One Foot In The Grave

Chapter 23: The Collateral Damage

Kalyani, Day 15

The kiss was not supposed to happen.

Kalyani entered the street carrying a cloth bag of groceries her mother had asked for. She kept thinking about how she had kissed Jagadeesh two days ago. Indira hadn't been home, and he was in his room, silent and half-crying. Kalyani had always known he struggled to stay here, being alone and with not so many friends. After spending an hour listening and trying to comfort him, they began kissing like it was the most natural thing to happen. She didn't remember who initiated it though. She had blushed when he admitted it was the most rush he felt in a while.

The rice bag in her other hand was small and not heavy as the last time she had taken ration. She didn't wonder why. She never cared for anything. When her mother asked her to stop her studies, she left the college right away. She didn't see it as a downgrade in life. Studies never agreed with her.

The cotton-top she had worn stuck to her body, and so, she increased her pace. The street was empty. All the houses were silent. Only the fifty-year-old Varalakshmi in the house next to the current pole seemed to be present, grinding the rice. She sat on a knee-length stool with one hand on the grinder.

"Ah, is the princess coming home?"

"A Princess working for a village head? I will be in the history books," Kalyani snapped.

Both of them laughed at once, though the words reminded Kalyani of Jagadeesh again. The way he held her face like she was a precious little thing.

Kalyani shook the memory away and asked, "Where is everyone, aunty?"

"They are cleaning the entire temple today."

"Oh Shiva, who will miss a chance like that?"

"I know you are joking, but your mother went too."

Kalyani rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself, "It's like fate doesn't want us to be together."

She reached her house via the backside while making sure her mother's favourite Jasmine vine didn't stick between the doors.

She put the things in her hands down and bent near their bronze bucket. Pulling her legging above the ankles, she washed her legs. Then, she cleaned her face and adjusted her nose ring. Jagadeesh complimented that the ring always stood her apart, and she believed him.

The three-roomed house felt tiny for Kalyani. Although she wasn't more than a maid, she would roam in the village head's house as she owned it. She would spend hours staring at her reflection in the giant mirrors she had cleaned. Her body was her shrine. Not to boast, but she considered herself one of the prettiest girls in the village.

Only If I have money, she sighed and continued inside.

It took her three attempts to get the light switch in the kitchen right. She left the groceries beside the stove and strolled into the bedroom.

In the dark, a shadow was waiting for her. Behind the door, it lurked, breathing in intervals and made no sound. When Kalyani reached for the switches, her eyes met the shadow's eyes. Her heart jumped and so did she. A scream escaped her as the doctor stepped into the dim extension of the kitchen's light.

He threw a rope at her, but Kaylani dodged it away. She spun around to run. A bad move. The doctor caught her hair, pulling her back. Her legs swayed, and she choked on pain.

As if he was a fisherman casually hurling a net into a silent river, he tossed the knotted rope around her neck. Kalyani forgot to put her fingers between the rope and the neck. Then, it was too late. She was failing at the attempts of relaxing it.

Once the rope tightened into her larynx, she sensed a rush of blood flowing into her head. A few seconds passed, and her lungs were begging for air. She couldn't choke or swallow, and her tongue fell out. She incessantly patted the doctor's hands. But he lugged her back once again, and she gave up.

Tears had been forced out, as the memory of the kiss resurfaced; next, it was her mother's smiling face. At last, it was darkness. A big, wide, comforting darkness.