The Doomed Night

Name - Diwakar Narayan

Author Introduction - A former teacher of English Grammar (though I have started forgetting the basics now) and a great admirer of English Language, I took on blogging to show my skills to the virtual world and nick-named myself as Infected Mind. However, having stepped in, I found that I deserved less than the place of a fish in the ocean. Since then, I have been trying to polish my skills to attain the position of a fish. I have no great job and high education to boast of. Philosophically, a God hater who wants to see how life could be, not believing in Him at all.

Story - The Doomed Night

The sharp and distant sounds of night creatures echoed continuously. The cold breeze made it worse when it passed through my wounded body. Escaping from the prison through the thorny bushes had exhausted us. We were gasping and could run no longer, badly needing some shelter to hide and spend the night. We saw a building then, a giant one. Though, in the darkness, it looked more like a shadow. The cloudy sky and dim moonlight made it more unclear, but darkness was our true companion. We decided to move inside the building. Our legs were could hold us no longer and wanted to rest now.

We stepped up the porch and found that the main gate was locked and there was a rusty old lock hanging there. On the ground, there was an earthen pot. I lifted it and saw that the pot was covered with a red cloth. It was torn and ragged, though. It seemed as no one came here, but we had no option but to move inside. Breaking the lock seemed easy but our tools were not with us. I looked around and saw stones scattered on the ground. I picked up a big one and hit the lock. The spank was alarming. It could make people from the nearby village doubtful and come towards the building, I thought. I took off my shirt and rolled it over the lock and hit it again. It made less sound now. In some time, the lock broke open. I picked up the broken piece and put my shirt on.

It was a heavy iron gate, and had to be opened. We looked at each other and pushed the massive structure with all the might we had. It opened and we moved inside. It was an abandoned fort and a good place to hide. The hall was huge. I went back and latched the door from inside. Then I realized that someone, in the morning, might see the lock missing and suspect that anyone was inside, I took the broken lock, stretched my right hand outside and managed to put the lock back. I tore a part of my shirt and rolled over the lock and tied it. Now, it would look like it was never opened. I had made the place safer now.

I looked around the hall and could see nothing except some dim moonlight, which came from the small holes on those huge walls. We walked towards a corner and sat on the floor. My whole body was paining. I wanted to sleep and hence closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt something moving up my body. I stood up and hurried away from the corner. I could see nothing but him. What was it? The very thought of something hostile made me nervous. A chill ran through my spine. There was something not right about this place. I shook my friend, who seemed to have gone into deep slumber by now, and he got up bewildered and said –

‘What happened?’

‘Let’s go out from here. I don’t think we should stay here.’

‘Are you crazy? We have no other place to go hide’ He asked disbelievingly, his eyes wide open.

‘I don’t know. I just don’t want to stay here.’

‘Wait’, he said and looked around. There were stairs going up, as if to the first floor. ‘Can we go up and sleep in the terrace under the sky?’ I asked.

I then saw something above the stairs, on the wall. There was a big mirror there. Something long, like a rope, hung there, on the middle of the mirror. There was a picture in the mirror too. I fixed my eyes on it for some time and figured out that it was a picture of some king. How can a picture be inside a mirror? I thought. I looked at the opposite direction. The picture, I had seen in the mirror, hung above the main door, on the wall. I sensed that the picture in the mirror could also be seen from outside, for the main gate was made of giant iron rods and could allow dispersed view to outsiders. Suddenly, I saw the rope-like thing moving on the mirror. There were two of them now. No, there were many. What were they? I looked at my companion expectantly. He, too, was looking at the same thing.

‘No, we won’t go up the stairs’; he said and pointed to another direction, ‘Look, there is a small door. Come, we’ll go there.’

I looked in that direction. It was a small door made of iron rods and wooden frame, similar to the one in the jail. We moved there and saw that there was a bigger lock. There were insects creeping all over the door, some small ones and some big ones. It seemed like something precious was kept inside and the door was meant never to be opened. Inside, there was a long passage that disappeared in the darkness after some distance. It wasn't a safer place to be at but a secret one. It made us curious to go inside.

I scanned the door and found that the frame was weakened by wood worms. It must not have been touched for long, I thought. I could see many tiny holes in the wooden frame. I asked him, ‘can you break this door?’

I didn’t want to dirty my hands touching those insects and killing them.

He stood up. Breaking such doors was easy for him, for he was a built man. After a few heavy pushes, the door fell towards inside. We stepped in; and he said to me, ‘I’ll lift the door and place it as it was before so no one can notice it being broken. I don’t want to be caught again and sent back to jail’.

It was a tunnel-like passage, round and long. Till now, our eyes had adjusted to see more things in the dark. We kept walking till we reached another door. It was closed with a latch but with no lock. I opened it and moved in. He accompanied me. This was a small room. Suddenly, I felt a strong smell entering my nose. The room smelt like rotten dead bodies. I stepped back, but he grabbed my hand and whispered to me, ‘there is something there, I’ll go see’.

There were some trunks kept, covered with heavy cloths. They were royal but too dirty. It seemed like a secret place. He went near one of the trunks, removed the sheet and opened it, then spoke in a low voice,

‘Hey, come here, look what is inside.’

I went there and looked inside the trunk. It was full of boxes. There were some small and some big ones.

The design on them glittered and enabled us to see them clearly. I lifted one of them and opened it. Alas! There were gold ornaments in it.

He grabbed the box from my hand and held it close to his eyes. He kept looking at it for some time. I took another box and opened it. There were many gold rings in it. I could not believe it. We had found a hidden treasure!

Suddenly, he screamed as if in pain and succumbed to the ground. I rushed to him and held him. He was trembling. I asked, ‘hey, what happened?’ He raised his hand and pointed in a direction and when I saw there, I found a big snake slinking away from us.

‘Please take me out of here’, he pleaded, holding his left thigh where the snake had bitten.

‘No. I cannot move till I take all this jewelry with me’. I said instantly.

‘Why don’t you see that we’ll die here?’

‘And, why can’t you see that we've got so much of wealth? It will make us rich! We would steal no more’.

‘Rich? My foot! I am going out.’

He got up and limped away towards the door of the passage. I rushed ahead of him and blocked his way, and said, ‘Listen, my friend, we’ll take some of these boxes out and come back later. Why don’t you help me do this?’

