Forget Me Not, Stranger

by Novoneel Chakraborty

  ‘No, I won’t. Didn’t you hear? It is not important for Danny.’

  ‘It is important for you, Mini.’

  ‘No, it is not. Who are you to decide what’s important for me and what’s not?’ Rivanah was surprised at the way she was talking to the Stranger. But this is what is needed, she told herself. This person was responsible for the life-threatening incidents in her life only weeks back, but she couldn’t take it all lying down. A couple of seconds later she heard the line cut. She looked at her phone expecting another call but all that came was Danny’s WhatsApp stating he was getting bored. Rivanah quickly stepped out. She was about to join Danny at the table when five men barged into the restaurant. She identified one of them. It was Sadhu Ram. She looked at the others. Probably his men, she thought, until she looked at the one who was right in front of Sadhu Ram. She knew this man too. It was Argho Chowdhury.

  ‘We caught him red-handed with an ear piece,’ Sadhu Ram said with a victorious smile.

  17

  Rivanah, Danny, Sadhu Ram along with his men and Argho were at the Bandra police station. The way the entire thing had played out reminded Rivanah of Abhiraj and how he was caught at Starbucks some time back. The difference being previously it wasn’t the Stranger who was caught.

  ‘So, it’s all very simple: confess everything, or else we will do things our way,’ Sadhu Ram said, oddly relaxed.

  ‘Confess what?’ Argho shouted. ‘I don’t know why I’ve been brought here! Rivanah, what nonsense is going on?’

  ‘Talk to me, not to the girl,’ said Sadhu Ram, holding Argho’s chin up. He was handcuffed and made to sit on a chair in the middle of a cell, while Rivanah, Danny and the inspector in charge of the police station were standing in a circle around him.

  ‘What were you doing at Bungalow 9?’

  ‘I had a date.’

  ‘With whom? Where’s the girl?’ Sadhu Ram took Argho’s phone from his subordinate. They had confiscated it from him at the restaurant.

  Argho looked at Sadhu Ram and said uncomfortably, ‘I don’t know her.’

  Sadhu Ram smirked as if he was expecting it. ‘That, I believe. You won’t know her because there was no date. I have been following you for a week now, but haven’t seen you with any girl.’

  ‘You have been following me? For what?’

  ‘Forget that and answer me first. Who is this girl you just mentioned?’

  ‘We connected on Tinder,’ Argho said. He was speaking softly now.

  ‘Tinder? I know Tardeo but where is Tinder?’ Sadhu Ram said, looking at his subordinates for clues.

  ‘It is a dating app,’ Rivanah spoke up. ‘It is an app that you can download for free in your phone. You have to sign in through your Facebook account, after which you can find a match with prospective people.’

  ‘I have to check your phone. What’s the password?’ Sadhu Ram gave the phone to Argho after unlocking the handcuffs. He made a pattern on the screen to unlock it. Sadhu Ram took the phone away and went to Rivanah. She tapped on it few times and opened Tinder. There were five matches.

  ‘Which one?’ Sadhu Ram asked Argho.

  ‘Kanika Negi.’

  ‘Does the name ring a bell?’ Sadhu Ram asked Rivanah. Negative.

  Sadhu Ram scrolled down and, along with Rivanah, read through the messages on the Tinder chat screen. There had been around fifty messages exchanged between Argho and Kanika. It was evident they didn’t know each other and had casually decided to meet up at Bungalow 9 that night. That couldn’t have been a coincidence; Rivanah was sure of it. The moment they reached the first message—a ‘Hi’ from Argho—a new message popped up right at that instant. Both Sadhu Ram and Rivanah read it and looked at each other with fright. The message read:

  Argho is innocent. Mini is not.

  The next instant, Kanika unmatched Argho from Tinder. And her profile wasn’t live any more.

  ‘Who is Mini?’ Sadhu Ram asked.

  ‘I am,’ Rivanah said, her throat going dry.

  ‘You are Mini?’

  ‘It’s her nickname,’ Danny butted in.

  It was clear now that Argho wasn’t the Stranger. Or at least he wasn’t alone in this.

  ‘Why did the message say you are the culprit?’ Sadhu Ram looked at Rivanah.

