Not Him

Part 12

When Rahul's mom opened her eyes, I was sitting by her bedside. Her eyes showed surprise. She might not have expected me there.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

She sat up on the bed looking at me with a hesitating and confused expression.

"I need you to come somewhere with me," I told her. "I will wait for you outside."

"Now?" She asked.

"Yes. Now." My resolve might fail if I waited anymore.

I walked out of the room and waited. I leaned to the wall behind me, and all I could see was Aarohi's room's closed door. I stared at it. She was probably still sleeping. She had stayed up late with me last night until I had convinced her to go to bed. She didn't want to leave me and go to bed though. But I guess she figured that she will be able to change my mind today after she wakes up. She might not have even thought for the least bit that when she wakes up, maybe I won't be there anymore.

I could go to her room. See her one last time. But if I do that, I am afraid that I will not want to leave. Still, secretly in a corner of my mind, I wanted her to see me. Ask what I am going to do. To stop me.

Trust me, I was scared. I had no idea about what I am going into. The uncertainty terrified me.

"Let's go," Mom came out of the room.

I nodded at mom and then took a last look at the door or Aarohi's room and then walked out.

I stopped the car on the side of the road and got out. Rahul's mom got out of the car looking confused.

"Do you know where this place is?" I asked her.

"Yes." She said, "isn't it where the accident..."

"Yeah," I said. I looked around. It was all still the same. The same road. Same buildings around it. The truck was parked there, in that spot. It was not there anymore.

"Why did you bring me here?" Mom asked.

I turned to her. "Six months back, your son killed himself here." If he is outside, I figured maybe he is here? But it felt like he was actually not out there. He was still somewhere inside his own body. Either case, this was the best place to do it.

"He died here," I said.

That did not affect the mother. I figured it would not. "Rahul," She said. "What are you talking about? You are here."

"I am not Rahul," I said. "At least I am not your Rahul."

She did not understand.

"My name is Rahul Sharma. The other guy. That night I was going home from a party. And I was on this road. Then I saw the headlight of a motorbike, coming straight at my car. The rider did not turn away at the sight of the car. He did not stop. He came straight at me. You know why he did that, right?"

Mom was just looking at me with fear and shock and confusion.

"To save him, I steered my car away from him, my car lost control, skidded off the road and hit a truck loaded with iron rods. The iron rods pierced my body. I was dying... But Rahul wanted him to be dead. Not me... So he gave me his body. When I opened my eyes in the hospital, I was not Rahul Sharma anymore. I was no longer in my body. I was in his."

"Rahul.... What are you saying?" Mom asked, not believing a word of it.

"I know it will sound crazy. That it doesn't make sense. But... I am not your son. I am not your Rahul."