Postmortem
Episode Two
To be continuing................
He then started beating her every other day. He used to abuse her after returning home in drunk.
Meanwhile, Upen developed another relationship with Roma, his colleague. Roma was attractive. She was beautiful and ultra-modern. Among five female employees, she was the first choice of all the male employees. She looked like a foreigner. She had long straight hair. Every time when she would come into the office with a mini skirt and high heel shoe, male employees would not leave the office. Other female employees felt jealous because they were ignored.
Upen was very serious for his job. He never looked back to her. His such attitude and handsome look made Roma fall for him. She aggressively followed him. Roma stepped back when she knew that he was married. But within a few days, she started it again. She first befriended him. Then dated him.
Upen never loved her but she made him do so with her wit. Roma knew he was married and also new married man is most trustworthy and experienced. She visited his house 4-5 times and noticed him ignoring his wife. Kusum was not fitted with Upen that Roma thought. Gradually, they became inseparable. He also turned out to be mad in her love. He wanted to marry Roma.
He wanted a divorce but Kusum never wanted. Another year passed. She gave birth to another girl child. Upen tried various ways to get rid of her. He used to burn her hands with cigarettes. Kusum never complained.
Finally, Roma plotted a plan. Roma had immense ideas about engine mechanism. She had studied automobile engineering. They met with an engine mechanic, who was Roma's cousin as well. He was told to make a car with an engine which could explode when it became overheated. He made the car. It took eight months. Upen gradually prepared himself to kill his wife and daughters. They wanted that people thought it an accident. At times, he dropped the plan but Roma encouraged him. Roma seemed like Lady McBeth in this story.
On 13th June, he never turned off the engine for a single moment. Kusum wanted to sit beside her husband. But Upen didn't allow her. After a long time, her husband took them on a trip. Kusum was a theist. She had requested her husband many times to take her to visit some temples. Kusum felt the happiest woman in the world. Every time when Kusum was going to visit temples with her daughters in Goa, he didn't go with them. Instead, he was alone sitting in the car. Although Kusum requested him every time to go with them when they were visiting each temple but he refused. Even Kusum asked Upen to stop the engine of the car but he didn't listen to her plea.
They were returning home in the evening. Their both daughters fell asleep. They were lying on their mother lap from both sides. Upen took a short cut lane to return. He knew there would be no commuters in the lane. He had already checked whether all the doors were locked or not. He locked them after his wife and daughters sat in the back. He did it so that they could not escape. Upen was waiting for the right moment. He knew sooner or later the engine would explode. The engine of the car, after running for the whole day without pause, became overheat and burst. The fire started to come out from the dashboard. Seeing it, he threw himself out of the car. He stood up and enjoyed to see the car burning. He could hear the cry of his family. He saw his wife managed to open the car door. He pushed her in and locked the door from outside. They were charred to death before his eyes.
He remembered all the scene and smiled wide in front of the mirror. But within a minute, his wide smile became narrow. The mirror turned into a screen. He could see how his wife and daughters cried for help. Two little daughters took minimum time to burn to ashes. Kusum was struggling to survive. Before death, she looked at him.
He also could see how Kusum took care of him in every moment. They were married for 6 years. At times, when he was very tired, his daughters would massage his hair with their little fingers. They loved their father. Kusum would not sleep when he suffered from fever.
He felt remorse. He could understand what a blunder he did. He cried out in pain.
"Please come back, I did the mistake. I can't live without you."
Suddenly, he heard a deafening sound of his wife, Kusum. It echoed in the room.
"Don't remorse. We are always with you. Come to us." Next morning, Upen's family found him hanging.
It was Babulal, their family servant, found him hanging. He went to wake him up with a cup of tea. When he knocked on the door, it was not locked from inside. So, he opened the door and found Upen hanging from the ceiling. His eyes were wide open. The teacup fell from Babulal's hand. It broke down into pieces. Babulal gathered all family members by screaming. Upen's father called the police. At first, his body was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. Later his body was sent for postmortem.
Roma ran to the hospital the moment she got the news. She was surprised to notice his dead body. When the postmortem report came out, it was clearly written that his death was the cause of breaking of the neck and gasping. But with it, there were some more lines written clearly that they found blood scratches on his whole body. It seemed someone pierced its sharp nails into his whole body. As his eyes were wide open, investigators guessed that before death, he saw something strange.
Roma returned home after Upen's body had been cremated. It was 1 o'clock at night. She was tired and exhausted. Her love had died. She had dreamt of marrying him. Suddenly, she heard some eerie whispers. Next morning, Roma also found hanging as Upen was. Her eyes were wide open. It seemed that before death, she saw something strange.
