13 ~NOT just a passionate affair~ 54 - 21 SEP - The REVELATION

OSR PART 54 - THE REVELATION!

PROFESSOR RAM CHARAN'S RESIDENCE

'My clip? How did it get here?' the question instantly arose - but she got no sensible answer. It was almost like her 'innate morality' was unable to assume something so dastardly. How could she even begin to suspect someone so respectable? Someone who'd GUIDED and TAUGHT her for so long? 'You're becoming as obsessed as the stalker himself ... the police have dug out plenty of clues against Maan...so, stop acting mad...sir must have just found this somewhere...' she'd hardly convinced herself when she saw another object in the drawer. An object not familiar, but an object that sucked away a few more shades from her already blanched face. Her fingers increasingly unsteady, she picked up the half-empty bottle of perfume and smelt its lid 'W...wh...' it fell off from her hands and onto the towels. The fragrance had made her sick, wringing her twisted insides even more. It smelt similar to that perfumed-card that had been slipped inside her handbag during the 1st semester exams!

'RAM SIR?' her conscience seemed to ask a million times 'Sir? A stalker? An abuser? A murderer? A pervert? How could that even...'

Rattled like never before, the young lady pondered back to recall if she'd missed any warning signs in the past? Nope. There was not ONE suggestive incident to prove that Ram sir was capable of such crimes. Then, how could she think of him as this monster - an otherwise dignified 40 year old gentleman, who was the unanimous favourite of all SRI ladies? She HAD to be mistaken. Maybe he'd discovered the clip by chance. The perfume could be a coincidence too, couldn't it?

Strangely though, the 'coincidence' theory didn't explain the worrying instincts now overruling her psyche. She glanced down at her trembling fingers. Why was she was losing faith and fortitude? Why was she turning into a nervous wreck? She glanced around. The air was beginning to suffocate her lungs. This place - the walls - the floor - the furniture - everything about it was starting to spook her 'Urgh' she instinctively covered her mouth, feeling nauseous out of the blue 'Just leave Jodha... just get out of here...before it's...'

'Hello Jodha...' his voice slowly emerged from behind - causing the hair on her neck to stand on end - just like it had when the stalker had sneaked up on her in the green room

She hastily spun around to face him, unaware of when he'd crept all the way up to her back. His evident transformation turned her features paler than death itself. The professor had acquired a whole new form - an uncomfortable form that matched the freak she'd encountered in that blasted green room three months ago. There was a sinister vein in the depths of his calm eyes. His smiles had morphed into a devious sneer. His very presence felt ominous.

With her distressed pulses now throbbing so erratically she could focus on no timely reaction - much less, a plan of action. She couldn't even hide her nervousness, forget coming up with a fancy escape strategy.

'There's a photo in there too...' he smiled, before stretching around her petite frame to grab the article from the drawer 'Here... let me get it for you...'

Startled by his chilling proximity, the skin on her face and arms prickled in fright. The scare finally spurred her frozen limbs into some form of action. She slid away - away from his eerie person. Away from the area.

Continuing to be unperturbed by any of her responses, the man darted the photo a loving glance before holding it up for her to see 'The woman standing next to me... can you see her? Do you notice the resemblance?'

Jodha said nothing. She wanted to see nothing. All she recognized was that she was dealing with a treachery worse than she'd ever imagined - that she was actually staring the devil in the eye. Her rocky steps gradually commenced reversing. In the direction that led to the door. One wobbly footstep behind another.

'This is... I mean...this WAS my wife...' he persevered on a pensive note '11 years ago... on this very date, we were married...10 years ago, on this very date I sadly lost her forever... and today, I found her again!'

She still said nothing. Her hips struck the sharp edges of the table on her way back. At one point, she tripped over a chair's leg - but, she just stood up and continued retreating. Numbly.

