The Hunter

A Story by SUGATA M

‘Sit down’

I took my seat silently.

‘The matter must not leak out, you better understand that?’

It didn’t look logical to tell him about confidentiality of patients’ information that needs to be particularly followed in the medical practice. He might not appreciate that with his abysmal ignorance attributed to his abject academic status. But I assured him that his physical disorder, of whatever form it is, will never be made public from my side.

‘I met many of those doctors. They examined me from head to feet, but…….those are simply useless a******s……could not make any difference of my condition’

I kept on staring at him to extract a brief idea of his character in his not taller than five feet frame, broad shoulder, arms and chest heavily muscular with wide wrist; round tiny eyes were deeply embedded into a face that also featured broken jaw, thick lips and a narrow strip of moustache below the ugly blunt nose.

I could figure out one thing that this man hadn’t genetically grown sufficient hair in his face and body. His overall appearance was strongly reflecting his brutal and cruel existence on the earth.

I was face to face with a perfect human hunter.

‘My blood doesn’t boil like before, otherwise some of those doctors would have stopped existing by this time now…….’ He gave me an inquisitive look, ‘I heard you are the doctor of mind. Your fellow doctors told me my disease has actually originated from my mind, so I have called you.’

He took a pause and started again, ‘I have a three bed-room apartment, newly built, in Alipore. If you can cure me, I will hand over the entire apartment to you. You will, additionally get some good money too. I can spare any damn amount, subject to I completely recover. It is a must for me. Have I made myself clear enough to you?’

I can’t digest words carrying the meaningless vanity of limitless wealth and power. So I forced myself to intervene, ‘It will be nice if you can elaborate on your problems Mr Samonto. That’s why I have come here, I believe’

His eyes remained fixed on me for a pretty long time. He then started in his usual commanding tone, ‘I hate people poking in between my words. When I speak, people listen to me, and not even dare to open their mouth till I tell them to speak. It also applies to you, though you are a doctor. What’s the hurry about?’ He continued, ‘Can’t you stop attending your other patients today? I will fully compensate you for that’

He stopped for a while and said again,

‘I have been absolutely sick of telling my problems again and again to those bunch of doctors.’

I digested his nuisance quietly, helplessly. After all it is the security of my family and self that matters to me most.

‘You know Mr Doc, your colleagues couldn’t find any fault in this body. I am nearing fifty, but can well take care of seven to ten men in empty hand even today. But this f*****g disease made my life just miserable, I have no fun in living like before…….’he slapped his own forehead with sheer disgust, ‘who can ever overtake this bloody destiny?’

‘What’s the exact duration of your problem?’

‘I will tell you everything Mr Doc, just have your patience’ He waved his hand to stop me.

‘I always stayed away from smoking, booze and drugs in my life. You won’t believe me, I never even tasted those things, but’ he made a pause and said, ‘I really don’t need to conceal anything from you. You know Doc, I like those young shapely girls. I love to play with their soft warm flesh. There is no other pleasure on earth that I enjoy so intensely. But…but………………..’ His vitriolic look suddenly became blank. ‘I lost my sexual prowess one day and never got it back.’

He kept silent for some time. I also didn’t say a word. I wanted him to speak more and more from his the bottom of his mind.

‘They made hundreds of tests on me, gave me several of those pills including the one which helps to regain your manhood, but everything failed in my case. They couldn’t cure me, those bloody doctor colleagues of yours’ The virulent look was back again, ‘Think about a situation when you have all kinds of delicious, mouth-watering food kept in front of you and you just can’t put them inside your mouth except giving them your stupid f*****g look and nosing their splendid smell. I am transformed exactly into that kind of stuff now.’

I was giving careful ears to his words. I knew he still has many more things to say. He is such a man who can never see importance of other people in his life. This is not unnatural for someone like him at all.

‘I even went for those traditional healing techniques including witchcraft. But nothing clicked. Then someone told me your name that you cured many people like me with your unique therapy of mind. Mr Doc, can’t you make me alright like before?’

After knowing the nature of patient’s illness I thought, this is the right time to proceed with my thorough clinical investigation.

‘Any other problem Mr Samonto?’

