Sinner's Game: Karma will chase!

by Sandeep Sharma

  As they started climbing the stairs, they found Akshay lying unconscious on the stairs. Blood was trickling from his head.’

  SHO touched his neck and checked his pulse. ‘This man is alive. Please call the ambulance. I am sure he knows something about Tanuja.’

  Raunak took out Akshay’s identity card from his wallet and called Garima, Akshay’s emergency contact person. Garima was shocked after listening about the accident. She wanted to ask about Tanuja but it was not the right time. She decided to reach the hospital directly. Akshay was in the ICU for a day due to his injury. She learnt about Tanuja’s death from the SHO. She wanted to know the sequence of events but no one could help her. She prayed for the recovery of Akshay.

  The Karmic Connection

  The news of Tanuja’s death reached Vyom a day later. Once Tanuja’s body was identified, the police took it to the hospital for the post mortem. Garima informed Neeraj from Hailthy to take care of the formalities and coordination with Tanuja’s family. Nikita was devastated after hearing about the demise of her beloved daughter. She didn’t have any energy left to travel to Mumbai and waited for the body to reach Mumbai for cremation, after the post mortem. The IO assigned to the came looked at the hotel recordings but nothing substantial came out of that. There were no cameras on the terrace and the last clipping was Tanuja and Akshay heading towards the lift for the terrace.

  He was at his home when Garima called him from the Nanavati hospital.

  ‘Hi Vyom, I am calling you from Mumbai.’

  ‘All well, Garima?’

  ‘Akshay has been admitted to the hospital. He fell down the stairs in the hotel.’

  ‘Oh my God! I hope nothing is serious. Actually I tried to warn Akshay about…’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Nothing much Garima. I will share with you once you are back. Thank God that he is fine.’

  ‘But there is some bad news Vyom. Tanuja is dead.’

  ‘What are you saying? How did she die?’

  ‘No one knows how, but she fell down from the terrace, it seems. The police is investigating the matter. I thought that I should let you know. .’

  ‘I don’t know what to say but do let me know if you need any help. Take care. Meet me whenever you are back.’

  Vyom had not met Tanuja in person but he still felt bad for her. He did not want anyone to die. He had warned Akshay about the consequences but this still happened. While he was happy that Akshay was safe, but many questions were still left unanswered.

  Alka who had listened to the entire conversation asked, ‘Who died?

  ‘This is turning out to be a nightmare. Tanuja has died in an accident in Mumbai. I had warned Akshay about all this but he still went to meet her at the hotel. Anyways, not much can be done about Tanuja but Akshay is safe.’

  ‘What did you warn him about? Do you still think that this is all related to the WhatsApp messages and your crazy dreams?’

  ‘I don’t know that but Yamraj Ji warned me about the consequences of their meeting.’

  ‘So you are still having dreams about Yamraj Ji.’

  Vyom did not say anything. His mind was preoccupied with the mystery behind Akshay’s survival. Vyom went to his office and he saw a mail from Satya. Satya had forwarded a detailed mail from his US team lead. Instead of reading the mail, Vyom decided to call Satya. Satya picked up his call immediately and said, ‘Hi Vyom! I hope you got a chance to read my email.’

  ‘Not really; I saw your mail but have not read it. Just explain it to me if you can. I am in the middle of an issue.’

  ‘So our Artificial Intelligence team continued to explore files that you had sent. They think that file naming convention has a link to mobile numbers. It is possible to derive the mobile number with a custom software. In fact they identified one of the mobile number and have sent the same along with the mail.’

  ‘Satya this would surely help in identification of missing files. Can they send the software to me?

  ‘Sure I can ask them about it.’

  Later that night, Vyom tried hard to sleep but his mind was preoccupied with thoughts related to Tanuja’s death and many other unanswered questions. As he tried to meditate to calm his mind, a bright light once again appeared in his room. Yamraj was in front of him.

  Vyom was excited to see him. He had so many questions to ask. ‘Yamraj Ji Pranaam! How is possible that two people are part of the same sin and only one dies? I am happy that Akshay survived. Despite my warning, he still went to meet Tanuja at the hotel. How did Akshay survive?’

  ‘Vyom, you should understand that the persecution is not limited only to this life’s karma, there is always impact of the past life as well. Priya, Himanshu and Tanuja had accumulated karma over many births. If we thoroughly pursue the question of karmas, its source cannot be possibly be found in this life alone.’

  ‘What saved Akshay? The software was tracking him too and he was part of the same sin.’

  ‘The software may be tracking many people. If you are interested you can meet TFD.’

  ‘Is he responsible for all these accidents?’

  ‘I think you should meet him. Nothing is as simple as it seems. One accumulates his or her karma over the multiple cycles of life and death. Our cycle of births and deaths continues because of our karma, until we are free from this cycle. Karma does not vanish after we die; it continues into the next life. It is like when we borrow money from someone, the debt remains when we wake up the next morning. Though we speak of eternity of life, ultimately everything exists in the present moment. Both past and future are contained in the present.’

  ‘Are you saying that just like me Akshay got a second chance?’

  ‘As of now Akshay has recovered from his injury and he is on his way back home. Yes, he got a second chance but at a cost. Sometimes living in Prithvi Lok is no less than hell.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You will know what I mean, shortly’

  Saying this, Yamraj disappeared and Vyom kept thinking about the meaning of his last statement.

