Red Suits You

by Novoneel Chakraborty

  Kanav went to Oak Lounge. There were dizzying lights, loud music and too many people but Kanav managed to find a seat. He ordered a beer and noticed Meenakshi playing the music. She waved at him. He waved back. For the next couple of hours he sat alone, looking around at nothing in particular and finishing his beer. Once Meenakshi was done, she joined him.

  ‘You look a little down. What happened? Didn’t like my music?’ she said. She was carrying a pint of beer.

  ‘Just a little messed up,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, what happened?’

  ‘Can we leave please?’ he asked.

  The next moment both were walking side by side outside the lounge. The road was quiet.

  ‘If something’s bothering you, I’m all ears,’ Meenakshi said.

  ‘I was engaged a year and a half ago to this girl. We truly loved each other. But then she died in an unfortunate accident, and now I think she is back,’ Kanav said.

  Meenakshi’s jaws dropped slightly. She gave him a tell-me-you-are-kidding look. It was then he realized he had made it all sound like a horror film plot.

  ‘I didn’t mean to freak you out. Actually, I’ve got a new neighbour. And the person has strong similarities with my dead fiancé,’ he clarified.

  ‘Like they look similar? A lookalike?’ Meenakshi asked, seemingly interested.

  ‘I don’t know. But my gut tells me it’s her.’

  ‘But you know, right, it’s not possible that it could be her?’ Meenakshi said.

  They walked for some time in silence. Kanav apologized for spoiling the evening.

  ‘I think I need some time alone.’

  ‘Take your time. I’m not running away anywhere,’ Meenakshi said, giving him a peck.

  Kanav drove back. When Kanav stepped out of the elevator onto his floor, he turned to look at the neighbour’s door. It was ajar. There was a strong impulse within Kanav to approach the door. And he did. He tried to peep in through the door but nothing was visible. He pressed the doorbell. No response. Impatience now calling the shots for Kanav, he pushed the door open. He stepped in saying, ‘Hello, anybody in there?’

  His legs froze the moment he entered and turned to his right. On the couch in the hall Kashika lay dead in a pool of blood.

  CHAPTER 5

  Kanav didn’t know what to do, seeing Kashika lying dead with blood all over her face. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Was he hallucinating? Was Kashika real? How could it be? With shivering hands he took out his phone. He tried calling Anahita but there was no network. It had been a problem in his building for a few months now. He somehow managed to go towards his flat. He unlocked the main door and entered the hall. When he reached his usual spot in the bedroom where the network always caught up, he was able to dial Anahita. In a nervous and shaky tone he relayed what he had seen. Anahita asked him to stay put. She would join him soon. Kanav cut the call and went to his neighbour’s flat again. The door was as he had left it. He entered only to get the second shock of his life. There was no dead body. No blood. Nothing. He broke down as he slid with his back against the door, falling on the floor with a thump.

  In the next half hour Anahita joined him. He was still sitting by the neighbour’s door, looking distressed.

  ‘What happened? Where’s the dead body you saw?’ she said, peeping inside the flat and finding nobody.

  ‘It wasn’t here when I came back from my flat.’

  Anahita gave him a confused look.

  ‘Believe me, Anahita. I saw Kashika dead, right there.’ Kanav lifted his finger to show her.

  ‘Okay, let’s go to your flat. Is that the one?’

  Kanav nodded. Anahita helped him get up. She took him to his flat where she prepared some black coffee for him. Kanav kept on convincing her that he had indeed seen the dead body. He wanted to go inside the flat again, but Anahita stopped him.

  ‘We should go in only if there’s someone else with us. Do you understand we can both be booked for trespassing?’ Kanav eventually calmed down but the image of a dead Kashika didn’t leave him. Once they finished coffee, Anahita told him to meet her at the clinic first thing the next morning. Kanav agreed. Her boyfriend called and she took her leave. He saw the neighbour’s door was closed when Anahita left.

  Kanav couldn’t sleep at night. At around 2 a.m. he sat up on the bed. Curiosity made him check whether the neighbour’s flat was closed or if it was the way he and Anahita had left it. One look through the peephole and he realized the flat’s door was ajar again.

