All is well that ends well. I woke up a happy man. Honestly I hadn’t slept all night. I kept thinking about Sameera. I had never thought of her as someone I could be with. But her sudden proposal last night had left me stunned. I kept thinking about it. The entire night. I wanted to try it out. I wanted to know how it felt and most importantly I didn’t want to wake up 40 years later regretting not taking a chance. I was prepared to say yes to her. And since Sanjay hadn’t returned the entire night I got this feeling that something must have worked out. I was smiling. I was happy. Gunjan was already awake by the time I was up. He seemed excited about something.
“Come on get ready. Everyone else is almost ready. I texted everyone to reach the car in 15 minutes. I found out about this awesome place. Some waterfall. And it looks like its going to rain soon. So get ready. Dude we have to go to this place!”
In half an hour we all were seated in my red Indica. Gunjan was driving. He had found some secluded water fall located on a hill close by. It was a twenty minute ride. And it was the most awkward ride ever. Sameera looked beautiful that day. We kept giving one another smiles. And I felt weird. I mean she had been a friend till last night and now she was something more. Roshini and Sanjay hadn’t worked everything out. Roshini was mad at him for something. I had heard their bickering. Apparently roshini wanted to know something but Sanjay chose not to tell her. She told him to come clean and he didn’t want too.
No one talked except Gunjan. He kept talking about how he had found out about this place from a local. This was supposed to be a great spot. A place rarely visited by anyone. It was a rocky road but the ride was worth it. Once there I knew this would be the place where I’d take my chance. It was beautiful. It was a little higher than all the other waterfall’s we had been too. Rocky with pure clean water. We got out and went into the water. And it was beautiful. Sameera went near the edge of the water fall to have a view of what lay beneath. She called us all. Roshini and Sanjay chose to bicker more. Gunjan pretended to be busy with the camera and nudged me to go. I was nervous, excited and I knew what I had to say. I went up to her. And for a moment we stood there in silence staring at what lay ahead. From the edge you could see this beautiful waterfall curving and twisting through dense forests. It almost seemed like the water disappeared somewhere. Cold wind kept blowing in our faces and I could feel Sameera’s breath close to me. I turned to her and she turned to me. We stood face to face. Her eyes were staring straight into mine. I held her hand and told her what I had practiced in front of the mirror before coming here.
I said, “ Last night when you told me you loved me I was scared. I mean you are beautiful and I had no clue that your species could fall for a low life like me. I am not ready to commit yet. I don’t know if I love you. But I sure do know that I want to love you. I will do all that I can to keep you happy. But I am scared. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to loose this friendship. And I don’t want you to ever suffer because of me. I am not really good at being a boyfriend. And I don’t think I can keep you happy!” before I could continue she stopped me.
She drew closer and looked straight into my eyes and said, “I don’t care. I know I love you. I am also taking a chance. Just trust yourself and give this a try. We will find a way to be happy together. I really mean it.”
Suddenly she was closer than she had ever been and I had seen enough movies to know that a kiss was coming my way. She was just an inch away when I heard a scream. We both turned in the direction where
Roshini and Sanjay stood. The scream was growing louder and louder. It was Roshini.
Roshini screamed, “ WHAT? And you blame yourself. How?”
And then she turned towards us. She was angry. I could see it in her eyes. She started walking towards us. Sanjay came after her pleading, “ Please Roshini don’t. Its all in the past now. Things are different. Forget it. Don’t do this.”
I was confused. I couldn’t understand what was going on. All this was getting too weird.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The officers were gone and Sanjay was gone. Roshini kept staring at Gunjan disapprovingly.
She said, “ You traitor! Couldn’t you keep your mouth shut! Because of you Sanjay is in trouble. How could you?”
Gunjan retorted, “ HOW COULD I? You have no right to ask me that. He died Roshini. He died and we sit here letting him die just like that. You have no conscience in you. I couldn’t take the guilt. And if Sanjay is behind bars then you very well no who is at fault here.”
“Stop it. We all made a mistake. The murder was a mistake. But hiding it is a crime. Hiding the truth is a crime. I mean how can you sit there. When you know you did it. Your going to let another one of your friends take the blame for you and destroy their life too. And you have got some nerve. Your friends are protecting you. We did all this for you. Sanjay sacrificed himself for you. And you sit here like nothing is wrong. What are you? How can you have no guilt!” said the one who had made the anonymous call to the one who had actually committed the murder.
What these kids hadn’t noticed was that the man behind the glass was still observing them. And his eyes went wide when he saw what had just happened before him. His initial reluctance had been right. The murderer had still not confessed rather a friend had taken the blame. He ordered his men back in. It was time to do justice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A fired up roshini came charging towards me. I was perplexed. She pushed me back and stood facing Sameera.
She was angry and shouted, “ YOU BITCH. HOW COULD YOU? You have got some nerve.”
Sameera was taken aback and she retorted, “What the hell is wrong with you Roshini. Whats wrong?”
Sanjay and I stood between the two women. Roshini was angry, Sameera was confused and Sanjay was shaking with fear. Gunjan who was away from all the drama left his video camera on a rock and came rushing towards us.
Roshini screamed, “ I thought you were a nice girl. But all you do is use people. You knew from the start how I felt about Sanjay. You were my best friend. You were the one who told me that you saw love for him in my eyes and then you do this. You backstabbing bitch. I hate you. People like you deserve to die.”
Something dawned on Sameera. She shot a dirty look to Sanjay and looked back at Roshini. She spoke in a terrified voice, “ Roshini, that was a mistake. It happened long back. I am sorry. You know I never felt anything for him. I have been in love with Veer ever since I knew him. What happened with Sanjay was a mistake.
And then it hit me. The girl that sanjay had hooked up with was Sameera. And suddenly I could understand why he had hidden it from all of us especially Roshini. But it hit me worse than ever. This girl that I had started to like had a secret that changed a lot of things.
I interjected, “Sameera, you were that girl! You slept with Sanjay?”
Sameera was crestfallen. She didn’t know that I knew and she glared at Sanjay.
She wailed, “Haven’t you done enough. You took advantage of me and then I asked you to not let anyone know and what do you do? You go ahead and you tell my best friend and the boy I am in love with. If you want to destroy me Sanjay take a knife and stab me and let me die. How could you! You claimed you love me and then you do this! How could you?”
“Oh just shut up!”, said Roshini, “ you have got some nerve. You destroyed everything Sameera. What kind of a girl does such a thing. You deserve to be punished. You broke his heart. You used him. I know why you were so drunk that day. You had seen Veer flirting with some girl. You vented it all out to me. But I never thought you’d exploit sanjay. How could you. And worse of all you blame him. You knew he liked you. You knew he’d never say no to you. And still you went ahead and did it with him. And left him like a tissue paper. YOU used and threw him. You know what you are right you do deserve to be stabbed and killed. You are a filthy worthless piece of crap. He still blames himself. He cant say yes to me because he thinks he is a horrible guy. All because of you. You bitch!”
“Stop it!” said Sanjay.
And I was too shocked to understand anything. I couldn’t believe all that was going on. The sound of the waterfall was loud. Too many people were screaming and shouting around me. I just couldn’t hear anything. Sameera’s hands were on my face. She was crying. And she kept saying something. But it just didn’t matter. And then out of nowhere I heard Gunjan scream, “NO. Sanjay stop her. Are you crazy!” I didn’t understand what was happening. And out of nowhere I felt a horrible pain in my stomach. When I looked down my own blood was in my hands. And so blinding was the pain that I lost my balance and the last thing I remember were seeing the faces of my friends. Terror, pain, panic, fear and tears were what I remember. I was falling down that very water fall I had admired not long back. As I fell the only thing I could remember was my old man. He’d be disappointed. He had lost mom and I was all he had. He’d miss me. I’d miss him too. I wish I hadn’t fallen. But I was and death was near.
I died that day. Murdered by my own friends. The one’s I wanted to be happy. I had brought them to resolve their own issues and had died a painful death in the process.
I saw my own body. I saw everything. I looked awesome when dead but I was dead and my spirit just lingered. I was with them when they planned to make my murder sound like an accident. I was with them when Sameera sneaked in to call the police. I saw my friends in the interrogation room. And I knew exactly what had happened that morning. And I stood their watching my own friends lie about everything.
As I stood behind the senior office looking at my friends through the glass window I could see that they had made mistakes. But I had paid for their mistakes. And I wanted justice.
That morning Roshini was enraged beyond her control. She had grabbed one of Gunjan’s beer bottles and smashed it across the rock. She took the broken glass in her hand and was charging for Sameera who stood right in front of me. Sanjay had managed to pull Sameera away but not me. And sweet little roshini, that one girl for whom I had done all of this stabbed me with that broken piece of glass. I could have survived had I not fallen. But I did fall. Before I could hope for a ray of life it just slipped out of my hand. I remember crying as I fell. It was a helpless feeling. A horrible feeling of being absolutely useless. You keep thinking of how you could have done things differently and survived but where I was all I could do was look at my death and wait for it to take me away.