Suddenly, I heard loud rattling noise coming out of the open trunk. I rushed back to it and when I saw inside, there were many snakes coming out. They were thick and long. They flicked their tongues out, as if hungry; but I did not want to let go of those boxes. I put my hands inside and grabbed a big box. I hadn't even taken my hand out completely, when I felt something moving up my leg. Freak! It was a snake, wanting to attack me. I jerked it away. Then, I saw another one moving towards me. No, there were many moving towards me. I turned back and what I saw in front of me was stunning.

The snakes, by now, had spread. They were everywhere, slithering in all directions. I felt dryness in my throat. I tried to run back into the chamber and hit hard against the wall. The box fell off my hand and bounced away. I turned back. It was gold, I could not leave it. I went back to the trunk and picked another big box. Then, I felt two strokes against my palm. The snakes had bitten me, too? I quivered and turned back. I did not want to die. I turned and slipped, but got up and ran into the tunnel. Suddenly, I stepped on something round and fleshy. I looked down, and found that it was the hand of my friend. Why was he lying there? I shouted,‘hey, run!’

He did not get up. I started dragging him and realized that he had fainted. I had to lift him up and run again. He was heavy. I had taken only a few steps when he fell off my hands. His head hit the ground and he gained consciousness. ‘Get up, run!’ I yelled at him again.

He managed to get up and started lumbering with me, holding my hand. We staggered as fast as we could, but the tunnel was long. His fingers slipped my palm and he fell again. I left him and ran towards the door and bumped into it. My head hit those rusty rods and I felt a severe pain. I collapsed on the ground; then got up in haste and ran back towards the small room again. I wanted to seize another box but when I reached the entrance of the room, I saw those snakes slithering in the chamber. I ran back fast, to the wooden gate and crashed against the rods again. He was lying there, too. I stepped backwards and dragged him away from the door. I tried to pull open the door myself, and knew immediately that those insects were moving up my hands towards my body. I looked back and saw that those hungry creatures were moving towards me. I tried again and the door fell on him; I did not care, I moved out and ran towards the main gate.

It was locked from outside and tied up. I held my hand out and tried to reach the lock, but felt weak and dizzy. I felt my head whirling in all directions; and then I realized that blood was all over my face. They were dripping from my head and had reached till my neck. I was losing my consciousness now, but had to get out of the building. I gathered my strength and tried to get up again to reach the lock. Till now, those snakes had neared me. I had little time to get out. I tried again but failed. Suddenly, I remembered about the stairs going up to the first floor. A new wave of energy ran through me. I got up and sprinted towards the stairs. I only wanted to get out of this place, no matter what. When I reached there and looked up, there was a door there, too. I sprinted up the stairs, and confronted the vast mirror, which reflected the King’s portrait. I stopped dead. The eyes were directly looking at me in a strange and vengeful manner. I decided not to look at it and bolted towards the door which, to my surprise, was not locked. I slammed against it with all I had left in me. The door forced open and I plunged into complete darkness once more. It took my eyes a couple of minutes to adjust. A deep passage was waiting for me. I could see faint footprints on the wooden floor. It looked like someone had walked the tunnel not too long ago. A cold draft of air hit me from nowhere within the passage. If there was air, there had to be a way out. I had to find it, anyhow. I started tracing the footsteps, on my all four, hoping it would help me get out of the place. I traced the footsteps for two or three minutes; when another cold draft of air hit me from somewhere ahead. The blood on my face had started to clot all over and it made my eyelids heavy. With whatever vision, I crawled ahead. After a few more steps, I felt as if I was being watched. But I crawled forward. Soon, I found myself staring at a two way; each going in opposite directions. I took the left turn. The sound of footsteps ahead of me startled me. Was I going to end up confronting the person whose footsteps I was tracing so far? I did not want to meet anyone right now; I shivered with the fear of the cold jail bars. The trail looked as if it was gradually going downwards. 

Suddenly, I tripped and fell face first on to the floor. A box lay on the floor, similar to the ones I saw in the room. I grabbed the box and scrambled towards the direction of the footsteps which I had heard, but I was stopped midway by a short iron door, which seemed to be solid. After trying for a minute or so, I managed to pry it open and to my surprise I found myself back on the ground floor with those venomous serpents. I had to get out of the place so I hurried towards the main door.

I reached the door and tried to get to the lock. I managed do so this time. I tore apart the piece of cloth that I had tied the lock with. It fell open. I tried to open the door, so heavy it was, I struggled with it. I had no strength left in me, but I had to open it. The snakes were already converging from all sides now. I tried again and managed to move the door a bit. The narrow space was enough for me to slip through. I slumped on the ground and crawled away with much effort. I intuited that something was moving up my leg from behind. I crawled fast and reached the front porch. Now, many of them seemed to be moving up my body. I crawled faster and fell off the stairs on to the grass below. I felt something cold beneath me. They were grasses. It was soothing. Suddenly, I felt multiple needles being punched in my body at once. Something started to burn inside. By and by, I was losing my consciousness. The heat inside challenged the chilliness outside. The poison was taking control of my body. It seemed to be the end of me, lonely and hungry; then suddenly, I heard a familiar voice call out my name. I opened my eyes and saw my friend leaning over me. Am I seeing the dead? I thought until he held out his hand to drag me on to my feet. I was feeling better than before and seeing him renewed my energy to some extent. All of what happened seemed a distant dream until I saw the wooden box that I carried with me outside.

What was this place? I need not know. Whose was it? The answer seemed to be known only to the person whose portrait I saw inside. Whose were those footprints? I need not bother. All I know that we were lucky to be under the blue sky; the clouds seemed to have vanished, as if a bad nightmare. The poison seemed to have worn off its worst. The years of hardship and tolerance of the jail had made us immune to even snake bites. We were glad to be alive and more so with the wooden box, full of gold coins, that seemed to be asking us not to delve in the past, as to how or what happened; but look forward to a life of a normal human being.

The Blood

Name - Diwakar Narayan

Author Introduction - A former teacher of English Grammar (though I have started forgetting the basics now) and a great admirer of English Language, I took on blogging to show my skills to the virtual world and nick-named myself as Infected Mind. However, having stepped in, I found that I deserved less than the place of a fish in the ocean. Since then, I have been trying to polish my skills to attain the position of a fish. I have no great job and high education to boast of. Philosophically, a God hater who wants to see how life could be, not believing in Him at all.

Story

Let me be permitted to share with you an incident which holds paramount significance in my life. Not because it relates to my personal life, but for the reason that it deals with the acceptance of a supposedly dead man, my husband, into my life and that of my family. They say that dead men do not return and such was my belief when I was almost convinced that my eyes would not see him ever again; a man in his military attire, with three stars hanging proudly on his chest, denoting of his higher rank and awards of bravery in numerous wars, would only come to my dreams for the rest of my life.

