EX

by Novoneel Chakraborty

  ‘Your silence tells me you did say this.’ Dr Iyer continued, ‘Why? Why did you initiate such a nasty rumour about a decent girl who is also your classmate?’

  Neel was still quiet.

  ‘Answer me Neel or else I will have to call your parents.’

  ‘Ma’am please don’t report this to my parents,’ Neel pleaded.

  ‘Then answer me with honesty.’

  ‘Titiksha asked me to.’

  I couldn’t believe he had taken my name. And did he say I ‘asked’ him to?

  ‘What nonsense are you saying Neel! I had only suggested it to you to make you happy. The final decision was yours,’ I screamed.

  Dr Iyer looked shocked beyond belief.

  ‘Titiksha, you suggested him to write such a nasty thing about yourself?’

  This time I was quiet.

  ‘Alright I want to meet both your parents tomorrow first thing in the morning,’ Dr Iyer declared.

  ‘Ma’am…’

  ‘Bring your guardians Titiksha. Avni. you may leave.’ She had given the bitch a clean-chit.

  I saw Neel almost pleading to Dr Iyer to take back her decision of summoning his parents but she didn’t. And I didn’t know how on earth was I going to tell Ashok mama and Bijoya mami about why they were being summoned to school?

  Chapter 11

  WILL NEEL GET TO THE OTHER GUY TITIKSHA WAS DATING?

  What is Inspector Parimal Biswas’s uniform doing in Nivrita’s bedroom?

  This is what Neel wanted to ask the moment he came out of the bedroom wearing one of the knickers which could have also belonged to Parimal Biswas. Not that he has any issue with Parimal, but somehow from the time Neel saw the uniform, he hasn’t been able to take his mind off it. It would have been better if he had talked about it before Nivrita started narrating the story, but he decides against it and keeps his query for when they take a break.

  Nivrita is in the kitchen preparing Spanish omelette for both. Neel stands by the kitchen door and asks, ‘What’s your boy-mate’s name?’

  ‘Huh?’ Nivrita turns to look at him in a flash and then carries on making the omelette.

  ‘The name of your boy-mate?’

  ‘Parimal. Why?’

  ‘I saw his uniform behind the door.’

  ‘Oh okay.’ Nivrita transfers the omelettes from the pan onto two separate plates. She picks two forks from a nearby stand and brings the two plates to Neel. He takes one plate, one fork, and together they head to the hall.

  ‘I have met him.’

  ‘You have? Where?’

  ‘He came to my place. Dad had called him to investigate Titiksha’s missing case.’

  ‘What a coincidence!’ Nivrita sits on the two sitter sofa, legs curled up, and switches on the television. She surfs the channels when Neel suddenly asks her to stop at one particular channel where a Bengali television serial is being shown.

  ‘Hey, that’s Arindam, my colleague,’ exclaims Neel.

  ‘The one you met while we were coming from the airport?’

  ‘Yes. What is he doing?’

  ‘Well, now you know why he left his job. He is an actor.’

  ‘I never knew he liked acting.’

  ‘We don’t know a lot of things about others.’ Nivrita changes the channel and puts on Discovery TLC (Travel and Living channel).

  ‘You like this channel?’ Neel says making himself feel comfortable; on the corner of the three-sitter couch where Nivrita had been narrating the story to him earlier.

  ‘I always have.’ Nivrita has her eyes fixed on the television.

  ‘Even Titiksha liked it.’

  ‘Liked?’ She shoots a glance at him.

  ‘Likes,’ Neel corrects himself even though the correction is incorrect. Titiksha is now past tense.

  ‘Hmm, I know.’

  ‘You know?’

  ‘I have met Titiksha once, remember, at your place.’

  They discussed their favourite television channels on the first meet? Weird.

  There is silence as Neel observes Nivrita digging into her omelette in total bliss. He came to her flat believing they would have a good sex session, but not for once did she give him a signal that she was interested in him sexually whereas the Nivrita he met in Jaipur seemed carnally possessed. Maybe Parimal has been keeping her satisfied.

  ‘When will Parimal be back?’

  ‘No idea. He never tells me. I never ask either. He has the key.’

