Choices

CHAPTER | 31

"Transgenders are also human. They also have the right to be what they want to be." Vijay wrote it on his notebook and stared at it for a good whole minute, letting the words sink before he continued. A second later, he tore the sheet of paper and crumpled it, throwing it into the dustbin.

It was a journey about how the transgenders were treated in the society not what he wanted. Vijay had written thousands of articles in his career but writing this one in particular was striking home. Along with what he wanted to say, he had his own personal experiences with them to write. No matter how he started, it all came out like a story rather than an article.

He wanted to write about call girls and prostitutes, but every time he thought about penning it down, all he could see was Radhika. Her silky dark hair a mess while her eyes were bulged with continuous crying. How badly did he want to meet and ask her to escape with him? That he would take care of her. That he would be there for her. One meet was all he was asking and Revathi hadn't let it happen too.

He pushed himself from the desk and rotated in his chair with his head towards the ceiling. What was he going to do? He had everything that any man could ask for. A perfect job that paid him decently. A career which was going good for him. A place of his own and yet, he craved for things that no man in his position would dream of.

He wanted to have a rendezvous with the prostitute girl. For a stranger, this might sound ridiculous, but he wanted Radhika. It was as simple as that. And no matter what the society deemed her to be, she was the sweet girl who had put his running heart at ease with her pleasant smile.

"How's the article coming up, Vijay?" Pranay stood in front of him with a big smile. This smile, in contrary to that of Radhika's, was eerie and put his heart in a marathon. "When can I see it on my desk?"

Vijay clenched his teeth from shouting at him. After all, wasn't Pranay doing this to make sure that Vijay was not a man who had lost his head? That he still had the brains to not go behind transgenders and prostitutes just because he could? Pranay was keeping the guy above water and indeed was making him a favor. But instead of being thankful, all Vijay could think was how cruel Pranay was to him. Scaring him off with no job just because he had different set of friends.

"Soon." Vijay nodded his head, gulping down the words that he desperately wanted to say. He showed him the notepad and shrugged.

"You know what I told you, right?" Pranay asked again. "The faster you write, the better it is for all of us."

"I know." Vijay sighed.

He knew the stakes if he lost the job. No one could come forward to hire him, a guy who has connections with the Pink Area, or even take him seriously for that matter. But being a journalist, all he wanted was to bring a change, no matter how small it was. And with Pranay by his side, Vijay knew that he was giving him a chance to just that. But this time, his heart was tangled in the mess, making it difficult to put his mind into the work.

Pranay leaned forward. "People are talking, Vijay. In all honesty, you made it a little obvious when you did what you did. Maybe you should have kept things low."

Vijay knew what he meant. Instead of facing the accusations that started initially, he had carried on with another act to put an end to the one that existed. And that was where all his mistakes spiraled into a big bang theory that didn't have a culmination.

Look at Bhargav for instance, he had probably done a little more than what Vijay was up to, did anyone talk about him? No! That was because he kept things private and what had Vijay done? Waved it to every guy who smiled at him.

"I know, I know." Vijay sighed once more. Whatever happened had happened. There was no turning back. The only rational thought that made sense at this point of time was to write the article and call it what it was. A way to collect information... a research. "I just need some more time."