'Two years ago I saw you for the first time as a visiting professor at your college cultural fete...' he stayed bound to his spot, like he'd entered a trance of some sort 'I was judging some mundane quiz contest and it was only by chance that I'd laid eyes upon you ... but my, what a moment it was!' he sighed audibly 'A fresh young B.com student... president of the student council... thoroughly immersed in organizing the events... fluttering about the auditorium like an exquisite butterfly... I found myself increasingly drawn to your beauty... the spontaneous power you held over me was inexplicable... and then, I understood why... that was EXACTLY how SHE was - how my wife was - when I'd met her for the first time... efficient... determined... tenacious... vivacious... bubbly... talented... no wonder then, that I fell in love with you on that day...' taking a few steps towards the dining table, he lovingly placed the photo frame in its centre 'So deeply ingrained were you in my thoughts that I couldn't function for days following... it was torturous... you'd excavated wounds that I'd kept restrained after years and years of treatments... the schizophrenia... bipolar disorder... the manic bouts... the hallucinations... everything was spiralling out of control again...' the self-absorbed professor calmly brushed a few strands of his hair 'My obsessive thoughts grew wilder... I kept seeking information about you... lingered for weeks around your flat... bored myself to death watching faces of visitors come and go, just for ONE glimpse of you...but, nothing was ever enough... after a point, my neurosis got so bad that I actually tried convincing myself to leave the city... and just as I'd begun making plans...' he clapped his hands with a victorious beam 'Who enters the SRI office for an admissions form? YOU! You walked right into my arms...'

'G...God' she'd momentarily stopped breathing, as the true degree of her vulnerability hit her. Even though she'd known she was being stalked by a lunatic, she hadn't expected to be the victim of someone's vile infatuations for MORE THAN TWO YEARS now - and it definitely didn't make this unforeseen encounter any easier to deal with. Her hands trembling uncontrollably, Jodha shot over to grab her handbag - not knowing how he'd react. Strangely though, he didn't look too bothered.

She pursued with her flight nevertheless - not knowing if she had to be worried or relieved by his obvious inaction.

'I still dream of it vividly, you know...' his happiness seemed to know no bounds 'That ethereal blue salwar...the matching bangles...the long open hair sashaying on your hips... dressed just like her, you came right up to me - oblivious to my fixation... you asked me a few directions that morning ... greeted me with a smile... why, even your light brown eyes resembled hers... and when you introduced yourself as Jodha, my heart stopped functioning...' he took a dramatic pause 'Even the names matched... her name was Abhitha... it means fearless, just like your name Jodha means...I knew for sure then that this had to be a divine intervention of some sort...' giving in to a bout of tenderness, he ran his finger over his late-wife's face in the photo 'I had planned to leave, but YOU sought me and made me stop... in this ugly world of frivolous, greedy, lusty, materialistic people, a pure soul had finally returned... my chaste angel... till... till...' his breath noticeably quickened. The veins on his temple bulged. His teeth ground against one another, producing a grating noise of sorts 'Till that womanizer... that filthy... indecent Jalal came along and dared to take you away from me... I did all I could to warn you of his intentions, but he still attempted to corrupt you and snatch away what was rightfully mine... but, I wouldn't lose you... not again!' the grating noises ceased 'So, I resolved to fight...and won against him!'

JALAL'S OFFICE

'This is very dangerous Jalal...you could be risking your reputation making claims like this...what if he raises an uproar and summons the police?'

'Besides... us girls would know a tharki professor when we see one... and Ram sir's certainly not one!'

'And... he is Payal's uncle, to be precise...'

'Yeah! Maybe you're over-thinking this!'

'Guys!' folding his arms, he pressed his forehead in vexation 'His weakness is NOT girls... his weakness is JODHA!' he almost sounded disappointed at how his theories had no takers 'I mean... after everything I've explained... the Maan angle... the Payal angle...the university angle... you all STILL presume I'm over-thinking this?'

