by Jisha Rajesh
‘What do you think you are doing?’ The next moment her soul rebuked her. ‘Are you really thinking of hugging a man you barely know? How outrageous!’
Her face flushed as she felt ashamed of her fancies and held her head low. She slowed down her pace and walked a step behind him. He didn’t give it much notice as he was walking lost in his own world.
“It’s quite a rare chance that we get to enjoy the warmth of the sun these days, isn’t it?” he said as he looked around after they seated themselves on the chair. “Anyway, what would you like to have?”
“Coffee,” she called out as she saw him get up from his, “I prefer it black.”
“Same here.” He smiled and turned to walk towards the counter.
Her heart raced again as she saw him flash a tiny smile and this time it was for real. Her eyes kept following him as he walked towards the counter and ordered. She watched him answer a call and then type a few messages on his phone as he waited for the delivery. She gasped and immediately took her eyes off him as she saw him turning back with the coffee cups in his hands. She rummaged into her bag and fished out her phone and pretended to be preoccupied with it.
“Here is your coffee,” he said as he placed the cups on the table.
“Thank you, Officer,” she said as she picked up her cup.
They took a few sips of the coffee and silence took over again. Ayana threw a furtive glance at him from behind her coffee cup. He seemed to have a troubled look on his face and kept absent mindedly taking sips from his cups.
‘Something is gnawing upon his mind for sure,’ Ayana deduced, ‘Should I ask him?’
But on second thoughts, Ayana found it safe to let him take his own time to open up. She silently slid back in her chair continuing to watch him from the corner of her eyes.
“The coffee is good,” she finally said.
“Hmm…?” He seemed to have absolutely lost touch with the world around him. “Oh yes, quite good.”
The silence that took them under its wings again was beginning to choke her now. She was anxious to know what he had on his mind and did not want to wait any longer.
“Officer Patel…” She was determined to pull of the mask of haziness that was shielding him. “I guess, we are not here just for having coffee.”
“Yes.” The fiery glow returned to his eyes. “You are right.”
He slid back in his chair, drew a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. He pondered again for a while with his eyes turned away from her and then leaned forward abruptly and placed his hands on the table.
“You were right, Ms Sharma,” he said as his eyes sparkled in excitement and he struggled with his breathing.
“About what?” Ayana was absolutely baffled by the words and actions of that charming young officer who had woven a thick fog of mystery around him.
“About Mrs Kumar.” Varun’s breathing hiked as he looked straight into her eyes.
“What are you trying to say, Officer?” Ayana was evidently agitated by the mere mention of her deceased Godmother. “Please say it clearly. You can’t even imagine what I am going through these days.”
‘Okay, Ms Sharma.” Varun closed his eyes and raised his hands in surrender. “I will come to the point. You were right when you said that she couldn’t commit suicide.”
“What?” Ayana stared at his flushed face her mouth wide open. “I am still not sure what you mean.”
“Mrs Kumar didn’t commit suicide.” Varun’s gasp tightened on the cup of coffee. “It was a murder.”
“What?!” Ayana’s voice was almost a whisper.
“Yes,Ms Sharma,” Varun sighed, “Initially, we all took it for a suicide. But from her post mortem report, it is quite clear that she hasn’t killed herself. She was murdered and then her killer made it look like a suicide.”
“But how?” Ayana was at the end of her wits and was not sure what she should ask as a thousand questions popped up in her mind. “Who did this? And why?”
“I am sorry,Ms Sharma…” Varun had regained his composure by now. “I have a definite answer for only one of your questions.”
Ayana continued to stare at him in the shell shocked state.
“The murderer strangled her on her bed, which was the actual cause of her death as per the post mortem report. And then he tied a rope around her neck and hanged her by the ceiling.”
“But what about her message to me that she sent minutes before her death?” Ayana asked, “Earlier we assumed it to be a well-planned move before she ended her life. But now, does that mean she was already aware that someone was trying to kill her?”
“I can’t give you any clear cut answers as of now because the investigation is underway and we haven’t been able to lay our hands on any solid evidence. But my theory goes like this: as the time at which she messaged you and her time of death overlap, we are sure that the message was sent when she was being attacked. May be she was able to dodge the murderer and secure herself for a span of time just enough to type a few words.”
“PoorShanaya Ma’am!” Ayana burst out sobbing and her slender frame shook violently. “Who could have done this to her, Officer?”
“The crime scene and the victim’s body are clean. He didn’t leave any fingerprints or any other clue that could lead us to him. I need your help in finding the culprit,” Varun said as his heart filled with pity for the girl. “You know everyone close to her. Do you doubt anyone?”
Ayana swayed her head from side-to-side in negation.
“How was her relationship with her husband?”
“No!” Ayana’s sudden outburst was alarming. “It was definitely not him. He was the only person on the planet she loved and cared for the most. And he also loved her more than his own life. Their love was a true and selfless one. It can’t be him, Officer.”
“Fine.” Varun was taken aback by her abrupt response. “Anyone else who you think could be the culprit?”
“I have no idea, Officer.” Ayana was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “Her success won her many enemies. But I don’t think anyone among them will go that far.”