The night when his arrival was destined was a chilly one. I lay on my bed, recollecting the joyous moments I spent with him. Each night, it was only after his smiling face flashed in front of me, inside my eyelids, sleep overcame me. Then, my son was not home, for he went for an outing with his college-mates. When I was about to enter the world of my dreams, into the strong arms of my love, I heard the ring of my door bell, and thinking that my son might have returned, as his trip might have been cancelled for some reason, I rose from my bed and walked to the gate.

I could not believe my eyes for what I saw that night. A man stood there in the same attire as my husband with two heavy looking bags beside him and packed bedding on his back. He looked exactly as my soul-mate, with only distinctions in the long hair and unshaven beard that I saw on him. The formal sense my husband contained lacked in the man standing at my door. I thought for a while: even if my husband grew his hair and beard, he could not return; for dead men do not come back. It must have been another insane dream of mine. I closed the door and proceed towards my bed to be alone again.

The doorbell rang again. I stopped and looked back at the door. Unsure what to do, I opened it and saw the same man again. Now, I was confirmed that I was not dreaming, for dreams are not repeated in the same night. This time, he spoke to me: “Janvi, will you not recognize me?”

It was real. His voice was real. I touched him and the touch was real. Tears rolled down my cheeks instantly. Reality sometimes gives more pleasure than dreams do. Words refused to come out of my mouth. It was my husband. His hands approached my face and wiped the drops of happiness off; and holding my face with his shaking hands, he said again: “Janvi, will you still not recognize me?”

In no time, I buried my face in his chest. I was over the moon and crying.

We remained as a coupled statue for some time and after I regained my strength to speak, I looked up at his face and could say: “Come inside.”

He first lifted both the bags and hanged them from his shoulders, then me in his arms and walked towards our bedroom. Then, having placed me in bed and the bags on the ground, he whispered: “God knows how five years I could spend without you, each day and night I thought of you and of returning to you, let me now be absorbed in you again, my existence be merged with yours and form one soul with two bodies.”

His lips touched mine and not sure how long we remained so. When the unity was broken momentarily, I rose from the bed again and proceed towards the main gate, this time to close it to be with him.

*****

The night was a blessed one. Till very late, we remained into each other, silent now and talking then. The chirping of birds and his snoring started at the same time. Smiling, I rose from the bed and engaged myself in the household chores.

I decided to skip my office that day. Since the time I heard the news of my husband being missing from the troops, the entire burden rested on my shoulder. The household expenses and the upbringing of my twelve-year old son were what made me take up a job of a receptionist in a firm. The income was not hefty, but enough for the two of us. Now, that he had come back, he would take care of all affairs, I thought so. Beaming and roaming, I finished the daily chores; and with two cups of tea on a tray, that my hands held, I entered our bedroom. It was almost after fives long years that we would sip together.

Having placed the tray on the table, I looked at my husband. So peacefully he slept, away from the noise of bombings and firings. For a second, I decided not to break his slumber; for the next second, my strong desire to sip together drew me near his face and made me say: “Get up, sweetheart.”

I saw no movement in him. Then, I noticed the drops of perspiration on his forehead. Why was he sweating in a cold morning? I pulled myself back, stood there and fixed my eyes on his face. After a while, he began to murmur, something I could not understand, and then suddenly shouted “No”. It was a long shout, and the very next moment, he was sitting on the bed and huffing to the peak.

*****

The time of evening was near. Both of us expected our son soon. Sudeep, who had faint memories of his father, going to the battlefield, would soothe his eyes by the presence of his father in front of him, and jump in joy; for he remained deprived of fatherly love for five years.  A boy needs a father and a girl a mother to share all they have with no feeling of being betrayed and no secrets of them being busted to unintended ears. The father and the son would unite, sit and chat for hours; and be called on the dinner table at night – and – as they would enter the dining room, engrossed in serious conversations related to the nation and the world, I would sweetly chide them to come back home and taste food, which I laid in numerous plates. Such would be the routine every day and night – life will be as good as it was before. Sudden realization of my having gone too far in my thoughts stuck me when Sudeep entered the house.

My husband and I sat, waiting for him, when he arrived. He saw us and stood silent, skipping the kiss that he would gently place on my forehead when he came from outside. The reason for it, perhaps, was he never saw me with a man after his father left and now someone was inside my house at the time of his arrival. He must have understood nothing of the situation; and understanding his state of mind, I explained: “Sudeep, this is your father!”

These words fell like a thunderstorm for him, for his expressions changed. He was delighted, dumbfounded, skeptical, all at the same time. Believe it or not, too good to be true, not believing one’s eyes, all these salient linguistic expressions applied to him at once. The only word which could slip from his lips was: “Dad?”

Lt. Dilip Singh emptied his chair and stood there, with arms open, inviting his son to give him a hug. Then, the only think I saw was the wet eyes of my husband.

*****

That night, when dinner was served on the table, conversations started. Sudeep sounded much curious to know all what happened during the five years Dilip was absent for. He ate less and spoke more. One thing, I noticed strange, was his father’s avoidance in giving detailed answer to anything he asked. Dilip seemed to escape from all the curiosity his son had. This behavior reached its peak when Dilip almost reproved his son –

“Sudeep, you ought not to know all that I faced in these fives. Know your boundaries, my son, and talk respectfully and obediently to your father. Don’t probe too much and irritate me!”

Dilip left the dining table and retired to the bedroom. Disbelievingly, I looked at my son; and he at me.

*****

Sleep abandoned me the whole night. I kept thinking of my husband’s behavior at the dining table and tried to relate this with the cause of his sudden perspiration and shout, which happened that morning. Was he in any trouble that he did not want to share with us or it was for something else? Whatever the reason was, I had to discover it. So, I would talk to him in the morning; so I decided and closed my eyes.

*****

At the morning time, when the three of us enjoyed the tea, my husband said: “Janvi and Dilip, I have a plan for today. Let’s go to the town and shop as much as we can possibly carry back home.”

Now, this plan of him seemed uncalled for both for me and my son; for I had to go to my office and Sudeep to his college. I confess now, I had no courage to say no to him, for he had been a strict man all his life; but for Sudeep, who was a kid when my husband left us, stood calmly from his chair and addressed his father: “Papa, let’s do this on Sunday. I have my college to attend.”

