She was undergoing her job training at a place located a few hundred kilometers away from her native city. It was her first job. It was also the first time she was staying away from her parents. It was altogether a new environment. An environment where she had the freedom to do whatever she wanted, whatever she felt was correct.
She met many new people and made a lot of friends. Naren was one of them. He was also a member of her training batch. Their relationship started with a heated argument over a software program. They grew close to each other. Days passed into weeks. Their friendship blossomed in a short time. They began sharing moments of their personal lives, their joys and sorrows. One fine evening he proposed her.
Sheetal was silent. She felt it difficult to respond.
“Say something Sheetal. Please”, he pleaded her.
She grew nervous. There were days when she scolded him, teased him, even mocked him on his head, but now she felt it even difficult to look at his face.
“Sheetal! I am serious…Come on…say something….” She still remained silent.
“Sheetal”, screamed her mother holding a cup of coffee. She woke up from her bed startled.
“Aren’t you going to office today?”
Sheetal rubbed her eyes and looked at the wall clock. It was seven already.
She quickly bathed, dressed up and made her way to office. Her mobile rang.
“Where are you?” Anand asked her.
“On the way to office. Will be there in another 45 minutes”, she replied.
“Ok”, he said.
“I will message you once I reach office. Come to Food Court”, she said.
“Ok”
The food court was crowded as usual. Sheetal managed to find a vacant table and messaged Anand. “I am at the table where we had breakfast last Friday. Come fast”.
Anand was her friend since her school days. He was someone whom she trusted a lot. The best thing about him was that he was very open-minded. He expressed his opinions freely. Moreover, he had helped her several times in the past when she was desperately in need. She knew that he would help her now. He would find a solution to her problem. Only then, she would feel relieved.
“Good Morning”, said a voice.
“Vivek”, she was perplexed. He was accompanied by his friend Srini.
“How come you are in this branch?” she asked him.
“Just felt like meeting you. So decided to work in this branch today”, he replied with a mischievous smile.
“And forced me too”, grumbled Srini. She smiled and rolled her eyes towards the entrance door looking for Anand. There was no sight of him.
“I tried calling you several times yesterday night. Were you busy?” Vivek asked her raising his eyebrows.
“Oh Vivek! My mobile had some signal problem yesterday. Even my friends told the same thing. They said that they were unable to reach me since evening”.
“Oh!” he exclaimed. ”I tried continuously for an hour or so”
“But you could have tried calling my landline phone!” she shot back.
Anand joined them shortly. After having their breakfast, they all parted into different directions to their respective buildings, Vivek and Srini towards the east, Sheetal towards the north and Anand towards the west.
“Vivek! My girl friend asked me to get a chocolate while coming”, said Srini as they strolled towards their block.
“We are halfway to our building. You go and get it. I will carry on”, said Vivek sluggishly.
Srini turned back to the Food Court and Vivek continued his way when his mobile rang.
“What happened?” he asked Srini.
“Vivek!” he shrieked. “Sheetal and Anand are sitting here and discussing something. Come fast!”
Vivek was taken aback. “Wait! I am coming”, he said and hurried back to the Food court where Srini was waiting for him. He caught a glimpse of them. Their facial expressions when they were talking clearly revealed that there was something wrong.
“There is something going on between them. We all left this place together. But why did they come back. Even in the morning, she was in fact waiting for Anand, but unexpectedly met us. She is hiding something from you Vivek”, whispered Srini. “We will hide here and watch them”
“Let’s go away from here before they see us”, Vivek caught Srini’s arm and dragged him away. “She will mistake me if he notices us hiding here. She will definitely explain me everything in detail”. They went back to their cubicle.
“I am in a dilemma. Shall I tell everything to Vivek?” Sheetal asked Anand.
“Don’t be hasty. What will you do if he reacts negatively? And remember Sheetal, your dad has just recovered from a massive heart attack. If your marriage is cancelled, it will have an adverse impact on his health?”
She listened attentively to him with her eyes wide open.
