The camera zooms in on my face. There are audible gasps from the audience.
'Well, Mr Thomas, as I told you, you are standing at a historic crossroads. One path leads to unimaginable wealth and fortune, but the other three simply take you back to your starting point.
So even if you take a wild guess, guess carefully. You can win all or lose all. This is the most important decision of your life.'
'I would like to use a Lifeboat.'
'OK, you still have one Lifeboat left, and that is Half and Half. So we will take away two incorrect answers, leaving one correct answer and one wrong answer. You then have a fifty–fifty chance of getting the right answer.'
The word 'Lifeboat' flashes on the screen. We see an animated boat chugging along on the sea, a swimmer shouting for help and being tossed a red lifebuoy. The screen changes to display the full question once again. Then two answers disappear and only choices A and C flash on the screen.
'There you have it,' says Prem Kumar. 'It is either A or C. Give me the right answer and you will become the first man in history to win a billion rupees. Give me the wrong answer and you will become the first man in history to lose a hundred million in less than a minute. What is your decision?'
I take out my lucky one-rupee coin. 'Heads my answer will be A, tails my answer will be C.
OK?' The audience gasps at my audacity. Prem Kumar nods his head. The glint in his eye has returned.
I toss the coin.
All eyes are riveted as it goes up, almost in slow motion. This must be the only one-rupee coin in history on which a billion is riding. It comes down on my desk, and spins for a while before becoming still. Prem Kumar bends to look at it and announces, 'It is heads!'
'In that case my answer is A.'
'Are you absolutely sure, Mr Thomas? You can still choose C if you want.'
'The toss of the coin has decided my answer. It is A.'
'Are you absolutely, one hundred per cent sure?'
'Yes. I am absolutely, one hundred per cent sure.'
There is a crescendo of drums. The correct answer flashes on the screen for the last time.
'It is A! Absolutely, one hundred per cent correct! Mr Ram Mohammad Thomas, you have made history by winning the world's biggest jackpot. One billion rupees, yes, one billion rupees are yours, and will be paid to you very shortly. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a very warm round of applause to the greatest winner of all time!'
Confetti starts to fall from the ceiling. Red, green, blue and yellow spotlights bathe the entire stage. For almost two minutes, everyone stands up and claps. There are whistles and catcalls.
Prem Kumar bows like a magician. Then he winks at me slyly. I don't wink back.
Suddenly the producer comes up to the dais and takes Prem Kumar away with him. They
exchange heated words.
Houston, I think we have a problem.
* * *
Smita looks at her watch and gets up from the bed. 'Phew! What a show, what a story, what a night! So now I know how you won a billion rupees. The coin toss at the end was just for show, wasn't it? You already knew that the answer was A.'
'Yes. But you decide whether I deserve the top prize or not. I have not kept anything from you. I have told you all my secrets.'
'And I think it is only fair that you should know mine. You must be wondering who I am and why I suddenly appeared in the police station.'
'Well, yes, but I decided not to question a miracle.'
'I am Gudiya. I am the girl you helped in the chawl. And don't feel remorse that you pushed my father to his death. He merely broke a leg, and that one act set his brain right. He did not bother me after that. I owe everything to you. For years I tried to find you, but you had disappeared.
Then yesterday I saw your name in the newspaper. It said a boy named Ram Mohammad Thomas had been arrested by the police. I knew that there could only be one Ram Mohammad
Thomas and came running to the police station. So just think of this as a very small repayment of the debt I owe you.'
I am overcome with emotion. I grasp Smita's hand, feel its flesh and bone, and my tears start falling. I hug her. 'I am so glad you found me. I have got a lawyer, a friend and a sister in one go.'
'All your troubles are now mine, Ram Mohammad Thomas,' Smita says, with fierce determination in her eyes. 'I will fight for you, just as you fought for me.'
EPILOGUE
Six months have passed since the longest night of my life.
Smita remained true to her word. She fought for me like a mother fights for her children. First she dealt with the police. She proved to them that they had no basis on which to arrest me. She also found out that nobody had even heard about the dead dacoit on the train and there was no pending investigation. So the nameless dacoit remained nameless, even in death.
