The Case Files

Chapter 5

Khushi walked inside the interrogation room and sat across Arnav who had his elbows on the table and his fingers pressing on his eyes.

"Have these sweets and sweeten up your mood, Arnav." Khushi chirped as she opened a box of besan ladoos in front of Arnav.

Khushi pushed the box towards Arnav urging him to have some ladoos.

"I'm a diabetic!" Armav said with a straight face.

"Yeah, I know you are diabetic from your records but one ladoo won't harm. Anyways, you don't get sweets in here often. So, one won't harm." Khushi explained Arnav as if she was explaining this to a small child.

What are these for?" Arnav asked as he contemplated whether to eat the sweets or not.

"To celebrate this wonderful day!" Khushi said as she spread her arms wide and continued, "Congratulations to us, Arnav, we won! We took our first step towards your freedom!" Khushi said clapping her hands excitedly.

Khushi got up from her chair and walked towards Arnav excitedly. She took one ladoo from the box and thrusted it inside Arnav's mouth not minding his shocked gaze.

She went ahead and recited the happenings of the court room. Arnav sat there chewing on the delicious ladoo and listening to Khushi. He was happy that the case was getting reopened but he also knew that the reopening of the case will bring a lot of violence and harm.

Arnav did not know whether to be happy or be concerned and sad. Just as the happiness filled inside him, the dread of harm and bloodshed filled inside him.

Arnav sat silent and chewed upon the sweet unable to relish the sweetness in his mouth.

"Ssh!" Arnav hissed as he felt a hand over his left eye.

Arnav looked up to see Khushi standing right beside him. Arnav looked at Khushi's face while examining his eye that had turned blue because of a fight.

Khushi's face twitched in pain as she grazed her fingers over his wound.

"Don't worry, it's because of just another fight in the jail." Arnav said as he saw Khushi's eyes getting filled with tears seeing the wound.

"What had happened?" Khushi asked as she controlled her tears and looked at him, still standing beside him.

"Nothing!" Arnav gave a curt reply and looked away.

Khushi saw Arnav turn his face away and knew that he would never share his pain with her but that didn't mean she wouldn't try again. So, she decided to change the topic.

She sighed and said, "I heard that you are getting shifted to another jail for this act."

"I know." came one more curt reply from Arnav.

Khushi groaned in frustration and said, "Arnav, I know you are angry and frustrated. But you cannot show your anger this way. There are many other ways to let out your anger."

Khushi closed her eyes seeing Arnav's reluctance and said, "Arnav, I know it is difficult for you. I understand the frustration you feel staying here. But you cannot let your frustration rule you. Your anger results into these fights and then see, you are being shifted to other jail. Arnav, please try to control your anger. It will just ruin things up."

Arnav gritted his teeth as anger flashed in his eyes and he said, "You don't know how it feels to stay behind the bars, Ms. Gupta. You don't know how I feel, so you better not say that because you don't understand what I feel. You just fucking don't. So, it would be better if you don't sympathize me."