'Yaar' a mildly confused Abdul replied, trying to demonstrate how far-fetched the whole concept appeared - from his end, at least 'You're asking us to believe that a respectable professor has been sending texts to a student, stalking her, stalking her friends, wrapping himself in a shawl, beating up her boyfriend...' he exhaled 'Plus he's what... 40-45... you're saying RAM SIR beat the crap out of you?'

'Excuse me!' Jalal retorted, clearly offended now 'I didn't know criminals came with a pre-set profile, age and profession!' his voice tapered off into a bitter groan 'I can't explain it better than this... just that he appeared very different that day... something about the whole scenario felt abnormal and inhuman!'

'But Jalal...' Meera spoke up, albeit on a softer note - seeing how the guy wasn't his usual sportive-self 'Jodha never knew Ram sir from before...and we know the stalker mentioned he knew Jodha for long!'

'Exactly...' his eyes widened 'The text said HE knew Jodha... didn't say SHE knew him! What if HE saw her somewhere... maybe, a bus stand... a cinema hall... at her previous college... somewhere?' he waited for a reaction from them, but nah! No luck! Even his latest line of reasoning wasn't really bowling them over 'Forget it...' he flicked his palm, flustered 'Let me to talk to Jo... reason it out with her...at least I'll convince her to stop the tuition till I'm sure sir is NOT the stalker!' he glimpsed at his watch 'She must have left his place na... I'll call bhabhi if...'

'No...' Meera shook her head 'Jodha wouldn't be at sir's place...'

'Why do you say that?'

'Because sir called me on my mobile at 4:00 pm... there's no tuition today... apparently, he has to leave out of station for some important family matter...'

'What!' Jalal slowly came away from the desk he'd been leaning against and straightened up. Somehow, the whole premise struck him as odd. Unusual. He didn't know why, but he just didn't like the sound of it 'Has sir ever done this before? I mean... calling you on your mobile and cancelling class?'

'Errr...' she frowned 'No...not really'

'Shit!' he cupped his mouth as a silent form of fear set in. It took him a minute to process the facts - but by the end of it, he knew what he wanted to do and what he HAD to do 'Meera can you call Jodha's landline and find out if she's home? Or if she called them?'

'Err...' the curious lady nodded 'Sure!' as instructed, she dialled the contact thereafter and awaited a response from the Singhs. Once she'd managed to get hold of Jodha's mother on the line, the answer was with her not long after. Subsequently cutting the call, she looked up at her company - a bit more unnerved than she'd been a while ago 'Jodha isn't home yet... she hasn't called... aunty says, she must be at tuition...'

'Its 6!' he ruffled his hair, his jaw tightening up in tension 'No one's heard from her yet... I... I... I'm worried... something's not right... Abdul, Renu... chal...'

'Huh?'

'What?'

Springing across, Jalal clutched his car keys from the desk 'Meera I am so sorry, but I need to steal you today... I don't know the exact directions to his place...and I don't have the time to figure it out for myself now!'

PROFESSOR RAM CHARAN'S RESIDENCE

The texts. The wordings in the cards. The stash of medicines. The obsession. The violence. The hatred. It all made sense now. The few puzzle pieces that'd been mislaid had swiftly fallen into their right places - and the emerging picture was a very grisly one. He was insane. He NEEDED HER to fill the void in his life - thus, Jalal had become an enemy and everyone else a pawn in his ploy. When he felt no guilt for sacrificing his innocent niece to the jail wardens, he was definitely in no state of mind to reason with her now.

The only sensible course was to get out. To flee. ASAP! She better shake off the impact of the initial trauma and make a dash for it. It wasn't too late to outrun him 'Snap out of it Jodha...' many distinct voices in her head were becoming increasingly audible 'SNAP OUT OF IT! NOW! RUN!'

Literally having to haul her unstable legs so she could cover the remaining distance to the door, the lone student frantically began opening the latches. However, it was only when she tried flicking the main handle up and down did she realize that the door had been locked - with a key. A key that was nowhere in sight. When had he LOCKED it? Was it when she'd been so engrossed in that mock test? No wonder then that her kidnapper had been so composed all through!