“Naren will definitely follow you in the next few days. As soon as you see him, message me. I will join you. I will try talking to him individually. If he doesn’t pay heed to me, then I will call my group and have a go at him. If the situation worsens, then we will involve Vivek. You then have to convince Vivek that you just treated Naren as your friend, but he tried misbehaving with you and you started ignoring him. There is no other option.”
She nodded her head.
“But I don’t understand why he is following me now. What the hell is he expecting from me? Why does he want to torture me and that too before my marriage?” anxiety writ large on her face. She was almost on the verge of breaking down.
“Avoid roaming out with Vivek for a couple of days, until this matter gets resolved”, he advised her.
Four days passed by. Wherever she went, her eyes moved across all the directions looking for someone following her. There was nobody of that sort. Naren had gone, she assumed.
“After seeing my intimacy with Vivek at the beach, he must have felt dejected and gone back to his native place”, she told Anand over the phone.
“Ha! That’s what we wanted”, he said.
It was Saturday evening. Vivek and Sheetal were watching a movie in a multiplex. During the interval, Vivek went out of the theatre to get her some snacks. She glanced around the huge hall that lay before her. There were not many people in the theatre in spite of being a weekend. Many seats were unoccupied. The audience mostly consisted of couples and a few family members.
“Hi Sheetal”, said a well-known voice from behind. Sheetal turned her head and looked back. She received a shock. Naren was sitting in the row behind her. Her heart started beating faster. He took his mobile phone from his pocket and held it close to his ear so that nobody would notice him talking to her.
“What….What do you want? Why are you following me?” she stammered apprehensively.
“I will go, but listen to me to me first”, he said leaning forward and getting closer to her ear. She wiped the sweat drops accumulated on her forehead and repeatedly looked at the entrance door lest Vivek might notice them conversing.
“I am in a crisis. I need your help”, he said. She looked at him.
“You knew that I was doing a part-time marketing business”, he continued. “I have incurred a huge loss and fell into a debt of six lakhs. The financiers have registered a case against me and the police are after me. With the assistance of bank loans and friends, I could arrange only five lakhs. I need a lakh more. Do help me. I will return the money in another two months and will never disturb you in my life again. I desperately need your help in this regard.”
Meanwhile, Vivek entered the hall carrying some refreshments.
“Why should I help you? Who are you to me?, she retorted back to him. “My would-be is coming. Please go away from here”. She turned her head towards the screen.
“Sheetal!” said Naren furiously still leaning forward, “Till now, I have just pleaded you. I did not intend to blackmail you. Nevertheless, if you refrain from doing so, I have no other choice. I will go to any extent. I want the money tomorrow. I will be waiting for you at the beach where I saw you last week. Meet you tomorrow at 6:30 PM sharp, with the money of course.” He leant back on his seat holding his mobile pretending to be talking to someone.
Vivek approached Sheetal holding a plastic plate containing puffs in one hand and cold coffee in the other. She received the eatables from him and he sat beside her.
“Why did it take so long? Was the counter crowded”, she asked him trying best to control her emotions.
“Yeah!” he nodded.
As the movie came to an end, Vivek and Sheetal got up from their seats and walked towards the exit. She made a quick look at the row behind her. Naren was not there. Her eyes looked around to confirm whether he had gone. He was near the exit door slowing down his pace.
The audience walked along the corridor that led to the parking area. Naren walked alongside Vivek and Sheetal till they came out of the multiplex. It was dark outside.
“The climax was good”, said Vivek as they neared his bike.
She remembered the story only until the interval. She did not pay attention to the second half.
“Sheetal! I have to meet my aunt who lives nearby. Do you mind going home by auto?” he asked her.
“No Problem”, she said.
He bargained an auto and she got into it. Naren crossed the road and got into a bus travelling towards the other end.
“Good Night”, he waved his hand and the auto left.
Vivek quickly rushed back to his bike, put on his helmet and followed the bus in which Naren was travelling.
“I will get that idiot today”, he swore.
- To be continued
