THE TATTOO
[CHAPTER-3]
Navratri was going on .
Next Saturday, a Garba night was scheduled in our school from 8:00pm-11:30pm . Everyone was excited for the night as Navratri is the most awaited festival . The campus was being decorated by us . I was given the responsibility to look after the decoration . Danny was helping me with that .
Everyone was enthusiastic to celebrate it , dance and dress up like never before . Invitations were sent to the Science branch students of other schools too . In every girl’s group, same kind of discussions were going on , about the dresses that they would wear that night .
We used to reach our home late as we had to stay there for Garba practice. A girl named Khushi in my class was excellent in folk dance, so she was teaching all of us some new steps .
After that , I and Danny used to go for coffee and then he used to drop me home , with a good bye hug .
***
Days passed , decoration was finally done . I was appreciated by principal sir for my sincerity and work .
Preity and Pinky Navratri band was supposed to perform on that night . It was a famous band , so all of us were even more excited for that night .
The next day was Saturday . I and Danny were discussing about our dressing . I was sure Danny would dress himself in the best way he could . Traditionals would suit him more as he was tall ,well-built and had big boulder shoulders.
I thought that I would not sleep that night because of the elation . But in the end, being exhausted, I slept like a log , without wishing Danny a goodnight .
A nightmare woke me up . It was dark all around- it was mid night . I was petrified with fear . I wanted to shout and call Mumma , but it seemed impossible . I was feeling choked up . With all my guts, I stood up and ran towards Mumma’s bedroom . She was sleeping peacefully. I thought not to wake her up , so silently I slid in beside her , waiting for the sun to rise . I was asleep again . Mumma woke me up and asked me why I was sleeping there .
I told her about the nightmare ..
“Mumma, I saw a giant man , his body covered in a black cloth , his forehead wounded and bleeding . He had an axe with him and was coming towards me giggling…. and all of a sudden, I woke up ! ”
Mumma pacified me , “ It was just a nightmare, beta . Relax .” She asked me about the Garba night that we had today . She also asked me if she could join me there , but I refused .
***
The clock showed 6:00pm .Mumma told me to keep my phone aside and start getting ready as I had to reach the school by 7:00pm . I called Danny .
Me - Hey !
Danny - Yeah baby !
Me – When would you reach the school ?
Danny – @ 8 .
Me – Oh ! Danny ,I have to reach there till 7:30.
Danny – No issues, baby ! I would come and pick you up .
Me – Thank you ! “ Danny Be The Best ”
Danny – Stop it, Aariyana ! (He laughed ) , Get ready! I am eager to see you in traditional wear .
Me – Me too, Danny . See you at 7:15 . Don’t be late ,honey !
Danny – Ok ! Bye
Me – Bye ,take care !
I got ready . I wore a Laancha ,as it was my favorite costume in the traditional wear .
Danny’s call…
“Come out soon , I am waiting !”
Informing Mumma that I would be home till 12am , I left .
I saw Danny standing out of his car waiting for me .He was so curious that if I would have been little late ,then he would have rushed in my home .
He was in a black Rajput kurta and pyjama and was looking extremely dapper . He had applied “surma” in his eyes which made him even more attractive .
“Oh ! you are looking- A robust young man, Danny!”
“Red and blue ! Suits you, Aariyana . You too look alluring baby !” (He winked).
“Come ,seat or else we would get late” , he exclaimed.
We sat in his car . He was driving slow . He never played music in his car , but that day , he tuned into my favorite one .
“A THOUSAND YEARS”
“I just love the lyrics of this song”, he said with a smile .
“Oh ! Me too Danny ! It’s my favorite one .”
For a while,we both were silent , tap played the line “One Step Closer” ! He, all of a sudden ,came close and whispered – “Nice perfume, Aariyana …”
My heart pounded heavily for few seconds.. He was smiling .
“My lips would get orange , so I just moved”, he exclaimed merrily .
I was left with no words , looking at him ,blushing .
We were just a few meters away from the school when we heard the song which was being played on loud volume in the ground.
“Tara vina shyam mane ekaldu lage ,
Ras ramva vahelo avaje ”
I got too frantic to dance ,so I told Danny to drive fast .