  ‘I . . .’ She glanced at Danny and said, ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Sadhu Ram turned towards Argho and said, ‘What about the difference in the kilometre reading on your bike?’

  ‘What difference? I only use my bike sometimes, not every day.’

  ‘I know you don’t use it every day but—’

  Sadhu Ram told him about how he had found there was a difference in the kilometre reading on his bike that particular day. As the two argued over the matter, Rivanah understood once and for all: Argho wasn’t the Stranger. He was a pawn in an elaborate game. Just like she was. She couldn’t help but feel astounded at how elaborate the game really was!

  ‘What about the ear piece?’ Sadhu Ram asked. Rivanah could tell even Sadhu Ram sounded frustrated now.

  ‘That’s my ear piece. Kanika asked me to put it on as a mark of identification.’

  Argho took the phone from Rivanah and showed them the message where Kanika had written: Put on an ear piece. I’ll recognize you with it. The same Kanika whose profile had been deactivated now.

  ‘Madarchod!’ Sadhu Ram shouted, stamping his foot on the ground. He simply couldn’t take it that twice the Stranger had made a complete fool out of him. He apologized to Rivanah for the curse. Half an hour later, Sadhu Ram and the inspector on duty let Rivanah and Danny go. Argho was also allowed to leave as it was evident he was being set up.

  ‘But you may have to come up to the station if summoned,’ the inspector on duty said.

  ‘Sure. I’m not guilty of anything, so why wouldn’t I cooperate?’ Argho said taking his phone from Sadhu Ram.

  Outside, Rivanah and Danny were waiting for Argho. As he appeared, Rivanah apologized to him.

  ‘As you already know there has been some confusion. I’m really sorry for this,’ she said.

  ‘I didn’t know you had a police guy behind me! What is this all about?’

  Rivanah felt pushed to tell him about his cousin Hiya’s connection but held herself back at the last moment. By now it had become a long story. Too long indeed, she thought and said, ‘Honestly Argho, even I’m yet to figure it out.’

  ‘I completely fail to understand how I can be roped into something this serious about which I have no clue!’

  Rivanah shot an embarrassing look at Danny so he could bail her out of the situation. He understood.

  ‘We are sorry, Argho. It’s just that even we have been misled. I hope you understand. Rivanah’s intention wasn’t to malign you in any way. It was all a misunderstanding. There’s a stalker who is creating trouble. Probably the same person who connected with you via Tinder—Kanika Negi.’

  Argho stood there looking around as if he still needed to be convinced.

  ‘If the person wanted to frame me, then why would he or she message saying I’m innocent?’ Argho argued.

  Rivanah wanted to speak but didn’t. It wasn’t about Argho, she knew. It was about her. Only she knew the subtext of the last message from ‘Kanika Negi’. Argho was just a tool to mislead her, corner her and make her do things which the Stranger wanted.

  ‘I hope it gets sorted out for you fast,’ Argho said looking at Rivanah. ‘Whatever it is.’

  ‘I hope so too.’

  Argho took a cab and left. Danny climbed into his car. Rivanah excused herself and, taking a couple of steps away from the car, called her father.

  ‘Baba, did Inspector Rajat Das get in touch with you?’

  ‘No, what happened?’

  ‘Nothing. I think we should take the complaint against Argho back.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’

  ‘I am, Baba. Please take the complaint back.’

  ‘Hmm. But if not Argho then w
ho attacked you?’

  ‘I don’t know. Let them find the person if they can. But it wasn’t Argho.’

  ‘Okay, I will talk to Rajat.’

  Rivanah talked to her mother for a minute and then joined Danny in the car. After a short distance, Danny stopped the car at a street corner.

  ‘What happened?’ Rivanah asked. She had just put on some music to distract herself. Danny switched it off. Their eyes met.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Danny asked. There was a sudden harshness in his tone. She knew why.

  ‘I was about to Danny.’

  ‘About to? When? I thought you’d planned the dinner for me. For us. I thought you had dressed up for me. But—surprise, surprise—it wasn’t!’ He now sounded cross. And rightly so, Rivanah thought.

  ‘The dress, the look, it was all for you, Danny.’

  ‘Shut up. Even the dress was bugged. You knew it. I didn’t. Why?’

  ‘It was just . . . just . . .’ Rivanah couldn’t think of anything to say. And with that, she knew she had given Danny enough reason to raise a finger at her. And at her love towards him.

