The Cryptic Clue

by Jisha Rajesh

  Years of regular meditation and the challenges of his job in the police department had taught Varun control over his mind in difficult situations and not to panic for it may prove even fatal than the real enemy. He mustered all his strength, rolled over the assailant and pounced over him. The powerful counter-attack outraged the assailant and turned him into a blood-thirsty, ferocious beast. He roared like a monster and pushed Varun back on the floor again. His eyes burnt with rage as he pressed it with a tremendous force on Varun’s throat. Varun had made an estimation of the strength and resilience of his opponent by now. He realized that the monster was an impulsive creature and such people become trapped in the grip of fear easily. As he stumbled upon the weak points of his opponent, he felt an immense wave of courage swell inside of him. The courage gave him a divine strength and he pushed the assailant away. He rolled over and fell far away from Varun. Before he could recover, Varun sprang to his feet and ran towards the rod that was lying partially on the ground while its other end was on the room heater.

  As he was about to pick the rod up, he got hit by a severe blow on his head. The assailant had recovered earlier than he had expected. Blood gushed out of his forehead and dribbled down his face. The enemy was much alert and strong than he had assumed. But Varun was not among those who gave up easily. As it was clear to Varun that his enemy couldn’t be vanquished by power, he decided to defeat him by deceit. He held his head in his hands and crashed on the floor. The villain fell prey to his trap and assumed that he won the battle. The parlor echoed with the roar of his demoniac laughter. Varun opened his eyes a little and watched the scoundrel turn his back to him. He knew that the intruder was not going to leave without ending his game. He was in preparation for a final attack. Before he could make his move, Varun picked up the rod and stood on his feet. The star on the end of the rod was red hot by now as it had been lying on the burning coils of the heater. He hit the intruder with the rod. The sweltering star burnt through his skin and he let out a thundering roar out of pain. Varun seized the chance and tried to arrest him. But as Varun had calculated, the villain panicked and pushed him away. He ran towards the open balcony, jumped down and merged with the darkness of the foggy night. Varun watched him vanish but was not in a condition to follow him. He felt dizzy and staggered back to the parlor and soon collapsed down on the floor.

  * *

  Ayana turned the key of her apartment and was knocked down by a feather as soon as she stepped in. The parlor was beautifully embellished with balloons and ribbons that glowed in the light of many splendid candles that were lit all around it. But her face turned pale instantly as she took a few steps ahead and found Varun lying on the floor in a pool of his blood.

  “Varun!” she ran to him and placed his head on her lap.

  “I am fine,” Varun said to reassure her, “It’s just a scratch.”

  She helped him to the couch and made him lay down on it. She ran to her bedroom and brought the first-aid box. She dressed his wounds and poured a glass of water for him. Varun started feeling somewhat better.

  “Thank God! The wounds are only minor ones,” Ayana said as blood returned to her face, “What has happened to you, Varun? What were you doing here? And what is all this,” she asked pointing towards the ribbons and balloons.

  Varun opened his mouth to explain but then his eyes fell on the blood spread upon the floor. The intruder had stepped over his blood while fleeing leaving a trail throughout his way. Varun’s eyes widened in amazement as he noticed something peculiar in them.

  “What is it, Varun?” Ayana turned a perplexed face to him.

  “The footprints”

  “What Varun?”Ayana asked impatiently, “tell me who did this to you?”

  “Well.” Varun realized Ayana was utterly disturbed and he shouldn’t burden her anymore by revealing his findings. “I came here to throw a surprise party for you on your birthday. But somebody was already waiting here with an even better surprise for me. See, how grotesquely he has surprised me.”

  Varun pointed toward his bandages and smiled in attempt to subdue the tense atmosphere and make her laugh. But she kept staring at him grimly and on the verge of tears.

  “Who?” Before Ayana could question him further, the doorbell rang. Ayana shuddered and held on to Varun’s hand while shaking like a leaf.