Struggling to overlook the growing sense of desolation within, Jodha made a sweeping visual scan of the room to locate the key. The table. The side tables. The walls. The floors. Alas, she could find nothing. Driven to a point of blatant panic, she then frisked all pieces of furniture that she could lay her hands upon. The cupboards. The drawers. The bookcase. The sofa. Alas. Tough luck here too.

Where the hell had he hidden the cursed key to the main door?

'Now, you'd be wondering why I'm telling you all this...' his voice assumed a subtly ruthless tinge, as he re-slipped his hands into his pockets 'It's because, I've WANTED to share my life's tragedies with you... I want you to empathize...and I want you to become mine... to become my wife...'

'No! Don't listen to him...' she had to keep prompting herself so she could hold on to what little grit she had - so she didn't fall prey to his distressing confessions 'Don't give up Jodha... kuch aur socho...'

Letting her handbag glide off her shoulder, she surveyed her surroundings for some form of weapon. An armament to defend herself from the madman 'The kitchen' she supposed - it HAD to be a treasure-trove of sharp objects. However, on giving the notion a second thought she recognized that the plan would fail miserably. She had to cross HIM to get to the kitchen door - and with her faltering balance there was no chance she'd be able to make it through 'The books' the heavy hard-bound editions stashed on the table could make a good missile. What if she aimed it for his head? 'GO!!!' nervously heading for the table, she lifted one up and flung it at the monster. Regrettably; he didn't even have to twitch - the book fell quite short. Her spirit refusing to surrender, she wrangled with another one. Garnering all of her might, she hurled it right across - and then another - and then another. Regardless, they all just kept falling short and shorter. Somehow, she didn't have the stamina to keep up with this after a while. Panting aloud, she fruitlessly chased further options - much like a drowning man would when holding on to a straw to stay afloat

'Please give me strength Ma...' picking up a large glass vase from a side table, she heaved it at him - aiming it as close to his head as possible. Yet; the only target the vase struck was the floor - thus shattering its body into a million pieces.

'Save your energy, my darling...' his disturbingly-smooth echo resonated across thereafter 'I haven't even started yet...'

'Nooo' with her lungs now starting to break out into a steady wheeze, she dragged her wilting form towards a shut window nearby. What if she used the windows to raise a distress signal? What if she screamed for help? What if someone overheard her cries and knocked the door? 'Yesss...' standing tall, she tried to undo the window latch. Unfortunately, it didn't budge 'COME ONNN... you can do it...' she invested more effort, but that merely ended up depleting her dwindling energy reserves further 'Ditch it... go to another one' prodding her exhausted self, she followed a similar routine on the next window - only to see the same story repeat 'Why can't I open a simple latch?' the surmounting emotions burst out into a volley of tears. The crux of her escalating frustrations - of her impending helplessness - of her mounting terror ultimately simmered over 'Open up... you rusty latch... open...' she seethed, but her fingers slipped once more. Halting in her tracks, she studied her uncooperative hands through moist eyes. Why did they look unfamiliar? Why did they feel like an attachment? Of rubber or plastic?

'Jodha! STOP wasting time...' abruptly prompted by a dire call, the young lady battled to come up with an alternative plan 'Try something else... QUICK!' utilizing what little strength her body had, she moved over to the patio-terrace doors. However when the latches atop those doors ended up being just as stubborn, her actions launched into an erratic rage thereon. The hopelessness that took over wasn't easy to ward off. She banged the glass, wailing out to people on the roads - people who were no more than distant specks in the horizon 'HELLLPPP HELP ME... HELPPP... PLEASE...SOMEONE...' she banged and banged and banged - but to no avail. After all, who would notice a lady trapped behind a glass door of an apartment? That too, a rear-facing apartment situated on the third floor of some random building? Yet, she banged and banged and banged till the pounding sounds in her head became louder than anything else. Till the dizziness was much too prominent to avoid. Till her deadened feet had become too weak to support her own weight.

