ShiVi: A Collection Of Short Stories.

in your arms (part 2)

"Kaise kiya?" She curtly asked, eyes raging in anger.

"...."

"Maine pucha KAISE KIYA?"

Raavi sat in front of the man, awaiting his answer. After giving her written statement in the case, she was allowed special permission of an unsupervised meeting, under commissioner's orders, but only for a few minutes.

"Woh..." The man before her faltered, before continuing, "Mujhe phone aaya tha, 2 logon ka contract. Ghar ka address, aur left kamre mein 2 log honge, unhe maarna hai, aise bola gaya tha. Hum ghar ka taala kholke andar aaye, aur chaku se...."

"Phir?" Her eyes went red and throat went dry at the details. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear ahead of this. But she buckled up and clenched her fists.

"Unke bags leke gaayab kar diye. Phir body leke hum jaa hi rahe the, ki hume message aaya. Ek teesre insaan ko maarne ka. Par, woh ek bacchi thi. Chain se so rahi thi. Toh maine mana kar diya. Aur bodies ko beech samundar..."

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. She shut her eyes, not wanting to imagine any vivid imagery of the account he just gave.

Raavi felt like strangling the person who started this, with her own bare hands, until they were gasping and struggling for breath, at her mercy, like her parents would have been-

"Ky-kyu kiya?" She asked, boring holes into his head, confidence shaking in this closed room, where light entered through a tiny window.

"Contract killer hoon. Ek aadmi ne paise diye the, toh..."

"Kaun? KAUN THA WOH?!" She yelled, slamming her palms on the table, standing up in the momentum, scaring the living shit out of the man sitting in front of her.

"Sarvesh Desai. Businessman."

Raavi slumped back into her seat as soon as she heard the name. Sarvesh Desai. No, it couldn't be. It's not possible. Sarvesh Uncle?

Her parent's closest friend. So many times, he has brought gifts for her, and even called her home to take care of her, when her parents were out of town. He was the chacha equivalent in her life. He was so nice to her and her parents. Why?

Business rivalry. His business, which he had started much before her parents, wasn't succeeding as much as the Joshi's did, in the short span of time. She was sure it was this. There was no other reason.

She had wanted to strangle the person who started this. But it was not necessary. God had punished him, himself. Sarvesh Desai had died in a case of reckless car driving, resulting in a crash that totaled his car and the people inside it, killing them on the spot.

Raavi took a deep breath, and looked at the time. 2 minutes. She had 2 minutes left.

"Ek bacchi se uske maa baap ko door kar diya, sharam nahi aayi? Ek baar bhi nahi socha, ki uska kya hoga? Choti si thi woh, duniya bhi nahi dekhi thi usne!" She asked, wanting to know if he had any conscience at all. She had got what she wanted, and she didn't want to know, more or less.

"Aayi. Woh bacchi mein mujhe meri beti dikhi. Isliye uss din ke baad ye sab chod diya tha maine." The man looked down, somewhat ashamed.

"Par aap ho kaun, aur ye sab kyu jaanna chahti ho?"

"Wahi ladki jiske maa baap usse cheen liye gaye the, 10 saal ki umar mein, kisi contract ke naam pe. Par aap nahi jaante mujhe. Hai na?"

The man looked at her in shock, his trance breaking with a loud rap on the metal door, indicating for her to leave. Raavi stood up and breathed deeply once more, before heading out.