‘Nothing. I am perfectly fine otherwise. My appetite and thirst is normal except I don’t sleep well these days, need to take those sleeping pills off and on. The thought of losing potency is haunting me every f*****g second I remain awake. That is likely to kill my sleep’

‘Have you ever received any injury in your lower back or private parts?’

‘No, never. The problem struck me so sudden you know? Everything had been absolutely fine. Otherwise, how could I father ten children with my two wives? And now, I am not a bit confident to perform like before. It has all gone. My heart breaks every moment I live. Was that the last word written in the destiny of Akroor Samonto?’ He could no more skip exposing his harrowing helplessness.

‘But Mr Samonto, this just couldn’t happen without any conspicuous incidence. Something must have happened that triggered your problem…..’ I insisted firmly.

‘Incidence? What incidence? There was no incidence. You are the doctor. It is your job to detect the cause of the disease and treat to cure me’ I got his scornful reply, ‘that’s why you are called here.’

‘Mr Samonto, you might be a very powerful and influential person in your circuit, but to me…’ I affirmed with my sheer professional confidence, ‘…..you are just another patient. I need you to tell me every detail of your illness without hiding even the smallest associated fact. Otherwise, I will think I am wasting both of our time here…’

His scorching eyes were about to put me ablaze alive.

I ignored them and carried on with my speech.

‘I had scrutinized every single word of all your medical reports. Your problem is actually harboured in your mind. So what I require foremost is your wholehearted cooperation. You should tell me each and every event that might be related to your problem. Some of the things might be too personal, but I need to take account of each one of them. More I know from your side, easier for me to unfasten the complex web that trapped you in your mind. I suspect, you must have gone through some heavy emotional turmoil recently……leading to your problem’ I kept the eye contact intact with him throughout my speech. ‘If you don’t agree and keep things hidden in your mind still, please let me go. I just can’t treat you.’

He kept glaring at me for some time as if he was preparing to fight a war with me, ‘so what you want me to answer?’ his hissing response hit my ear like a bullet.

‘Whatever I will ask you in the next 10 �" 15 minutes please give their answers. Do hope your replies will be the correct one’

‘Can you guarantee my cure after that?’ his voice shed doubt.

‘I think so’ I smiled

‘What if I don’t recover?’ he frowned

‘In that case, you know exactly what to do with me Mr Samonto…..to teach me the lesson of my life. I don’t have to elaborate that to you.’ I smiled.

‘hmmm’ he erected himself a bit in his chair, ‘So what are your questions Mr Doctor of Mind? Please ask me and I will provide you the answers with the best of my knowledge’ he sounded slight cynical at the end of his sentence.

I straightway asked him, ‘Do you have any regrets in life? Any guilt feeling?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Do you ever feel bad for what you had done in the past?’ I tried to become little more specific.

He asked in the same cynical tone, ‘Why not you yourself, being my physician cite examples of some of my past activities that can very well make me feel bad?’ and he sniggered.

‘Ok, let me try, though I believe you know everything. Here is a small list of your past or recent-past activities �" extortion, murder, contract killing, rape, illegal business, generating terror in common people’s mind…………’

I saw his round ugly face becoming reddened as I was adding on the list.

‘Why the hell you stopped? Your list is not yet complete. Ok, let me complete the list for you Mr Doc. Trafficking of all kinds like women, children, drugs; giving constant protection to the politicians under heavy compensation and helping them to capture/re-capture political power often with certain pre-determined violence before, during and after the elections; recently started dealing of illicit weapons to feed those terrorist groups of the country; promoting scams and propagating scandals to defame the opposition political rivals; do you have any idea how many sex and gambling rackets are running after my name? �" even I am not sure of the numbers; I get killing contract from abroad as well; already having a vast network of dealers in the Mumbai-Goa belt selling tons of heroine; from minister to police commissioner every f*****g soul asks help from me to protect their bloody a*s; that’s me Mr Doc, the undisputed emperor of the underworld Akroor Samonto; there is no vice left on the earth that I didn’t commit so far and you know what? I feel so much proud of myself.’ His face was looking glisteningly ferocious.