Roshini sat in front of me. She was guilty but she was a coward. Sanjay had saved her because he thought he was responsible. And she sat there like a coward. Sameera unknowingly had given up her secret. Gunjan told her to come clean but she sat there silent and still.
And then the door to the room opened. Apte escorted a couple off women inspectors in who arrested Roshini. Apte sniggered and said, “ Roshini Bajaj, your under arrest for the murder of Veer Singh Chauhan.”
Sanjay was brought in as well and he kept pleading them to take him instead of her. And in front of my own eyes I saw my own friends struggle with their mistakes that had led to my murder. It was as if God was playing a joke on me. I had died due to a mistake two people I loved had made and I had died as a result of the biggest mistake my sweet little friend had made. My death was a big mistake that I hadn’t made.
Rage and envy are a dangerous combination that bring out the darkest of shades inside a human being. I died. And as I saw my murderer being taken away I felt a freedom. I knew it was time to go. Before I left I left with two memories that would always stay with me. The love I had seen in my old man’s eyes as I had left for college and the tears I saw in the eyes of all my friends as they had seen me die. My death had ruined their lives. Who knew a little slip could destroy your entire existence. Had I survived I would have told my children to always keep track of the little slips they ignore. It might just come back and haunt you. And that was how I was murdered.
THE END
By
Shweta A. Kulshreshtha
so the story is over....if you read it and enjoyed it please comment...your comments is appreciation for my work and i get encouraged reading them...and if u didnt like it let me know...i will work harder next time..
thanks for reading it till now... :)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
A LITTLE SLIP_ PART4 confessions...confessions...
The ride back to the hotel was awkward. I kept quiet and so did Sanjay. Roshini and Gunjan kept teasing Sameera with some mystery guy. Apparently she had confessed something as well. Roshini had tried to taunt us to ask her what it was but none of us were in the mood. I felt bad for Sanjay. He kept staring blankly at the road ahead. I really wish he’d talk to Roshini once and put her out of her misery. I hope our talk had helped.
The only thing on my mind now was getting back. The day had been exhausting and I wanted to sleep. I straight away went to my room. As did Sanjay. Gunjan, Sameera and Roshini were having some session of their own.
Now when your really tired and want to go to sleep you never straight away go to sleep. You do stupid things. Like switch on the tv. So the tv was on and I was just surfing through some nonsensical channels. I sat on my bed in my shorts (mankind‘s most amazing creation of course after the iphone). Sanjay had come to my room a while back. He told me he decided to talk to Roshini. I was happy for him. She deserved it. And I just hoped she’d understand. It made me feel better. Like things would get better.
At around midnight, while I was still watching some dopey serial, there was a loud impatient knock on my door. I thought it would be Gunjan drunk out of his wits again. The man loved booze. He fantasized about drowning in beer. I went up to the door and opened it expecting a drunk Gunjan to fall on me. However a semi drunk Sameera fell on me. I was taken aback. I took her to the bed. She fell on it. And started giggling. I told her that she was in the wrong room and that I’d take her to her room and she started laughing again. I couldn’t understand. So I turned to get her some water. Before I knew it I felt her arms around me. I was baffled so I turned and Sameera was right under my nose. She had a weird look in her eyes. And she was looking hot. Well any girl whose right under your nose, pressed up against you transforms into a greek goddess. I didn’t understand what she was doing but I liked it.
She looked up and said, “ Veer, your so pretty!”
I was like WHAT? Apparently I too looked like a greek goddess to a semi drunk Sameera.
And she giggled a little and said, “ you know you look like a goof when you make that face. But I like your
goofy look. I have liked it since the first time you made me laugh at one of your corny jokes. I am tired of dropping hints. Its crazy. But I love you veer, I really do!”
Just like that she said it and left me speechless. Sameera, my friend Sameera, lecture giving hating my guts
Sameera, was telling me she loved me. I was in shock!
All I could manage was, “wh-wha- at? Are you serious or is this a joke?”
“Don’t make it more difficult than it already is. I have been into you since long. You and your nutty jokes and your cracks about your old man. Everything. I love it. I love the way you stick with Gunjan so that he‘s not alone in his foolishness. I love the way you always keep an eye on Roshini and Sanjay solving their fights and keeping them happy and I love the way you take care of me even though I am so horrible to you at times. I really really love you. I have never felt this way for a guy ever before in my life. And I just cant believe it that I’d fall for you. I love you. I do.”
I pushed her back. This was too much in too little time. Unwillingly my old man came back into my head. I know. A hot drunk girl is telling me she loves me and I am thinking of my old man. But his words just came to me. He’d always say this whenever he talked about mom. He’d say, “ you know what son? The day I realized your mom was far better than what I deserved I married her. Always remember whenever you find someone better than you, someone who loves you and cares for you in better ways than you can you should hold on to them and not let them go. Its almost like winning a lottery. You don’t tear the ticket you cash it in.”
I turned. I sat her down next to me and told her with as much sincerity as I could gather, the circulation to my brain had decreased after all but I managed. I told her, “ Sameera, your beautiful and amazing. But right now your drunk. I like you. I love you as a friend but I do like you. Let me take you back to your room and I promise we will talk about his tomorrow.”
Her eyes had drooped and she made that face that every girl uses whenever she wants something and doesn’t get it. She said in the sweetest voice ever, “at least tell me whether you’ll go out with me or not? Am I that bad kya?”
I smiled and took her soft face in my hands and told her, “ya I want to go out with you. I am lucky to have you. But your not in a state to talk right now!” She nodded and I dropped her off to her room.
What a day I had. On my way back I found Gujan passed out on the stairway so I brought him back to my room. He lay snoring on the bed and I went to the window overlooking the lawn. I saw a tiny Roshini resting her head on Sanjay’s shoulder. I just knew things would be all right tomorrow. I had saved a friend, saved a friendship, and I might have earned a hot girlfriend. And all this happened in one bloody day. Was I feeling lucky, like the luckiest man alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The room was filled with shocked faces. Right in the centre was a tape that could alter their lives forever. Two policemen stood by the side observing the helplessness they were expecting from the group. The chief sat on the other side of the glass wall of the room. He had seen crimes in his days. This one didn’t baffle him at all. He knew they would nail the killer. Only they didn’t know which one to nail. Each of them had a motive. The murder weapon a broken bottle of beer had been used to stab the victim and could be lying in any of the junkyards in Lonavala. Though they had some evidence the case rested entirely on the confession of the criminal. The cold blooded murderer. The last day’s tape had been the major leap in the case.
This group might have looked foolish but they weren’t a sloppy lot. They had wisely reported the entire incident as an ‘accident’. Had the body remained misplaced the police would have dismissed the case. But it was that anonymous call. Maybe someone with a conscience from the group or a silent witness who had seen the crime. That phone call made them investigate. The threat of the media getting involved added their pressure. But they were close. Just one confession. And game.
On the other side of the wall one mind was running violently. That one mind had protected a dark dark secret. They were all ashamed. Ashamed of the things that they had done in those last couple of moments. A man was dead and one of them was responsible. They had not only protected a criminal but let some one die. But silence was all that could save them. He had seen it all. They all had. It was his idea to dispose the murder weapon into a pile of broken glass bottles. He decided to make this look like an accident because the discovery of the body seemed highly unlikely. And without a first hand witness account the police would not be able to prove anything. He narrated the incident over and over to his bunch of friends and made them memorize their roles. He had to protect himself. He had to protect his friends. He blamed himself for the death. How could he have let it happen. It was all his fault. And no friend of his was going to suffer for those mistakes.
But that tape had ruined everything. Some local had discovered the body. How could luck leave him at the end. He still thought there was a chance to get away. He just prayed that his friends hold up in the pressure. He knew he had too.
“Kids, I get it. Mistakes happen. And something must have gone wrong up there. But you cant live with so much guilt. You are too young. And you need to come clean. You cant just sit and be a part of this heinous crime. There must be a voice inside you telling you to own up. Come on. Tell us the truth.” said Prabhaker in a soft voice.
“KIDS HAH! THEY ARE NO KIDS. They are cold blooded murderers. Look at them. Ruthless, heartless and evil. They sit here knowing everything and still they wont own up. They took a life. The life of someone so important. They pretend to be nice. They all do. But inside each one of them there is a cool calculated cold blooded murderer. Who not only committed a sin but had the audacity to sit here and plea innocence. They DISGUST ME!” said Apte.
He couldn’t take it. He had to say something. He had witnessed everything silently. But his insides were burning. He knew he had to come clean. He’d never forgive himself if he didn’t.
Gunjan broke down suddenly. And wailed, “It was an accident. We never meant for any of this to happen.”
Sanjay got up and glared at Gunjan. He shouted, “NO… NO… YOU FOOL SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!”