  Kanav unlocked his door and went to the neighbour’s flat. He locked the door from inside and switched on the light. The hall was nicely done. No trace of blood or any struggle either. He went further inside. The bedrooms were empty, without any kind of furniture. It seemed odd. As he was moving out to the balcony, he heard a ring. He had not brought his phone. So where was it coming from? He followed the ring. It took him to the bathroom where inside a soap case he found an old Nokia phone. A number, which wasn’t saved in the phone, was flashing. While he debated whether he should he pick up for possible clues, the call turned into a missed call. The next second the call came again. This time Kanav picked up.

  ‘Hello. I received a few calls from a girl this evening. Who is this?’ a man on the other end said.

  Few calls… girl. This means what he saw wasn’t an illusion.

  ‘Do you know Kashika?’ Kanav said with a nervous tone.

  ‘Who?’ the person said.

  Kanav raised his voice, but there was some network problem. He cut the call immediately and messaged the number.

  Who are you and where are you based?

  A response came: I’m Parminder Dhillon. From Chandigarh.

  Chandigarh? Kanav thought. As far as he knew, Kashika didn’t have any links to Chandigarh. Why would she call this person? He messaged back: Do you know Kashika?

  Minutes later the response read: Kashika is my daughter’s college friend. What happened?

  This was what Kanav needed to know. There was a connection. And if there was a connection, there would be a clue.

  I want to meet you the day after tomorrow. Possible?

  Of course. Day after, 1 p.m. Elante Mall?

  Okay.

  But what is it about?

  I will tell you when we meet.

  Kanav booked a flight ticket to Chandigarh without informing Anahita. When she called him the next morning he didn’t pick up the call.

  A day later Kanav was in Chandigarh’s Elante Mall, desperate to crack the mystery of the reappearance of his presumed-dead fiancé.

  The man—Parminder Dhillon—was supposed to wait for him at a Café Coffee Day. As Kanav entered the place, a man stood up from one corner, looking happy.

  ‘Oh, Namit puttar. What a pleasant surprise!’ the man said.

  It took a second for Kanav to realize the man was actually talking to him—and referring to him as… Namit.

  CHAPTER 6

  At first, Kanav thought he would correct the person and look for Parminder instead. Then he realized the man was Parminder.

  ‘Why are you looking at me as if you have never seen me? I’m Parminder. Your father-in-law.’

  That’s when Kanav understood there was something very strange going on. He wasn’t Namit. But he chose to play on to know why the man was referring to him as Namit.

  ‘Nothing. It’s just…’ Kanav fished for words.

  ‘I never knew that waiting for a stranger I would meet you. What brings you to Chandigarh? Work?’ Parminder asked. His elation in seeing him seemed genuine.

  ‘Stranger?’ Kanav asked.

  ‘Someone called me last night from Pune and said he wanted to meet me. He was asking about a friend of Bani’s.’

  ‘Bani?’

  ‘I know it’s weird because Bani is no longer with us. Your mummyji hasn’t recuperated much since the last time you saw her.’

  From Parminder’s words, Kanav deduced that Bani was his daughter. Mummyji would be Namit’s mother-in-
law. This meant Namit and Bani were married. And Bani was dead. Just like Kashika was.

  ‘How are you placed in the day? Let me meet this man and then we can go to our house. It’s been really long.’

  ‘Sure,’ Kanav said. He had a gut feeling Namit and Bani were related to Kashika somehow, apart from Kashika being Bani’s friend, as Parminder had said.

  Kanav excused himself, citing some work, while Parminder waited. Kanav went to another corner of the mall from where he could keep an eye on the café where Parminder still was. He called Anahita and told her what had happened.

  ‘But who’s Namit?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Either this Parminder guy is lying or Namit is my lookalike. Those are the only two possible situations I can conjure right now.’

  There was a pause after which Anahita said, ‘This is becoming too mysterious, too fast. I would suggest you go with Parminder, but be alert. We don’t know who this person really is. Also, please keep me posted.’