I looked at Dilip. His face was reddened and his body shook with anger. He, who never experienced being disobeyed, stood up and shouted at his son: “Sudeep, stop! Stand there and listen to me. Dare you move a step and I slap you!”

Sudeep seemed not to have heard a single word of his father. He moved out of the veranda and then from the house.

Yet another shock for Dilip it was, after the dinner-table clash, for he expected his orders to be followed blindly by his son and me. I could do so; my son could not. If the ruling of a nation is handed over to a bunch of teenagers, the ruling would prove to be of utmost excellence; for they do not bear any wrong happenings around them and this was the reason my son had disobeyed his father and walked out.

“Calm down, Dilip.” I tried to appease my husband.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, I thought of missing my office for that day as well. The idea was to give my husband some time and understand what he went through. For this, I had to be with him. However strict and formal a man is, he can hide no secret from a naked woman he sleeps with. I stood up, held his hand and gestured to take him inside. He walked a few steps with me and stopped, then said: “You go to office now, and before you go, hand over the keys to me. I will go out and get some fresh air. My home is a home no more, but a house.”

*****

In the evening, Dilip was in the garden, which flourished in front of our small bungalow and watered the flower-plants. He paid no heed to my arrival. I went straight into the house and prepared tea for him. He must have been alone the whole day and not had tea. I thought so and invited him inside, upon which he refused and requested to be served in the garden, upon which I placed two chairs there and sat beside him. This was the perfect time to talk.

Silence prevailed for some time before Dilip started the conversation.

“Why did our son show such insolence to me in the morning?” He asked.

“Dilip, you must understand, Sudeep is still a boy. He wants to live his life on his own terms. Further, what rude words did he speak to you? It was just a suggestion, in my view, and also, he must attend his college, for his studies are not to be interrupted.”

“Dilip”, I continued, “tell me, if you have anything in your mind that you wish to share with me, in an attempt to lessen the burden you feel in your heart; for being your wife and life-partner, I shall entitle myself to share every bit of happiness and sorrow that you feel. Do not hesitate, dear; tell me if something bothers you.”

My husband looked at me lovingly and expectantly, such a look instilled a belief of his trust in me and I drew closer to him to listen to what he would say.

“Janvi, for five years, I remained inside a closed chamber, as a captive of the war I was part of, with a want and a wish coming to my mind and heart alternatively. The want of death and the wish of returning home were the two mental states I lived in. Now, that I have come back to my home, the wishes are still more or less the same but altered only with a word or two. I find myself unable to cope up with the civilized life of yours; and wish to die or want to return to my troops, if allowed.”

I could sense acute pain in each word he spoke. I drew closer to him and hugged him from aside. The empty tea cups, placed on the ground, seemed to empathize with us, with their mouths open to store any drop of tear which might fall any moment from the eyes of either of us.

*****

It was time for me to talk to my son. He must have been very disturbed by the anger his father showed to him. Not once, but twice. All the time when Dilip was not here, I was the one, who was his mother and father. He used to discuss all his affairs with me – affairs of his college, his friends, the gossips and everything that attracted his attention. We spent hours together, inside and outside, and became good friends with each other. Friendship of us was stronger than the mother-son bond, and for this reason, I was sure I would be able to convince him to accept his father the way he was and be in good terms with him.

Late at night, when he returned home, freshened up and had dinner, I followed him till his bed and sat beside him. Though this was not the ideal time for what I was going to discuss with him, I persuaded myself to do so. Things getting any sour further would have been perilous for my family.

“Sudeep, can I ask you something?” I started.

“Yes, mama; why do you look so tensed?”

“Listen, my darling, your father is quite disturbed at your denial of his proposal of this morning. All his life he has seen his orders to be obeyed and suggestions to be followed. The way you walked out today was much unexpected for him. I think you should not have behaved in such a way.”

“Mama, I don’t believe you. How can you advocate for him in spite of knowing that it was he who behaved strangely. There was no point of being so rude and shouting at me. What seems wrong in what I said? This is not his military campus but my home.”

“I know, son, but you must not forget that he is your father, the first man of this family.”

“You know, mama, he is not my father. Certainly not the same man I saw when I was a kid. How I wish I had a sober father that I could boast of... and one more thing! I would like no discussion on this anymore.”

With such words spoken, Sudeep turned his back to me and pulled the blanket over him. For a few minutes, I sat there silently, and then moved to my bedroom.

I was blank now.

****

A few days later, when there was a holiday on eve of some religious festival, I decided that we would go to the town for shopping. Dilip would agree soon, but I was unsure of Sudeep’s decision. Given his behavior with his father since the day he arrived, I was in dilemma whether to ask him or not. Finally, for the sake of my husband’s happiness, I asked my son: “Will you come with us for shopping today?”

He gave me a stern look and then smiled with a nod: “ok”. Soon after the smile, his face returned to seriousness. It was for me, not for his father, that he had agreed.

When we reached the town and were walking towards our shopping destination, we noticed a fight between two laborers on the roadside. Dilip moved to them and tried to understand the cause of it. When the fight started to become tense, he intervened and when objected for his intervention, he angrily beat up both the guys and took them to the nearby police station. The policed booked both of them, thanked Dilip and said to me in a low voice:

“Make him understand. These cheap folks fight every other day on every other issue. We have other important cases to look into.”

Sudeep stood there when the police officer spoke these words. His hatred for his father seemed to grow more, for he felt ashamed.

****

All the time we shopped, Sudeep remained distant from us. He talked on phone with someone and did not engage him with us at all. Dilip must have realized this and hence he, too, spoke nothing all the while. On the way back home, all three of us were walking separately; my husband was ahead of us two; I was in the middle; my son much behind us, still on phone. It looked that three strangers walked, not knowing each other. I was lost in my thoughts, yet again.

A sudden cry filled the air and the vehicles started stopping. There was an accident. People flooded the site. I, too, rushed to see the injured man… and it was Dilip moaning in pain, with his cloths blood-soaked.

****

When the doctor announced that the patient needed blood to survive, Sudeep came upfront and expressed his wish to donate his blood to his father. After all, they were one blood.

****

The moment Sudeep came out of the donation room, he caught my hand and started to sob. “I am sorry, mama. Dad must have been thinking of my behavior when he got hit. It’s my fault. I have lost him once, and cannot lose him again.”

****

When I went to meet Dilip, after he was out of danger, as declared by the doctor, he had tears in his eyes. “I am sorry sweetheart, I must not have shouted at Sudeep, and picked up a fight with those roadmen. Do me a favor, darling! Allow me some more time to adjust with my family. Life cannot be imagined without you.”