“NO I cant shut up any longer. How can you sit there? How? I am no cold blooded murderer. I cant let this happen. I cant… I just cant…” said Gunjan
“You have ruined everything Gunjan! I have to say it. I did it. Its me. I murdered him! I stabbed him with the glass bottle.” said Sanjay.
“What! No. no. Gunjan why did you have to ruin everything. No Sanjay no don’t say this. Don’t do this.” pleaded Roshini.
Prabhaker grabbed Sanjay by his collar and hand cuffed him. Sanjay shivered under the giant policeman and tears rolled down his eyes. Roshini grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. They had to pull her away. And he was taken away from the room.
The man on the other side of the glass felt uneasy. There was something wrong still. He wasn’t satisfied. Something didn’t add up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the writer:-
hi people..thanks for readin it till now...the end is yet to come...i'l post it and part5 will be the climax..hope you enjoy it..pls comment
The only thing on my mind now was getting back. The day had been exhausting and I wanted to sleep. I straight away went to my room. As did Sanjay. Gunjan, Sameera and Roshini were having some session of their own.
Now when your really tired and want to go to sleep you never straight away go to sleep. You do stupid things. Like switch on the tv. So the tv was on and I was just surfing through some nonsensical channels. I sat on my bed in my shorts (mankind‘s most amazing creation of course after the iphone). Sanjay had come to my room a while back. He told me he decided to talk to Roshini. I was happy for him. She deserved it. And I just hoped she’d understand. It made me feel better. Like things would get better.
At around midnight, while I was still watching some dopey serial, there was a loud impatient knock on my door. I thought it would be Gunjan drunk out of his wits again. The man loved booze. He fantasized about drowning in beer. I went up to the door and opened it expecting a drunk Gunjan to fall on me. However a semi drunk Sameera fell on me. I was taken aback. I took her to the bed. She fell on it. And started giggling. I told her that she was in the wrong room and that I’d take her to her room and she started laughing again. I couldn’t understand. So I turned to get her some water. Before I knew it I felt her arms around me. I was baffled so I turned and Sameera was right under my nose. She had a weird look in her eyes. And she was looking hot. Well any girl whose right under your nose, pressed up against you transforms into a greek goddess. I didn’t understand what she was doing but I liked it.
She looked up and said, “ Veer, your so pretty!”
I was like WHAT? Apparently I too looked like a greek goddess to a semi drunk Sameera.
And she giggled a little and said, “ you know you look like a goof when you make that face. But I like your
goofy look. I have liked it since the first time you made me laugh at one of your corny jokes. I am tired of dropping hints. Its crazy. But I love you veer, I really do!”
Just like that she said it and left me speechless. Sameera, my friend Sameera, lecture giving hating my guts
Sameera, was telling me she loved me. I was in shock!
All I could manage was, “wh-wha- at? Are you serious or is this a joke?”
“Don’t make it more difficult than it already is. I have been into you since long. You and your nutty jokes and your cracks about your old man. Everything. I love it. I love the way you stick with Gunjan so that he‘s not alone in his foolishness. I love the way you always keep an eye on Roshini and Sanjay solving their fights and keeping them happy and I love the way you take care of me even though I am so horrible to you at times. I really really love you. I have never felt this way for a guy ever before in my life. And I just cant believe it that I’d fall for you. I love you. I do.”
I pushed her back. This was too much in too little time. Unwillingly my old man came back into my head. I know. A hot drunk girl is telling me she loves me and I am thinking of my old man. But his words just came to me. He’d always say this whenever he talked about mom. He’d say, “ you know what son? The day I realized your mom was far better than what I deserved I married her. Always remember whenever you find someone better than you, someone who loves you and cares for you in better ways than you can you should hold on to them and not let them go. Its almost like winning a lottery. You don’t tear the ticket you cash it in.”
I turned. I sat her down next to me and told her with as much sincerity as I could gather, the circulation to my brain had decreased after all but I managed. I told her, “ Sameera, your beautiful and amazing. But right now your drunk. I like you. I love you as a friend but I do like you. Let me take you back to your room and I promise we will talk about his tomorrow.”
Her eyes had drooped and she made that face that every girl uses whenever she wants something and doesn’t get it. She said in the sweetest voice ever, “at least tell me whether you’ll go out with me or not? Am I that bad kya?”
I smiled and took her soft face in my hands and told her, “ya I want to go out with you. I am lucky to have you. But your not in a state to talk right now!” She nodded and I dropped her off to her room.
What a day I had. On my way back I found Gujan passed out on the stairway so I brought him back to my room. He lay snoring on the bed and I went to the window overlooking the lawn. I saw a tiny Roshini resting her head on Sanjay’s shoulder. I just knew things would be all right tomorrow. I had saved a friend, saved a friendship, and I might have earned a hot girlfriend. And all this happened in one bloody day. Was I feeling lucky, like the luckiest man alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The room was filled with shocked faces. Right in the centre was a tape that could alter their lives forever. Two policemen stood by the side observing the helplessness they were expecting from the group. The chief sat on the other side of the glass wall of the room. He had seen crimes in his days. This one didn’t baffle him at all. He knew they would nail the killer. Only they didn’t know which one to nail. Each of them had a motive. The murder weapon a broken bottle of beer had been used to stab the victim and could be lying in any of the junkyards in Lonavala. Though they had some evidence the case rested entirely on the confession of the criminal. The cold blooded murderer. The last day’s tape had been the major leap in the case.
This group might have looked foolish but they weren’t a sloppy lot. They had wisely reported the entire incident as an ‘accident’. Had the body remained misplaced the police would have dismissed the case. But it was that anonymous call. Maybe someone with a conscience from the group or a silent witness who had seen the crime. That phone call made them investigate. The threat of the media getting involved added their pressure. But they were close. Just one confession. And game.
On the other side of the wall one mind was running violently. That one mind had protected a dark dark secret. They were all ashamed. Ashamed of the things that they had done in those last couple of moments. A man was dead and one of them was responsible. They had not only protected a criminal but let some one die. But silence was all that could save them. He had seen it all. They all had. It was his idea to dispose the murder weapon into a pile of broken glass bottles. He decided to make this look like an accident because the discovery of the body seemed highly unlikely. And without a first hand witness account the police would not be able to prove anything. He narrated the incident over and over to his bunch of friends and made them memorize their roles. He had to protect himself. He had to protect his friends. He blamed himself for the death. How could he have let it happen. It was all his fault. And no friend of his was going to suffer for those mistakes.
But that tape had ruined everything. Some local had discovered the body. How could luck leave him at the end. He still thought there was a chance to get away. He just prayed that his friends hold up in the pressure. He knew he had too.
“Kids, I get it. Mistakes happen. And something must have gone wrong up there. But you cant live with so much guilt. You are too young. And you need to come clean. You cant just sit and be a part of this heinous crime. There must be a voice inside you telling you to own up. Come on. Tell us the truth.” said Prabhaker in a soft voice.
“KIDS HAH! THEY ARE NO KIDS. They are cold blooded murderers. Look at them. Ruthless, heartless and evil. They sit here knowing everything and still they wont own up. They took a life. The life of someone so important. They pretend to be nice. They all do. But inside each one of them there is a cool calculated cold blooded murderer. Who not only committed a sin but had the audacity to sit here and plea innocence. They DISGUST ME!” said Apte.
He couldn’t take it. He had to say something. He had witnessed everything silently. But his insides were burning. He knew he had to come clean. He’d never forgive himself if he didn’t.
Gunjan broke down suddenly. And wailed, “It was an accident. We never meant for any of this to happen.”
Sanjay got up and glared at Gunjan. He shouted, “NO… NO… YOU FOOL SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!”
“NO I cant shut up any longer. How can you sit there? How? I am no cold blooded murderer. I cant let this happen. I cant… I just cant…” said Gunjan
“You have ruined everything Gunjan! I have to say it. I did it. Its me. I murdered him! I stabbed him with the glass bottle.” said Sanjay.
“What! No. no. Gunjan why did you have to ruin everything. No Sanjay no don’t say this. Don’t do this.” pleaded Roshini.
Prabhaker grabbed Sanjay by his collar and hand cuffed him. Sanjay shivered under the giant policeman and tears rolled down his eyes. Roshini grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. They had to pull her away. And he was taken away from the room.
The man on the other side of the glass felt uneasy. There was something wrong still. He wasn’t satisfied. Something didn’t add up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the writer:-
hi people..thanks for readin it till now...the end is yet to come...i'l post it and part5 will be the climax..hope you enjoy it..pls comment
Thursday, June 10, 2010
a LITTLE SLIP_ PART3
The second day of the trip had to be the breakthrough I needed with my lot of nut heads. I was fast asleep in my bed dreaming of Megan Fox, she is hot. And that’s when I was violently woken from my dream date. A hyper Gunjan was trying to wake me up from what he thought was a coma. I got up all irritated and shook up and said, “WHAT THE HELL! Dude…”
Gunjan just managed, “ Roshini… crying. I saw her sitting alone on the roof. I went up to her. I tried to make her feel better but I somehow made it worse. She is crying. Help. Go. Please.”