  “Go and open the door baby, it’s your birthday cake.” Varun said as he kissed her, “Happy birthday, my love.”

  Ayana walked up to the door with hesitant steps and opened it with shaking hands. As her eyes fell on the marvelous cake, she forgot about her anxieties and smiled.

  “Wow!” she said as she rolled the trolley with the cake in. “It’s such a lovely cake, Varun.”

  “Well then, get ready for one more surprise,” Varun smiled in spite of his bruised and swollen jaws.

  “Now what?” Ayana closed her hands over her chest with a wide smile.

  Varun tried to put his hand into the pocket of his trousers but he couldn’t because of his injured shoulder that restricted the movement of his arm. He made another try but ended up groaning in pain.

  “Well!” he said as he finally surrendered, “you have to get it yourself, I guess. It’s in here.”

  Ayana slid her curious hands into his pocket and drew out a small heart-shaped box made of red velvet. Her gaze swung eagerly between the box she was holding in her hands to Varun, who was smiling by her side.

  “Open it please,” Varun finally said as he saw her staring at the closed box with avid eyes.

  Ayana smiled as the sparkle of a beautiful diamond reflected perfectly in her eyes.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Ayana said as she picked the ring up from the box.

  Varun took the ring from her as he watched her eyes fill up. He tried to slid the ring on her finger but had to seek her help again as his aching body wouldn’t allow him to move much. A silent tear escaped out of her eyes as the ring took her finger in an everlasting embrace. Varun felt an immense urge to kiss her as passionately as he had last night. But he found it better to reign over such extravagant urges as it may cause further discomfort to his badly shattered body. Ayana cupped his face and pulled him close as if she’d read his mind. She lightly brushed her lips on his so that it won’t cause him much pain. But her touch made him mad with passion and he pounced over her forgetting about his injuries.

  “Ouch!” he groaned out of pain as he felt all his bones crumbling down.

  “You must learn to pull the reign on your horses, Officer Patel,” Ayana chuckled.

  “How could I?” Varun smiled in spite of the stabbing pain, “You are such a delectable dish, baby.”

  “I will get the hot water bag for you,” Ayana said as she got up, “It will alleviate the pain.”

  “Not now,” he pulled on her hand, “let’s celebrate your birthday first.”

  “But Varun…” Before Ayana could finish the doorbell rang again and she gasped out of fear.

  “Don’t worry,” Varun chuckled at her ashen face, “now it’s the turn for a special surprise for your taste buds.”

  “All of my favorite Chinese dishes!” Her mouth watered as she brought the packets in and opened them. “Varun, you are such a sweetheart!!”

  She ecstatically threw her hands around him.

  “Easy baby,” he said as his wounds wailed, “right now I am a like the crushed pulp of an over ripe mango.”

  Ayana burst out laughing as she picked up the knife to cut the cake.

  Chapter – 6- Her Confession

  Ayana turned to her side on the bed to escape from the strong rays of the Sun that pierced in through her closed eyes. She held out her hand and felt for Varun sleeping by her side on the bed with her eyes still tightly closed. She opened her eyes slowly as she realized that he was not there. She looked all around the room for him.

  “Good morning baby,” Varun said as he stepped out of the closet dressed in his uniform.

  “Where are you going?” she asked as s
he struggled to keep her eyes open against the sharp rays of the sun.

  “Work baby,” he said as he tucked his gun in.

  “But it’s a Sunday, Varun.”

  “I know,” he stood before the mirror and combed his hair, “But I have an urgent meeting with some senior officials.”

  “You still look frail,” Ayana sat upon the bed as her concern filled eyes caressed his wounds, “I don’t think you should go. You need some more rest.”

  “No baby,” he said as he sat beside her on the bed, “I am fine now and I have to go as the meeting is really important for all of us. But I promise you that I will be back soon with your usual quota of Chinese food.”

  “Are you trying to bribe me so that you can bail yourself out?” Ayana tilted her head towards him and looked straight into his eyes.