****

I had tears in my eyes; both of sorrow and happiness. Tears of sorrow – for the condition Dilip was in. Tears of happiness – for my family will be united again.

When the secrets are discovered..

Author: Diwakar Narayan

Author Introduction - A former teacher of English Grammar (though I have started forgetting the basics now) and a great admirer of English Language, I took on blogging to show my skills to the virtual world and nick-named myself as Infected Mind. However, having stepped in, I found that I deserved less than the place of a fish in the ocean. Since then, I have been trying to polish my skills to attain the position of a fish. I have no great job and high education to boast of. Philosophically, a God hater who wants to see how life could be, not believing in Him at all.

The Story:

Sandhya’s story:

Deepak, my husband, was the only soul mate I had in days of abandonment and solitude. In those days, he was not my husband; neither did I expect that I would be married off to him so soon. My dream was such that he would enter my room anytime, hold me up and throw me on the bed. The strong desire to have him squeeze and thrash me always whirled in my mind. Day and night, I wandered in my little nest; locked from outside and looked at his picture I was given. Marriage was a fantasy word to me then, and physical intimacy was needed by every inch of my body.

I remember a morning when my father came to me and said: “Sandhya, I have something to tell you. The priest has advised us to keep you away from this house if your future was to be amended. Your mother has cried the whole night at the very thought of sending you away from us, but we are left with no option but living in your absence for one year.”

On hearing the words of my father, I had created havoc in the house, which I faintly recollect now; and that very evening, I was sent to an old bungalow which was very far from my home so I could spend one year of my life…

...alone!

On the way to my new abode, my father had explained to me that my leaving home was because of some bad forecast that the priest had made about me while inspecting my Janm-Kundli[1]. The only way to bring fortune to my future was to send me away so that the kul-devta[2] could be made happy and his blessings could be obtained.

I had finally given up to the wishes of my father and agreed to be a victim of the great teachings of Hinduism.

When the auspicious day of the completion of the fateful year shone to light, from the bungalow I was taken straight to a wedding hall. I was asked to be silent till vermilion was applied on the blank space parting my hair and I touched the feet of our kul-devta to seek his blessings.

Since the moment I was out of the cage, I had wanted to talk badly. In the lap of my mother, I had wanted to hide my face and cry. But before I could speak a word, my lips was sealed as my father signaled me to remain quiet and made me nod to a promise that I should not open my mouth till he allowed to. The reason of such a demand, he was to explain later.

Immediately after taking the blessings from the kul-devta, I was taken to a palanquin which took me further to my husband’s home. A long journey it was, on the shoulders of four men who carried the palanquin on foot and by the time, I reached my in-laws’, it was already dusk.

Though allowed now, I had not a single chance to speak to anyone while the formalities of receiving a bride were done at my new home. Before long, I found myself inside a heavily decorated room and was advised to keep sitting on the bed with the front of my sari covering my face till my husband arrived. The wait was finally over when I heard the footsteps of someone entering the room and soon I could feel two manly hands taking me in their grip; and then he whispered in my ears, “Sandhya!”

I still sat with my face covered, as advised. When he took the sari off my head to see my face, I instantly recognized him. He was the same person whom I fantasized about while in bed in days of my one-year prison. Before I could say a word, he put his finger on my lips and said, “No! There is no time for us to waste in talking. Just look into my eyes and allow me to praise Almighty for having blessed me with such a beautiful wife”. In no time, I fell in his arms, feeling him all over my body.

At some time that night, I got to know that his name was Deepak. Deepak Sharma.

All the desires I had of the man were fulfilled and I was a content wife within months. As days passed, I started forgetting the nightmares I had of the time I spent alone.

Two years passed quickly. Our second anniversary was due. Deepak had been a wonderful husband since he had first made me his woman. A splendid house, plenty of riches lying in the drawer, a dozen servants to always be on their toes doing the household work and calling me malkin[3] every time they addressed me… what else does a woman need? During the day, I was pampered by all the family members and at night by Deepak.

While the preparations were carried out for our second anniversary, I had an idea to surprise him.

**********

Deepak’s story:

Sometimes, I try to think from the point of view of a common man of the country. What does he think about the political system that we have been slaves of for decades? Does he confide in any political figure or does he abuse them behind their back? In the situation that we are currently in, who are we to blame – the system, the politicians or ourselves? If there is a slightest chance that the system can be improved, someone has to take charge and I have chosen myself for it.

The other day when I visited Ranjit Babu for funds, he refused: “See, Deepak, many who are fighting the elections have approached me for funds, but I have decided to stay out of it this year. The number of wannabe ministers has increased by leaps and bounds this year; and if I am to provide funds to all of them, I will be on roads in no time.”

I knew it was useless to reason with him. So, I came back. Running a campaign is always frowned upon with a view that that the candidates must be spending their black money on it and tricking the voters by providing them aids. But no one can imagine how difficult it is to run a clean campaign with no funds. Had people turned so deaf that they could not hear what I promised to them?

Though, with not much funds, I was happy to see the large number of attendance people registered in my rallies. When I had visited the slums of my constituency, it was so utterly painful to see a young lady crying and narrating what had happened to her one year old child. The canal running in middle of the slums had gulped her baby and before he was discovered, he was already dead.

There are things which need amendments and they are in high numbers. People have been accustomed to getting blank promises and never seeing them fulfilled. But I am sure they would listen to me this time and give me a fair chance to server them for the next five years.

In my personal life, there was something special due. It was my second anniversary. She looked like an angel when I first saw her dressed as a bride, and again I wanted to bring those moments back. A week ago, I had visited a jewelry shop and ordered an expensive necklace for her.

“Are you getting married, sir?” the jeweler had asked when I chose one from the brides’ collection.

I had smiled and answered him: “No, it’s my wedding anniversary.” It seemed that it was hard to believe for him that someone could gift so expensive a necklace on an anniversary. Men are supposed to stop loving their partners after they get married.

I was different.

**********

Sandhya’s story:

On our first marriage anniversary, Deepak had taken me out to some foreign land. With mountains and forest spread all over, it was a romantic and memorable day. The trip came as a surprise, for three days before the due date; he came to me and said: “Let’s pack our bags, we are going out”.

“Now? Where?” I had asked with a sense of astonishment.

He did not answer and stood there for a while and then asked, “Can’t women do a thing without reasoning?” Smiling, he left the room.