Suddenly Megan Fox (in a feisty red bikini) evaporated and I could picture a vulnerable Roshini wailing on the roof. And if Gunjan had ‘talked’ to her I am sure she’d be feeling worse. I had to go. So I got up, popped in a mentos and walked up to the roof. I saw sweet little roshini curled up in one corner crying. Her eyes were bloodshot. Apparently her own outburst last night had left her vulnerable. I didn’t say anything I just sat next to her and let her cry.
After an hour of letting it all out her tears turned silent. And she sat next to me with her head on my shoulder. She was a special friend of mine. One of those rare few people who’d go to any lengths to protect their friends and be there for them. She had always been there for all of us. She took extra care of everyone especially Sanjay. And any guy would be lucky to have some one like Roshini love them. I couldn’t make her understand why Sanjay didn’t respond. Logic dictated that they be together. Because they did everything together. Yet love is complicated and no one can really understand it. I turned to her and said what I knew would make her smile, “ oye stop crying. Chal we’ll go and have some chocolate ice cream and then we are off. We can also mess with Gunjan.” she looked at me with her beady eyes, smiled and we both went off to an early morning ice cream and some serious Gunjan teasing time.
After we were back all of us decided to go and visit all the waterfalls that made lonavala so famous. Gunjan wanted me to present lonavala to the world. That asshole had been recording anything and everything he could. Lonavala was beautiful and the monsoon made it heaven on earth. The mountains were leaking. That’s what Gunjan kept saying. And really everywhere you looked there was a creek, or a waterfall sneaking up from some corner of the mountain. As soon as we set out towards finding a perfect picnic spot, it started drizzling.
Now everyone knew the Lonavala rule. Booze, food and a waterfall. You find a place not too far from a waterfall, you sit nearby have food, have drinks and do whatever you want and then you jump into the water. We had so much fun. Its funny, with your friends you never run short on conversation. We managed to talk for hours. Sameera lectured us on the political implications of Naxalites to which only Roshini and Sanjay responded. Me and Gunjan just pretended to listen. And then Sameera started talking about her childhood. These were always interesting. Her father had been in the army and she was a sure shot army brat. Smart, beautiful and naughty. She was one hell of a party animal. She was serious when it came to academics and serious when it came to partying. She had the best of both worlds and never let one come in the way of another. We always looked upto her thinking she’d make it big in the world. This girl knew what she wanted and always managed to get what she wanted. And her childhood tales rather escapades were always fun to listen too.
After a good long chat session we ran to the water fall. There were videos and photos that had each of us embarrassing the crap out of ourselves and one another. We were wet from head to toe. And were having the time of our life. Roshini kept close to Sanjay but didn’t talk to him. There was a strong undercurrent between them but they pretended that everything was all right. Sameera had ventured to more dangerous regions of the waterfall and Gunjan ran after her worried she’d fall. He took roshini with him. It was just me and sanjay sitting on a rock alone. That was the perfect moment to talk. I wanted to ask him everything. But I knew him too well. He’d never say what he really felt. It would all be in vain. But I had too. I had to hear it from him so that I could lay down roshini nice and easy. I started small talk about the weather and college. He looked at me and nodded. He was looking at roshini or so I thought.
And I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I blurted out, “ what’s wrong with you? Such a nice girl she is why don’t you like her. And if you don’t be a man and tell her. Let her go and be free. Why do you keep holding on to her?”
Sanjay stared at me. There was a lot in his eyes. He wanted to let it all out and he did. He said, “ I am not a nice man. Roshini is sweet, pretty and the most amazing girl I have ever known. And I don’t deserve her. I like her I do. But I don’t think I can love her. Or that I am worthy of her love. And I don’t want to loose her friendship.”
“you wont! Honesty will make your friendship stronger!” I said
“NO. its not that easy. You don’t know me. I am a bad person. I have a dirty secret. Not even roshini knows. And if you all knew you would judge me. And if I let you know I’d ruin more than one life. Oh god. I wish I could end it all. Just die. It hurts so much to cause so much pain to a friend who means so much. If roshini knew, if any of you knew what I had done. You’d all hate me.”
I was stumped. The sweetest most decent guy I had ever known was telling me he’d done something wrong. Sanjay was the most decent guy I had ever known. He was sweet, gentle and caring. A gem of a person. He was never loud, always followed the rules and never ever lost control. He had a strict family. And to gain their acceptance he’d always done what his parents had told him. Even in college he was the only guy who didn’t drink or smoke. A straight A student with no bad records. I’d have married him if I were a girl and here he sat telling me he had done something wrong. I asked him to tell me but he did not. And he left. I followed him. And after pestering him for an hour he finally told me the secret that had eaten him up from inside. We sat in this corner from where we could see the three of them having fun and we talked.
Sanjay was crying. He said, “ you remember our first college fest?” I nodded.
“That entire semester changed my life. Roshini and I were the best of friends and I loved her as a friend should. But during that semester I fell in love with someone or so I thought. She was beautiful, smart and everything I could ever want. Everyone loved her. She was one of the most sought after girls in college. I remember that we’d have overnight discussions about her. Though I hung out with Roshini a lot my eyes were always on her. I thought I was in love. And yet I could never tell her. She was always around and the guys were jealous of me because I was friends with her. The one’s who had girlfriends told me to go after her. But I knew I could never ever do anything. I told roshini about my infatuation. And she was hurt. And that’s when I found out she loved me. And my world was messed up. My best friend was in love with me and I was in love with this muse. God my infatuation had risen up to such heights that I ended up doing everything for her. I would roam around her. Wait for her calls, message her everyday and just always be around her. I wanted her but I knew I could never have her. I mean she was this popular beauty and I was just a simple no body. But something happened that changed things. It was our college fest. And our first ever concert. All of us were deeply engrossed in the music. We were dancing and she was dancing next to me. I was in heaven. I was dancing with this beautiful girl I liked. And she was friendly, a little too friendly that night. I guess she was drunk. But I was too happy to notice any of that. We got closer and closer and we kissed. One thing led to another and soon we were in some dark corner of the college. And…”
His voice was barely a whisper. He was choked up. I told him to go on and just say it.
“ And I … I… And I slept with her. It was the most wonderful night ever. I thought I was in love. I felt like the luckiest man alive. I was in love with her. I had this beautiful woman in my arms. And I felt she loved me otherwise she would have never let me get so close. It felt like love!”
I could see tears in his eyes as he spoke. And I was shocked. There was this inexplicable moment of numbness where I just couldn’t understand what could I say to make him feel different.
He continued, “ the next day I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I felt like I’d marry this girl for sure. And I needed nothing more in the world. I started thinking up of our life together. We met one another and I kept smiling at her. She was normal. That entire day I kept thinking about her and only her. But then I got a message from her. She texted me to meet her where we had hooked up. I thought I would get lucky again. And that I would tell her how much I love her. But I never thought about what she wanted. When I went there, she was sitting all alone. She looked beautiful. I went and sat next to her. A few moments of silence passed between us and then I couldn’t help myself I leaned on her to kiss her. But she stopped me. I was taken aback. I couldn’t understand. She stood up and turned to me and said, “ I am sorry Sanjay. I cant do this.” I was confused. I couldn’t understand. I asked her why. I told her that last night had been so special for the both of us. She was my first and I was in love with her. I blurted it all out. How I had crushed over her ever since I had seen her. She just kept saying no. I couldn’t understand. And then she said something that ruined everything for me. She said that I was just another drunken mistake. She was in love with someone else. I was just an escapade. She could never love someone like me. I was not her type. And she left. I went after her. I told her that we had a connection. We had something magical between us. And she turned to me and with cold accusing eyes she told me that I had taken advantage of her in her drunken state. And she‘d loose all her rep if anyone ever found out. And every time I see her my heart aches. I couldn’t tell anyone. No one should ever know. It’d ruin her reputation. You know how college guys talk about girls. And worst of all I had to hide it from you and Roshini. And roshini. Man I was blind. I had this amazing girl who loves me. I want to love her. But I just cant. Roshini is so innocent. She thinks I am this nice decent guy who could never hurt a fly. But look at what I did. I slept with a girl and took advantage of her.”
“but you did offer her love and commitment. Its not your fault!” I replied meekly still in shock from all that I had heard.
“so? That’s no excuse! You know I can say I am just a man. But I was brought up better. And I am ashamed. And I just cant face Roshini. She thinks of me as a nice decent guy and I just cant break her heart with the truth. So I say nothing. I know I am hurting her more but I just cant face her and break her heart also! The truth will destroy everything. I know it.”
With that Sanjay broke down. I sat with him and saw this man repent. Repent a mistake. He shouldn’t have blamed himself so much for. My old man had once told me when he found out that I had cheated in my exams “you yourself decide how guilt free or guilty you really are! No one else can make you suffer until and unless you let them!” He had this way of never accusing me but always making me feel guilty for whatever wrong I did!