Ultimately rendered immobile, Jodha plonked down on her spot 'I...I...' she tearfully rasped, devoured by anguish 'I can't give up... but... what else can am I to do... the...the...' a second later, a plausible idea struck her giddy mind - the only ray of hope her losing battles had for then 'The landline...' she glimpsed up, wearily. The phone felt like it was miles away 'Go...Ambe Ma is with you... grab it before he can stop you... go...go...now...' powerless to even stand up by that point, the obstinate young lady clambered on all fours in order to get to the side-table. Compelled to crawl over a few broken shards to reach the other end, Jodha minded not the vase fragments that had lodged into her palms or her dress. She focussed her hazy sights on the phone alone. Once she'd managed the herculean feat and made the journey, she hung onto the surface of the table and seized the instrument for herself.

It was when the phone toppled down onto the floor and she lifted the receiver thenceforth that any remaining optimism, died an instant death. There was no line. The phone wasn't even connected!

Strewn on her spot, a spent Jodha stared at the whirlpool-of-a-room she was engulfed in 'Nooo...' she wept, as she realized how wildly the furniture and floor had started floating around her 'This can't be happening... w... w... what if I go to a room and lock myself in?' briefly wrestling with her mind to muster some will, she wrestled with her body to prop her torso up - but the despair in her mind and the chemicals in her body had sucked ALL life out of her. Her rubbery bleeding hands finally gave up their ghost. She slumped down on the floor lifelessly.

Then, she heard his footsteps. Circumventing the poky bits of porcelain lying around, his strides stopped just beside her face. She didn't even need to look up to catch the confident smirks on her captor's face. She had the answer already. She'd been drugged - just like she had been many months ago! Only this time her predicament was worse. Infinitely worse. Worse than even being jumped by an unknown assailant in a dark room. There was none to call out to for help. There was no Jalal waiting outside for her in a car. There was none who'd miss her presence - at least for an hour more. She was truly all alone. Trapped, drugged AND at the complete mercy of a maniac!

'Y... you?' her faint voice murmured through a bout of laboured coughs 'It... it was you... you drugged me that day at the convention centre too...'

'It was Valentine's day...' the stalker's composed explanation arrived soon after 'Another day that used to be very special for my wife and I... I had hoped to make you mine then...' he knelt down so she could see the expressions on his face 'I'd tipped the waiter... my car was ready... I had it all planned... but, that bas***d Jalal had to ruin it all... he wasn't even supposed to attend the fair... anyway, the dosage I've given you today is a bit stronger...'

'Please...' folding her frail palms as a last ditch attempt, she pleaded to the best of her ability 'I beg you... you have it all wrong... you need help... I am your student... not your wife...' her sobs steadily died down 'I am 15 years your junior... I am your niece's friend...like a daughter...please don't do this... I beg you...'

He said nothing. Instead, he waited for any surviving fight left within her to diminish - before he could carry her semi-conscious form to his bedroom.

A few pending tasks to finish - and then, she was all his!

THE SILVER AUDI

'Jalal just shut up! I am NOT jumping a red light again...it's NOT safe! It's getting dark too...'

'F**k this traffic man...' Jalal banged the window, as he waited for the queues to clear 'I should have driven myself... I would have overtaken these drivers by now...'

'And got us all in an accident too! Just let me drive in peace, ok?' fuming under his breath, Abdul stiffened his grip on the steering wheel 'Do you want to reach the place on time? Or be caught by a traffic warden? What's happened to you? Why are you behaving so edgy? So unlike yourself...'

'Ok...' he relented, still glancing out his window agitatedly 'Forget about my mood swings... I don't know what's gotten over me all of a sudden... anyway, just drive!'

'Guys can you both stop arguing, please?' Renu chided her mates - surprised by the unusual show of immaturity that'd been going on ever since they left office 'Jodha must be fine... stop worrying yourself sick, Jalal!'

'Arre...listen na...' Meera had to literally shout over the heated conversations as the traffic started clearing 'Just take the left there, Abdul... there...'