  “Don’t you know the way to one’s heart is through their stomach?”he said chuckling, “I am just trying to make my way to your heart.”

  “I am not going to fall for the charms of your cheesy lines.” Ayana moved far away from him on the bed.

  “But your charms have made me fall for you,” he said as he crawled up to her.

  “You promised me yesterday that we will be going for the matinee show today.” Ayana glared at him.

  “Make it the night show, baby,” Varun said as he glanced at his wrist watch, “I will be back by evening.”

  “Fine,” Ayana said as she rushed out of the bed and ran to the closet, “I will make you some breakfast.”

  “I am already late, Ayana,” Varun complained, “I will have something on my way.”

  “No, Varun,” she scolded him like an overprotective mother, “I am not going to let you have all that junk food. Just give me five minutes and I will feed you some good homemade food.”

  “Feed me as much as you wish,” Varun said as he slid down on the bed, “I need lots of stamina to face the IG’s wrath for arriving late for the meeting.”

  * *

  Ayana’s fingers kept pressing on the remote control of her television as the channels kept flashing one after the other in front of her weary eyes. She was angry with Varun for ditching her and leaving her alone to die of boredom on a colorful Sunday morning. Nothing could seize her interest for long and she switched the idiot-box off after a while. She picked up a few magazines and absent-mindedly flipped through their pages.

  ‘These magazine are even boring than the soap operas on television,’ Ayana thought as she yawned incessantly while going through them.

  She put them back and slid down on the couch. The next moment she jumped up as she had a brainwave.

  “How could I be so forgetful?” Ayana blurt out slapping her head. “The manuscript, I can utilize the time that I have in hand to work on the manuscript till Varun returns.”

  She ran to the kitchen hurriedly as excitement brimmed in her eyes and made some coffee. She poured it in a mug and filled the rest of it in a thermostat flask. She took ito her study and placed them on the desk. She picked up the key of her drawer and turned it open. As her gaze fell on the drawer, her eyes turned stony out of shock right away and the blood drained off her face. The manuscript was not there. She gulped down heavily to calm down her erratically beating heart and frantically searched all other drawers as well. Anxiety took over her as she drew a blank in every shelf and drawer of her study. She ran back to her bedroom hoping that she may have carelessly left it there after reading. In a furious frenzy, she searched the cupboards and the drawers there but still couldn’t find the manuscript. She ran a thorough search in every nook and corner of the house and fell on her knees as the truth dawned upon her. Her mind instantly thought of the fatal attack on Varun the day before.

  “The intruder was after the manuscript,” she sobbed and dropped down on the floor almost insensibly. She drew her limbs to her chest and curled into a ball while deliriously repeating, “It’s gone!”

  She woke up with a startle by the ringing of the clock. The guilt of losing the precious manuscript began haunting her as soon as she came to her senses.

  “I must tell him,” she muttered, “he has every right to know. I should meet Mr Kumar as early as possible and tell him that the manuscript his late wife handed me for editing has gone missing.”

  She picked herself up from the floor and walked away with a determined stride.

  * *

  Ayana felt sorry for Mr Kumar as she waited outside his office. To get over the grief, he had completely submerged himself in his work since he had lost his beloved companion. He asked her to come to his office when she called him for an appointment. It tore at her heart when she came to know that he was in his office on a Sunday as well. His receptionist informed her that he was in midst of a meeting with one of his clients and has asked her to wait. Ayana seated herself on a cozy sofa outside his cabin with a rocketing heart.

  ‘How am I going to tell him,’ Ayana thought as her face turned pale, ‘that I have lost the last one of her creative marvels that was sure to take the market by storm and top the list of the bestsellers. I am sure his lawyers are going to sue me. But I won’t blame him for doing so as I aptly deserve to be persecuted for what I have done.’

  She rubbed her profusely sweating hands nervously on her skirt and flashed a jittered smile at the receptionist who faced her with a deadly, bored expression glued to her face. Ayana understood that working on holidays was a way of getting over his grief for Mr Kumar but it was a brutal torture for his staff as was evident from the weary face of his receptionist.