  ‘Yeah, sure. And I’m sorry for coming here without telling you,’ Kanav said.

  ‘That’s alright, Kanav. Just be safe.’

  ‘Yeah, thanks.’

  Kanav wasted some more time and finally headed towards the café, where Parminder was still waiting.

  ‘Puttar, your work is done? That idiot hasn’t come yet. You know how I hate people who aren’t punctual.’

  ‘Maybe he will call if he really wants to meet up.’

  ‘I won’t meet him even if he calls again. Come, let’s go home. We will have a hearty lunch and your mummyji will be really happy to see you.’

  Kanav followed Parminder out. While sitting beside him in the latter’s Innova, Kanav kept looking around. Parminder was blabbering constantly.

  ‘Remember this place? So many fond memories of you and Bani. Every time your mummyji and I visited here, Bani used to stand in the balcony and wave at us before running away to open the door.’ Parminder’s voice was soaked in nostalgia.

  Kanav stared at the building as they drove by, where Namit and Bani used to live.

  It was a posh bungalow that Kanav was taken to. Mrs Dhillon—Namit’s mother-in-law—was overwhelmed at seeing him. She didn’t stop talking. The lunch was a big Punjabi affair. Kanav didn’t say no to anything, but kept note of everything in his mind, especially when Parminder asked him, while they were having lassi after lunch, ‘So, how is the business going? Was the money you took for capital worth it? If you need more…’

  ‘It’s working fine.’

  ‘Rab di meher,’ Parminder muttered. Kanav guessed that Namit had taken money from his father-in-law to start his own business. As the two men finished their lassi, Mummyji came in with a huge album. One look and Kanav understood it was Bani and Namit’s wedding album. The next couple of hours went by in discussing the photos. What shocked Kanav out of his wits was that the man in the photographs resembled him quite a lot. Except Namit was clean-shaven while Kanav sported stubble. His mind was full of queries. He excused himself for the washroom. Parminder led him there. Once he was done, he came out and saw nobody. He took a risk and peeped inside each room. And there, in one of the rooms, he saw a picture of a girl kept framed by a bedside table. He called out to Parminder, who joined him almost immediately.

  ‘Who is she?’

  ‘That’s Ashmeet. Bani’s younger sister? You forgot her or what? I agree she couldn’t make it to the marriage because of her studies abroad but …’

  The rest of Parminder’s words were muted. Kanav’s mind was screaming aloud. That’s not Ashmeet, that’s Meenakshi.

  CHAPTER 7

  Why the hell would Meenakshi not tell me her real name? Kanav wondered, as he took his leave from Mr and Mrs Dhillon. Though Parminder insisted he would drop him to the airport, Kanav convinced him otherwise. His plan was to go to the airport but first he wanted to drop in at the apartment where Bani and Namit used to live.

  While he stood looking at their flat’s balcony from the outside, a woman tapped his shoulder from behind. Kanav turned around and saw a middle-aged woman standing in front of him.

  ‘Where were you all these days?’ she asked.

  So she knows Namit , he thought, and said, ‘I was travelling.’

  ‘Your job took your wife’s life! And still you’re sticking on with it?’ she said. The hint of spite in her voice increased with every second.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Kanav said.

  ‘Had you not been travelling, you would have been with her when the cylinder blasted in the flat. She could have been saved.’

  Bani died because a gas cylinder blasted , Kanav mentally noted. He was tempted to ask more about Namit but realized it could freak the woman out. Kanav left.

  He messaged Meenakshi the moment he reached Pune. There was no response from her even after he’d reached his flat. He called her. Still no response. Kanav drove to the Symbiosis girls’ hostel. On the way, he messaged Anahita as well about his arrival in Pune. Kanav called Meenakshi once again from outside the hostel. This time she picked up.

  ‘Hey, dear, sorry I slept off. Where are you?’ she said. He found her voice slightly different.

  ‘I’m standing right outside your hostel. We need to meet. Can you come down?’ Kanav said.

  ‘Sure. Give me two minutes.’

  Five minutes later Meenakshi came down in her shorts and top. Seeing Kanav, she beamed. But Kanav’s heart was in his mouth when she hugged him.