But for Sanjay morality and conscience belonged to some new dimension. And as I sat there I began to understand how Sanjay would never face roshini. And how roshini would end up hurt either way. And then I began to wonder who this girl really was?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The door to the office slammed open and Prabhat came rushing inside.
“APTE. Autopsy report is here, the murder weapon has been identified. One of them did it. I am sure this time.” said Prabhakar
“Call them inside! Lets find that murderer!” said Apte.
The room soon filled in with the young group that had been waiting outside. They all took their seats on the table facing the policemen.
Prabhaker smiled at all of them and Apte wore a solemn look.
“You know what kids, I too had a nice group of friends like you all back in college. Its nice to have people around! isn’t it, Apte?”
“Don’t know! I never had any friends in college!”
“Really, well that suddenly makes a lot of sense. You know kids he loves his job. And he is so damn good at it because he hates criminals. Oh the things he has done to get them to confess! Gives me the chills!”
“This talk business never helps. Let me torture the truth out of these SOB’s” growled Apte.
“Relax Apte. Relax! They might be telling the truth. Give me a chance to talk to them. I have read and read all your statements over and over again. Gone through your tapes. Observed every action and reaction you gave. You know what. Your story checks out! It would have all worked out had the body disappeared. But we found his body! And autopsy report says this was cold blooded murder! Aah friendship! it’s a beautiful bond. Isn’t it? Covering for each other, saving one another from problems and being there for your friends. You all seem to be very good friends. Are you, Gunjan?”
Shaking uncontrollably Gunjan nodded.
“REALLY? DO YOU FEEL NO SHAME?”screamed Apte.
“Now Apte calm down!”
“I COULD JUST BEAT THE TRUTH OUT OF THIS ONE. GIVE HIM TO ME!”
Prabhakar got up and held Apte back.
Sanjay intervened and requested, “Sir please. Why would any one of us be involved? Please.”
“Tsk tsk. You know what Apte we are novices. We have held these innocent children here. Why would they be involved. What MOTIVE would they have?”
Apte gave a twisted smile.
Prabhakar continued, “ unfortunately for you boy you gave us your motives in our own hands. We know everything from your girlfriend over there to your one night stand to the drugs, the lies and the fights you all had. One of you forgot to switch the tape off. Your last moments are almost there.”
“We know what happened. But are waiting for you suckers to own up!” added Apte.
And there was terror on their faces. Fear is a twisted feeling. It can generate foolishness and brilliance at the same moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
from the writer :-
I am sorry i know this is too big...but its an important part of the story...hope you enjoyed it...pls comment so i know who all are reading and can tell them when the next part comes out :)
Gunjan just managed, “ Roshini… crying. I saw her sitting alone on the roof. I went up to her. I tried to make her feel better but I somehow made it worse. She is crying. Help. Go. Please.”
Suddenly Megan Fox (in a feisty red bikini) evaporated and I could picture a vulnerable Roshini wailing on the roof. And if Gunjan had ‘talked’ to her I am sure she’d be feeling worse. I had to go. So I got up, popped in a mentos and walked up to the roof. I saw sweet little roshini curled up in one corner crying. Her eyes were bloodshot. Apparently her own outburst last night had left her vulnerable. I didn’t say anything I just sat next to her and let her cry.
After an hour of letting it all out her tears turned silent. And she sat next to me with her head on my shoulder. She was a special friend of mine. One of those rare few people who’d go to any lengths to protect their friends and be there for them. She had always been there for all of us. She took extra care of everyone especially Sanjay. And any guy would be lucky to have some one like Roshini love them. I couldn’t make her understand why Sanjay didn’t respond. Logic dictated that they be together. Because they did everything together. Yet love is complicated and no one can really understand it. I turned to her and said what I knew would make her smile, “ oye stop crying. Chal we’ll go and have some chocolate ice cream and then we are off. We can also mess with Gunjan.” she looked at me with her beady eyes, smiled and we both went off to an early morning ice cream and some serious Gunjan teasing time.
After we were back all of us decided to go and visit all the waterfalls that made lonavala so famous. Gunjan wanted me to present lonavala to the world. That asshole had been recording anything and everything he could. Lonavala was beautiful and the monsoon made it heaven on earth. The mountains were leaking. That’s what Gunjan kept saying. And really everywhere you looked there was a creek, or a waterfall sneaking up from some corner of the mountain. As soon as we set out towards finding a perfect picnic spot, it started drizzling.
Now everyone knew the Lonavala rule. Booze, food and a waterfall. You find a place not too far from a waterfall, you sit nearby have food, have drinks and do whatever you want and then you jump into the water. We had so much fun. Its funny, with your friends you never run short on conversation. We managed to talk for hours. Sameera lectured us on the political implications of Naxalites to which only Roshini and Sanjay responded. Me and Gunjan just pretended to listen. And then Sameera started talking about her childhood. These were always interesting. Her father had been in the army and she was a sure shot army brat. Smart, beautiful and naughty. She was one hell of a party animal. She was serious when it came to academics and serious when it came to partying. She had the best of both worlds and never let one come in the way of another. We always looked upto her thinking she’d make it big in the world. This girl knew what she wanted and always managed to get what she wanted. And her childhood tales rather escapades were always fun to listen too.
After a good long chat session we ran to the water fall. There were videos and photos that had each of us embarrassing the crap out of ourselves and one another. We were wet from head to toe. And were having the time of our life. Roshini kept close to Sanjay but didn’t talk to him. There was a strong undercurrent between them but they pretended that everything was all right. Sameera had ventured to more dangerous regions of the waterfall and Gunjan ran after her worried she’d fall. He took roshini with him. It was just me and sanjay sitting on a rock alone. That was the perfect moment to talk. I wanted to ask him everything. But I knew him too well. He’d never say what he really felt. It would all be in vain. But I had too. I had to hear it from him so that I could lay down roshini nice and easy. I started small talk about the weather and college. He looked at me and nodded. He was looking at roshini or so I thought.
And I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I blurted out, “ what’s wrong with you? Such a nice girl she is why don’t you like her. And if you don’t be a man and tell her. Let her go and be free. Why do you keep holding on to her?”
Sanjay stared at me. There was a lot in his eyes. He wanted to let it all out and he did. He said, “ I am not a nice man. Roshini is sweet, pretty and the most amazing girl I have ever known. And I don’t deserve her. I like her I do. But I don’t think I can love her. Or that I am worthy of her love. And I don’t want to loose her friendship.”
“you wont! Honesty will make your friendship stronger!” I said
“NO. its not that easy. You don’t know me. I am a bad person. I have a dirty secret. Not even roshini knows. And if you all knew you would judge me. And if I let you know I’d ruin more than one life. Oh god. I wish I could end it all. Just die. It hurts so much to cause so much pain to a friend who means so much. If roshini knew, if any of you knew what I had done. You’d all hate me.”
I was stumped. The sweetest most decent guy I had ever known was telling me he’d done something wrong. Sanjay was the most decent guy I had ever known. He was sweet, gentle and caring. A gem of a person. He was never loud, always followed the rules and never ever lost control. He had a strict family. And to gain their acceptance he’d always done what his parents had told him. Even in college he was the only guy who didn’t drink or smoke. A straight A student with no bad records. I’d have married him if I were a girl and here he sat telling me he had done something wrong. I asked him to tell me but he did not. And he left. I followed him. And after pestering him for an hour he finally told me the secret that had eaten him up from inside. We sat in this corner from where we could see the three of them having fun and we talked.
Sanjay was crying. He said, “ you remember our first college fest?” I nodded.
“That entire semester changed my life. Roshini and I were the best of friends and I loved her as a friend should. But during that semester I fell in love with someone or so I thought. She was beautiful, smart and everything I could ever want. Everyone loved her. She was one of the most sought after girls in college. I remember that we’d have overnight discussions about her. Though I hung out with Roshini a lot my eyes were always on her. I thought I was in love. And yet I could never tell her. She was always around and the guys were jealous of me because I was friends with her. The one’s who had girlfriends told me to go after her. But I knew I could never ever do anything. I told roshini about my infatuation. And she was hurt. And that’s when I found out she loved me. And my world was messed up. My best friend was in love with me and I was in love with this muse. God my infatuation had risen up to such heights that I ended up doing everything for her. I would roam around her. Wait for her calls, message her everyday and just always be around her. I wanted her but I knew I could never have her. I mean she was this popular beauty and I was just a simple no body. But something happened that changed things. It was our college fest. And our first ever concert. All of us were deeply engrossed in the music. We were dancing and she was dancing next to me. I was in heaven. I was dancing with this beautiful girl I liked. And she was friendly, a little too friendly that night. I guess she was drunk. But I was too happy to notice any of that. We got closer and closer and we kissed. One thing led to another and soon we were in some dark corner of the college. And…”
His voice was barely a whisper. He was choked up. I told him to go on and just say it.
