A Cup of Coffee with Life

Ankita

Characters - Ankita and Gunjan (me)
Dedicated to AnkuGarg

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                  A gentle nudge on my ribs made me awake. Though my eyes are open, I can't think of why; my mind is empty. It's as if the hypodermic is flowing beneath my skin, emptying the carotid. I woke up almost suddenly but slowly, my breathing rate steadied after seeing Ankita's smiling face before me.

                "That's why you shouldn't watch too many horror movies Gunjan", she said throwing a wink at me.

                 Ankita is my bestie, more a family member than that. She's a compassionate girl, complimented by her big doe eyes and never fading smile. With full of energy, she rejuvenates the every soul around her.

                  "Let's get some fresh air", she said and got down of the bed. "The clock ticked half past 3 and you want fresh air at this time? Ghost's time, huh?", I grunted with a slight anger which was quickly lost in a great elation.

                 We ran to the beach bare legged, enjoying the touch of the cooling sand beneath our feet. Ankita always loved the night ocean, she feels that, at night, the ocean speaks to the world through her powerful waves while at the day, it hides its deepest secrets. But, today, the ocean seemed to be surprisingly calmer than the usual.

                We sat at the beach while the waves caressed our feet like a newborn caressed by a mother. "Do you know why the haunted time has been shifted from 12 A.M. to 3 A.M.?" Noticing a hint of surprise in her face, I continued, " In olden days, 12 A.M. was considered as the haunted time. Now, why do we say that 3 A.M. is the haunted time?"

"No idea, why?" she asked.

"Maybe because nowadays, it has become a common thing for the people to stay awake till 12 A.M." And we broke into a laughter.

                 I was very happy to see Ankita laughing, I missed those smiles from few days. Since few days, she seemed to be perturbed, for the reasons unknown. My heart exhilarated again after seeing those dimples again.

                 After relishing for a couple of hours, we went back to our room again. "Thank you", Ankita said and threw herself under the covers.

                 While the abrasive morning rays struck my eyes, I woke up slackly yawning and stretching like a cat. " You know Ankita, I'm so happy for you. Missed you since few days." Unable to find her beside me, I walked past the corridor.

                 My numb feet pressed against the cold floor while I got down my bed. Something seemed to be wrong near the corridor, a sense of uneasiness occupied me. While I walked past that, I found Ankita, hanging in the rest room.

                 I broke into all tears and did my unfruitful attempts to save her hoping that she would be still alive. No, this must be a dream. We've enjoyed the beach just few hours ago, all those smiles, why should they vanish suddenly? Why?

                I called the ambulance immediately and she was taken to the hospital. While my tears pooled my face, it was announced that the postmortem reports have come.

The death time is 2'o clock, caused by hanging, the reports said.

What??Who was with me till the morning?