  The Recovery

  After two days of gaining consciousness, Akshay was now feeling better and was no longer drowsy. The doctors had reduced the dose of medication and his vitals were stable. He looked around but no one was in the room. The nurse had just gone out to call the Doctor Divansh. Suddenly flashes of his interaction with Tanuja started coming back to him but he could not fully remember the incident.

  Garima entered the room after some time. She came closer to him, and held his hand, seeing that he was awake and aware. ‘How are you feeling now?’

  ‘I am feeling good but I am still unable to recall much. I am in Mumbai so I would have surely travelled for a meeting. Have you informed my parents about this? And yours too?’

  ‘Akshay they know about your accident but I did not share details with them. They are panicking and wanted to come here. Doctor Divansh will be visiting you shortly for a routine check-up and then you can call them. You were here for a client meeting and then it all happened. Let me talk to the doctor first before you start thinking any further. You should try to relax; we will have enough time to discuss everything.’

  ‘It is not that I am trying to remember anything by choice. I am getting some flashes of the recent events.’

  Doctor Divansh entered the room and gave a warm smile to Akshay. He came closer and said, ‘Akshay, time to pack your bags as we will discharge you tomorrow. You should avoid office for a week and rest here in Mumbai. We will then call you again for regular tests before you take your flight back home.’

  ‘Thank you Doctor!’

  ‘Anytime. Garima please do fill our feedback form before leaving!’

  ‘Sure Doctor, thanks for your support.’

  ‘He is nice guy and very patient. I have not seen my phone and it is difficult to pass time without it. Do you have it with you?’

  Garima knew that the phone was in the police custody but did not want to reveal that to Aks
hay. She said, ‘We are still trying to locate your phone. However, we have informed the police about it. Considering your situation, they completed the required formalities and your SIM is now blocked.’

  ‘Shit! I do not even remember my last backup date.’

  ‘Akshay don’t fret about your phone. You must thank God that you have recovered from the injury and can go back.’

  ‘Yes you are right. I need to apply for a new SIM or access my emails somehow. I am sure the news of my accident would have reached employees too. Are you in touch with anyone from the office?’

  ‘Yes, Neeraj called and I told him that you need some bed rest. In any case, today is Sunday so you must not worry too much. Soon we will be back in Gurgaon and then you can spend all your time on emails.

  Garima was frustrated with Akshay’s conversation related to work. Even in this condition, he was just thinking about his phone and emails. She had so many things on her mind to discuss with Akshay. It was not the right time to discuss Tanuja, in any case she was gone out of their lives. Garima had spent all her time taking care of Akshay. But now she was worried about the sudden death of Tanuja.

  Akshay’s possible reaction to the news of Tanuja’s accidental death started worrying her. The police had not established the cause of Tanuja’s death and were planning to take Akshay’s statement. She thought for the first time, ‘Was Akshay present in the hotel with Tanuja during the accident? If not, then why is police bothered about his statement. What was he doing there? He was supposed to be in a client meeting. That is what Akshay had said when I had called him. Did someone push Tanuja from the terrace? Where was Akshay found in the hotel?’

  She felt like talking to the SHO and ask for details. But then she wondered, With Tanuja gone would all this be worth it?

  These thoughts kept Garima occupied. The nurse came to meet Garima and Akshay the next morning. She had Akshay’s latest reports with her. She said, ‘Doctor is happy with Akshay’s recovery and has given permission for discharge. You can go home now.’

  Garima smiled and said, ‘Thanks a lot! Please let us know the paperwork and we are all set to go back to Gurgaon.’

  It took Garima about an hour to complete all the discharge formalities. Akshay changed his clothes and felt quite relieved about going back to home. He was worried about Tanuja now and Garima had shared nothing about her. But he was too afraid to ask anything. The last few days had been quite nice for him. He started feeling close to Garima and they were finally bonding again.

  Garima came back and said, ‘All formalities done! I have booked our tickets and cab is on its way. Let’s go back!’

  ‘Well that was quite efficient. I can’t wait to go back to Gurgaon.’

  They waited outside the hospital for the cab and within sometime Garima received the notification about the arrival of the cab. The cab driver got down to settle their bags. Akshay opened the door for Garima. Garima smiled at him and waited for Akshay to come inside. Akshay was feeling a little weak but the excitement of going back to Gurgaon was overpowering.

  The cab was about to start when they heard a police siren. Garima, seated already in the cab, turned to see that the patrol car was heading towards them. The patrol car stopped just ahead of their cab and SHO got down along with two constables.

  One of the constable knocked at the door and asked Akshay to come out. Garima thought that this must be related to the investigation. SHO came closer to Akshay and said, ‘This is related to Tanuja’s murder at The Sheratons. You are under arrest for the murder of Tanuja.’

  The Past

  Yamraj had been watching the progress on the ground for some time. While his strategy was working as he could see some concern now about the WhatsApp messages, everything did not work out as per his plan. He planned to meet again with TFD but only after meeting Lord Shiva.

  ‘Prabhu Namaskar.’

  ‘Yamraj, how is your special project for the Prithvi Lok going on?’

  ‘Lord Shiva, it is too early to say but there are some positive signs.’

  ‘Tell me more about it.’

  ‘I had created an early warning system and people have started talking about the same. I am working using a small group of people.’

  ‘You mentioned about using technology in our last conversation. How is that going?

  ‘That technology was invented by people living on the Prithvi Lok. I just gave my blessings.’

  ‘Will they ever understand about the impact of karma from their past lives?’

  ‘This is something I am working on right now. Most people underestimate it.’

  ‘What if people could see some glimpses from their past lives?’

  ‘You mean using technology?’

  ‘What else?’