  ‘Excuse me,’ he said.

  ‘What happened?’ Meenakshi said.

  ‘Do we know each other?’ Kanav asked.

  ‘What’s wrong with you? You forgot me so quickly?’ she seemed truly amazed.

  ‘I’m waiting for Meenakshi,’ he said conclusively.

  The girl’s jaws dropped.

  ‘Are you out of your mind or are you just kidding—because I’m Meenakshi, for your kind information.’

  Kanav didn’t know whether to laugh over it or do nothing. Of course she wasn’t Meenakshi. To solve the thing, he simply called Meenakshi again from his phone. A second later the girl in front of him received the call. She held her phone in front of his face and said, ‘I didn’t know you’re a fucking freak. Goodbye,’ she said, realizing he wasn’t kidding.

  Kanav tried following her into the premises but the guards stopped him. No outsider was allowed inside the hostel.

  A frustrated Kanav left the place. He tried reaching Anahita but she was in Bangalore for a psychology seminar. He messaged the new Meenakshi almost twenty times asking her where the Meenakshi he’d met originally was. That he knew the original Meenakshi was actually Ashmeet and Bani was her sister. The tone of those twenty messages started out pleading and ended up becoming plain threats. None were delivered. He went to Oak Lounge but learned Meenakshi was no longer Dj-ing for them.

  Of course she isn’t , Kanav thought, and went back to his flat.

  The next day Kanav went to the hostel in the morning and parked his car at some distance from it. It was only in the evening that he saw the new Meenakshi come out of the hostel with a couple of girls. An Uber was waiting for them. As it drove away, Kanav followed it. They got down at Music Café on Law College Road. Kanav waited patiently for them to come out. It took a few hours. When they did, he climbed out of his car and crossing the lane went straight for her. The girl was chit-chatting with her friends over a smoke when Kanav held her hand and turned her around.

  ‘Just stop bullshitting me and tell me where is Meenakshi?’ he said. The other girls shrieked while Meenakshi shouted at him, ‘How dare you?’

  A few guys came up. Kanav was pushed around by them. In no time a patrolling police jeep came over. The girls, including Meenakshi, complained that Kanav was harassing them. He was immediately taken to the police station amidst Kanav’s loud-pitched protest that the girl was lying. Nobody cared.

  He was allowed one phone call. He called Anahita. It was in the afternoon the next day that she had a talk with the police and had
Kanav released.

  ‘What has gone wrong with you? Now you harass young girls on streets?’ Anahita sounded pissed off. She was driving. Kanav was sitting beside her.

  ‘The girl is lying. She isn’t the Meenakshi I met at speed dating,’ He said.

  ‘Yeah, sure. And why would such a thing happen? Why would the Meenakshi you met vanish, substituting herself for someone else?’ Anahita asked.

  Kanav had no answer. Life for a month had been about questions. Only questions. And the moment he thought a question would lead him to an answer about Kashika’s appearance, it brought forth a bigger question.

  ‘I want you to come to my clinic first thing tomorrow morning. I’m not taking no for an answer,’ Anahita said in a declarative tone and drove off, dropping Kanav in front of his apartment building.

  Some time past midnight Kanav woke up feeling thirsty. He gulped half a bottle of cold water from the fridge in the kitchen. As he was about to enter the bedroom, he heard a sound. His surroundings were dead quiet. He swallowed a lump in his throat. The sound, he was sure, came from his flat’s main door. He sauntered towards it. Mid way he picked up a vase holding its base up in attack mode, and placed his right eye on the peephole.

  The moment he had seen Kashika’s body at the neighbour’s flat, he informed the building society. They’d kept the flat locked since nobody seemed to come there. They tried to contact the owner but in vain. And now Kanav could see through the peephole a woman was trying to unlock the neighbour’s flat. He couldn’t be sure who she was but when he tried to unlock his door, it seemed locked from the outside. He shouted and banged on the door and then went to the window to call out to the security guard downstairs.

  Minutes later the guard came up but by then the woman was gone. The guard unlatched Kanav’s door from the outside.