  ‘Don’t you ever feel bad that he is cheating on you?’

  Nivrita gives him a look as if she doesn’t know what he is talking about.

  ‘You told me once that you thought he was having an affair, right?’

  ‘Maybe he does have a dozen affairs; how does it matter to me? Initially I was a bit pissed but then I thought he isn’t my property. All I care is he is here when I’m horny.’

  Neel feels disgusted by the way she puts it. How can sex be everything in a relationship? Sex may at best lure one into a relationship but it’s love that decides whether the relationship shall sustain or not.

  ‘Don’t you have a heart?’ Neel can’t believe he said it aloud.

  Nivrita looks at him sharply and says, ‘Someone burnt my heart long back. Now I only have hormones. And whenever they flare up, I call up my boy-mate.’

  I call up my boy-mate. I call up…Neel springs on his feet.

  Finally he has got a way to get hold of the other guy Titiksha was dating, and who he suspects must have murdered her.

  ‘I need to go.’

  ‘Where?’ Nivrita puts her legs down.

  ‘I’ll be back soon.’ Neel sprints towards the door, opens it, and runs out.

  It’s only while calling for a taxi that Neel realizes he is in knickers and doesn’t have his wallet either. More importantly, even his flat keys are in his jeans’ pocket. He goes up this time in the elevator. As the door opens he sees Nivrita standing there with his jeans.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I think I know how to get to the other guy Titiksha was dating.’

  ‘Was? How can you be sure she isn’t dating him anymore?’

  ‘I’ll explain later.’

  ‘You better be back soon.’

  ‘I will.’

  Neel grabs his jeans, goes inside, and comes back within seconds wearing it. He takes the elevator and disappears from sight.

  Once there, Neel unlocks the flat in an uber-excited manner and saunters into his bedroom. On the table where he usually sits and writes, he finds the thing for which he has come rushing up all the way—Titiksha’s mobile phone. He had found it in the washroom in a dismantled condition. It takes a minute for Neel to put the battery, sim card, and finally he switches on the phone. Neel’s heart is galloping like a racing horse. He puts on the date and time and then after the phone has loaded properly, he checks the contacts. There are a total of only one contact.: ‘Chocopie’. Neel checks the number. It’s not his. Who else will Titiksha call Chocopie? He tries to dial ‘Chocopie’ but notices there’s no network.

  Neel dials Chocopie’s number from his own mobile phone. It rings but nobody picks up. He calls again. No answer. Then again. This time someone cuts the line. Neel is sure someone has noticed his call. He tries again. The call is taken.

  ‘Hello?’ Neel says with an anxious voice. Nobody talks back.

  ‘Hello?’ Neel can hear someone breathe.

  ‘I know you’re there. So why aren’t you talking?’

  A hiatus later Neel adds, ‘I also know what you did to Titiksha. But I will get you for this. You get it?’

  The line is cut. Neel looks at the phone. And dials again. This time a mechanical voice says that the phone is switched off.

  ‘Motherfucker.’ He has the other guy’s number now but still doesn’t know who the guy is. Should he call the mobile company customer care service and request for the name of the owner of the number? Neel decides to try.

  ‘Can you please tell me which network this numbe
r belongs to?’

  ‘No sir. I don’t have the liberty of telling you that. Can I help you with anything else?’

  Yes, go fuck yourself Neel thinks, but says, ‘No, thanks.’

  It’s then that Neel realizes that he is in his flat. The same rented flat where Titiksha too is present but in a different form. Neel suddenly feels fear chaining him down. He thinks Titiksha will call out to him from the refrigerator. He closes his eyes hoping to get out of this situation as soon as possible. He shouldn’t be hiding Titiksha’s body parts like that. It’s not good. He should inform someone soon.

  With steps made heavy with fear Neel goes to the kitchen. It’s dark. He switches on the light. Then he approaches the refrigerator and with trembling hands slowly opens its door. The packet is still there. Neel sits down on the floor.

  ‘I’m sorry Titiksha. I’m so damn sorry.’ He sobs for some time. He then rubs his eyes and gets out of the flat.

  An hour later, Neel is back at Nivrita’s place. Looking at his swollen eyes she can tell something is terribly wrong.