Soon we reached. Lightning and decorations added more beauty to the night . I told Danny to wait and I moved towards the staff room to meet Anoop sir and asked him if there was any work left to be done . He was in an off-white kurta which didn’t suited him as well as the formals did .
“No, my child ! Now you go ,enjoy the night” ,he exclaimed with a smile .
“Ok, see you at the ground sir” , I left.
I and Danny moved towards the ground . We saw our classmates there . Khushi shouted - “Aariyana ,let’s start playing garba , the band is amazing, isn’t it ?”
“Yes Khushi , you all give it a shot. I and Danny will join you all soon .”
The ground was getting crowded . We all were high without having any drinks .
Danny took me aside, holding my hand and told me that his friends had reached there , so we moved towards the parking to usher them in .
There was a girl in the group of four of his pals . She had curly brown hairs, falling in soft layers around her bare shoulders , her skin was like silk over the glass and she was dressed in red . She was not that tall though .
The three guys were jolly in nature . Danny introduced me to all present there. I, with a smile, welcomed all of them , but that girl, Salina ,showed no interest in me or Danny either.
Danny murmured in my ear that Salina was his ex-girlfriend . Listening that, I was on fire . I too ignored her .
She behaved as if she was playing the role of Esha Gupta in “Rustom” - Totally negative attitude !
Glaring at her, I thought - “Danny would have left her because of this reason only.”
We all moved towards the ground . Salina was behaving as if she was being hauled to the ground for playing garba . All were high again .
***
Getting tired , I excused myself and stood at a little distance - staring at Danny . At once, I felt as if someone called me . I turned ,but found no one around .
“Hey Di , see this piece of paper lying down . It’s for you, I think.” A guy standing beside poked me .
I took the piece of paper , It had a note written in it .
First, I thought not to go there , but then I decided to go . I asked Danny to tell me the time.He told me that it was 9:35pm . I was confused if I should inform Danny about it , but I didn’t as I knew Danny would get hyper and create an issue . So I lied to him that I was going to the washroom and would be back soon .
The library was behind the parking area. There was darkness all over there . I had a negative feeling but something made me move there .Behind the library ,there was a place covered with four walls , it was like a useless cubicle . No one used to visit there . We friends used to call that place - “ A den of mystery”.
I reached the library but moving ahead was being difficult for me . Why would have Shayan called me there , in this dark terrifying place ? We could have met else where. He is stupid , I thought and moved inside ..
***
I came out , sweat pouring down my body . I stayed still , breathing was being impossible for me , tears started to stream down my face . I felt a lump in my throat but ignored it . I was trying to keep my mouth shut but my teeth chattered in fear .I was there ,lying on the cemented floor,unconscious.I had no idea about how long I was away from the ground. I looked down at myself and to my surprise … Fuck !!
“How is it possible ? How did my dress suddenly got changed and why the hell I don’t remember anything?” I looked my hands - scars ! I tried my best but didn’t remember anything . I was terrified like never before .What the hell happened with me ? Without thinking more, I ran out of that weird place as fast as I could, took a deep breath, tried to be calm and slowly ,went and sat on the bench from where I could see Danny . His eyes caught me and he came running towards me.
“Where were you, damn it ?! No one takes that long in the washroom ! Its 10:00pm, Aariyana ..and why did you..ummm.. change ? The dress that you were wearing was much better than this black dress ! Speak up something ,Aariyana !! Why are you so quiet ? Is everything fine ? You are scaring me now.” Danny asked , showing care for me .
I pretended as if I was fine. But,on knowing that I was at that place for at least 20 minutes and still I don’t remember a single second , I was fucked up !! Yet I tried to be normal .
“Yes Danny ! That dress…. it tore down, so I had to change”, I lied to Danny .
Danny was looking straight into my eyes.I wanted to hug him and speak my heart out. But I couldn’t .
“Ok , come then ,lets dance .” He pulled me up, holding my hand and took me in the crowd .
I was not at all in a mood to dance , so I refused and went away from there , my eyes on Shayan. He was happily dancing. Looking at him, nothing seemed strange .