“ And I … I… And I slept with her. It was the most wonderful night ever. I thought I was in love. I felt like the luckiest man alive. I was in love with her. I had this beautiful woman in my arms. And I felt she loved me otherwise she would have never let me get so close. It felt like love!”
I could see tears in his eyes as he spoke. And I was shocked. There was this inexplicable moment of numbness where I just couldn’t understand what could I say to make him feel different.
He continued, “ the next day I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I felt like I’d marry this girl for sure. And I needed nothing more in the world. I started thinking up of our life together. We met one another and I kept smiling at her. She was normal. That entire day I kept thinking about her and only her. But then I got a message from her. She texted me to meet her where we had hooked up. I thought I would get lucky again. And that I would tell her how much I love her. But I never thought about what she wanted. When I went there, she was sitting all alone. She looked beautiful. I went and sat next to her. A few moments of silence passed between us and then I couldn’t help myself I leaned on her to kiss her. But she stopped me. I was taken aback. I couldn’t understand. She stood up and turned to me and said, “ I am sorry Sanjay. I cant do this.” I was confused. I couldn’t understand. I asked her why. I told her that last night had been so special for the both of us. She was my first and I was in love with her. I blurted it all out. How I had crushed over her ever since I had seen her. She just kept saying no. I couldn’t understand. And then she said something that ruined everything for me. She said that I was just another drunken mistake. She was in love with someone else. I was just an escapade. She could never love someone like me. I was not her type. And she left. I went after her. I told her that we had a connection. We had something magical between us. And she turned to me and with cold accusing eyes she told me that I had taken advantage of her in her drunken state. And she‘d loose all her rep if anyone ever found out. And every time I see her my heart aches. I couldn’t tell anyone. No one should ever know. It’d ruin her reputation. You know how college guys talk about girls. And worst of all I had to hide it from you and Roshini. And roshini. Man I was blind. I had this amazing girl who loves me. I want to love her. But I just cant. Roshini is so innocent. She thinks I am this nice decent guy who could never hurt a fly. But look at what I did. I slept with a girl and took advantage of her.”
“but you did offer her love and commitment. Its not your fault!” I replied meekly still in shock from all that I had heard.
“so? That’s no excuse! You know I can say I am just a man. But I was brought up better. And I am ashamed. And I just cant face Roshini. She thinks of me as a nice decent guy and I just cant break her heart with the truth. So I say nothing. I know I am hurting her more but I just cant face her and break her heart also! The truth will destroy everything. I know it.”
With that Sanjay broke down. I sat with him and saw this man repent. Repent a mistake. He shouldn’t have blamed himself so much for. My old man had once told me when he found out that I had cheated in my exams “you yourself decide how guilt free or guilty you really are! No one else can make you suffer until and unless you let them!” He had this way of never accusing me but always making me feel guilty for whatever wrong I did!
But for Sanjay morality and conscience belonged to some new dimension. And as I sat there I began to understand how Sanjay would never face roshini. And how roshini would end up hurt either way. And then I began to wonder who this girl really was?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The door to the office slammed open and Prabhat came rushing inside.
“APTE. Autopsy report is here, the murder weapon has been identified. One of them did it. I am sure this time.” said Prabhakar
“Call them inside! Lets find that murderer!” said Apte.
The room soon filled in with the young group that had been waiting outside. They all took their seats on the table facing the policemen.
Prabhaker smiled at all of them and Apte wore a solemn look.
“You know what kids, I too had a nice group of friends like you all back in college. Its nice to have people around! isn’t it, Apte?”
“Don’t know! I never had any friends in college!”
“Really, well that suddenly makes a lot of sense. You know kids he loves his job. And he is so damn good at it because he hates criminals. Oh the things he has done to get them to confess! Gives me the chills!”
“This talk business never helps. Let me torture the truth out of these SOB’s” growled Apte.
“Relax Apte. Relax! They might be telling the truth. Give me a chance to talk to them. I have read and read all your statements over and over again. Gone through your tapes. Observed every action and reaction you gave. You know what. Your story checks out! It would have all worked out had the body disappeared. But we found his body! And autopsy report says this was cold blooded murder! Aah friendship! it’s a beautiful bond. Isn’t it? Covering for each other, saving one another from problems and being there for your friends. You all seem to be very good friends. Are you, Gunjan?”
Shaking uncontrollably Gunjan nodded.
“REALLY? DO YOU FEEL NO SHAME?”screamed Apte.
“Now Apte calm down!”
“I COULD JUST BEAT THE TRUTH OUT OF THIS ONE. GIVE HIM TO ME!”
Prabhakar got up and held Apte back.
Sanjay intervened and requested, “Sir please. Why would any one of us be involved? Please.”
“Tsk tsk. You know what Apte we are novices. We have held these innocent children here. Why would they be involved. What MOTIVE would they have?”
Apte gave a twisted smile.
Prabhakar continued, “ unfortunately for you boy you gave us your motives in our own hands. We know everything from your girlfriend over there to your one night stand to the drugs, the lies and the fights you all had. One of you forgot to switch the tape off. Your last moments are almost there.”
“We know what happened. But are waiting for you suckers to own up!” added Apte.
And there was terror on their faces. Fear is a twisted feeling. It can generate foolishness and brilliance at the same moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
from the writer :-
I am sorry i know this is too big...but its an important part of the story...hope you enjoyed it...pls comment so i know who all are reading and can tell them when the next part comes out :)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A LITTLE SLIP_ PART2
PART2
These police rooms are weird. I don’t know what they call it. Its not the police station some special place. And I saw them all sitting there. Gunjy looked like he was about to cry. Sanjay sat in a corner with his left leg shaking violently (he did that whenever he felt nervous. You should have seen him during exams, it seemed his leg would fall off). Roshani was weeping already. I could tell from her eyes she’d been crying a lot. Sameera sat in a state of stupor. As if she had received the shock of her life. It was heartbreaking to see them like that. I just wanted to hug them and say it was all right but I too was scared. This was too big a problem and too huge a mess to get out of by having a campfire and drinking.
The shady door opened and this old policeman like man with a little brown moustache and balding head called out, “GUNJAN GARG, come inside. The chief wants to have a word with you. Do the rest of you need anything?”
Gunjan broke down. He was terrified. But reluctantly got up and started walking towards the door. Sanjay got up and put his arm around Gunjan giving him all the support he could muster. He asked the policeman, “Mister, how long will we be held here?”
The man replied, “Son, it could take a lot of time. This aint no piece of cake. If you people get hungry tell that orderly over there to get you some food. Your going to stay here for a long long time. Get comfortable!”
And just like that Gunjan disappeared into the room. I knew they picked him because he’d be the easiest to break. I wish I could be in there with him.
“you are Gunjan Garg?” came a voice.
Quivering Gunjan looked up at the two men seated right in front of him. One man had a friendly old face. The kind he’d smile at if he’d known him. The other had a scar right through his left eye giving him a sinister look.
The nice looking officer smiled at Gunjan and said, “ son, don’t worry. We are just going to ask you a few question about what happened. I am officer Prabhakar Alluhwalia and this is my colleague officer Mahim Apte. Just tell us what exactly happened there on the waterfall?”
Gunjan felt a sudden ease in the way this nice man spoke. And began describing what had happened that fateful morning. They repeated the same protocol with everyone. One after the other that incident was recalled. That dreadful incident that changed everything. Whoever said ‘well begun is half done never saw a terrible ending.
The first night was the best night. I remember it. The first night had to go perfect was what I was thinking. “well begun is half done” my old man had told me right before my final’s for my first year exams. He never stopped preaching. And I loved it about him.
We had been driving for almost three hours and within an hour more we’d reach our destination. Suddenly it started raining. And my semi- bored buddy Gunjan rolled down his window. He stared out at the beauty of everything around and proclaimed, “There is something about monsoons and lonavala. Monsoon for lonavala is like a boob job. It accentuates the beauty that has always been there but never gotten its due.”
All I could do was laugh in response to my buddy. He’d somehow combined mother nature and boobs in one simple line. All the windows in my car were rolled down. Sameera was awake. Roshini had finally set Sanjay free and we were all taking in the beauty nice cold shower. Something in me clicked and I parked my car in a little opening I found while driving through the mountains. All of us got out and started dancing in the rain. My car stereo supplied the music. Gunjan somehow found the beer stashed under the backseat and five of us danced like crazy. After a couple of killer dance moves, a photo and a mad video of how Sameera went wild all of us sat down. When your high and its raining your just in the mood to talk. Gunjan started with his philosophy about life. He started talking about how he’d join Osho’s Ashram. And change the world with his spiritual powers. But we all knew he only wanted to go there because rumours said that you could easily get laid. Spiritually high foreigners put out as easily as drunk ugly one’s do.
