July 25, 2016
Archana realised that her sector-11 was not her for her now. It was only of her for a couple of days. When she moved down from the auto just ten meters far from her quarter, it was great silence and dark in spite of LED street lights. It was 12:00 of the night and at night the government quarters seemed forlorn and silent.
She turned to her quarter. Her life had taken many turns in last year. She had no positive news after Shyam got a job. She cursed and moaned, “Preetu came into my home.. Not into my home but into my life and my life ruined.”
Today she was on the turn where she had nothing in his hand. She had lost her job, friends, the trust of her parents and her love. She had lost Shyam!
But now she had nothing to lose. She scattered all her thought and took a deep breath and willing to accept the capital punishment she entered the premises of her quarter.
She approached the polished wooden door and rang the bell. The door opened after three bells.
“I have come. Now, all you happy?” she shouted seeing her father.
“Why you come back?” her father startled seeing her.
“You have engaged a police force to chase us. Now you can kill me now but you won’t affect Shyam. Never, you can never reach him.”
She entered the room. Her father shut the door. Her mother hugged her, “Why have you come back?”
“You reported the police so.”
“We did not report to anybody.” her mother frightened, grabbing her shoulder she spoke again, “We knew you fled with Shyam. We wished you and Shyam marry. Your father was unable to accept inter-caste marriage due to social pressure. You should have not come back, my child.” Something worried her mother but Archana spoke nothing. she couldn’t trust her mom’s words. If her mother’s words were true, all, what happened, was ununderstandable.
*
Archan left the quarter with a heavy heart. She had to give up the quarter as she lost the job and the quarter was not now of her. The next day Archana and her family moved to the village.
Archana called many times Shyam for a week but his number was always switched off. She kept on calling Shyam until some criminal investigation officials came to visit her at the village. One of the police officers was a friend of her father but still, Archana had to face interrogation.
“Do you know Shyam?” one of them asked.
“Yes, I know him. But why are you asking me? What is the matter?” Archana tensed.
“Police needs him.”
“But why? What has he done?” Archana dared to ask.
“He tried to steal some secret data from the home minister’s laptop and unfortunately he succeeded in his crime.”
“Shyam is a good man. He can never do any crime.”
“It is our business to find whether he is innocent or guilty. Where is Shyam now?”
“He left for Gujarat but I am not certain if he reached or not. His mobile continuously coming switched off.”
“He had never reached Gujarat.”
“Then I don’t know,” Archana replied sincerely.
“You don’t know or you don’t want to tell.” The officer made his voice strict.
“I really don’t know.”
“We can hold you assisting a criminal,” he warned Archana.
“I have done nothing. How can you hold me?”
“You helped Shyam to steal the data from home minister’s laptop using your laptop. You helped Shyam to run away from Chandigarh. we have witnesses who saw you and Shyam at the bus station, sector-17 before Shyam disappeared.”
“Yes, I was there. He was going to Gujarat, and I went to the bus station to tell him goodbye. I love him and we are going to marry.” Archana felt something wrong and confused. She hid from police officers they fled together.
“You love him, you are going to marry him and you don’t know where he is now. Do you know mislead the police is also a crime? It is good for you- to accept the crime and help us to reach Shyam. Who else is involved in this?”
“I know nothing.” In her anger, Archana found her voice, “You can’t’ prove a single one of those charges because they’re not true. I may be guilty of being stupid and trusting Shyam, but those’re all I’m guilty of.”
“Who is the mastermind? What things made you tempted to help Shyam?”
“I am repeatedly saying that I don’t know anything. I love Shyam and he went to Gujarat. I don’t know who he is in reality. I am stupid I trusted him.” Archana started to cry like a little child.
“Do you know why you were forced to resign from your post?” the policeman who was a friend of her father asked.
“Yes, my documents and job application have some discrepancy between. By mistake, I typed B.C.A. instead B.A. in my application and I have to suffer my job.” Archana’s eyes filled with tears. She sighed deeply repenting at her mistake.”
“No, you were expelled because of your personal laptop involved in the crime. You are lucky. The home minister believes you daughter, and he has full trust in you. To save you from legal prosecution you were expelled from the job. The application written by you is correct. You were shown the fake application and expelled from the job. Home-minister had no other option to save you. I am saying all this to you as a friend of your father.” The police officer explained Archana.
“My laptop?”
“Yes, your laptop. We doubt on Shyam. You are safe as the home-minister have full trust in you and there is no complaint reported officially but the crime branch investigating on the crime. You must go nowhere until Shyam got caught. Inform us if you get any call from him.” The police official rose and left.
