Chapter 2

I was getting ready to go to Sheetal’s house when my mom

called out from the hall, “Reena! Get up. The time is ten.”

I opened the door, fully dressed. ”Good morning mom!” I

said.

She turned around.

Everyone told me that I resembled my mother. She had the

same hazel eyes, the same complexion. The only difference

was that her skin was a bit sagging, which was normal for a

woman in her early 40s.

“Oh my! You just woke up! Where are you going so early?”

she asked angrily.

“Mom! I got up an hour ago.” I said.

“Oh! I didn’t know that. So what plans for today?” she asked,

her anger fading.

“I am going to Sheetal’s house. I will have lunch in her place,

so don’t prepare anything for me,” I said.

“Fine! How is she? Is she still feeling lonely?” she asked,

concerned. That was my mom. She remembered even the

tiniest detail about my friends. There was nothing my mom

didn’t know about me. She was like a friend to me, always

there to help. A BSc graduate from Ethiraj College, she

didn’t work after graduating. I never asked her the reason

for that. But my dad used to tell me that he insisted on her

not working, since I was a kid back then and he didn’t want

me to be raised by a maid. My dad, on the other hand, was

totally the opposite. He was so engrossed with his job that

he didn’t have the time to become involved in my personal

life. In fact he forgot my friends’ names quite often, except

for Sheetal’s. He usually left early and came home late, so I

didn’t see him much. Today was not an exception. But he

was a loving father. Every Sunday we went out for a movie

or to the beach. He would tell me that this is the only way

he could spend some time with us, although he felt really

tired after the week’s work. I used to ask him to take rest for

at least one day, but the reply was always the same: “This is

something I have to do.” That was my dad!

“Sheetal is fine. I talked to her this morning,” I told my

mother.

“Poor girl! Fine, I have some work now. Don’t forget to close

the door when you leave,” she said and hurried into the

kitchen.

“Bye mom!” I said.

I stepped onto our front porch. My house was a neat little

one, located in T-nagar, in the heart of the Chennai city, very

near to the Pothys Shopping Mall. Sheetal’s house was just

two kilometers away from my house, in Nandanam.

I looked around and saw my scooty standing near the gate

drenched in rain. Ah! The rains in Chennai! It was like

finding an oasis in the Sahara. It was always a surprise if

it rained in Chennai; even during the rainy season. There

was no particular rainy season as such, but it used to be

between September and November. That was way back

in the 70s and 80s when seasonal rainfall used to occur

regularly. But now, rain had become a rarity. And if it

did rain, it lashed the whole city and left all the streets

flooded very fast. Some of the areas in Chennai were hit so

bad that the water came right into people’s living rooms.

That’s Chennai! The drainage system pretty much sucked.

Damn! I should buy a cover for the bike! I thought.

I started the scooter and off I went. It was a little cloudy

and the air felt cold. Thank God I was wearing a longsleeved

top and jeans. There was water logging in most of

the areas and I found it difficult to drive. It was Monday

morning, so obviously the traffic too was heavy. It took me

15 minutes to reach her house. I parked my bike and went in.

Sheetal’s house was the largest in that street, a two-storied

building with a garden in the front. I had always envied her

garden, which was one of the most beautiful ones I had ever

seen. There were four varieties of rose: white, red, pink and

yellow! Wow! Now that’s a collection. Adding to that was the

plush Korean grass, neatly bordered with a row of smaller

flowers. Sheetal did the gardening chores herself. I walked

past the garden and used the stairs to go to Sheetal’s room,

which was on the first floor. The hall, small kitchen and

room with attached bath on the first floor were exclusively

for Sheetal’s use. The door to her area was open. A weird

odour was coming from inside. I couldn’t quite place what

odour it was, but it was bad. The stench became intense

when I opened the door. I called out, “Sheetal! This is Reena!

Where are you?”

Silence.

“Sheetal! Are you there?” I called out again.

Still silence.

I slowly moved towards her room, the stench intensifying

with every step.

“Sheetal!! Is this some kind of a joke?” I said when I reached

her door.

It was closed.

I tried the knob; it turned instantly.

My god!

The stench was unbearable now, and made me sick.

I took my handkerchief from my handbag and covered my

nose with it while I slowly opened the door.

What I saw almost made me faint. There was blood all over

the place. The walls, the bed, the windows, the curtains.

Everywhere! I was shaking.

I slowly walked over to the window adjacent to the bed,

calling Sheetal’s name every now and then, though my voice

was becoming feebler every second. As I approached the

bed, I saw a pair of legs jutting out from the other side of the

bed; or that was how it seemed. I took a step forward, my

legs trembling all the while. This time I could see it clearly.

“Sheetal!” I called out, running towards the other side of the

bed. I stopped short when I got there.

Dear lord!

The sight was sickening to the core. My bowels started

churning.

There was no time even to run for the sink nor could I cover

my mouth. I threw up right beside the body.

It was several minutes before I was able to stop.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

My body was shaking uncontrollably.

It was Sheetal!

There were slashes all over her night dress and it was soaked

with blood. Some of the cuts in her arms were so deep that

I could see the bone underneath, making me flinch. I went

near to feel the pulse. That was the most difficult thing to

do. Clearly I didn’t want to go near a dead body! Oh my . . .

