Last Will and Testament

This is the story of Thomas Alva, a wanderer who immigrated from Germany and settled in India. A lonely Young man, 20 years of age, living in a small cottage along with his old mother, he used to sell newspaper, and worked as an assistant in a grocery shop, it was hard to make ends meet in these times of price hike and inflation, there were times, when Thomas and his poor mother spent days and weeks with no bread and butter, yet Thomas Alva never complained, he remained content and always earned an honest earning.


One evening, it was very cold and frosty, the rain howling to the winds, and splashing with great intensity, Thomas, all alone and shivering from head to foot, was walking on the deserted road, making his way to the nearby town, so as to fetch a doctor for his ailing mother.


He walked and walked, ignoring the heavy rain, ignoring the cold, her mother was her asset, and he did everything he could for her.

On he walked, the wind and water obscuring the way, yet his determination never waivered, he was making every ounce of his strength, his passion to win was always greater than defeat, and he was sure in his heart of hearts, that nothing in this whole wide world was strong enough to stop him from reaching his destination.

Thomas Alva, had just reached the corner of the highway, when he saw a car set on fire, there was no human soul to be seen from miles and miles, yet there it was an inferno car, the flames towering high, the worst was however yet to come, as the car’s engine was just seconds away from catching fire and exploding, right amongst the chaos and confusion, a man was trapped inside the car, he was profoundly bleeding, yet his steady breath meant there was still life in him .

Completely terror struck and dumb-founded, Thomas Alva stood in sheer terror, move on! his conscious screamed to him, no time to lose, your mother needs help ; and then the other side of the conscious said, Save this person, how can you leave him like that, save his life.

Time was running out fast, the car was only mere seconds away from destruction.

GO GO GO, save the person, the conscious screamed, NO NO NO, NO TIME NO TIME, YOUR Mother, a minutes delay could be critical to your mothers life.

Thomas Alva stood there terrified to death, yet unable to make his mind, he screamed in agony, screamed for help, but his own fearful voice echoed over the highway.

The breathing of the man inside the car worsened, it was evident that he was struggling in the situation of life and death, immediately in need of medical help.

The flames just a fraction of a second away to catch the engine, Thomas Jumped, with one blow to the window he smashed it, took out the unfortunate man and pulled him through harms way.

The explosion rocked the entire highway, the car was blown into smithereens.

Thomas Alva’s athletic built did good use to him, he ran half dragging, half carrying the injured man, and reached the towns hospital in a remarkable time, the doctors pronounced that the man will be kept in intensive care, Alva left his card, so if the police may need to contact him, he fetched a doctor, took an alternate route, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him to his house.


Thomas Alva’s mother was just in time revived through electrical shocks, her life was saved . Yet the heavy blow came when the doctor said, that she needed an operation immediately and a heavy sum of amount be made ready.

Her mother gradually recovered, yet her fate was to be decided in the operation, a successful operation meant her survival.

Still Thomas Alva was happy, he would work hard, to the best of his strength and ability and he was determined to collect the money.


APRIL 14 - 8 WEEKS LATER.


Two uniformed Policemen entered Thomas Alva’s house, Alva wondered why it had took them this long time to reach him, when he had left a card at the hospital.

The moment the men sat down they brought themselves to the point:

You must be aware of the fact that we are not here to arrest you, as we could have had done that before, we had all information about you.

The man in the hospital in his brief moments of consciousness, had told us that he had himself seen the person who had saved him, and requested that he should not be charged.

Some conspirators had made an attempt on the man's life.

The suspects are still at large, but we are working on it.

Is the man okay officers? Thomas asked.

Ahh, the officer sighed deeply, he was discharged from the hospital just yesterday, he really wanted to meet his saviour, but time didn’t allow him, however before he passed away he made a will.

Seeing no reaction on Alvas face the officer continued, Do you even realized who the man was? well, we will save you the surprise, here is the copy of the will . Tomorrow, please meet with us at the Barristers house to finalize matters . Good day to you sir. They rose and went.

Thomas Alva was clueless as to the contents of the will, he slowly opened the envelope.

“Last will and testament of James Eva Williamson.”


I, Lord James Eva Williamson of the state of Rajasthan, hereby bequeath all my property to MR Thomas Alva Eddyson. Who had saved my life. My entire wealth, my Estate, my bank accounts, my property will now be in his name . The ownership of my Rajhastan Estate shall immediately be transferred to him as soon as I die. He shall be the new heir of my fortune.


Alva couldn’t believe his eyes, there he was, a lonely tramp, and now the owner of the most princely and grand estate of Rajhsthan . WOO HOO ! he started jumping, and dancing, and laughing, how luck works!


Thomas Alva, when woke up in the morning, half –expected that the event of last night was a dream, but there it was on the table, the copy of his will, unmistakably there.