Now, it was my turn to surprise him. I prayed to God that he had not already planned something. A couple of days later, I learnt that there were plans for him and some of his subordinates to visit a place and stay there for some days. When I had asked him about it, he answered so: “The country needs me so eagerly that I must overlook my personal needs and wants and spend more time in her service. Yes, I will not be home for a few days.”

Men are pretty irresponsible when it comes to the important days of their lives. Historians know when the world war began and ended, when Hitler was born and killed, but they have little time to remember when they got married and when their child was born. Sensing the same trait in my husband, I asked him: “So, are you not available on our second anniversary?”

“Oh Sandhya! How can I not be? I am there for you whenever need arises.” Such was his reply.

Another thing I dislike among men is their tendency to change the course of thoughts in seconds. Today, they advocate one thing and tomorrow they seem to support something quite opposite the first thing. When you ask them, you are sure to expect the typical answer. “Please not mix these two things dear, my love to the nation and you are incomparable.” Deepak tried to justify when I had counter-questioned him on his changed response from the first time.

Post his departure, I called for the florist and ordered plenty of roses of each color he dealt in, to be delivered in the evening of the anniversary. The plan was to decorate the room exactly as it was on the weeding night and to cover the bed with roses. Deepak was returning late in the evening, so I had enough time for the preparation. The formal cleaning of my bedroom was done by the servants of the house and I had to give it a final touch.

A day before, I started searching for the raata[4] I had worn on the marriage day. When Deepak had undressed me, he had said: “This raata is the first piece of cloth that I have seen on your body. As I take this off you, I wish to keep it with me from now onwards. It has the sweet smell of you that draws me near you. In days where you will not be with me…” I had put my finger on his lips as it was hard for me to listen to what he intended to say, but I could sense what he meant.

I knew the raata was somewhere in his briefcase. He had many of them and it was to take a lot of time to open each of them and search for it, but it was worth it. After half of the total number of briefcases was searched into, I finally got the raata. I was overjoyed and kept looking at it till all the past memories had flashed into my mind.

There came a wide smile on my face and now it was time to keep it aside and put the briefcase back in its place. The moment I took the raata off, I noticed a picture of Deepak with a girl, unknown to me, which had been lying beneath it for not sure how long. My hands started trembling and I could feel some sort of choking around my neck. I stood up violently and threw myself in bed. I was unable to think what to do next. For some time, I lay on the bed senseless and when I regained my senses, I went back to see the picture again.

When I took the picture in my hands, the first thought that came to my mind was to rend it in pieces. Deepak must have had a secret affair with this lady, for the posture was objectionable. But was he capable of doing so, provided he had such a beautiful wife at home and was a man of morals? Was there a chance that he engaged himself with the girl before our marriage took place? Or, was there a chance that someone was blackmailing him? Such were my thoughts that time and many a storm broke in my mind and subsided in that short span of time when I sat there looking at the picture.

I fixed my eyes on the picture for one more time. Something hit my mind all of a sudden. I sensed to have seen the picture somewhere. Maybe the pose, not the girl, for I was sure that the girl was unknown to me. But somehow, the picture was familiar. I stood up and sank in a chair nearby, with the picture held close to my heart. The ceiling drew nearer and nearer and soon, darkness overtook me.

**********

Deepak’s story:

Staying out of my home town was always difficult for me. However, for the campaign I ran, it was necessary to visit the remote localities and address the people there. They are least aware of what is happening in the country and it becomes the responsibility of us politicians to let them know what they are deprived of, how they are tricked into casting their votes in favor of corrupt people. Since the party workers had already arranged for a few rallies in different villages, I agreed to stay there to avoid the trouble of travelling too much.

During one of the rallies, the police had taken into custody a middle-aged woman who was behaving strangely, running here and there among the people who sat to listen to me. She screamed and abused somebody, which I was unaware of, and it was troublesome for the policemen to arrest her as there were no lady constables on duty there.

Upon the completion of our campaign in those areas, I enquired about the lady in a casual chat with the locals. “All her family members were killed by Maoists one night. She survived because she had gone to her parents’ home for some days when this happened. Maalik[5], when she went to the police station to lodge a complaint, she was refused an FIR. Since then, she roams around the village all the time and we try to stay away from her.”

“Why do you stay away from her?”

“If you try to talk to her or console her, she starts abusing and after some time faints. A few months ago, she sat in the temple and did not speak a word for many days.”

I got worried for the lady. At the same time, I was angry at the inspector-in-charge of that area. Since I had no power to use then, I simply called the police station and asked: “Where was the lady taken to after you guys arrested her from my rally?”

“We’ve admitted her to the city hospital, Deepak Babu. The doctor later informed me that they have shifted her to some other hospital and she will be sent home after her treatment was complete.”

I heaved a sigh of relief but could not resist from visiting the lady on my way back home. After further inquiry, it turned out that the lady was shifted to a mental hospital. I left the village in the morning for the city and it was afternoon when I reached the hospital. The doctor was already made aware of my visit and he was there expectant to meet me.

“How is she, doctor?” This was the first question I asked when I met him. The meeting lasted for about half an hour and when I stood up from my chair to leave, the doctor gave me his final assurance, “Don’t worry about her, Deepak Babu. When we can treat a patient like Sandhya Singh and bring her to normality, this is no critical case.”

“Sandhya Singh”?

“Yes, she was under treatment of Dr. Renu Verma and was a very vulnerable case. But now, I have learnt that she has been married for some time and doing pretty fine.”

No words of affirmation came out of my mouth. Having come out of the hospital, I called Dr. Renu Verma and requested her to meet me urgently.

She was my aunt-in-law.

**********

The moment Renu got a call from Deepak; she drove to his house, not far from hers. She was a medical practitioner in the same town Sandhya and Deepak lived.

When she reached his house, he was already in the guest room, waiting for her. Seeing her, he stood up from the sofa and touched her feet. “Remain happy”, she blessed him.

For a couple of minutes, neither of them spoke. He then asked the doctor: “why have you done this to me, aunt? You knew that Sandhya was a patient at the mental hospital and underwent your treatment. In spite of all this, you chose ME to marry her?”

The question was expected, and she knew what to answer. Deepak was aware of half the truth and he must be told the complete story before he could stop feeling angry.

“Look, Deepak, the truth is that your mother and I were mates during our college days. We have decided among ourselves that if after our marriage one had a son and the other a daughter, we would marry them to each other.”

Deepak kept listening with rapt attention.