But Gunjan’s rambling was interrupted by Roshini, “ SEX, SEX and more SEX.. that’s all you want you foolish little boy ( Gunjan winced twice- he‘d been called a little boy by a small petite girl)! I want love. I want a guy to love me, hold me and just make me the happiest woman on earth. I am unusually small. Have pimple filled cheeks and my hair never grows longer than my shoulders. But I have a good heart. don’t I Sanjay?”
When high Sanjay only nods and smile. Sometimes he laughs hysterically as well. He nodded heavily in response to Roshini’s rhetorical question for two reasons- everyone is scared of a drunk Roshini and Sanjay really believed her.
“then why don’t you love me back? Huh Sanjay! Your nice to me. You listen to me. You bear with every annoying thing I do. You even play that stupid car game with me. You sit with me because you know no one else ever does. You were the first one out of these four to be my friend. You tutored me when I flunked a course. You care but you cant love me. It’s because I am not pretty. Am I? I am just your average nerdy weird girl. Who everyone needs but no one wants. Huh?”
Sanjay’s smile disappeared and he kept staring absently somewhere else. He didn’t say a word. Roshini’s infatuation with Sanjay had begun long back. Sanjay knew it and so did everyone else. Roshini tried hard to make him like her. He liked her. But as a friend. He was protective about her because of her excessive vulnerability. He’d once told me that he cared for her but couldn’t bring himself to love her the way she deserved. I just wish he’d once say it to her face. But he always silently beared her venting and then all of us would pretend as if nothing had happened. We all sat there in silence watching Roshini suffer.
In a perfect world Sanjay would have told Roshini honestly what he needed to. It’d break her heart but eventually she’d come to terms with it. And somewhere down the line they could be friends again. And all would be fine. But its not a perfect world. No one is honest. No one is frank. Everyone pretends to avoid altercations and most importantly to avoid what they fear. So after few awkward minutes of silence Gunjan broke the ice with a song, “ Gum hain kisi ke pyaar mein…” and we all joined in. Roshini sulked for a while but then joined in the celebrations. I could see how sad she was and I wanted to help her but I also wanted to avoid another of her emotional outbursts. So I chose comfort like I always do.
After wasting three good hours bashing professors, toppers and some seniors we crawled back into my red Indica. By midnight we reached our place of residence. A decent two star motel called ‘Jai Mata Di’. We rushed to the roof and had a night of pakodas, hot tea and a view of lonavala no other place could give. And then we slept like babies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How can you be so sure it’s not just an accident? What’s the use of taking their statements, Apte?”
“Prabhat, sir gave us orders and we have to follow them. We did interview these kids.”
“Sir, why are we wasting our time on this case. The body is lost. Their statements are pretty much in synch with one another. Then why can we not just shut this case and get done with it?” said officer Prabhat.
“Because we found the body!” said a stern voice that belonged to the chief.
“What?”
“Yes the body was found by a local while you were interrogating these kids. And that anonymous call led us in the right direction. The body was found and an autopsy was carried out. Apparently this is cold blooded murder. A stab wound was found. They are analyzing it and we’ll soon know the weapon of murder. But this is murder. We need to investigate it. So you have all the statements?”
Apte replied, “ Yes sir. Their stories check out. Each of them has the same story. With a little changes. if one of them did it we need to uncover the motive. I have been going through the tapes and apparently this holiday tape they made has a lot more in it than we expected.”
“Either one of them is lying or all of them are lying. Whichever the case maybe. One person is dead and someone is liable. I think we should interview them together. But I will need to see their statements once. Send me the recorded statements Apte!”
“Yes sir. They are already on your desk.”
“So one of these innocent looking kids is a murderer. Apte, lets get them to start talking!” said Prabhat.
That room was a cold cold place. I could see fear in their eyes. That door had remained closed for hours. We knew that the three officers were discussing us. Our trip. They had confiscated everything. Our videos, our photographs and my red indica. Those videos held everything. Gunjan had made it a point to record every moment of this trip. From the first night to the last moment we were celebrating was held in that camera along with a lot of other things that shouldn’t have been there. And it was just a matter of time when everything would be out in the open. Our lives, our personal secrets and the grudges we held would all come out for the world to see. I knew my old man was disappointed I could just picture him giving me his disappointed nod with his lips pursed tightly together. And it hurt. But I was stuck. We all were stuck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These police rooms are weird. I don’t know what they call it. Its not the police station some special place. And I saw them all sitting there. Gunjy looked like he was about to cry. Sanjay sat in a corner with his left leg shaking violently (he did that whenever he felt nervous. You should have seen him during exams, it seemed his leg would fall off). Roshani was weeping already. I could tell from her eyes she’d been crying a lot. Sameera sat in a state of stupor. As if she had received the shock of her life. It was heartbreaking to see them like that. I just wanted to hug them and say it was all right but I too was scared. This was too big a problem and too huge a mess to get out of by having a campfire and drinking.
The shady door opened and this old policeman like man with a little brown moustache and balding head called out, “GUNJAN GARG, come inside. The chief wants to have a word with you. Do the rest of you need anything?”
Gunjan broke down. He was terrified. But reluctantly got up and started walking towards the door. Sanjay got up and put his arm around Gunjan giving him all the support he could muster. He asked the policeman, “Mister, how long will we be held here?”
The man replied, “Son, it could take a lot of time. This aint no piece of cake. If you people get hungry tell that orderly over there to get you some food. Your going to stay here for a long long time. Get comfortable!”
And just like that Gunjan disappeared into the room. I knew they picked him because he’d be the easiest to break. I wish I could be in there with him.
“you are Gunjan Garg?” came a voice.
Quivering Gunjan looked up at the two men seated right in front of him. One man had a friendly old face. The kind he’d smile at if he’d known him. The other had a scar right through his left eye giving him a sinister look.
The nice looking officer smiled at Gunjan and said, “ son, don’t worry. We are just going to ask you a few question about what happened. I am officer Prabhakar Alluhwalia and this is my colleague officer Mahim Apte. Just tell us what exactly happened there on the waterfall?”
Gunjan felt a sudden ease in the way this nice man spoke. And began describing what had happened that fateful morning. They repeated the same protocol with everyone. One after the other that incident was recalled. That dreadful incident that changed everything. Whoever said ‘well begun is half done never saw a terrible ending.
The first night was the best night. I remember it. The first night had to go perfect was what I was thinking. “well begun is half done” my old man had told me right before my final’s for my first year exams. He never stopped preaching. And I loved it about him.
We had been driving for almost three hours and within an hour more we’d reach our destination. Suddenly it started raining. And my semi- bored buddy Gunjan rolled down his window. He stared out at the beauty of everything around and proclaimed, “There is something about monsoons and lonavala. Monsoon for lonavala is like a boob job. It accentuates the beauty that has always been there but never gotten its due.”
All I could do was laugh in response to my buddy. He’d somehow combined mother nature and boobs in one simple line. All the windows in my car were rolled down. Sameera was awake. Roshini had finally set Sanjay free and we were all taking in the beauty nice cold shower. Something in me clicked and I parked my car in a little opening I found while driving through the mountains. All of us got out and started dancing in the rain. My car stereo supplied the music. Gunjan somehow found the beer stashed under the backseat and five of us danced like crazy. After a couple of killer dance moves, a photo and a mad video of how Sameera went wild all of us sat down. When your high and its raining your just in the mood to talk. Gunjan started with his philosophy about life. He started talking about how he’d join Osho’s Ashram. And change the world with his spiritual powers. But we all knew he only wanted to go there because rumours said that you could easily get laid. Spiritually high foreigners put out as easily as drunk ugly one’s do.
But Gunjan’s rambling was interrupted by Roshini, “ SEX, SEX and more SEX.. that’s all you want you foolish little boy ( Gunjan winced twice- he‘d been called a little boy by a small petite girl)! I want love. I want a guy to love me, hold me and just make me the happiest woman on earth. I am unusually small. Have pimple filled cheeks and my hair never grows longer than my shoulders. But I have a good heart. don’t I Sanjay?”
When high Sanjay only nods and smile. Sometimes he laughs hysterically as well. He nodded heavily in response to Roshini’s rhetorical question for two reasons- everyone is scared of a drunk Roshini and Sanjay really believed her.
“then why don’t you love me back? Huh Sanjay! Your nice to me. You listen to me. You bear with every annoying thing I do. You even play that stupid car game with me. You sit with me because you know no one else ever does. You were the first one out of these four to be my friend. You tutored me when I flunked a course. You care but you cant love me. It’s because I am not pretty. Am I? I am just your average nerdy weird girl. Who everyone needs but no one wants. Huh?”
Sanjay’s smile disappeared and he kept staring absently somewhere else. He didn’t say a word. Roshini’s infatuation with Sanjay had begun long back. Sanjay knew it and so did everyone else. Roshini tried hard to make him like her. He liked her. But as a friend. He was protective about her because of her excessive vulnerability. He’d once told me that he cared for her but couldn’t bring himself to love her the way she deserved. I just wish he’d once say it to her face. But he always silently beared her venting and then all of us would pretend as if nothing had happened. We all sat there in silence watching Roshini suffer.