  ‘That’s because you don’t trust me.’

  ‘It is nothing like that. Sadhu Ram asked me not to involve anybody.’

  ‘Anybody? Okay, so after being in a relationship for more than a year now, I’m anybody to you. Great!’ Danny started the engine and put the car on gear.

  ‘I’m sorry, Danny.’

  ‘Don’t I-am-sorry me.’

  Rivanah saw that Danny felt the same disgust she had felt every time Ekansh said sorry to her.

  ‘I genuinely—’

  ‘Rivanah, I will tell you this once.’ Danny cut her short, glancing intently at her and continued, ‘I don’t like the fact that you hide things from me. If there’s anything, just let me know. Share it with me. Anything at all, okay?’

  Rivanah had to clear her throat mildly before nodding. When they reached their apartment, Danny climbed out of the car saying, ‘Please lock the car before coming. You always seem to forget.’ He was gone before she could say anything.

  In the silence of the garage, Rivanah could feel the sting of Danny’s words. Everything in her life was an irony. The one she loved first—Ekansh—had ditched her, the one who loved her next—Danny—was being kept in the dark by her. She reclined the car seat and shut her eyes, desperately wishing everything to be okay when she suddenly opened her eyes again. Hello, Mini. The entire car echoed with the two words. In a flash, she turned back and saw a small phone placed on the back seat. It had been connected to the car’s Bluetooth. The Stranger had heard her entire conversation with Danny before he got out of the car. She quickly took the phone in her hand.

  ‘You just awarded yourself a storm, Mini. Be ready now.’

  Rivanah shut her lips so tight with fear that they turned white. Swallowing a lump, she said, ‘No please, we can negotiate this, right?’

  ‘I’m not in the mood to negotiate any more, Mini.’ The line went dead. Rivanah saw a bike vroom past right in front of her car and out of the garage. She could neither see the number plate, nor the model, though she knew who it was. The one she knew nothing about.

  18

  That night, Rivanah tried her best to win Danny over, but he wouldn’t warm up to her touches or her deliberate conversation-initiating queries. She knew she should have shared everything with him but it had all happened so quickly that she had decided to tell him later. She had been confident that he would be all ears. She wasn’t expecting this cold shoulder. The way he reacted told her how less we know our partners. Living with them day in and day out, we create our own biased versions of them and start projecting our interpretations of the person on to their personality—which more often than not is far from reality. Like she would never know if Danny and Nitya had ever been close or not. Like Danny still didn’t know Rivanah had things hidden from him. Rivanah wanted to discuss this with someone, but she was sure it couldn’t be the Stranger. He may have shown her glimpses of his good soul, but overall he was a sadist, Rivanah concluded. But then . . . who else could she talk to?

  While going to the office the next day, Rivanah tapped ten digits on her phone and then pressed on the call button. She had deleted Ekansh’s number but she remembered it by heart.

  ‘Hi Rivanah. I knew you would call,’ Ekansh said, picking up the call almost immediately. Does he really mean what he said? He knew? Does Ekansh know me more than Danny does? Rivanah brushed aside these thoughts and said, ‘Ekansh, I want to ask you something. But promise me that you will answer to the point.’

  ‘I promise,’ he said after a pause.

  ‘If Tista was alive, would you have told her about what happened between us that evening?’

  ‘Look, Rivanah, we have . . .’

  ‘Just answer the question, Ekansh,’ Rivanah said and added softly, ‘Please . . .’

  She could hear him breathing.

  ‘No, I wouldn’t have told her.’

  Rivanah sighed. She needed this reassurance to validate what she was doing with Danny. She told herself that anyone in love would have done the same thing. Sometimes, lies are the only way to keep a relationship running like a well-oiled machine.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said and hung up before Ekansh could say anything else. She thought he would call her back but he didn’t. He probably knew, Rivanah wondered, that she would herself call him when needed—the way she did minutes ago.

  In office, there were a few awkward glances exchanged between Rivanah and Argho, but neither said anything. He was Hiya’s cousin, but till now he had showed no inclination whatsoever in trying to know if anything had happened between Hiya and Rivanah. He would have told Sadhu Ram during the interrogation in case he knew something. Or was he too smart for the police? Rivanah tried to forget the last thought.