  “Shall I get you something?” the receptionist asked Ayana as she saw her shivering with anxiety.

  “No, I am fine,” Ayana flashed a pretentious smile, “Thank you so much.”

  The girl threw a perplexed stare at her and then picked up her mobile phone. As it was a holiday, there was neither much rush in the office nor did she have too many calls to attend. Soon, she became busy with her phone and turned her attention from Ayana. She typed on her phone with the speed of light and from the flirtatious smile that curved up on her lips, Ayana guessed that maybe she was chatting with her beau. Ayana dragged her eyes away from her to allow her some privacy and looked around. Mr Kumar’s office was luxurious and its splendid interiors spoke of grandeur.

  ‘His office has to be grand,’ Ayana nodded as she thought, ‘after all his establishment is the leading one in the business world.’

  Ayana smiled as she looked at the pre-occupied receptionist who was absolutely unaware of the world around her.

  ‘Mr Kumar took his company to new heights of success only by his sheer determination, will power and hard work. Although,’ Ayana frowned, ‘a few months ago, there were some rumors that his company is crashing down under a financial crisis But he clearly denied such allegations from the media and labeled it as a conspiracy by his rivals.’

  A phone placed on the receptionist’s desk buzzed and diverted her attention from her rosy world. She put her phone down instantly and picked the receiver up.

  “Mr Kumar is ready to see you, Ma’am,” the receptionist said making Ayana’s heart race.

  She somehow dragged herself up from the sofa and hesitantly crawled like a snail towards his cabin.

  * *

  Ayana knocked at the door of his cabin and gulped down to moisten her parched throat as she waited for his response.

  “Come in,” a heavy baritone beckoned her in the most genteel way as was possible.

  She remained rooted outside the door for a split second as she was in a dilemma whether to break the news to the already broken man or to remain tight-lipped about it. But then Shanaya’s words from one of her novels flashed in front of Ayana’s eyes.

  “The path of truth and righteousness is full of thorns but it is the right one to take.”

  Ayana drew a deep breath and stepped inside. Sujan Kumar was sitting on his chair and his eyes were glued to his laptop on which his hands tapped incessantly. He was more than six feet tall and well built. His dark comp
lexion only added a charm to his diligently sculptured face. His bluish-grey eyes shielded behind broad-rimmed spectacles were brimming with confidence and acuity and bore a peculiar spell that compelled people to become riveted to them. He was still a treat to sore eyes despite of his advancing age’s tremendous attempts to devastate his charms. Ayana was assured once again that the description of the protagonist Sandeep in Shanaya’s story was a cent percent match to Mr Kumar.

  “Good afternoon, Mr Kumar,” Ayana wished him while trying her best to present a smile.

  Kumar momentarily raised his eyes from the laptop and nodded to her with a casual smile.

  “Have a seat, Ayana,” he said as he quickly waved a hand towards the empty chairs opposite his desk and darted his eyes back to the laptop. “It feels good to see you after a long time.”

  Ayana deduced by the dead tone of his voice that those were merely pleasant words with no ring of conviction in them. While Shanaya was alive, Kumar always remained distant from Ayana even though she was one of Shanaya’s best friends. Sometimes, Ayana had even doubted whether Mr Kumar considered her as a barrier between him and his loving wife.

  “Thank you, Mr Kumar,” Ayana cleared her throat and looked at him furtively as she hesitated to tell him the truth.

  ‘If the cold look on his face could be translated into words,’ Ayana thought as she tried her hand at face reading, ‘It will say: blurt out what you have to and leave the place. I have lots of work to do and have no time to waste on your morose dilly-dallying.’

  Ayana decided to get straight to the issue as she had already read his mind.

  “Mr Kumar,” Ayana gathered herself with a great effort, “Shanaya Ma’am handed me a manuscript to edit.”

  “Hmm,”he nodded knowingly with his eyes still glued to the laptop.