“ How could he be so calm after all this ? Was it really Shayan who is behind all this mystery ?! But right now , he doesnt seem to have been away from the ground . Then who ? Oh God ! Help me, I am getting mad ..” . I really wanted to cry out loud but I was surrounded by the crowd ..I just wanted to go home .
Danny again came to me with a water bottle in his hand.
“Hey ,Nice tattoo, Aariyana ! You never told me about this !”
Tattoo ?! Fuck ! I got goosebumps .What the hell is Danny talking about ?!! “A Tattoo” ? On my back ? When , where and how did I get that ? I was shell shocked .
Anyhow, I excused myself and rushed towards the washroom . I saw Shayan and Sofiya leaving the washroom . Ignoring that, I stepped in , looking in the mirror. I swallowed a lump ,my brain had shut down . My eyes wide open , fixed on the mirror …
Not only my dress, but my makeup was also changed . I rarely used to apply kajal, but now what I saw , was dark kajal in my eyes and a new shade on my lips- “Dark brown ” ,which I never ever use .
I turned around . What the hell !! I saw a tattoo on my back . I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I had no idea what ,how , and when all this happened .
I was stepping out when my eyes got stuck on the slider window.
“ FIND ME ”
--were the words written on it . I felt my heart coming out of my mouth.
I ran out and told Danny to drop me home .
“Yes, sit. We will leave soon . Aariyana ,are you ok ? Why are you behaving so weird ?” Getting tensed ,Danny spoke .
“Yes , I am ok , but I just want to go home . I am tired .” I spoke up, gathering all my guts.
We all left . I and Danny in his car . His friends in the other ,the one that Salina was driving . Along with us ,Shayan and Sofiya also left . They were on the activa that Sofiya was driving .
This October was a rainy one . Every night of Navrati was a disappointment for Garba lovers.They were not able to dance thoroughly. Though the roads were wet , Salina was driving too rough . While overtaking, she hit Sofiya and Shayan and left ahead . Sofiya got annoyed. They stood up and Sofiya uttered a few abuses . She drove fast and stood in front of Salina’s car . Salina had no option , but to stop .
Sofiya dashed towards Salina ,got her out of her car and slapped her hard , “You bloody slut ! Are you blind or what ? Or are you showing off your fucking car?” I and Danny saw this and we both got out of his car and rushed towards them . Shayan saw Danny holding up Salina for help. Danny furiously rushed ahead and clenched his teeth , saying, “ How dare you slap her ? It was not totally her fault. The roads are wet.” Shayan gave me a short look and turned back to Danny saying , “ You better stay out of this , you bastard. If the roads are wet , then you must learn to slow down your car.I know you and your friends have a habit of flaunting off your things.But , beware ! Keep them and yourself in limits , otherwise…”
Danny could not control his temper and pushed Shayan, “ Fuck off with your bitch !” . Both started fighting . Shayan started beating him very badly . Danny was badly injured and his face was bleeding. We all rushed towards them.
The security guards came running towards us and sorted out the things, warning both of them to stop fighting . I and Danny’s friend took him to the nearby hospital.
As we entered the hospital, his friend summoned one of the nurses and asked her to call the doctor.She looked at Danny and seeing his wounds , ushered us to the Doctor’s cabin immediately.
The doctor was busy examining another patient. We sat there for a few minutes till that patient was done with the medication. The doctor turned towards Danny and after checking his cuts, started cleaning them with a antiseptic solution. That was when my eyes stuck on his coat……
The emblem on the coat that the doctor was wearing was somewhat similar to the tattoo that suddenly appeared on my back tonight !! I was now more confused . I looked around to see that symbol almost everywhere. Windows , doors, the first aid kits , nurse’s apron , ambulance … CRAP !
What was the connection between the tattoo and this emblem ?
Why was Salina behaving so weirdly ?
Who sent the note to Aariyana that was addressed in the name of Shayan ?
Who had messed with Aariyana behind the library in that DEN ?
Will Aariyana be able to crack the mystery behind this foul happening ?
Do read the next chapter to find out the answers to these.
Contact author – femicharolia@gmail.com