'By the way' Renu reminded him You better have a good explanation if all of us are going to barge into a professor's house... unannounced... in the evening...'

'All of us are not going to barge in! I'm going alone, ok? Just to find out if Jo is there... if she's fine...' he paused to swallow the agonizing lump in his throat - a result of a strange anger and unease brewing within 'And to have an informal chat with sir...'

TUITION - PROFESSOR RAM CHARAN'S RESIDENCE

'Nooo... please' her soul shuddered because her spine couldn't. Her mind recoiled in disgust because her fingers couldn't. She didn't experience anything externally. Yet, she could experience everything within. The drugs had made her too groggy to fight. Yet, she was conscious enough to know what was going on - and what a horrible plight that was to be in 'Nooo' she protested as he kissed the glass bangles - his late-wife's glass bangles that he'd slipped onto her wrists 'Please... DON'T DO THIS... please... please...' assuming she was screaming her voice hoarse, she persisted with the outcry - but unbeknown to her, all that came out was a dopey murmur 'Please... I am Jodha Singh... not your wife... please understand...I AM NOT YOUR WIFE!'

Those were words she'd reiterated a million times, but they weren't going to deter the delusional' in him. When her sorry state, her appeals or the blood trickling down her palms hadn't stopped him - a few words weren't going to make any difference, were they? Yet, she kept going at it. So desperate had she become that she was ready to do ANYTHING to buy herself some time from that horrendously-slow ticking-clock. At one point, she'd even tried sweet-talking him out of it - to divert his attention by asking him questions about his late-wife and whatnot. However, he subsequently saw through her ruse and when he did - he shut her up for good. Pulling her by her hair, he rattled her benumbed senses by yelling right into her ears 'Just because I have schizophrenia... doesn't mean I'm a fool... so, don't treat me like one!'

So here she was, praying and praying that this nightmare would go away soon - while he relentlessly persevered with his twisted sport.

Having dreamily brushed her hair to his heart's content, he moved up her delicate form to caress the forehead that had a large bindi now stuck upon it - his late-wife's bindi 'My bride' he chanted recurrently 'You are pure...you are divine... you are virginal... you are mine! I've missed you...'

'Urgh' Jodha yearned to be able to flinch her face away. She wished to be able to punch - or bite - or kick - or scratch - or throttle him senseless with all of her essence - but her paralyzed form could do little else than let a warm droplet roll off her heavy eyelids 'God...' she wailed as he reached for her lips thereafter 'NOOO...PLEASSSE...'

In her head, she was endlessly kneeing him off - but in reality, the poor girl's legs only lay limp 'Please make this stop!'

Once he'd admired her face and adored her lips to his satisfaction, he slithered downwards to stroke the silver toe-rings he'd slipped on her petite feet 'My bride' he didn't stop chanting 'You are so beautiful'

While the abuser went on to play with her toes, the demoralized victim had to crunch her eyes to take a break from watching the invasion of her sanctity under the harsh light of that flickering tubelight.

'Jalal' his charming face hovered in front of her closed eyes as she did so - a drug-induced illusion she'd had for the third time since the ordeal started - and her only respite in this torturous evening so far. She laugh-cried at the irony. How incredibly ticklish she used to get whenever her boyfriend used to reach for her feet to tease the hell out of her. Now, she could feel nothing! 'Jalal...' her overwrought emotions momentarily hushed down 'Why do I keep calling out to you? Are you here?' for some reason, she'd sensed his comforting presence again. Maybe it was just her mind's way of escape. She'd even seen mamma - her papa - and bhaiyyas at different times. Loved ones who cherished her like none other and tragically enough, loved ones who had no idea of what she was going through!

