebullient presence as he whistled his favorite Hindi songs. He was the night watchman, who walked the length and breadth of the boarding school campus and made us all feel safe. I quickened my pace. People rarely ventured out after dark in the hills. Besides the ghosts of creatures and men, the hills were filled with political unrest. The only time you would actually witness a hubbub of gleeful shouting and laughter was when the children stomped a well-practiced march past at the town’s Mela grounds during the August parade or the victorious whoop of Homes kids as the jeep made it’s way back to school from an Inter-school event.

As I reached the residence, I was welcomed at the door by the headmaster himself.

“Sorry to call you here, this late, but the matter was most urgent.”

“What is it, Sir?” I replied. My eyes were wide open. I was still staggering from the gusty winds near Elliot Bend.

“Ah, we’ve had a bit of an accident”.

“What… sort?”

“Uh well.... he fell down the stairs and well…!”

“I’m sorry to hear that…how can I help, Sir?” The headmaster looked fine. I reckoned it was bad news he had just received. The house was silent. It seemed like he was it’s only occupant tonight. He looked ashen. All the color from the walls now spilled onto his visage.

“Uh… please sit it down there Mr Saha. I’ll be with you in a moment.” I seated myself in the grand drawing room. It smelled clean. The curtains were slightly drawn. I noticed the headmaster owned a very elegant carpet. I began to look at the mosaic patterns on it and started counting the different shapes. I heard him make his way up the stairs and pace the landing. As if he was mulling over something.

Honestly, I was relieved it was not about me. I don’t know why I thought it, but I was glad anyway. After about ten minutes I leaned back on the sofa and heard the rain begin. The house was quiet, except for the ticking of the clock on the mantlepiece. I looked at the fireplace and noticed that it was neatly stacked with twigs. Then I heard him come downstairs and sat upright almost immediately.

“Sorry to keep you waiting…Dipanjan. Would you care for some tea while I recant every detail of what occurred tonight?

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

“Okay..lets’s have it in the pantry then,” he said.

I followed him as he scurried into the dimly lit hallway and towards the rear side of the house downstairs. Almost all the cottages have identical floor plans, so even though it was my first time venturing into his private space; I was familiar with it. I was surprised to see that the pantry was bathed with brilliant light. And that it was far more spacious compared to other living establishments in the school. It seemed that his family was away, and the freedom of not having to take care of things was catching up with him. I chuckled to myself. He proceeded to put a kettle on, and I stood leaning on the wall a little, looking down. We were not pals. I was still surprised that he had called for me, instead of his school secretary, or someone more distinguished than I.

After a minute or so, we took our places and sat facing each other around the small dining table. The still air in the kitchen was heavy with the fragrance of jasmine, from a shrub outside his kitchen. I suppose.

“Does it not smell lovely? asked the headmaster as if reading my thoughts. I nodded in return but looked at him directly. It was pretty late, and I was getting exhausted from all the mystery, and the morning was not far off.

“The reason why I called you Dipanjan, is because you are a smart young teacher. I know that you will be able to deduce the meaning of everything I am about to tell you.”

“Well… I hope Sir…”

He cut in animatedly.

“It started this evening around four when I was leaving work. I said goodbye to Mrs. Franics and then asked her to come to work a little early tomorrow on account of the debate finals. Do you know what she said?”

I moved my head from left to right, several times.

She said, “Yes, Sir, even if you do not come tomorrow, I definitely will be there”.

I nodded my head again. This was going nowhere.

“Then it happened again. As I walked home, and past the Kindergarten block, Miss Almeida smiled and waved at me.”

“Am I missing something, Sir? I asked in a gentle tone so as to not sound offhand-ish.

“Miss Almeida and I have never had a conversation. Ever!” He threw his hands up in the air to emphasize his point.

He continued. “I know what you are thinking Dipanjan. I would have thought the same thing. Has this fellow gone mad.., but have patience and you will understand why I need to tell you every detail”.