“Please relax, Ms Sharma.” Varun realized that he should not probe her further. “I am sure that we will nab the murderer soon. And I expect your cooperation throughout our investigation.”
“Sure, Officer.” Ayana’s cheeks were red hot with vengeance. “He must be punished.”
“I don’t think you should drive in such a distressed state,” he said as he got up and looked at the heartbroken girl, “let me drop you at your place.”
Chapter – 3- The Manuscript
Ayana’s head hurt as she opened her swollen, bloodshot eyes to the bright rays of the sun that flooded her apartment. She turned slowly to her side and gazed at the clock. Her mind told her to get ready for office but she turned a deaf ear to the command and closed her eyes again. She lacked the vitality that usually made her jump out of bed during the weekdays and rush out to attend her daily chores. She couldn’t get even a wink of sleep since a fortnight now. She felt a volcano of vengeance burst from within her and the bubbling lava of rage emerging out of it wouldn’t let her sleep peacefully at nights. She wished with all her heart that she could somehow lay her hands upon the murderer and punish him brutally for snatching her angel away from her. She’d keep tossing and turning in her bed night after night as sorrow and anger almost choked her to death. She’d burst out crying as an overpowering feeling of helplessness would take over her. She could do nothing for the woman of who did so much for her. She could only shed tears over her cold, lifeless body while her culprit remained free to roam about owing to the lack of evidence that could incriminate him.
She was able to get some sleep only during the wee hours of the morning and then she remained quite under the weather the entire day due to lack of sleep. The police were still probing into the Shanaya murder case and she’d be summoned to the Police Headquarters every now and then. A call from Varun once in a while was the only thing
that helped a bit in relieving her, even if it was for a few minutes, from the impenetrable sheath of melancholy that she had wrapped around herself. Both of them were always indifferent towards each otherduring their telephonic conversationsbut she loved the warmth with which he told her to take care of herself every time before hanging up. She thought of the day when he came to drop her at her apartment after the condolence meeting. She was numb all throughout the drive and hadn’t uttered a word to him. He’d been silent too but she felt overwhelmed every time his concerned eyes turned towards her to check whether she was okay. The memories of those instances pumped a little energy into her and she’d manage to drag herself up from the bed and plod towards the washroom.
She prepared herself a cup of coffee after she was done with the ablutions and walked out into the balcony of her apartment. Every other soul except her was in a rush to begin the day. She had not been to her office since the day of Shanaya’s death. Her routine life was completely disrupted as she still couldn’t gather herself and concentrate on her work. She couldn’t even eat properly these days. She remained vague most of the time and locked herself up in a cocoon within which miseries, vengeance and fury kept her senses stupefied.
Ayana sighed and returned to her bedroom. She carried the coffee cup to the small library she had in her study. She wished to read some good books that could elevate her mood and make her forget her agony. She instantly regretted her decision as soon as she stepped into the study. Most of her study was occupied by the books of her favorite author and she felt a stab of pain again in her bereaving heart. She instantly turned back and was about to run out of her once favorite room when her eyes fell on the manuscript of Shanaya’s last novel.
‘How could I forget it?’ She slapped her forehead as she admitted that the manuscript had been completely washed off from her memories.
She sat down on her desk and ran a hand over it. She promised herself to fulfill Shanaya’s last wish as perfectly as she could.
‘It has to be the best one.’ Her eyes gleamed with confidence but then the light died out as she thought, ‘As it is her last one too.’
She picked up the manuscript and gulped down the remaining coffee in a single sip. As soon as she finished her coffee and placed the cup down on the desk, her phone rang. She saw her secretary Sandra’s smiling face flashing on the screen and picked it up.
“Some of our clients have been calling me since last week as they couldn’t get you,” Sandra nervously blurted out as soon as Ayana picked up the phone, “they all want to know when you will be able to take up their work?”
“Tell them that I can’t take any new assignment for a few months.”
Her abrupt reply knocked Sandra down and she couldn’t think of any words to respond for a while. Ayana guessed her amazement by her silence and chuckled.
“I am working on something very important,” Ayana said as looking at Shanaya’s manuscript, “something that means a lot to me.”
Ayana hung up and settled down on the couch with the manuscript on her lap. The clouds enveloped the Sun in their embrace and the temperature began to decline further. Ayana brought some thick blankets and wrapped herself in them before sliding back on the couch. A smile brightened her face as she began reading the manuscript placed over her flexed knees. She opened the first page of the spiral bound manuscript and saw a hymn in praise of the Almighty scrawled in Shanaya’s handwriting on the first page of it. Ayana’s eyes filled up as she ran a hand over it. Shanaya was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and would never begin a new project without offering prayers to Him. Ayana’s thoughts took her back to the day of the inauguration of her agency.
