ArHi FF! Dante's Labyrinth: Thread 1 [Completed] - Page 29

Just love reading all the comments and the various theories that come up ... 😆

I would want to get to know Aakash. How did he rationalize 18 days of torture in his mind? He would have to do that. When we do something that our conscious doesn't permit, we bargain and rationalize our actions. We find reasons that will validate the action and find peace. It is obvious that he did not find peace. What he did find was emptiness. Or was it something else?

Aww poor Akadh..Hes been through a lot 😭 Very nice update, liked it very much!

Damn.. i am not meant to read this.. but can you blame me.. i can't stop.. the moment i saw the banner I could see it wasn't for me.. but I LOVE the banner.. it is sooo beautifully done.. i love it when dark is placed in the most beautiful possible way..

I just read all the five chapters.. Akash's story is so cruel.. poor guy.. who wouldn't loose the sanity after what he did unintentionally..

Arnav is kinda of enigma for me.. but Arnav and Khushi playing chess without chess board was good.. the way you tend to show the personality.. without literally writing it.. you bring it through other things.. i would like to call it the texture of your writing..

Please do not send me PM.. i am going to try to stay away from the story.. not sure how successful that attempt will be.. but there is no harm in trying is it ;)...

Doctor or not, the fact Shyam found his wife's discomfort on falling funny shows education or experience doesn't not alter much of the basic human mind. One does find some sort of enjoyment at other's pain/embarrassment/ discomfort, our Dr. Jha is no different.

They doctors discussed the patients with such ease; it did not sit comfortably with me. I'm sure these things happen when people from a work place gather and are new to each other.

Coming to Akash, in a way I get his need to address his failing as a husband/parent at not being able to protect his own. I also get his need to punish himself for failing as a human, nothing worse than not being able to correct his mistake. I am reminded of Shawshank Redemption here, poor Andy was paying for the sins he did not commit and the jailor would not let him go for his benefit, life never promised to be fair.

Arnav and Khushi are similarly different and I want to know more before I rattle off without making sense. One's sanity can always be questioned, whether a person is in a facility for reasons people outside think they are unfit to be outside. Those inside feel the ones outside are unfit to be inside, it is all subject to a legal/medical counsel's view, whose sanity can always be questioned.

Is it ethical to discuss patients in this casual manner outside work?

PS – If I don't make sense please blame the eclipse.

Chapter 06: Games people play

Shyam walked inside his house submerged in darkness.

"Anjali, are you already sleeping?" He asked switching on the lights in hallway and frowned when there was no response from her.

Sighing, he opened the bedroom door and saw her on their bed. He didn't want to wake her up so he tiptoed into the room and hoped that he wouldn't trip and fall on anything. Anjali maintained an impeccable house. He lay down next to her slowly without waking her up.

"How was the dinner?" He heard her muffled tone. He smiled. She always knew when he was around and their connection was so strong that it woke her up from her sleep.

"How is your leg?" He asked instead.

"Did she like the halwa I made?" Anjali insisted on not talking about her sprain.

"She loved it. She may call you tomorrow and thank you personally." He said taking his wife into his arms. She snuggled closely and closed her droopy eyes.

His phone rang. It was Malvika.

Thirty seconds later, he was gently placing Anjali back on her side of the bed trying very hard not to wake her up again.

"Where are you going?" He heard her ask when he was about to close the door behind him.

"One of the patients cut her wrists and I am needed. Sleep well Anjali. I will be back as soon as I am done there," Shyam said.

Once again his house was submerged in darkness.

*****

"How did this happen, Malvika?" Shyam asked settling on chair in Malvika's office.

"You can never take away creativity away from people Shyam. If they have single minded focus to do something then they will do everything they can in their power to achieve it." Malvika answered knowing that Shyam's question was actually rhetorical.

"She sharpened a plastic spoon Malvika. It wasn't sharp enough so she had to cut her wrists repeatedly." Shyam sighed.

"She was getting better with her anxiety and depression. She hasn't attempted suicide in six months and her sessions are going well too. I am unable to understand the sudden change in her behavior." Malvika replied.

"That's unless someone planted a suggestion on her regressing her problem," Shyam pondered.

"That's a farfetched thought though it isn't improbable," Malvika bit her lip.

"You are thinking about Arnav aren't you?" Shyam asked noting Malvika's expression,

"It's the first name which came to my mind. If the rumors from rehab center are indeed true then there is a possibility that he is nullifying my work with Payal." Malvika groused.

"Share the session CDs with me Malvika. I will listen to them and give you my initial finding. If there isn't anything suggestive, then you can interview all the inmates." Shyam offered.

"Thanks Shyam. But for now, I will have to report this to her family." Malvika said gratefully. She opened the large cupboard and took out stack of CDs which were recordings of sessions with Payal. She also handed him her case work and the notes she had made associating to that.

"You don't think Arnav did it?" Malvika asked sensing a different vibe from Shyam.

"It's too early to tell. And we cannot base our investigation based on heresy, can we?" Shyam replied.

