A Sew Through Time [Bandbudh And Budbak]

Vol V: 1: Ground zero

Grabbing medicines from the dirty counter, Aditi plopped her cigarette between her teeth and pressed out a white pill. She went towards the door to check it the second time, tugging the chain hanging from the hook.

Eyeing the hat stand, she grabbed the plastic cup, tapped the ash into it and gave her guest the medicine.

Harish stared at it. The couch was reeking a soggy smell. Misaligned plastic stools demarcated the place, jars were left outside their shelves. The counter was dirty with crumbled tissues, cigarette ash and a knife; till he realized it resembled a bar of some sort.

Aditi returned with a glass, "Here"

Thanking her for the water, he put the pill on his tongue. It was a strong dose, similar to the ones he would take for migraine. It took its time to reach down as his throat bobbed up.

Aditi sat near the table, observing him. He looked like a man of high regard, wearing a coat during the blazing month of September. Someone might had tried to hurt him, or not; not all blood on a poor man's face has to be his own.

"What is... the time?"

She turned to check the clock on top of the fridge. It had stopped working. Of course it had. Grabbing her phone, she said it was past one.

He did not doubt it. Other than people slamming their doors shut, the street had rendered dead silent. No stray dog barked, nobody came whistling to throw torches over bins and shoo vagabonds away. Light fell on the road.

Grabbing the armrest tightly, he shifted his weight over one knee, then feet.

Aditi finished her cigarette and got up to to go to the door, thinking he was heading out.

The glass cup shattered.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Harish tried to stand, hearing her brush the broken pieces under the couch with bare hands.

"Do you know expensive these were?! I bought these from Big Bazaar on Dussehra sale!"

"I didn't, agh..." He grabbed the armrest and pulled himself up haphazardly, "-mean to intrude... in such... an hour. Do you... have a phone?"

"You use a, why?" She rose up instantly, "Why you need a phone?!"

"Call my... family. I need to call them"

"There's a landline near the stairs" she wiped her face, hearing him skid near the rug, "Kya kar rahe hai aap?!"

Standing again, Harish pressed his nails into the textured wall and limped towards the phone.

Aditi stayed back. Now she felt sure this man was either some runaway criminal with all those bruises on his face, or someone trying to hide the night in her house. Hadn't he been walking normally and talking politely, she would had thrown him into one of the dustbins on the street.

He pressed the receiver next to his cheek. Since the ceiling fan was slow, Aditi heard it faintly.

"Hello?!" Came his rapturous voice, "Can you hear me?! A-are you safe? Is your husband with you?! The boys?"

Someone else seized the phone from his sister's hand and talked back in a hoarse, angry tone, scolding him for being so perverse to talk to a married woman at such an hour.

Before he could warn himself, the line was cut off.

"What's... the time now?"

Aditi grew irritated, "How many times will you keep asking that?!"

"You... did...?" He gave a dumb look.

"Who are you?" She seized a knife from the counter, "How do you know about my daughter?"

"You said... that... she left hours ago" he grabbed the countertop.

"How you know her?!"

"I... I don't belong here"

"Are you some... like some fucking murderer?!"

"I..A...S"

"Where's your ID?!"

"I don't... remember"

"I'll call the police -!" She kept pointing the knife and walked towards her phone. But before she could grab it, Harish pushed it off the surface. It fell on the other side of the counter.

"HEY!"

"You had been there... didn't you?" He looked up.

Words faltered in Aditi's trembling lips, "W-what're you talking about?!"

"I know what had happened" he stepped forward slowly, showing his open palms, "Your husband did not die from just an accident. They were watching him"

"You..." Aditi was shaken off the core belief of him being a murderer, "D-Do you work for him?!"

"No"

Putting her hands over the counter, she bumped into the edge and collapsed on the floor. Hot tears burst down her cheeks.

Carefully kneeling beside, Harish gave her phone back, saying,

"If you tell me how it looked like and... whom you saw there, it would be easier to find Khushi"

Two thirty am. Harish put the knife into his coat and pressed his tie, loosening wrinkles.

Aditi descended from the stairs, walked towards him and placed something in his hand.

He speculated the yellow plastic flower. It looked old, crumbled and weak.

"I have told you everything" Aditi mumbled, "Now you have to do me a favour. When you find Khushi, return this back"

He put it in his coat and said, "I'll get going then"

"To where?"

He opened the door and walked out. Aditi rushed to follow him, till she saw him walking into a circular band of light.

Erupting into the next dimension, Harish heard a roar. There was a watchtower and a road upside down trailing with numerous footsteps.

The triplets continued chasing the flying entity with branches, boots and fists, throwing pebbles at its direction, till the smallest triplet halted and turned to see him standing.