PUNISHED FOR BEING ME

CHAPTER 10

"ITS ME, RAM", I SAID WITH A TREMBLING VOICE.

"HOW ARE YOU BETA ?" SHE ASKED. HER VOICE SOUNDING LESS EXCITED THAN IT DID WHEN SHE PICKED UP THE CALL.

"I AM FINE AUNTY. THANK YOU FOR PAYING THAT BAIL AMOUNT. I WILL PAY YOU BACK I PROMISE."

"NO NEED RAM. I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING IF IT WAS PRATIK INSTEAD OF YOU. BUT SINCE HE'S NOT AROUND ANYMORE, YOU ARE THE CLOSEST THING TO A SON I HAVE."

"WELL, THAT MEANS A LOT AUNTY. BUT IF YOU DONT MIND, CAN I ASK YOU SOMETHING?"

"SURE, GO AHEAD. ASK ANYTHING YOU WANT."

"I WAS THE ORGANISING MEMBER OF THE MARCH, RAM. SINCE I WAS NOT ABLE TO HELP PRATIK WHILE I WAS STILL AROUND, I MAKE AN EFFORT NOW AND THEN TO ORGANISE SUCH MARCHES WHEREVER AND WHENEVER I CAN, IN HIS MEMORY."

"I REALLY DIDNT KNOW THAT. ITS A GOOD THING MRS SINGHANIA. ITS VERY SWEET OF YOU TO DO THIS."

"THANK YOU RAM. I THINK YOU SHOULD NOW TAKE REST SON. YOU HAVE HAD A LONG DAY. CAN YOU CALL ME TOMORROW, I HAVE SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT."

"SURE MRS SINGHANIA, I WILL BE HEADING HOME NOW. I WILL CALL YOU TOMORROW. BYE"

"TAKE CARE SON."

CLICK, THE CALL ENDED. SHE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING TO, E AND I HAD NO IDEA WHAT. THE WHOLE RIDE BACK HOME, I KEPT THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE TOPIC OF THE CONVERSATION FOR TOMORROW WILL BE BUT NOTHING CAME TO MY MIND.

WHEN I REACHED THE CAMPUS GATES, I SAW MANAV WAITING FOR SOMEONE AT A DISTANCE.

"HEY MANAV", I CALLED OUT.

HE CAME RUNNING TOWARDS ME AND HUGGED ME.

"WHERE WERE YOU? I WAS JUST LEAVING FOR THE POLICE STATION TO FILE A MISSING PERSONS REPORT. COULDNT YOU HAVE CALLED?"

I TOOK OUT MY BROKEN MOBILE AND SHOWED IT TO HIM.

"IT BROKE DURING THE RIOTS YESTERDAY"

"RIOTS? WHAT RIOTS?"

"I WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING ONCE WE GET TO THE ROOM. LETS GO."

WHEN WE REACHED THE ROOM, I WENT AND LIED DOWN ON THE BED AND ASKED HIM TO BRING A GLASS OF WATER FOR ME. TILL THE TIME HE CAME BACK WITH A GLASS OF WATER I HAD ALREADY DRIFTED OFF TO A DREAMY WORLD WHERE PRATIK WAS STILL ALIVE AND WE WERE STILL IN A RELATIONSHIP. IT WAS A BETTER WORLD.

PREETI SINGHANIA WAS A HOUSEWIFE-TURNED-BUSINESS WOMAN. SHE HAD INHERITED THE FAMILY BUSINESS FROM HER HUSBAND WHEN HE WAS DEEMED TO BE UNFIT FOR RUNNING THE COMPANY OWING TO HIS INCREASED RATE OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND UNRULY BEHAVIOUR. THOUGH HE WAS IN A STABLE CONDITION NOW, HE WAS STILL KEPT AWAY FROM THE REIGNS OF THE COMPANY WHICH WERE HANDED OVER TO HIS WIFE BY THE COMPANY'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

A FEW MONTHS AGO, SHE HAD REACHED OUT TO PRATIK AND APOLOGISED FOR NOT STANDING BY HIM WHEN HE WAS IN NEED SINCE NO MATTER WHAT SIDE SHE CHOSE, THERE WAS NOTHING SHE COULD DO WHEN UNDER THE MIGHT OF HIS FATHER. SHE APOLOGISED A LOT TO HIM ON THE PHONE AND EVEN CAME DOWN TO THE CAMPUS TO CONVINCE HIM TO FORGIVE HER. EVENTUALLY, AFTER SOME SHEDDING OF TEARS FROM BOTH SIDES, PRATIK GAVE IN ND FORGAVE HER FOR ABANDONING HIM SEVEN YEARS AGO. AFTER A FEW WEEKS, HE INTRODUCED ME TO HER MOM ON PHONE AND SHE WAS EVERYTHING BUT AGAINST OUR RELATIONSHIP. SHE ACCEPTED ME AS A FAMILY MEMBER AND GAVE ME EQUAL TREATMENT AS HER OWN SON. SHE WAS A WOMAN OF COMPASSION, BUT WHEN SHE WAS UNDER HER HUSBAND, THERE WAS NOTHING SHE WAS ALLOWED TO DO, NOT EVEN SAVE HER OWN SON FROM BEING LEFT OUT TO DRY BY THE MONSTER HE HAD FOR A FATHER.

THE NEXT DAY, I WOKE UP AT ABOUT 10. NOT SOON THAT I HAD OPENED MY EYES, MANAV WAS ALL OVER ME TO HEAR THE STORY OF WHY I WAS MISSING FOR THE BETTER PART OF 30 HOURS. I TOLD HIM EVERYTHING STARTING FROM THE MARCH TO THE RIOT TO THE JAIL TIME AND THE CALL FROM PRATIK'S MOM. THAT'S WHEN I REMEMBERED IT.