"What does your instinct say?" Malvika asked. Shyam raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't know why she was so hung up on Arnav.

"My instincts say that he is innocent," Shyam said flatly.

It didn't escape his eyes as Malvika's face fell and shadows of disappointment crossed her face.

He decided to investigate this aspect too.

*****

Khushi raised an eyebrow when the nurse behind medicine counter asked her to open her mouth after taking medication. It wasn't uncommon for patients to spit out the tablets after they were away from the preening eyes of duty doctor.

"It's procedure, open up," the plump woman demanded. Shrugging, Khushi opened her mouth and even let out an "Aaah" sound to verbalize her servitude. The nurse glared at Khushi and looked at her open mouth. "Next!" She shouted dismissing Khushi.

Khushi impassively walked towards the table where Akash was sitting alone and playing Ludo. As it was too hot outside, the inmates preferred to spend afternoons inside common area amidst cool stone walls.

"May I join you?" Khushi asked politely, formally. Akash looked up from the board and scrunched his face when his eyes fell on her. "Or not…" Khushi trailed and started to walk away when she felt him grab her hand and pull. She kept fear out of her face and watched the man closely.

"Sit." He simply said and rolled the dice. They played in silence for several minutes when Akash started rocking in his seat.

Khushi looked at him and then searched around for orderly and motioned him towards Akash. Seeing what Khushi had done, Akash slapped her hard and shouted. "You cheated! You cheated! Accept it! You cheated!" He threw the board away and turned the table upside down. He was having another burst of anger taking control over him. Khushi stood mutely couple of feet away from him as two orderlies burst through the doors and grabbed him. Before he was dragged away he looked at her with an expression she couldn't decipher. She stared at him for several moments and then he started to scream breaking that moment of contact.

She swallowed and stood there numbly not knowing what else to do. In her peripheral vision she could see that Arnav had already rearranged the table and was hunting for missing dices and pieces on the floor. She sat down slowly her eyes transfixed on odd stain on the table. Her mind was wrapped around Akash and his anger management issues which seem to stem whenever she was around. It was her only second day in the facility and Akash had physically hurt her twice.

"You are provoking him," Arnav said placing the pieces on the board and taking a seat opposite to her. "You shouldn't do that." He said looking up.

"I didn't provoke him. I was playing silently." Khushi defended herself.

"Did you really cheat?" Arnav asked. Khushi hesitated and shrugged sheepishly.

"You can score two sixes with dice with a swish of the wrist. It's a party trick." Khushi said and rolled the dice. The result was as expected.

"So Akash was indeed right," Arnav said picking up the dice and mimicking Khushi's wrist action. The dice didn't listen to him the way they obeyed Khushi. "What was your real intention Khushi?" Arnav asked moving the piece on the board. Khushi didn't look at him as she picked the dice.

"The intention was to agitate him. He hit me again yesterday when we were standing outside." She said simply.

"Fair enough," Arnav accepted. Khushi was surprised hearing his answer but she kept her face neutral. She expected Arnav to chastise her for her immature behavior with a mentally disturbed man and stop bullying him this way. But his answer threw her off the loop.

"I want to see your scar," Arnav asked out of the blue. The dice fell from her hand and plunked to the table away from board and rolled to the ground.

"Why?" She whispered hoarsely. "How do you…?" She managed to ask.

"You are quite famous in certain circles you know?" There was darkness in his voice and Khushi knew immediately that it wasn't good.

"What kind of circles?"

"The kind that wants to be left alone and doesn't want the world to know it exists. It's filled with people with questionable interests – a cult of some sort." He explained.

"I don't understand," she said keeping her eyes transfixed on the board.

"You killed your sister, evaded the law and even Punisher couldn't kill you. That makes you…awesome to some people," he said rolling the dice again."

"I am not awesome," Khushi said.

"So did you kill your sister?" Arnav asked. Khushi looked confounded for a moment. "Out of four different statements, you picked the one you considered to be a lie."

"But I am a compulsive liar," Khushi smiled mirthlessly. Arnav didn't know at that moment she was lying or stating the truth. Her pupils remained the same and there were no facial muscle movements – even the miniscule ones. "How do you can you separate the truth from the entanglement of lies?" She smiled this time. Arnav didn't react to the smile.

"Did you kill your sister?" There was urgency in his voice.

Khushi shrugged. "Maybe." She gave a noncommittal response.

"Okay," Arnav said without a hitch and offered a game of chess; with board this time. "Oh, in case you didn't already know – Payal slashed her wrists last night."

Khushi whipped her head from board and stared at him hung mouth.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I don't know from where she scored a sharp object." Arnav answered setting up the board.

"Is she okay?" Khushi asked recovering quickly.

"The wound was superlative and she didn't cut deep enough." Arnav moved his pawn. "The girl can't get anything right." He added softly.

For the first time in three days, she was truly scared of the man sitting in front of her.

Me!

Where is this going...it's unnerving me.Arnav has this scary aura...a bit like Hannibal.

I have always been scared of you!