The priest who was to perform the puja (prayers) associated with the inauguration ceremony had ditched them that day. Shanaya was very much determined to have another priest called upon to perform the rituals for the prosperity and success of Ayana’s agency. Unfortunately, all of the priests in the town were busy that day. The chief guest of the event, a local politician, was ready with the scissors in his hand that was eager to bite the ribbon off. But Shanaya would not let the office be inaugurated till a priest arrives and performs the puja. The atmosphere became a little tense as the elections were approaching and the leader was in a hurry. Everybody tried their best to convince Shanaya to make a little change in the schedule of the events and postone the puja. But she dismissed their pleas and kept everyone waiting. The staff members of Ayana’s agency sprang into action. They called everyone in their contact list for help but found nothing. Those who had never set their foot inside a temple throughout their life were now anxiously raiding every temple in the town to nab a priest. Some of them didn’t even hesitate to bribe the priests but got shooed away contemptuously. At last, the local party leader called his superiors and a Minister’s personal priest was sent making everyone including Shanaya heave a sigh of relief.
A smile lit up Ayana’s face as she thought of Shanaya’s blind devotion towards God and spirituality. She wondered whether the Almighty had turned blind at the time when she was being so brutally murdered. Shanaya firmly believed that God would send his angels in a human form to save His devotees from catastrophes. A dolorous sigh escaped out of her as she looked at the hymns scribbled on the manuscript and thought what had kept His angels busy on the fateful day. She turned to the flask placed on the table and poured out a little coffee as she turned to the first chapter of the manuscript. She took a sip of the coffee and began reading.
Chapter 1 - The Fragrance of Life
“It’s a boy!” Muskan giggled as she ran to her maid and hugged her ecstatically on a cold, foggy morning. “Gangu bai, do you know it’s a baby boy?”
“Who had a baby, Madam?Your cousin?” Gangu bai scratched her head as she was in a conundrum. “But how could that be? Wasn’t she in her fourth month of pregnancy?”
“Arrey!”Muskan was all smiles as she shook her head and waved both her hands in negation, “No, not her”
“Then who?” Gangu bai was perplexed as her mindscanned through the faces of all the pregnant ladies in Muskan’s friend circle and found that all of them still had time.
“Mohan,” she pounced upon her driver as soon as she saw him, “it’s a baby boy and the cutie is white as snow.”
“Who, Madam?” Mohan and Gangu bai asked in chorus.
“Who else but my Julie,” Muskan giggled again, “when I went to check on her early in the morning, I saw a little ball of fur cuddled by her side. I don’t have words to tell you how exuberant I was on seeing that little bundle of joy.”
“Oh! It was Julie.” Gangubai‘s disgust was obvious on her mean face. “I thought…well, I will make some coffee for you and sir.”
“Bring it up to the bedroom,” Muskan said as she ran up the stairs to her bedroom, “I can’t wait to break this awesome news to my darling hubby.”
“What is there to be so happy when your cat delivers another filthy kitten?” the driver asked as he turned an astonished face to the maid.
“Arrey baba, you don’t understand,” Gangu bai proudly shared her immense worldly wisdom with him, “she will never have a baby herself and that’s why she is on cloud nine when anyone else has one, whether it is a woman or a cat.”
Muskan’s feet halted on the stairs as those words swirled into her ears like molten iron. Her smile vanished and her face became flushed. She slowly ascended the rest of the stairs with a heavy heart and pushed open the door of the bedroom. Sandeep was still sleeping like a baby under the cozy comfort of the warm blankets. A smile popped up again on her long face as her eyes caressed the man she was madly in love with. Though he was in his late forties, his face still retained the charm of his youth. She walked up to the bed with stealthy steps and sat beside him on the bed. She was in no mood now to tell him about the new member in their family. She held out her hand to touch him but then some abrupt force made her immediately pull it back. She knew very well what made her do so. She felt guilty for not being able to gift h
im with a baby even after 15 long years of their marriage and in spite of several infertility treatments, prayers, wishes and tears.
He rolled over and felt her touch upon his body that made him stare at her with his partly opened somnolent eyes.
“You are up so early, baby?” he said as he grabbed her by her wrist and pressed her hand on his chest.
She nodded and instantly glued her eyes to the ground. She couldn’t meet his eyes as the burden of guilt that she was carrying upon her soul tormented her.
“Don’t think that I didn’t notice you slip out of the room every now and then last night to keep an eye on your dear Julie,” he muttered a complaint, his eyes still closed.
She gasped in surprise as she had thought that he was fast asleep. But then she smiled and shook her head. They were a part of each other and couldn’t keep anything from each other.
“So how is your Julie now?”
“She became the proud mother of a baby boy this morning.” Muskan tried to smile but her voice was drenched in grief.
“Then why do you sound so low?” Sandeep’s eyes were still closed but he could sense the pain that was ripping her apart. “Were you expecting a baby girl?”
“I know I couldn’t expect anything ever,” she said as she gulped down a lump.
Sandeep opened his eyes instantly and saw hers gleaming with tears. He pulled her down on the bed and rolled over her.
“What is your name?” he demanded looking straight into her eyes.
“Muskan,” she sobbed.
“And what does that means?”
“Smile”
“Then you have no right to cry,” he said sternly, “Either wipe your tears right away or get your name changed. Otherwise…” He flashed a naughty smile.