  ‘What is it that you are hiding, Neel?’ she asks as they settle down on the couch. This is the second time in the day that she has asked him this.

  ‘I didn’t do it.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I didn’t kill Titiksha.’ Neel says, his entire body shuddering. He can hide it no more.

  ‘What are you saying?’ Nivrita is shell-shocked.

  It takes two minutes for Neel to relay whatever happened from the time he saw the blood smeared clothes in front of his rented flat till he found the flesh pieces in his washing machine.

  ‘Someone killed Titiksha, chopped her into pieces, and left her remains in the washing machine,’ Neel is surprised by h ow easily it all is coming to him unlike what he had thought.

  ‘Calm down.’ Nivrita goes close to him and takes him in her embrace. Neel holds onto the embrace and continues to cry.

  ‘I loved her. I loved Titiksha. I wanted to marry her. Now I won’t ever be able to get her.’

  Listening to Neel ranting about his love for Titiksha, Nivrita doesn’t budge. As if she has developed emotional insulation and that no amount of emotions can touch her. Her hand mechanically moves on Neel’s back trying to calm him down.

  ‘What did you go to your flat for?’ she asks.

  ‘I have the number of the guy she was dating.’

  Nivrita breaks the embrace and looks at his teary eyes.

  ‘You know his name?’

  ‘That’s the problem. I called but he didn’t talk and then switched off the phone.’

  ‘Give me the number,’ Nivrita says and takes her phone in her hand and gives Neel his phone from beside the couch.

  As Neel calls out the number, Nivrita punches the digits in True Caller, an Android app which displays the person’s name on which a specific phone number is registered.

  Once done, Nivrita touches the ‘search’ button on her phone and waits. Neel too waits with a blank face. A couple of seconds later Nivrita looks up at him with a bewildered look.

  ‘What happened? Got any name?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Parimal Biswas.’

  FROM NEEL’S MANUSCRIPT

  16

  I didn’t talk to Neel the day we were summoned to the principal’s office. In fact, he too didn’t make any attempt to talk to me. We maintained a distance surprisingly with the same ease with which we used to be together on other days. It made me wonder what this relationship was. At times it seemed as unbeatable as time, and at other times, as manipulative as fate. It anyways was not the numero uno fear on my list that day. The primary fear was how Ashok mama and Bijoya mami would react when I tell them about the principal’s summon.

  I couldn’t tell them in the evening after returning from school. I wanted to but whenever I passed by them, I felt so choked with fear and anxiety that nothing came out of me. And the more it stayed within me, the more it throttled me. During dinner, not a single bolus of food went down my throat, but still I pretended as if all was fine.

  When Yo-didun enquired why was I holding onto a fake face all evening, I broke down. I finally confessed to her what the problem was. I couldn’t look her in the eyes after my confession. She only asked me if it was the truth: if I had actually made-out with Neel? I rightfully denied it. She was quiet for some time and then asked me to be brave. It made me sob further for I thought she meant I won’t get any support from anyone. She was right.

  I thought I would first tell my mother about the matter but it was Yo-didun who prepared me to relay it to mama since I was staying with him. Moreover, I didn’t want to bother my mother. Later that night, when mama and mami were about to retire to bed after dinner Yo-didun took me to their room.

  ‘Titiksha wants to tell you something,’ Yo-didun said. She took a step back and pushed me a little forward as mama switched on the tubelight.

  ‘Yes, what is it?’ he said.

  I turned to look at Yo-didun. She gave me an assuring look. I looked at mama and said, ‘Dr Iyer wants to meet you tomorrow.’

  ‘Who is Dr Iyer?’

  ‘She is the principal of my school.’

  There was a momentary silence.

  ‘I knew such a day will come!’ Bijoya mami climbed down from the bed. Her tone told me she was all ready and charged up to make a hue and cry over it. But mama cut her short.

  ‘One minute,’ he told her. ‘What is it about?’ he asked me.

  ‘Someone has spread a rumour about me and she needs to talk to you about it.’

  ‘What rumour?’ Bijoya mami was sharp.

  ‘That I have an affair with a boy.’ I couldn’t tell him the actual rumour.