‘My so called biological father was a jobless alcoholic. My mother, being a house-maid ran our family of three brothers and four sisters. Many of those days I survived battling with those biting street dogs for a piece of f*****g bread. There were hardly any days when I found myself properly fed’

I barred myself from making a response. I let him speak till his mind becomes vacant, absolutely vacant.

‘The same Akroor Samonto is here right in front of you. It is him who has become the absolute law maker for the politicians, cops and criminals. I am their last word. They execute the way I wish them to execute. They move the way I tell them to move. They know very well my blessing is their only guiding force. How was it possible Mr Doctor of Mind? Do you have any explanation of this miraculous rise of a ragged boy from the filthy slum to the apex of ultimate power? It made me hell of a lot proud. It brought me the best of satisfaction of life. What regrets, what guilt-feeling you are talking about? I piss on them, you understand that?’

‘Don’t you ever fear death?’ I threw the question instantly to him and he burst into loud laughter in the very next moment.

‘Which m**********r has the guts to eye on me? You need to produce another Akroor Samonto if you want me to be killed’ his unlimited arrogance flushed me out.

‘What about Govinda Samonto, your elder son? He recently parted away from you and started his own gang and that gang can’t be ignored so easily….’ I thought this is right time to push his estranged son’s name here into our conversation.

‘So you did your homework about me well, right? But I should appreciate your courage to tell the tiger spade a spade inside his den’

‘You know Mr Samonto, my treatment methodology is different from others and I need to know every single detail of my patient for that. I also know Govinda was your right hand man. He would have become the gang leader after your retirement……’

‘Leader? Tell me one thing Mr Doc, if someone dares to mouth your food how are you going to respond to that? Govinda did exactly the same thing, spoilt my food’

I gave him my most inquisitive look.

‘I had a young 18-year old kept named Phooli’ Akroor Samonto continued, ‘She had a marvellous body Doc, and what a stuff to bed with. I kept her like a queen’ his face becoming reddened with irresistible rage, ‘One day, you know what I saw……..Phooli and Govinda in my bed ….they were f*****g each other like two crazy animals with no sense of the world around them….I took out my gun in no time to shoot at Govinda, my bullet could only pierce his arm but he managed to make a hasty escape….after all he is still carrying Akroor Samonto’s blood. I am a sharp shooter always, but that day my anger blinded me. I couldn’t keep my gun steady. Govinda was lucky to survive’

‘You son turned into your arch rival after that. Am I right?’

He didn’t respond this time.

‘You held lot of trust on Govinda, but that incidence broke your heart totally and triggered the most unexpected face-off between father and son?’

‘I keep no trust on anyone. That can easily invite death in our trade. But you know one thing. I anticipated something of that sort might happen. I couldn’t satisfy Phooli’s strong physical urge. She never complained out of fear, but I sensed that almost every time I fucked her. The b***h was never bloody happy’

‘And your problem started after that, I suppose’

‘Something of that sort as you thought’ I got his feeble reply

‘What happened to Phooli after that?’

A blaze of fury flashed in his round little eyes again, ‘Have you seen those big daggers the slaughters use to slice meat? I chopped off that b***h’s hands and legs by such a dagger, tore her stomach apart to drag her bloody guts out, cut her b***s in small pieces, inserted a burnt iron rod deep inside her c**t and finally burnt each and every portion of her body parts on the spot. I never killed someone like this before. That bloody filthy w***e……..’ intense hatred towards Phooli was becoming prominent in every movement of his body and face.

‘And after that, you lost whatever potency you were left with’

He said ‘yes’ with a nod of a completely disheartened and lost soldier who had been battling long.

‘It might be also possible that someone from your family members including your ex-kept Phooli was constantly adulterating your food with some damaging medicines to destroy your sexual power, or who can say, their next plan aims to poison you to slow death…..’

‘Bullshit’ he chided me mildly, ’what the f**k are you talking about? You know I have a person assigned specifically to taste my food before I take them’

‘What does it mean Mr Samonto?’ I put my points as strongly as I can, ‘You just said you have no fear of death. But if I say every single moment of yours remains shrunk within the deepest fear of being dead?’