I have to say that at this point I was intrigued. He was the headmaster after all. Even though he was way past his prime, he was still known to be the strictest headmaster the school had ever had. When he walked towards the assembly hall, the children wherever they were would become automatically silent. Even if there was a basketball game going on in the adjoining field area, everyone literally shook with trepidation. Even amongst the staff of the school, there was a level of distance we kept from him, on account of the fact that he was not particularly ‘pally’. However, this did not translate that he was not fair or just. Indeed he was kind, in a subtle way that some people have about them. He was well respected.

He stood up to collect the tea and poured the steaming liquid into two identical cups. Then served me one of them.

“I hope you can survive that,” he said with a slight chuckle.

Before I could respond, he started talking.

“I came home. I took a short nap and then decided to have an early dinner at 6. So I came downstairs, and while I was walking down. I thought I felt my head spin so I stopped on the stairs, for a few seconds. Then I felt better, so I walked down slowly to the pantry”. At my age, dehydration is a strong possibility.

“Yes…that is possible. Are you okay Sir?”

“That’s the strange part. By the time I finished my dinner, I noticed I had eaten everything the cook made. And I felt great after that!”

“Umm..so what’s the problem?” I blurted out. It was already a quarter to twelve. For a moment I wondered if our headmaster was losing his marbles.

“There was enough food for four people. The cook was informed that my wife and our children would return today.” He now had a strange gleam in his eye, and the corners of his lips were breaking out into a cheeky grin.

“Oh!” is all I managed to say. So he ate more than he usually does!

He stood up. His hands were in his trouser pocket.

“Come, Dipanjan, let me show you something that I simply cannot understand. That is why I called you. I am sure you can figure it out.”

I lead the way onto the hallway as I was closer to the door. The headmaster picked up his pace and then began switching off the lights.

“Go upstairs and you will see what I mean. When you are done, come down to the drawing room and we will discuss it.”

What unfolded in the next few moments haunted me for years to come.

As I walked up, I saw a fallen shape on the top of the stairs. It was lying facedown. I have never felt my heart burst with adrenalin like it did at that moment in response to what I saw. I ran up, two steps at a time. When I reached the person, I turned him over. The first thing I did was let out a small cry. Then I sat down, and the last two hours replayed scene by scene akin to reality. With eyes open, and his fingers clutching at something in the air, the headmaster lay dead.

“Dipanjan! Come down now, I’m sorry I could not tell you earlier. But do you recognize him?” I heard his voice from below. He sounded nervous for the first time this evening.

I propelled myself to walk down calmly by gathering an extraordinary amount of strength. Possibly fuelled by confusion and a strange sense of responsibility. I was to be the bearer of bad news to the Headmaster and tell him that he was in two places at the same time, and there was nothing to deduce. Except to question my own existence and purpose. When I saw him, he was pacing back and forth near the fireplace. Our beloved headmaster was having a hard time walking into the endless space that awaited him. As he saw me he looked at me questioningly.

“Sir..have you heard of Schrödinger's Cat?”. My hands were becoming clammy now.

“A what?’ A cat you say? What has that got to do with all this?”

“No, it is… an experiment that explains the concept of superposition.”

“Do you recognize the fellow?” his voice edgy. The headmaster possibly thinks he will go in for a murder he did not commit.

I am at my wit’s end. So I deliver the message as simply as I can.

“I do recognize him Sir, and I’m sorry to tell you, but it is you.”

He stares at me in horror as if I am a lunatic. Then he stomps off to see for himself. I hear him walk up the stairs, but nothing else after that. The house becomes deathly quiet. A window rattles somewhere in the house, and I look at my watch. It is past midnight. Picking up my umbrella I show myself out. I thank my indomitable spirit that I did not lose my mind in those moments that followed the revelation.

The rain had stopped. I take the shortcut past the fir trees home, even though it is a darker path. But I do not feel fear at all. I was exhausted beyond consciousness, and maybe tomorrow or years later I will be able to understand the meaning of all that occurred tonight.

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