1985. The City of dreams. Red double decker buses, khali-peeli taxis, radios, Doordarshan, video cassettes and rotary dial phones.
DCP Amarnath arrives in Bombay with a mission, straight and clear: To tackle the notorious Crime Syndicates.
As the c...
Gauri grunts. Can't I just lie on the bed peacefully on a Sunday afternoon??
'What?' she calls out.
'Choti Maaji, aaple dost aaye hain.' her cook answers.
Gauri sits up lazily. Friends?
There's a knock at her bedroom door. 'Gauri?'
Gauri recognizes the voices. She sighs. 'Come in ... '
'Heyy!!' A group of four burst in. Gauri stares at them blankly and then remembers that she needs to smile.
'Hey,' she says dutifully.
'When did you come to Bombay?' she side-hugs Fiona. Karan sits on the opposite edge of the bed. Roger leans his shoulder against the wall as Tina hops on the bed and hugs Gauri in succession.
'Last week' Fiona huffs. 'I'm staying for a month. Micheal's mother is visiting, so I just made an excuse and came here. She is irritating sometimes. You're lucky. You won't have a mother-in-law!'
'Please don't speak like that, Fiona' Gauri says grimly.
Fiona blinks. 'Hey ... I meant it as a joke'
'Amar's Mom passed away when he was ten. Only I know how much he misses her'
'Gauri, I'm so sorr-'
'It's fine,' Gauri closes her eyes. 'Just don't say such things again.'
Her friends look at each other.
'I miss school days' he puts in, deviating from the topic. 'When we were all together. Eating at the canteen. Playing basketball. Golden days ... '
'I wish I could be in school forever,' Gauri says suddenly with an edge to her voice. 'The outside world's so crappy!'
Nobody replies. They know about the current happenings. In fact, that's why they're here; to try to cheer Gauri up.
Fiona places her hand on Gauri's lap. 'He is gonna be fine'
'Of course, he's gonna be fine!' Gauri says a little too loudly. 'I know no one believes in him. But I believe in him. If I'm the only one, that's fine! I believe in him!'
Her friends watch her in nervous silence.
'S-Sorry ... ' Gauri begins wretchedly. 'I'm not in th- ... I miss him and I jus- ... ' her words dissolve in the air.
Karan gazes at Gauri as she absentmindedly runs her palm along the bedspread.
'You both did it on this bed, right?' he asks.
'Karan!' Fiona and Tina gasp at the blasphemy. Karan throws up his hands.
'Is it that obvious??' Gauri hazards.
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