“Since I had no child after my marriage and you are the only son of your parents, I decided to marry my niece to you. Your mother agreed to it and your father too had no objections. However, when Sandhya turned sixteen, we sometimes noticed her behaving strangely. From the terrace, she used to look at the men on the road or remain locked in her room for hours.”

No question was raised by Deepak. He looked thoughtful.

“After some medical examinations, she was diagnosed of hysteria, a disease in which woman suffer from excessive want of sex. This is normally found in those who are married and remain away from their husbands for a long time. But for a girl, it is quite uncommon.”

“As she neared the age of marriage, we got more and more worried. During my tour to the USA, I had consulted a reputed psychologist and he had advised me to marry her as soon as she was of legitimate age of getting married. But since she was getting out of control, we had to keep her alone for one year and under intense treatment before she was married to you.”

“A patient remains in the state of hysteria only till the time her wants are not fulfilled. Now that she has been married to you for two years and has shown a normal behavior towards everyone, I strongly believe that she is fine now and will not behave in any way objectionable to you. Being a doctor, I can assure you of it.”

Deepak did not seem convinced yet, maybe because it was related to his personal life. If it was not for his own wife, he would have easily understood the situation. He could neither blame Sandhya for it nor himself. He needed time to overcome this and decided to not let Sandhya of what he was going through. Sitting there in a silent state, he decided: “I must show more love for her. I cannot lose her… ever!”

Before leaving, Renu wanted to meet her friend, Deepak’s mother, and her niece Sandhya. After a casual chat between the two friends of college time, Sandhya was sent for.

When Sandhya came to meet her aunt, she broke into tears. Then she said: “My life has been robbed of happiness, aunty. Deepak is no longer mine. He’s gone into someone else and I want to bring him back.”

Renu could not understand why Sandhya spoke so. On further probing, Sandhya told her about her finding the photograph of Deepak with another girl. Renu understood everything.

“Look, my daughter! Deepak is not to blame. Before your marriage, we had tricked him into getting such a picture clicked with one of his friends. We had teased him that he had no ability to court a girl of his age, and then he had brought that picture to us.”

“But when I saw the picture, it came to my mind that I had seen that picture somewhere, or maybe the posture of it. Why is that, aunt?” Sandhya asked.

“Yes, since your marriage with Deepak was already fixed, we had got the picture edited and put your face on it. We wanted to give you a feeling of how your married life was going to be, as the priest had advised us”.

Sandhya remained silent. She now understood that her husband was taintless. Before she left for her bedroom, she decided to not let Deepak of what she was going through: “I must show more love for him. I cannot lose him… ever!”

At night, Sandhya wore the raata and waited for Deepak. Roses were scattered on the bed and the room was filled with the sweet fragrance of them. When Deepak arrived, he got on to the bed and whispered in her ears: “Sandhya…”

She put her finger on his lips and said: “No! There is no time for us to waste in talking. Just look into my eyes and allow me to praise Almighty for having blessed me with such a beautiful husband”.

In no time, they were in each other’s arms, and their bodies felt each other.

**********

1. Janm-Kundli – It is a book of a few pages which have pictures of our solar system and other religious signs to indicate the position of all the stars at the time of birth of a child. On basis of this, the priests tell the future of the person to whom Janm-Kundli belongs.
2. Kul-Devta – It is a term given to a god. It is believed that every family has a god of their own caste/creed and the family must keep the god happy for the sake of its happiness.
3. Malkin – It is a word of respect and is used to address the lady-in-charge of a family.
4. Raata – This term is used for the sari that a woman wears at her wedding night in some cultures. This sari is blood-red in color and after the marriage only used on some specific festivals of Hinduism, like karva-chaoth, etc.
5. Maalik – It is a word of respect and is used to address the man-in-charge of a family.

The Eternal Smile

Author : Diwakar Narayan

Author Introduction : A former teacher of English Grammar (though I have started forgetting the basics now) and a great admirer of English Language, I took on blogging to show my skills to the virtual world and nick-named myself as Infected Mind. However, having stepped in, I found that I deserved less than the place of a fish in the ocean. Since then, I have been trying to polish my skills to attain the position of a fish. I have no great job and high education to boast of. Philosophically, a God hater who wants to see how life could be, not believing in Him at all.

Story:

The only thing I could see was the vast and endless sky, stained with the white spots. No! From inside the narrow window, half of which wore black paint keeping me from gaining a wider view outside, the only thing I could see was a narrow sky. But it must have been vast; yes, it is vast. I have seen the sky since my childhood and it has always been endless. It was only me who could see it narrow, but only till the next day. After that, I longed to see the sky as it is for I am born to see it the way it actually is, not the way that I saw it then. No one was to prevent me from doing so, from gaining freedom once again!

I took out my magazine and looked at the front cover. It had a picture of a baby. That baby, if it existed, knew little how cruel the world is. But the world is not cruel for it is abstract. It is the people who are cruel. Really? In face, they are not cruel. You can only be cruel if you have a mind. They do not have any. They cannot seem to understand the nature of a human being. He is born to be free, not kept inside a prison. It hurts him, breaks him and weakens him. But to understand that, that little baby had to grow up!

I now opened the magazine to read it but noticed a very strange thing. The address of the publisher was written in reverse order. It read as: XYZ Building, ABC Road, Washington DC. These morons do not now the basics! When a baby is born, it is not born in X hospital but is born into the world, the world that exists. He is born into existence, and then comes the world, then the United States, then a state inside it, then a city and location and a hospital. Ah! Forty years ago, how I was born to existence and they put me under the restrictions of the United States, Virginia, Arlington and now they have dragged me to North Courthouse Road, 1435, Arlington State Penitentiary. When this did not satisfy them, they put in the SuperMax unit and now inside that hell-hole. Never mind, I was to prove them wrong once again.

"Bruce, what happened? What makes you walk restlessly inside this little world, my friend?"

Bruce turned to me. He must have been angry with me till then. But he should not have been, should he? After all, it was not my fault that the cops chanced to shift him in my ward because of some bastard who created havoc by flooding his cell and thus making the cops to move everyone from the other block to mine. Either the cops should have shifted him to any other ward or he should not have had such nice body. Men are supposed to be rough, not soft, don't they?

How could he give so much pain to his soft body? One hour of intense exercise must have had tired each muscle of him.Innocent guy! He did not realize that his body was made to be pampered with the petals of roses and not for intense work-out.

