Judaiyaan [ON HOLD]

The Change

“Clear. We can use this.” Samar told his friends after he finished checking the camping tent. Unexpectedly, there were enough food rations and a survival kit left in it. It was as if someone left them intentionally for the next people. He put that matter aside as there was another important thing to take care of, Mahika.

While Darshan helped the woman settle down, he looked around to search for Ruhani who had been lost from his sight. He then found her near the river bank. There was a pile of firewood near her which he assumed had been left a few hours ago.

“Samar, I am suspicious.” She said while staring at the firewood. Samar glanced at her with furrowing eyebrows.

“Someone was here. We are not the only humans. Look.”

Samar examined the firewood. He crouched and extended his hand to touch the charcoal. Well, she was right. It was still warm.

“Of course we aren’t. What do you think those guys shooting at each other up there are?”

The question made Ruhani roll her eyes. “Yeah, of course. But doesn’t the tent make you suspicious? I mean … It wasn’t set up by itself, was it? That too on an island of God knows where. And those survival tools and foods in it, it's all illogical to me.”

“What a sharp mind, Ruhi. Very good.” Samar praised. “I am too tired and too unenergetic to use my sharp mind. But do you think it will harm us?”

Ruhani smiled instantly while putting her hand on Samar’s cheek. “No one will harm us as long as you are here.”

Samar took her hands and held them close to his heart. The tiredness he had suddenly disappeared when he saw the glint in Ruhani’s eyes. He never imagined the risky mission he did would take him to this point. Well, he knew the consequences. Before the departure, his father told him that it was a mission where he would not be able to mitigate the consequences. He was willing to do it for the sake of earning back his good name. But to be stranded on some random island with another man’s wife and another cheating couple certainly never crossed his mind. He never thought it would be the consequence. He expected something else.

He looked down to her fingers. The ring he gave her a year ago was still on it.

“What are you thinking?” Ruhani looked into his eyes, searching for something that had been lost for a while. Samar brought her to take a seat near the firewood and spoke about anything.

“You know, if I don't ever come back, they will have a hero funeral for me.” His words struck Ruhani like lightning. She knew, as a soldier, Samar surely carried a burden in every of his duties. One thing she never knew was the amount of it, how much it weighed him. He never told her.

“But you die a hero. As you always wanted.” Ruhani rubbed his fingers that were intertwined between hers. Samar always wanted to be a hero since the first day. His not-so-good relationship with his father and the mysterious demise of his little brother Sameer were the reasons behind his ambition. He loved his family like no other. He would do anything for them. He was willing to sacrifice himself only to make people around him happy.

“Yeah, and I earned my name back.” Samar smiled widely at her. Ruhani gave a contrary response, staring at him blankly. She really thought the beginning of Samar's problems in the Army started with her. When their affair was exposed by the media, she was not the only one who got into trouble. Samar suffered more. He was suspended for a month of service for violating the military code of ethics.

She looked at him with guilt. Her grip on his hands was tightening. “Sam, I am sorry—”

Samar did not let her finish the sentence. He put his pointed finger on her lips, asking her to shut up. “I am a man of my own. When I asked you out, I knew what's at stake. Ain't no free lunch in this world.”

“But it has something to do with me. My work life. Those stupid paparazzi and those who betrayed me.” Ruhani threw her gaze away. Samar still held her hands tightly.

“I love you, Ruhi. Unconditionally and sincerely. Don't you ever try to count on how much I lost. Let that be my problem. Your job is simply to make me happy. To make us both happy. That's it. You have talked to Mahika about this, right? So, start listening to her. Follow how she plays this game.”

Samar's naughty winking eyes made Ruhani stare at him widely. “You heard us? How?”

“That's not matter.” Samar extended his hand to her cheek and wiped off the dust on her face. “After all, they consider me dead now. Your guilty feeling won't do us good. The one that does is your sharp mind. I'll need that for the next couple of weeks till we find real help. Okay?”

Ruhani smiled and nodded. Her eyes got teary, touched by his words. He always had this ability to simplify any hard situation. He made himself fit to her overthinking self. Probably that was what makes them perfect for each other.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. Samar accepted it happily. He felt like he just found another reason to stay strong.

Darshan came out of the tent with cans of food in his hands. He caught Samar and Ruhani kissing each other while he was busy with the supplies. He put his hands on his waist then shook his head, couldn't believe what he was seeing.

“Alright, enough with the lovey dovey things. Now come here and help me figure out how we will eat tonight.”

His voice made Samar and Ruhani jump in surprise. They immediately pulled themselves off each other and started helping Darshan. They decided not to light the firewood as they did not want to attract attention from the strange troop. The sound of gunfire could still be heard from where they camp. The place was a bit surrounded by bushes and short plants so it must have given a perfect cover for them. They waited there till the situation was under control while trying to find another way to escape.

**

The remaining days were over. There was nothing Rajpal could do to fight for his right as a father. The warrant reached his desk yesterday. No matter how much he hated this idea, the high command would initiate a hero funeral for Samar today. And he, as his father, had the privilege to officiate the ceremony. Good news still had not been heard from the rescue team but today he had to bury his son in an empty coffin.

Samaira had earlier refused to attend the ceremony. She was still in denial over her father's condition. Then Rajpal convinced her that they had no choice but to accept the reality. She still wanted to search for Samar. Her grandfather told her she could do that for as long as she wanted. But today they will attend the ceremony. Then she agreed.

The “empty” coffin was brought to a cemetery in Patiala. Many military personnel and high ranking officers escorted “Samar” to his final place. The coffin was wrapped by the Tiranga while the Army conducted the ceremony. Samar's former superiors, his fellow soldiers, and his non-com officers gave their salutes to the kind-hearted Major. They put wreaths on it in turn. Samaira could not hold her tears during the ceremony. She cried not because of the funeral. She cried because she had to bury an empty coffin pretending to be her father. Ridant, who accompanied her, tried his best to console the poor girl. He even took her to the coffin and helped her place the wreath. Rajpal being the last one, he was given the privilege to pin the Lieutenant Colonel insignia to the coffin as the Army promised. Nine gun-salute were being shot as they lowered the coffin into the ground.

Major Samar Singh Chauhan, now Posthumous Lieutenant Colonel Samar Singh Chauhan, was officially erased from India's future. The entire nation was having a mourning day for him. They mourned the loss of one of the bravest soldiers India ever had. The only people who celebrated it were the generals Samar was spying on. With this funeral and the failure of Samar's mission, they succeed in putting the future of India on their dirty hands.

~ TO BE CONTINUED ~