Alaikadal

Chapter 1 - Kumudhini

Past

Date- 1st March, 2033

Time- 11:19 AM

Location- Police Commissioner Office, Ahmadabad, Gujarat

My palms start sweating as Ahuja sir, the Commissioner of Gujarat PD, reads through my transfer application.

"You want to get transferred to Chandigarh PD, why?" He raises his head to look at me while placing the papers on his desk. I get even more nervous, its feels as if he sees right through me some days.

"Sir, my main reason is the increasing crime rates in Chandigarh and they have an opening for a forensic scientist.", I said. Another reason for wanting to go to Chandigarh was that I had spent most of my childhood there. While Odisha is and will always be my motherland, I can't help but feel that Punjab is my second home.

"You really want this transfer, don't you, Mangraj? Pulling strings and using connections to find out if Chandigarh has an opening?", he said, like it was amusing to him how much efforts I was putting into this.

He continued, "Say why do you want to leave right now?"

I said, unsure if he would like my response, "Sir, you will probably think that it is silly but I want to work, for a few years, in a city which I spent most of my childhood. I want to stay with my friends there for a while."

I know, this is not something you tell your boss, but during the time I had been working there, he had become my mentor, almost like a father-figure. So, I knew I could tell him this unofficially.

He laughed at my answer and said, "Get back to your work for now, Mangraj. You will have your application approved by tomorrow."

I straightened my posture and said, "Jai Hind, sir." Before walking out of his office.

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Present

Date- 19th March, 2033

Time- 09:21 PM

Location- Chandigarh Airport Road, Chandigarh

"Are you kidding me? Why is he calling you this late at night?", Avni, my best friend, exclaimed from the passenger seat. The person in question is Rudra Ratta.

Usually, she doesn't hate people, but she just isn't particularly fond of him for 2 reasons. First being that he hurt me, second is that she thinks that he is in love with me, but won't do anything about it, hurting both of us in this process, again.

"He probably just wants to check in.", saying this I removed my hands from the gear to answer the call. We were returning from the airport after dropping my parents off. They had come to help us shift houses and unpack while both of us got started at our work places.

I said to Rudra, "Hello. Before you start speaking, just know that you are on speaker, and Avni is sitting right next to me."

Rudra voice filled my jeep when he said sarcastically, "Thank you for the heads up, Kumkum. I was definitely going to say something very inappropriate."

"I can never tell when it comes to you.", I said referring to the times when he would randomly flirt with me, and when he would fight with me without any good reason.

Avni glares at me when she sees me blushing at the mere sound of his voice. His voice alone could make me blush so hard. I don't know if it was because of our long-distance friendship for nearly ten years, that 2 year break in which we didn't talk to each other at all, or his Haryanvi accent that just made his voice so special for me. One thing that I forgot to mention is that she also hates him because I am still in love with him, and she knows that this love is killing me from the inside.