'You will look so beautiful in this...' his bizarre tone threw her off her train of thoughts

It was then that her blurry eyes caught the stalker picking up his wife's red saree. Instantly realizing what his gruesome intentions were, her hysteria went into overdrive - but what point in her spirit continuing with this war when her body couldn't even lift a finger 'No... no... no...Ma... if you can't save me from this... please just let me die... please let me die... I don't want to go through this... hear me... someone... please... hear me... Jalaaal' and then, her silent howls abruptly came to a pause. She heard the whispers of her man 'Shhh!' She saw the hazy outlines of his face. She was having another hallucination.

'Even if you can't fight one battle, Jo...' her man seemed to debate 'Why opt to end the rest of your beautiful life for no fault of yours? Why punish me for no fault of mine? Why choose to die, when you have ME to fight for you?'

'True' she whimpered. The notion did make a lot of sense. Even if the worst were to happen, it would never change what her man or her family thought of her. Then, why must SHE die? Why must she punish her loved ones by choosing to die? 'I don't deserve to die' she steeled herself 'Whatever happens, I will NOT die...' she paused. She imagined the alternative. Another deluge of tears gushed down her tired eyes 'But I don't want to be raped either...'

'As the psychopath flicked open the neatly folded saree, she knew she was running out of time. She'd tried every trick in the book to make him stop, but nothing had worked so far. She had to attempt something new - something that would drive him mad enough so he'd lose his self-control'. It was risky, but she had no choice!

'Y... you' she stuttered, noticing him get close 'You cannot get away with this...'

'Do you think I plan to hang around here after this?' he laughed-off her futile threats 'Everyday thousands of people are reported missing in India, only to be never found again... I will become a part of that statistic, that's all...' he indicated towards a packed suitcase standing in a corner 'The sad thing is, the police will know not where I am... YOU will know not where I am... your BROTHERS will know not where I am... BUT, I will always know where you are... what you're doing... I will always keep the Rishabhs and Jalals away... and wait for you to change your mind... to come to me...' he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ears 'And once I grow tired of waiting, I'll just start targeting your loved ones... one after another...I know everything about everyone... what your father does on Sundays... where your brothers work...'

Wasting no further time, he snaked his palm around her bare neck to reach the tiebacks on her salwar

'NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! PLEASE!' her spirit writhed in excruciating agony

'Watch them all suffer...' he undid her salwar knots, one by one

THE PARKED SILVER AUDI - OUTSIDE THE BUILDING

Slamming shut the passenger door of his car, he instructed his friends in a rush 'If I don't come down in 15 minutes... come up for me...'

'Yup' Renu nodded

'If I don't pick my phone after a few missed calls... come up for me...'

'Yup' Renu nodded again

'But till then...'

'We'll wait for you here...' Abdul intervened with a very heavy sigh

'Haan ok... bye for now'

No sooner than the determined crusader headed off in the direction of the building's entrance, the restless friend paced forth and grabbed onto his bestie's arm. For some reason, he felt like he had to say something more.

'Hey...' a taken aback Jalal, turned around to enquire 'K...kyaa?' despite the inherent unrest in his head right then, he didn't fail to discern the extent of angst in his pal's eyes 'Kyaa hua Abdul?'

'Promise me...' Abdul uttered, on an anxious tone 'That you'll be careful...'

'Of course...' Jalal smirked, half-heartedly 'You were taunting me all this while. Now suddenly... so serious? Chill... I'm just going to have a chat...'

Hurling his friend a short-but-poignant wink, the lone man spun about and walked off. His silhouette disappeared - through the arched doorway - and into the dark corridors of that beige building.

A second later, Abdul sensed something in his shirt pocket. He took the object out.

'Where did this come from? Jalal? But, he NEVER gives away his whole stash...' staring at the untouched packet of mentos now sitting in his hand, he battled a peculiar sense of restlessness tearing away at his peace 'Maybe... I shouldn't have let him go alone...'

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

If this made for a worthwhile read, please don't forget to hit like/leave a comment if time permits... it really does help the writer in me to keep going 😳

Originally posted by: lashy

Kalgi jumped in... 😆

Ok lemme go off to brush it will be back in 4 hours 😳