  For most of the day, Rivanah kept sending emotional messages to Danny but there was no response from him. In the end, she thought she would resolve it the way most couple fights get resolved: with time, by doing nothing about it at the moment. But she was in for a surprise. An hour before her work was about to get over, she got a gift pack from the security. There was no name on it. She tore open the gift wrap to reveal a small box. She unlocked it and found two pearl earrings along with a note saying: Game for a fresh start?—D.

  She immediately called Danny up. He answered on the third ring.

  ‘Danny, you dog, I’m going to kill you,’ she said and heard him laugh. ‘Stop laughing. This isn’t funny. I have been messaging you all day like a moron.’

  ‘Serves you right,’ Danny said, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

  ‘Really? Meet me tonight and I’ll show you what suits you!’

  ‘Is that a promise?’

  ‘Like hell it is.’

  ‘I shall be waiting.’

  ‘You better.’

  ‘Love you loads.’

  ‘Love you back. When are you reaching home today?’

  ‘Latest by eight. And you?’

  ‘Should be there by nine.’

  ‘Great.’

  Rivanah then Googled ‘best sexual surprises for boyfriend’ on her desktop. A series of links appeared but just as she was about to open one, a beep on her phone stopped her. It was a WhatsApp message. The message was in the form of an image. The image was a Google map pinning her office as ‘Address A’. A blue line from this point led to a point somewhere in Kalyan which was in the outskirts of Mumbai. The end pin was labelled, to her utter shock, ‘Hiya Chowdhury’. She maximized the image on her phone. The message was obvious: Hiya, or some link to her, was in Kalyan. And Kalyan was a good two hours away from where Rivanah was at the moment. She quickly calculated: she had four hours before she had to reach her flat, just in time for Danny. Or should she go there with Danny? But what if that irks the Stranger and she misses out on the vital information on Hiya? Once again it was a catch-22 situation for Rivanah. There was no other friend whom she could request to follow her secr
etly, just in case there was danger. Ekansh’s name crossed her mind but she wasn’t sure. Only a few seconds later, she dialled Danny’s number on an impulse.

  ‘Hey baby, I’ll be home by nine. Some work has come up. I’ll call you the moment I’m done.’

  ‘In office itself?’

  ‘No.’ She swallowed a lump. ‘But somewhere nearby.’ If she said Kalyan, there can’t be any excuse for her to be there at this hour, she thought. Yet another lie. But this would be the last, she promised herself.

  ‘Just call me once around nine,’ she said, sounding pensive.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ll wrap it up quickly then,’ she said, keeping the real reason from him. Just in case something happened, someone should have the right doubt at the right time.

  ‘All right. I’ll call you at nine,’ Danny said.

  ‘Thanks. Muah. Love you.’

  Rivanah took a cab to Andheri railway station, took the metro till Ghatkopar and then a local train from the central line to reach Kalyan. Exhaustion made her doze off in the train itself. She was woken up by a fellow passenger when Kalyan—the last station on the line—arrived. Little did she know that someone was following her.

  Once she came out of the rather busy Kalyan railway station, she took a cab without knowing where to go. She glanced at the image of the map once and told the cab driver she would guide him to the destination. Half a minute later, the person following her also hailed a cab and asked the driver to follow hers.

  After about twenty five minutes, Rivanah reached the spot marked on the map. From inside the cab she tried to look out. There was nothing around. She opened the car’s door and stepped out. She had no idea where she was. She tried to extract her location via Google but realized her mobile Internet wasn’t working.

  ‘Madam, rukna hai ya jaun?’ the cab driver popped his head out of the window and asked. She knew there wasn’t any chance of getting public transport in such a place and—her eyes fell on an ATM a few metres away. Strangely, the light inside the ATM was flickering.

  ‘Madam?’ the driver egged on.

  Rivanah quickly took out her purse. To her surprise, she was short of the fare. In fact, all she had was a ten rupee note. She frowned, not remembering how much she was carrying. She told the driver she would need to take money out of the ATM, realizing this could well be part of the plan. Was the clue to Hiya inside the ATM? Was the flickering of light a ploy to attract my attention? Did someone empty my wallet when I dozed off in the train so that I have no option but to use the ATM?