No! She is not dead. Slowly I inched towards her wrist which

was even more difficult owing to the bloody slashes on it. I

turned her right palm and felt the pulse.

Nothing!

She was dead! DEAD!

I couldn’t believe it. My best friend was gone! Forever!

I stepped back, my whole body shivering.

Was I in the real world? Was Sheetal really dead? This had to

be some kind of joke.

I really hoped it was. It was hard to believe that something

this terrible could actually happen.

Who? Why?

Lot of questions crossed my mind.

I could see the ring on her fingers. The ring Rahul had given

her.

It was during the second year of college. I was sitting beside

Sheetal as usual, listening to a boring lecture. Wouldn’t it

be great if there were no theory classes? I tried to keep my

eyes open. The lecturer was Rajan and he taught computer

architecture. The subject was dry and he made it even worse.

I turned towards Sheetal. She was fidgeting with her hands.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked her.

She suddenly stopped what she was doing.

“Nothing,” she said.

“Show me your hands,” I said.

“It is really nothing,” she said, but I could see she was hiding

something.

“Show it! Now!” I ordered.

A hush fell over the class. Everyone, including Rajan, was

looking at me and Sheetal.

“Reena and Sheetal! Stand up!” Mr. Rajan said, moving

towards us.

We stood up, slowly.

“What did you say now?” he asked; his face twitching with

anger.

“No . . . noth . . . nothing sir!” I blabbered.

“Do I look like a dunce to believe that? The whole class heard

what you said,” he said.

“Sir! I just asked Sheetal about . . .”

“Get out! Both of you!” he ordered.

Sheetal didn’t say a word. She took her books

and went out of the class. There was no other

choice. I picked up my books and went out also.

When I was out of the class, I relaxed a bit. I saw Sheetal

standing near the stairs, waiting for me, her face red with

anger. Slowly, I walked towards her.

“So, are you happy now?” she asked me when I caught up

with her.

“Hey! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to,” I said.

“Stop it! Don’t talk to me!” she said. From the tone of her

voice, I could sense that she was serious. She started walking

down the stairs.

“Hey! Wait! I said I was sorry,” I called out to her. She didn’t

even look up.

I ran behind her, apologizing all the way.

It took me a while to cool her down.

“Okay, okay, stop!” she said. I could see a spark of smile on

her lips.

“So what was that you were trying to hide from me?” I

asked.

She showed me her left hand. A beautiful ring adorned her

finger.

“Wow! Where did you get it? It looks awesome!” I said,

looking at the ring, awestruck.

“Rahul’s gift for my birthday!” she said, blushing. Rahul

was Sheetal’s boyfriend. He was our college mate and he was

known as the “nerd of the college.” For a geek, he was quite

good looking: tall, fair, a muscular body. His face was broad

and he didn’t have a moustache. His hair was a bit long and

was always gelled. I have always wondered why he got a seat

in this college. With his marks, he should have gone to a

better college.

The one extracurricular activity Rahul participated in was

football. He was on the college team and the district team.

I had heard that he was a good player though I’d never seen

him play.

Even though I was not a big fan of dating, I could say that he

would be the perfect guy. Sheetal always told me that he was

shy. They both met for the first time on our college bus. He

used to come with us when we went out. And every time we

went out, he used to sit alone and ponder about something

or the other. I used to see this and ask myself, “Why did he

come out at all?” He was close to Rajesh and Shekhar, so I

figured they had forced him to come. He stayed with Rajesh

in an apartment not far from college with a few other friends.

I hadn’t really asked Sheetal about his parents, but she had

once told me that he had only a father, who was running his

own business in Coimbatore. From the start, Sheetal was

interested in him. When we were not watching, she would

go talk to him. When I used to ask her about him,. her reply

was always the same: “He is just a good friend!” One fine

day, Sheetal opened up to me. She told me about her crush

on Rahul and that he felt the same way about her. . That was

when the clouds cleared. Although they didn’t go out that

much, Sheetal called him regularly. He was the first one in

our batch to get a job, with one of the top IT companies.

After college, I saw him only once, during Sheetal’s birthday

party, a month back. He was still the same shy guy.

“Ohhhh! Is the ring made of gold?” I asked her

“Yes,” she said, with pride.

I was surprised. “God! Where did he get the money?”

“I don’t know! I asked him the same thing. But he wouldn’t

tell me,” she said.

“Cool! So, are you going to show it to your parents?” I

teased.

“No way! I will wear it when I come to college. I will put it in

my bag when I go home,” she said.

“Great! Carry on,” I said, giggling.

“Stop laughing, goose!” she said, punching me hard.

That was two years back.

Those were happy moments.

Now I was standing beside her body. Covering my mouth

with my handkerchief, I looked around the room, my body

trembling. My spine started to tingle like someone was

breathing down my back. I turned around.

There was no one there.

Slowly, I walked towards the bathroom to wash my clothes.

I opened the door, still shivering at the thought of finding

someone there.

But there was no one there! That didn’t ease my shivering

one bit as I was now witness to another gruesome sight.

There it was.

The knife! It was placed neatly on top of the sink, the blood

on its sharp edge dried out, red stains all over the sink.

I screamed like I had never screamed before.

Then it was total darkness.

Nothing but darkness.