My intelligent mind sometimes gives me such ideas which work in any situation. Those fools! They did not even notice on their computer screens when I gave Bruce the divine pleasure, that also continuously for a period of thirty minutes. But how could have they? I had already blurred the camera with the foam of the bath soap. After all, it is not polite to see the intimate moments of two humans, is it?. That also, blurred scenes! I smiled at my own stupid joke.

"Mind your business, you bastard!"

Ah! He called me names! Yes, he must have still been angry at me. He must be made to calm down. The guards had told me that he had to stay with me for two days and I could not see him furious over my holy deed of this morning.

"Keep it cool, Bruce. You are such a sweetheart. An angry face does not suit you. Tell me, what bothers you so much that you cannot even take some rest?"

”Rest? I have been resting for a very long time and doing nothing. Let my body feel the severest pain so that I can be ready for the eternal sleep."

"Eternal sleep? What do you mean?"

"Yes, eternal sleep. I only have 48 hours of life. How I wish I could have a glimpse of Amy."

"Amy? Who is she?"

"My darling. My dream of days and my reality of nights. The happy moments of my life. My food when I was hungry, my water when I was thirsty. My life when I ran out of breath, my death when I was too lively. But you know what? I killed her."

"And, why did you do so, pray, if I may ask?"

"No! I did not kill her. This is what they say. I was arrested within hours of her murder and soon convicted of the crime. I was too shocked to speak for myself. Further, Everything was against me."

I remained silent to let him speak more.

"When I first got in here, I wanted to get out as soon as possible. But the closed walls are not kind enough, it seems. When she was lost, everything of mine was lost. Now, I think it is better to be a real corpse than a walking one with no human emotions."

He spoke no more now. I let him be.

**************

I tried to sleep, but to no avail. My excitement of getting out of that bloody hell had given me sleepless nights. The first thing I was to do after I came out was to rob the bank again. Yes, I was not the one to be challenged. The arms my gang carried ditched me. Had the gun fired on time when I pulled the triggers, I would not have been there. I intended to see the supplier also. How could he supply faulty armory to me? Did he not realize that it could have cost him his life? No problem, I would make him realize it the moment I was out. Such thoughts gathered in my mind.

Money is the most sacred thing ever known to mankind, is it not? It must not be kept in banks. It must be available to everyone in need. They do not get this. In a wedding ceremony, if food is left out in the end, it is distributed among the poor. Similarly, why cannot they distribute the money to us when they have no use of it? Phew! The whole system needs to change and I must take the responsibility of doing so. I thought so.

"What is that inside your bed?"

His scream woke me up. Had he noticed something?

"Nothing, go to bed and stop screaming. You will land up in more trouble." I retorted.

"Let me see it myself if you do not tell me what it is."

Saying so, he came near my bed and slipped inside my bed. He must have noticed my way to freedom! How could he? I made sure to hide it properly with old magazines. No, he could not see that, he could not cut the rope when I was walking on it? He had no rights to do so. I must convince him not to do so.

"Did you notice a rat, Bruce? These little monsters are everywhere." I said peeping beneath my bead with rest of my body on the bed.

"What is this big hole for? Are you escaping?"

The question stunned me, to the highest degree. Unbelievable! He had discovered my secret. Yes, it was not his fault that the guards put him in my cell. It was my fault to have allowed him. I could have told them that I feared being attached. Any other prisoner was dangerous to me for he would kill me. Such a fool I was! I came under extreme pressure to talk to him tactfully. Any mistake could have ruined my future!

"Bruce, come here. Sit next to me. Listen! This is very important for me to go out. I am not made to be poisoned. I have a different philosophy of life and I must enlighten the world with my thinking, my ways, and my belief."

He continued staring at me. This frightened me even more. If this was any other place in the world, I would have killed him. But here, I could not take any risk. His death in my cell would have been an obstacle in my way out. I could not do that. Simply not!

"Look! Here is a proposal for you. If you want, you can come with me. The tunnel is ready. I could have escaped by now, but the havoc that you created last night made all the guards alert. If you wish to join me, we can execute our plans tonight. Are you listening?"

He turned his head down and looked at the ground. Was that guy crazy? He should have been excited to have known that he had got a way out of this hell.

"Bruce, my friend, see! If you go out, you can kill those bastards who put you here. You can hunt the real murderers of your lady. You will do it, will you not?"

"No. My heart does not allow me to hunt her killers."

"What?" I was taken aback at this sudden turn of his thinking.

"Being behind bars and dying with poison is far more relaxing that knowing that the lady who you have admired your whole life has been a whore!"

It was time for me to remain silent. Not intentionally though; I could not think what to speak. His girlfriend had been a whore! If so, why did he want to kill the murderers when he came here. Yes, this was the question I was to ask him.

"But you wanted to kill those murderers when you came here, did you not?"

"Yes, I did. I have been thinking on it since I spoke to you last. Why did they kill her? Did they know that she was a hooker? It must have been the case that she had been in relationship with them too and cheating them like she did to me. Once they found it out, they took their revenge on her. I must have also done the same thing they did. I must have killed her myself. I regret not having done so."

"But how did you know she was a whore? With little correspondence here, you must have known it before you were arrested and jailed. You had a fair chance of bleeding her to death, did you not?"

"It was proved in the federal court. Till then, it was too late"

I had no more questions to ask him. He obviously did not seem interested in any escape attempts. Was he then going to tell the truth of my secret tunnel to the prison guards? Was he going to take revenge on me for I had raped him in the shower that morning? was he going to deny me my life? No, he had no right in doing so.

"So, you are not telling anyone that you saw anything here, are you?"

"No. But you must do something for me."

"What? Tell me what you want and it is done."

"I need some drugs so as to not feel the pain. My legs have started to refuse to walk anymore. They must be put unconscious so that my mind can make them walk more and more and be ready for the eternal sleep."

This was a huge demand. But I must arrange for it. Yes, rat-lining was the solution. That very practice had helped me plan the escape with my co-inmates and it came handy when Bruce demanded the drugs too. I quickly passed on the message to my co-inmate and in return he sent me the power of life wrapped in paper. Small quantity it was, but had the potential to give anyone the highest of pleasures.

***************

It was time for Bruce to depart. The security guards called him from outside.

"Give me a minute." He responded to the cops. He then turned to me and asked:

"Thank you for preparing me for the eternal sleep, Billy. Live your life to the fullest. You anyway have got very less time to live."

"Less time?"

"Yes, you would have gotten AIDS by now."

I could not take my eyes off his smile while he moved out of my cell.