In a perfect world Sanjay would have told Roshini honestly what he needed to. It’d break her heart but eventually she’d come to terms with it. And somewhere down the line they could be friends again. And all would be fine. But its not a perfect world. No one is honest. No one is frank. Everyone pretends to avoid altercations and most importantly to avoid what they fear. So after few awkward minutes of silence Gunjan broke the ice with a song, “ Gum hain kisi ke pyaar mein…” and we all joined in. Roshini sulked for a while but then joined in the celebrations. I could see how sad she was and I wanted to help her but I also wanted to avoid another of her emotional outbursts. So I chose comfort like I always do.
After wasting three good hours bashing professors, toppers and some seniors we crawled back into my red Indica. By midnight we reached our place of residence. A decent two star motel called ‘Jai Mata Di’. We rushed to the roof and had a night of pakodas, hot tea and a view of lonavala no other place could give. And then we slept like babies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How can you be so sure it’s not just an accident? What’s the use of taking their statements, Apte?”
“Prabhat, sir gave us orders and we have to follow them. We did interview these kids.”
“Sir, why are we wasting our time on this case. The body is lost. Their statements are pretty much in synch with one another. Then why can we not just shut this case and get done with it?” said officer Prabhat.
“Because we found the body!” said a stern voice that belonged to the chief.
“What?”
“Yes the body was found by a local while you were interrogating these kids. And that anonymous call led us in the right direction. The body was found and an autopsy was carried out. Apparently this is cold blooded murder. A stab wound was found. They are analyzing it and we’ll soon know the weapon of murder. But this is murder. We need to investigate it. So you have all the statements?”
Apte replied, “ Yes sir. Their stories check out. Each of them has the same story. With a little changes. if one of them did it we need to uncover the motive. I have been going through the tapes and apparently this holiday tape they made has a lot more in it than we expected.”
“Either one of them is lying or all of them are lying. Whichever the case maybe. One person is dead and someone is liable. I think we should interview them together. But I will need to see their statements once. Send me the recorded statements Apte!”
“Yes sir. They are already on your desk.”
“So one of these innocent looking kids is a murderer. Apte, lets get them to start talking!” said Prabhat.
That room was a cold cold place. I could see fear in their eyes. That door had remained closed for hours. We knew that the three officers were discussing us. Our trip. They had confiscated everything. Our videos, our photographs and my red indica. Those videos held everything. Gunjan had made it a point to record every moment of this trip. From the first night to the last moment we were celebrating was held in that camera along with a lot of other things that shouldn’t have been there. And it was just a matter of time when everything would be out in the open. Our lives, our personal secrets and the grudges we held would all come out for the world to see. I knew my old man was disappointed I could just picture him giving me his disappointed nod with his lips pursed tightly together. And it hurt. But I was stuck. We all were stuck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
A LITTLE SLIP_ PART1
A little slip
:beep:
“abe, its recording. Say something.”
“Oh crap you caught me off guard. Fine I’l start! (clears his throat) LONAVALA… paradise on earth. On this historical day five brave hearts embark upon this dangerous journey to conquer the land of LONAVALA.”
Cameraman says “dude that’s lame!”
“What the hell! Hey I am in my zone dude! Let it play. I know you’ll like it! Anyways to the one’s that watch us. We five brave hearts from the land unknown come to begin our journey to the land of lonavala. This monsoon is going to be a monsoon none of us will ever forget. And hence begins our journey…okay this is sounding really lame…let‘s take it again…. LO…”
CLICK. The video pauses and the frame freezes. On screen you have a young twenty year old with a smug smile and a goofy face staring back at the room.
From a dark room watching this video comes a hoarse stern voice, “ Sir this video was found from their car. I believe it can help us.”
“isn’t this an accident? Why cant we just shut it down?” another voice shot in the dark.
The same hoarse voice responded, “ Because this is no ordinary accident. This can become a high profile case. We cant just shut it down. The anonymous call changed everything. Media coverage is our biggest worry. We are under tremendous pressure to get to the bottom of this.”
A deep voice responded, “ do we have all of them in custody?”
“yes sir, they are all waiting outside.”
“Have you covered the crime site?”
“we have sealed it off to visitors. But we couldn’t get much. The only thing we have are these video tapes and the statements of these kids.”
“hmmm… put each of them in a separate room and we will interrogate them individually! Lets see which one of them is lying!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I remember what my old man had told me as I was about to get on the train to go to my new college. He told me, “ Son you are going on a journey that would decide your life ahead. So DON’T MESS IT UP!” and did I mess up my life. But I hade four partners in crime. My friends. My college buddies. The people I booze with, the people I loot for money and the assholes who leave me with an empty wallet, every chance they get.
Living with them through the up’s and downs taught me a lot about life. And I guess we struggled a lot to survive and had to fight to sustain our friendship. Things always get complicated when you start falling in love with your best friend. But I really thought we’d been through it all. I planned this trip to lonavala to bring them all back. Its tough work but when Roshini came up and told me all the undercurrents that nearly destroyed each of us I knew it was time to do something.
So the moment our last paper got over and my buddies started pouring out from their horrid life ending experiences ( for all except Sameera) I left each of them a text.
The text was simple:- Meet me @ 6. Nr our colg gate. Bring toothbrush, 3 pairs of clean underwear, ur own towel n cams. Be there on time. M takin u places J
I knew how each of them must’ve reacted. Roshini would’ve smiled and followed the text message to every core detail. Gunjan would be jumping up and down on his bed. He knew I’d arrange for the booze and getting drunk was the only state that kept him happy after exams. My best friend super geek Sanjay would be half asleep when he’d see the message and would give me half a smile, call me a bad word and start packing. Because he could never let me go alone. And finally Sameera, she’d be the only one who’d text me back asking where we were going, how would we go, what arrangements have been made… etc etc. its not easy to take Sameera Trivedi out on a spontaneous trip. Never in my life have I ever seen her take an adventure without planning it right down to the very last detail. Her motto in life if you plan it right you’ll end up having more fun, and what can be better than organized fun. I barf every time I hear it.
So I stood there by my Red Ferrari ( okay its an INDICA). I am no AMBANI. But me and Gunjan call it the FERRARI. Because we have gone to ‘high’ places in that indica. Its my prized possession. I had to get First class for two consecutive semesters in order to lay my hands on that sweet ride. My father is a wise trader. His conditions demanded a first class result, an economical budget of 25k per semester and no piercing in private or public parts of my body till at least my first year and then Ferrari would be mine. All mine. So I cheated shamelessly, have unpaid accounts in several places and I got nothing pierced but something tattooed. After all the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I stood by my Ferrari thinking about my old man I saw the four heroes coming through the gate. Over packed roshani, under packed Gunjan, smartly packed Sanjay and an agitated Sameera came walking towards me. Gunjan jumped right next to the driver seat and Roshini and Sanjay quietly sat in the back seat. As I was about to take my seat Sameera pulled me back and began the lecture I had heard every time we ever did something crazy. Her lips were moving and I could actually lip synch. I felt like I am her groupie and she was my rock god. And I was mouthing the words to her most popular song. It was the usual how can you be so irresponsible and such a huge prick. You cant reply. I have worrying parents I need to answer too. I don’t have money growing on trees. It’s not that easy for a girl to just jump into a car and drive off to neverland. You know you had me worried. I haven’t slept a wink since you told me this and I had been up all night. Blah blah blah.
Once her siren was off she took her seat still agitated. Poor Sanjay. He was stuck between two women who wouldn’t make his journey any easier. As soon as we hit the road. Sameera dozed off. And she is a drooler. While Roshini had this irritating habit of playing annoying car games from the usual ‘20 questions’ to ‘add the number plate numbers’ . Sanjay being the coy gentleman he is, he lent his right shoulder to a drooling Sameera and his left ear and sacrificed his peace of mind to Roshini’s incessant questions about who the celebrity was in Sanjay’s mind. Me and Gunjan spared a few thoughts for the unlucky bastard and then went back to discussing cricket, chics and booze. Those were my friends.
Despite their drama I knew they trusted me. Neither had asked where I was taking them. I loved them all. But I knew we all needed it. Though on the surface we were perfect but inside there were a lot of unresolved emotions that if suppressed any longer could turn nasty. At least that’s what Roshini told me. But she worded it so well I had to use it. Makes you sound smart. But I knew something she didn’t- to every problem we had ever had there was always one solution. A camp fire, booze and a lot of talking. Always worked wonders. And I knew Lonavala would make things all right. I really wish I had known then what I know now. Of how it all turned out. Could have spared me a lot of drama and most importantly of this mess we all were in. Oh man did life screw us!
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part 2 will be out in two days.... temme if you want to read more...
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