Archana realised. She lost the government job, no one in the village knows she fled with Shyam as her father did no police complain or anything else but she felt she had her value down in the eyes of her brother and father. The reason was Shyam- a cheater and the betrayer and a criminal
Her father consoled her saying the time heals every wound and she began to spend the days. He had no target, no motive, or intention left in her life. She started to hate her own self. She felt so much hatred for Shyam that she left to think about Shyam.
*
November 9, 2016
It was Archana’s birthday, but she had no joy. Her sister Kavya came to see him and wished birthday especially from her in-laws.
She was not well today.
“Let’s arrange a party at night.” Kavya proposed to change her mood.
“Look at me, Kavya. I am a freak. Every time I look in the mirror I want to kill myself. Do you know why I don’t?”
“Because I can’t. I can’t.” She answered his own question sinking to a whisper.
“You are white as a sheet, sister. You should see a doctor.”
“I don’t need a doctor. I just want to die.” Archana annoyed.
Both sat for an hour with no speech. After an hour Archana started vomiting.
Against her will, Kavya took her to the doctor at Ganaur.
It was a small clinic. Dr Khurana was an aged man somewhere in his fifty.
The doctor turned to Archana. “what is the problem?”
“I am having vomiting since morning and getting restless from a couple of days.”
“How are you feeling?” the doctor looked at her pale and freak face.
“Feeble and uneasy and a wave of dizziness engulfed me.” She answered weakly.
“Pu out your tongue, please.”
Archana put out her tongue and started to gag. Doctor closely examined her movements. He also examined her nails and pulse and took her temperature.
“What do you think it is, uncle?” Archana asked when he had finished check-up.
“It could be simply a viral infection but we will have the laboratory reports to be clear.”
“You should stay in bed and rest.” The doctor filled an injection emptying a tiny bottle of antibiotic. She closed her eyes to overcome her fear of injection. The doctor gave her an injection. He took a blood sample.
When she opened eyes, the doctor handed her some tablets and a bottle of syrup. “These will relax you.”
“Thanks, uncle.”
Doctor asked her to come back and take the laboratory reports day after tomorrow. Archana gave him her number and desired to call her if reports come early.
Kavya helped her and they came out of the clinic.
*
November 11, 2016
At nine o’clock in the morning, Dr Khurana called. He said, “How are you feeling?”
“About the same,” Archana spoke anxiously. “are there results of the laboratory report in?”
“Happy news” Doctor’s voice was excited.
Archana wondered. “You mean it is only a simple viral bug.”
“No, viral infection.”
“What is it then? What is the matter with me then?” Archana couldn’t understand the words of the doctor.
“Beti, You are going to be a mom.”
Archana became indifferent.
“Are you there?”
“Are you there?” the doctor repeated his words.
“Yes, but are you certain?” she responded when she recovered her voice again.
“I had delivered your blood sample at one of the noted laboratories at Sonipat.”
“I will come to you afternoon and take my reports.” Archana tried to be relaxed.
“No need come to me. You must see an obstetrician.”
“I will” Archana replied and thanked the doctor.
As the doctor cut the call, the gloom wavered around her.
She cursed. She was not certain when it could have taken place.
Shyam’s baby?
The dream, a golden one for her once upon a time, was now a hale for her. That cheaper looted me of everything. She suddenly felt frightened, she felt as though she had been given a black unended curse. Shyam who had ruined her life whom she hated utmost and his baby was in her. Her head started spinning.
She could not bear the thought Shyam’s baby was in her. She called her friend Reema at Delhi. Reema was the only friend Archana could hope to save her.
“I am Archana.” She went reluctantly.
“How are you?”
“I am captured in a curse.” Archana just shouted out.
“I could not get what you want to say.” voiced Reema with an enormous turmoil.
“I am running to you. I could not reveal to you over the call.” And she cut the call.
She determined at once. She told her mother she wanted to go and live with Reema for some days.
Her mother allowed her to go thinking her thoughts and mind would change with an air change at Reema’s house as she was depressed and silent for months.
She left with Kavya at noon. Kavya accompanied her till Sonipat. She reached Delhi at Reema’s home. She explained Reema all.
“He had ruined your entire world. Now what you want?” bitterness flickered across Reema’s face.
“I want an abortion. do you know of a good doctor?” she asked straightly, “someplace in Delhi where they won’t identify me.”
“When are you willing to do it?” Reema sighed.
“If possible, at this moment. I hate Shyam. I hate something of his is in me.” Her voice angered.
Reema knew any recognised hospital, or a reputed doctor would never be ready for this.
Reema called out some of her friends and found out a small clinic. She was disappeared for two hours and come back. She could able to agree the doctor tempting him of Rs. Ten thousand. The doctor gave the time. 12:00 am on the night of November 12 as night is a better time to do such crime for him.
***
To be continue...
