Chapter 2 : Trial and Error
OoO
"You are under arrest, Abeer Malhotra."
"Hold on! It was an accident! Abeer wasn't even there when it happened! You can put allegations on him without any proof! Get us a proof, that yes, Abeer did kill his own wife, and then we'll talk."
"Isse zyaada kya proof chahiye aapko, Mister?" The police man takes out a piece of paper from his pocket.
"What is this?" I snatch it away from him.
"Suicidal note."
"WHAT!" Suicide- Meher..? She committed.. a sui-
"A suicidal note?"
"Yes." I open the note. It reads, 'To whoever's reading it'.
"May I?" I ask the man.
"It's all yours. It's addressed to you at the end. You may read it all you want. Either now, or in the prison. Your pick."
"Hey!" Nisaar shouts, "He is not going to jail!"
"We have the arrest warrant. It's not up to you."
"But.."
"I am ready." I say, "I am ready to go to jail."
"But Abeer.. It's not your fault! It's all wrong! It was an accident for god's sake!"
"Meher told me, that she didn't see a car coming and crashed into it. And.. And a kind man came to help her. She lied to me. She committed a suicide and in the last.. in the last crucial moments.. of ours, she lied to me."
"She didn't lie, Abeer! It really was an accident! I am gonna prove this!"
"How, Nisaar? How will you prove? We don't have a car beside hers, which would have been dented a little bit at least. Either it is a hit and run case, but the way Meher's car is there, all dismantled, I am sure the other car didn't go free without any harm."
"I don't know how, Abeer. But I am not gonna let you go into jail. Not without trying. Not without winning." He runs off from there. Rati follows.
"I need some time."
"You have the night. In the morning, we will be back to take you. Till then, think about your deed and pray.. Pray that we get something that proves you're not guilty."
"Hoping for that," I say, "Thank you."
"Hmm." He leads his group outside the hospital. I look at the OT. She's still in operation. What..What am I supposed to do? I look at the note. She..She really committed a suicide? And she lied to me? To, somehow, make me believe that it isn't my fault? That I.. that I didn't torture her to death?
"Mr. Malhotra?" I turn around at the call of my name. There stands a doctor along with a nurse.
"Yes, that's me." I look at him expentantly. But he's not smiling. He's not saying that Meher's fine. He's not saying they saved her. He's sad. Why is he sad? "What..What's wrong? Is..Is she...?"
"She lost her sense of sight."
~*~
I always thought that Meher was my only ray of hope. I fought with her, I irritated her, I didn't wish to see her face. But when I did, I always thought she was the most beautiful creature God had created. She was pretty, she was smart. IS. IS smart.
"Lost..? Doctor, will she not be able to..to see again?"
"We don't know yet. Her pupils are not reactive. This is not confirmed. Maybe it's just a minor problem. Maybe it's not loss of sight. But hope for the best.. and be prepared for the worst."
"When... When can I see her?"
"Now would be fine." He nods, "But, Mr. Malhotra, don't stress her. Don't ask her questions. She's out of danger, but her sight is in question. There's a possibilty she may not be able to see again."
"I.." What am I supposed to say? Am I to act normally? Am I to say, 'It doesn't matter'? IT MATTERS! It matters if she'll live in depression for the rest of her life! It matters if those eyes will never stick to me! It matters if she will never roll her eyes at me when, what I mostly do, I mess up! IT DOES MATTER!
"Go inside, Mr. Malhotra. You'll know what to do."
"I.. I'd rather stay here." I can't see her right now.
"Are you sure of that?"
"I..I guess so." I think for a moment, "I am."
"As you wish."
"Thanks a lot, doctor. It means a lot."
"Don't mention it."
~*~
To whoever's reading this,
This is to say that I, Meher Purohit, am actually, honestly tired of my life. Yes, I had years I had been happy. I had been happy when I was married. I had been happy at that time. I had been happy before, too. When I was in college. But the last 8 years brought me sorrow and sadness. And that was because I lost my love. I lost what I loved the most. I lost whom I loved the most.
Since I lost my friend, I found a new one. I am making death my friend. The thing everyone is afraid of, I am accepting it. It's now or 60 or 70 years later. What's the use? Better do it now.
I am not blaming anyone for this action of mine. Nobody hurt me, nobody tried to torture me to this extent. It's purely my fault. It's that I am a coward. It's that I need to stop taunting someone. Someone who said that, 'Meher, when will you stop taunting me? When either of us die?"
So goodbye, life! May we meet in my next birth!
Always was, Always will be
Meher
P.S.- By the time you read this, I probably won't exist. I request whoever finds this, please do not try to save me. It's too late for my life to be saved. There's nothing other than life that I am afraid of, even death. So whoever is reading this, and if I knew that person, tell my Mom and Bhua I loved them, and that one person that I traded my life for him. In my next wife, I will not divorce you. I will never do that mistake again. So don't cry after I die.
P.P.S.- That rhymed. ;)
Arjun
