Nishad and his 10 year old sister Maya has always been inquisitive about their neighbour Mr Nath. One day their marbles went inside his house and Nishad got a chance to catch a glimpse of Mr Nath.
To Nishad he appeared to be a crook running away from the cops. He had a bad scar on his face and didn’t have any friends. But Mr Nath is a patient to their mother who is a doctor by profession. Their mother has told them that he is a polite man. Nishad is also called Seven because his name meant the seventh note on the musical scale.
Soft Hearted Nishad
The two children were busy discussing their mysterious neighbour. They argued about his financial wealth, how he manages his food and so on. Nishad thinks that he is poor and doesn’t have much money while Maya believes that he has got a lot of it and has kept it hidden somewhere in his room.
Then, it was Mr Nath’s scar that bothered the children. They thought that he might have got during a shoot-out with the police. On their mother’s birthday, Nishad went along her to the clinic. He happened to see Mr Nath there.
He was worried seeing Mr Nath’s gaunt appearance. The evening Nishad went to his place and gave a bar of chocolate to Mr Nath. Nishad befriended Ramesh, the boy who used to bring food for Mr Nath from a nearby restaurant. Ramesh informed his that Mr Nath had two meals a day and tea in morning and evening. His meal was the same every day and always used to pay in cash and tips as well.
He brings two lunches in Sunday and it is the same visitor he find there. The visitor was a tall, stout and spectacled man who talks a lot while Mr Nath is quiet person. The children were thrilled and they were discussing the possibilities of Mr Nath being a crook.
Maya’s Facts
Their school opened after the summer holiday the next day but they could not attend it because of heavy rains. Nishad was busy reading his comics when Maya informed what she had done. She had made a note of everything they knew about Mr Nath calling them ‘facts’ and gave a number to each one of them. Nishad disagreed with Maya for calling Mr Nath a criminal.
He felt bad for him for having no friends while Maya thought that the visitor who comes to his place on Sunday may be his partner who knows all his secrets and may be the loot as well. Both the children had an argument and Nishad was upset with Maya for calling Mr Nath a crook. Nishad was interested only in finding out why Mr Nath was so thin and a loner. He wanted to be his friend and Maya’s theories didn’t have any impact on Seven.