‘You motherfucking scoundrel…I will take your bloody tongue out’ he howled at me in no time, ‘You don’t know whom you are talking to?’

‘Cool down Mr Samonto, cool down. Excitement of this sort will only aggravate your problem’ I said in my coolest voice, ‘The whole of your life has been spent after guns and bloodshed; why can’t you accept this particular truth of your life now? Closer you can come to its acceptance, higher will be your chances to get out of your problem’

He wiped off his perspiration dribbling down his forehead with a hanky and didn’t speak a word.

I didn’t give him the time to organize his restless mind.

‘Tell me something about your younger days Mr Samonto, when you were a child or a boy?’

‘How the f**k that will help to cure me?’ he growled.

‘You may end up easing out more of your stress that has been trapped in your mind…..which can really help…..to give you your most wanted recovery’ I gave him a serine smile.

He remained amazingly quiet for quite some time, probably was trying his best to reverse his memories towards his troublesome boyhood…..the black, forcibly forgotten chapter of his life.

‘My father, I never saw him doing any job, most of time sitting at home, boozing, abusing us in the filthiest language and……beating up my poor mother often without reasons….blaming her for producing so many children and dumping on his head….a*****e of highest order…..I felt like killing him each time I saw that devil……had an elder sister….she loved me, kept a caring eye on me…….one day she ran away with a nasty man of our slum……’

‘And your mother?’ I asked him slowly

‘She was a house-maid, working from early morning to late night to feed a bunch of hungry children…she loved me a lot, put me into free school of corporation where I studied till class five…. you know Doc, I hit my mother one day and made her bleed, just because she was a few minutes late to serve me food’

He became speechless after that, bending his body in visible despair with both his hands shutting his face in utter dejection……..exposing nakedly the untouched truth of his life…..

‘I am an ill-fated man. What else a son who hits his mother to bleed can become in his life except someone like me’ He said mildly in a voice that was filled with sheer hopelessness of a loser in life.

And now, this is my turn to speak. I didn’t have anything more to hear from him.

‘Listen Mr Samonoto, hitting your mother is not the only sin you committed; the list of your sins is endless, your whole life actually stands on the mountain of countless heinous acts. More you are aging; more you are finding yourself in a compromising situation where your black tarnished soul is sinking fast in the ocean of remorse, the memories of your crimes are haunting you every moment…..your rock hard confidence that drove you smoothly in your life till recent past has now many cracks. There is something named Conscience, you never felt his presence in your life; He is knocking your door every single second. Additionally, the constant fear of death is pushing you into the abyss of complete despair and dejection’

He face was slowly reddening in reckless rage, but he could not utter a word.

I continued, ‘your most faithful son has turned into your sharpest rival, trailing down your blood in vengeance and keeping no stone unturned for the final assault to displace you permanently to take over your kingdom. You are doubtful of your future, your existence, your life, but……’

I paused to have a quick stock of his reaction and started again, ‘But Mr Samonto, you are still in the refusal mood. Your desperate rejection of your inevitable destruction has brought you in a complex inescapable conflict that has taken away one of the most precious possessions of your life…..your power to mat with your women’

I ignored those propping up, fiery eyes. I overlooked that animal face bursting out in murderer’s rage to say, ‘I don’t believe in the existence of God, but looks like there is a God at the top of our head who has already decided the final punishment for you’

‘Doctor, you bustard, son of a b***h, dirty motherfucking swine, I will cut you in pieces, I will burn you alive….’

‘That will never be good for you Mr Samonto. Who will then treat you to cure? How can you save your face from your own gang? They will transform their impotent leader into the most hilarious object of mockery. There will be every chance that your gang will be fragmented…..weakening every bit of your own position and power……and Govinda is just looking for this opportunity only….to press the trigger to blow your head off forever’

‘Doctor’…………..he pumped all the bullets of his gun into my chest without giving me the chance to speak again.

Akroor didn’t move from his place with his eyes glued to the lifeless body lying in the pool of blood for long.

‘What I have done, what I have done?’ he mumbled to himself.

Then slowly put the gun on his forehead to press the trigger once again for the last time of his life.