He went to the barristers house, and everything was arranged, his whole body shivered with excitement as he signed away the papers . You know, said the officer when Alva was about to depart, I congratulate you, but then in an undertone he said, with great power, comes great danger as well.

APRIL 24


Five hour train journey brought Thomas Alva Eddyson, to the desert state of Rajasthan, the most vibrant city of India . He had Rajhasthani roots as well, as his ancestors belonged from here.

It was when Thomas saw the Palace which made his eyes go wide in triumph, the princely estate of the late Lord Eva consisted of a magnificent palace, 14 acres of farm land, and a grand trading market in the desert.

The palace of Lord Eva was the most eloquent and classy, the furniture, the golden finishings, the gardens, the granite, the marbels, all spoke of the great taste and grandeur of the lord Eva.

All of it was now the official property of Thomas Alva.


THREE DAYS LATER.


You can say that Thomas was the luckiest man on earth, he looked like a king now, dressed in beautiful robes, which he never even have imagined before, and the owner of all the wealth made Alva extremely delighted, even now he was very modest and humble.

APRIL 29 – THE PROBLEM BEGINS


Thomas Alva’s golden moments lasted only a few days, he had just got used to the estate, when suddenly, three men arrived to his very doorstep. The men proclaimed themselves to be distant relatives of the Lord, and claimed the ownership, Alva refused, they threatened conspiracy.


APRIL 31 – THE BARRISTER


On consulting the Barrister Thomas learnt that the three men namely Daulat, khan bahadur and imran, were indeed the last living descendents and they had a right to the palace, but because of the will they couldn’t touch the estate, the palace had long ago been transferred in there name .

As the palace was the most magnificent piece of architecture ever built, Thomas didn’t want to lose it, so he decided to talk with the three brothers.


APRIL 31 MIDNIGHT – THE FIRST AND FINAL MEETING.


The three brothers arrived, but not at the palace, but on a hill nearby, Alva wanted to keep the meeting confidential.

Look here, gentleman, Alva said ‘ please sign the papers, and transfer the palace to my name, I have every right to it.

The elder brother named Daulat, laughed and smiled cunningly ‘ You think we are stupid, to let you have the great palace, no why don’t you just leave this place – trust me, that is the only good option for you.

No I wont, Thomas replied, ‘Okay we will make the deal, you guys have a portion in the wealth but just give me the palace.

You thief ! Daulat was enraged, ‘its our wealth you are talking about, and our palace, how dare you trespass on our property, I don’t care about that will. The three brothers attacked him, Thomas was furious, the brawl ensued on the hill, they fought hard and with no mercy, and in the end, Thomas kicked the three brothers down the hill and on the ruthless waves of the sea.


TWO WEEKS LATER


Thomas Alva, hanged on charges of murder. He was buried in Rajasthan’s graveyard.


EPILOGUE.


The man was slowly making his way to the graveyard, every step he took further made his heart lift with joy and jubilation, so much hard work, so many days of planning and work, finally his dream had come to fruition, his passion, his quest, his vengeance all satisfied, what was left now was that he owed an explanation.

A little boy came walking towards him, mister ! mister !, please please buy my lemonade.

It was extremely hot, and he wanted to get his business done fast so he didn’t stop, but the boy was persistent, please mister, please buy one glass of lemonade, its only two rupees.

The man agreed, he took the lemonade, and paid the little boy the money.

The man reached the grave of Thomas Alva.

He knelt down, and spoke softly.

You were very brave Thomas, your determination was admirable, yet it was I who made good use of my intelligence.

I was the one who made the plan, I tempted you to fight, and made you to thrust us all down the hill, but I had a boat on the shore, my brothers screamed to save them, but I left them, got on the boat and escaped. With you and my brothers out of the way Thomas, he said, I am the only living descendant left, and the most greatest, most precious, most grandest estate in the whole of Rajasthan will be mine, MINE, me Daulat Ras Chandio !!

He knelt down again and said softly, you know, theres a little something inside our head, called brain, I was the one to use it.


He rose to leave, turned around and saw none other than Thomas Alva standing.

‘You might have a brain, my friend, but what matters is ……..who uses it first, I was the one to do that . I saw your brothers screaming for help, I saved there lives, and you know what they say, If you cant beat them, join them . I was never hanged, that grave is empty, the police are in this too.
You were the only person who wouldn’t agree to an equal share, so we all decided with you out of the way, we will all have an equal share.

Thomas smiled, and started to leave the graveyard.

Hey loser, Daulat laughed, you haven’t got me out of the way, I am alive, ahahhahhahhahha


Thomas Alva looked back, and said

‘Do you remember drinking a lemonade lately?

Daulats seem to understand it all.

You rascal!! He screamed.

Yes my friend, Thomas Alva said coolly, it was poisonous.

Alva looked at his watch, turned to leave and snapped back :

“ you have one minute to live, and your time starts now……………