  ‘Oh God! All our prestige will go to the gutters now.’ Bijoya mami shouted. Mama looked at me with contempt for some time, and then slapped me hard across the face. I stood still. I had expected this.

  ‘Is this why your parents have left you with me? To bring shame to me and my family?’

  By then my two cousin brothers had also come to the room.

  ‘Don’t beat her. It’s just a rumour,’ Yodidun protested but mama asked her to go to her room.

  ‘There’s no smoke without fire,’ Bijoya mami chipped in.

  Yo-didun took me along with her before mama could hit me again. I called up Neel but he didn’t pick up the call. I desperately wanted to talk to him.

  Though I told my mama and mami it was a rumour, he didn’t care about it. He would have probably killed me if it was the truth instead of a rumour. According to them a mere rumour, a baseless accusation would bring shame to their household. Not for a single second did they behave as if they would protect me in case it’s proved that I was right about it being a rumour. I was screwed both ways. I was sure that had it been his son, he would have said the other girl was at fault. At that point I realized why Neel didn’t pick up the call. At his place his parents must have blamed me, the girl, for dragging him, the boy, and his family in the rumour-ruckus. His mom didn’t like me anyway. I was sure she would hate me even more now. How this would affect Neel and my love story, I didn’t know. I prayed hard at least he would understand me. I know Neel feared his parents a lot, but then I also knew he loved me a lot. Spreading the rumour was suggested by me, I agree, but only to get rid of the TIGF tag and the relentless mockery, bordering on harassment, we both were subjected to in school.

  I kept thinking every possible shit that could happen to me. I didn’t know when I slept. The morning arrived. I spoke absolutely nothing while going through my routine chores before going to school. Then I went to school with mama.

  Chapter 12

  IS TITIKSHA’S BOYFRIEND AND NIVRITA’S BOY-MATE THE SAME?

  ‘He is not picking up my call,’ Nivrita says aghast after dialling Parimal’s number for quite a number of times.

  ‘Is this the same Parimal Biswas? Your boy-mate?’ Neel asked with a voice half dry with astonishment and half wet with
curiosity.

  ‘It has to be. The name can’t be a coincidence. The son-of-a-bitch was fucking me at night and dating Titiksha during the day.’ Even Nivrita looks shaken with the development.

  ‘But why Titiksha? And you?’ Neel is tense.

  ‘What’s common between Titiksha and me?’ Nivrita looks at him for an answer.

  Neel thinks for a moment.

  ‘I am.’

  ‘But why you?’

  ‘Yeah, why me?’ Neel almost echoes Nivrita.

  ‘Do you know Parimal from before?’

  Does he? Neel thinks hard. No! He has seen Parimal only once. At his place when his father had called him to investigate Titiksha’s missing case. In that case, even his parents didn’t know him. But if Parimal Biswas is Titiksha’s boyfriend and Nivrita’s boy-mate, does it mean even Nivrita’s life is in danger now. Neel’s heart skips a beat.

  ‘But how do you know its Parimal who murdered Titiksha?’ Nivrita says.

  ‘C’mon. There can’t be anyone else. She never mixed with many people. His number in Titiksha’s phone can’t be a coincidence. I’m sure he knew me the day we met at my parents’ place. I could sense that he did. His body language was such that it seemed as if he knew me from somewhere. I’m sure he asked Titiksha about me. The only thing I need to know now is why did he do it? Why did Parimal have to kill Titiksha?’

  ‘Maybe because she realized her mistake and didn’t want to marry him after all?’ Nivrita says.

  ‘Enough of maybe’s. There are hundreds of them. I want to know why exactly he did this,’ Neel retorts.

  A haunting silence follows. Neither of them is comfortable in it.

  ‘You should have reported it to the police then and there,’ Nivrita says sounding pensive. ‘Now you don’t have an alibi Neel. The police will think you are cooking up a story.’

  ‘That’s what Parimal’s intention is. Unless we get him to confess.’

  ‘Right. Let’s get him.’

  ‘Not we, I’ll get him. You wait here and don’t open the door till I’m here. Not even if Parimal comes. I don’t trust that bastard.’