STALKER
As the first rays of the sun
began to pierce the light mist that had engulfed the city, Mandira turned her
side and blinked at the window. She pulled out her watch from under the pillow.
It was a little after 8 am. It was a second Saturday and her office was closed.
Another half an hour of sleep would be fine, she thought. She got up to draw
the curtain a bit when she spotted him across the street. She broke into cold
sweat. Now, he has found her house!
Until now he had stalked her only around the office area. She was apprehensive.
What does he want? He is a serious
stalker!
Barely six months after her
wedding to Ajit, Mandira was widowed. Those six months were the best period of
her life. Ajit, an IT professional had proposed to her after a short courtship.
They realized that they had gotten along like two peas in a pod. He admired her
wit and her soft mannerism. She was not a striking beauty as such but her
presence drew a lot of admirers and Ajit was no exception. When they decided to
tie the knot, he had got this small apartment in Gurgaon. “We’ll buy something
bigger,” he had assured her, “Right now, I’ve just cleared the educational loan
with which I had studied abroad,” he had tried to explain to her. But she was
not complaining. All they wanted was togetherness. She had continued her work
at a knowledge outsourcing agency and was happy with what she was earning.
The bolt came when they were
returning from work one evening. She got off the two-wheeler to get some
vegetables. A tempo whirred round the corner and lost its control knocking off
Ajit who was waiting on the stationary bike. The end was instantaneous. Post
mortem and other formalities later, Mandira had decided to get on with her life
and resumed her work. Tears wouldn’t help. For a couple of weeks, she stayed at
Ajit’s parent’s house in South Delhi and for
another week at her parent’s house in Gurgaon. She couldn’t use them as her
emotional crutches throughout her life, she argued. She moved to her apartment
and joined a carpool of her office. Brushing aside the snide remarks of some of
her relatives that she had been unlucky for Ajit or he should have consulted an
astrologer before getting married, she went on her routine duties.
Once, when she was at a mall
shopping with her friend she spotted this man in his thirties perhaps, fair and
of medium built staring at her. Did he know Ajit or me? A passing thought but
she could not place him. She spotted him several times near her office block.
Once he was in the parking lot from where she took the transport home. She had
ignored his presence a few times but now she got apprehensive. Should she tell
someone in the office? The security guy or someone like that? Should she tell
the police?. Her mind was dead as she could not find answers. Should she
confront him and ask what he wanted?
But his presence near her
house was unnerving. He could ring the bell and force his way in, she shuddered.
She drew the curtain and sat staring at the wall which had only one photo
frame-that of Ajit and herself on their wedding day.
The stalker continued to
appear at the most unexpected places, in the office canteen, at the temple
which she visited every Saturday. But he only gave her a smile. Never came near
her. She had stopped going to the gym as fear continued to grip her. She tried
spending weekends at her mother’s place but it was of no avail. She noticed him
sitting on the garden bench not far from the place.
Mandira thought that since it
was a Saturday today, she would go early to the temple. She got ready and
crossed the road and walked right past him without turning her head. She heard
steps behind her but they were not close. “Let him catch up and he’d learn the
lesson of his life today!” Mandira had made up her mind to break this stalker
today.
As she walked a few steps,
she heard a voice which resembled that of Ajit’s. “Mandira, please don’t turn.
Keep walking. Please listen carefully to what I am saying. I am not your enemy,
please. I mean no harm.” Mandira could hear her heart pounding. She slowed down
a bit while he talked.
“Your husband Ajit was killed
on purpose. It was no accident. He was working on a secret defense project of a
friendly country. Some miscreants were out to get that programme. Ajit and I
were colleagues at his previous workplace. Please continue walking and please
understand that Ajit has narrated this to me after his death. How I don’t know.
As I talk, he talks.” Mandira breathed
deeply and stepped slowly towards the road to the temple. If he tries to be
nasty, there would be enough people to tackle him near the temple, she
thought..
“These guys will target your
house shortly and harm you now as they have not found the CDs containing the
progrramme.” He spoke softly. “Ajit had been warned and threatened many times.
He had kept this as a closely guarded secret. The discs are in the frame of
your wedding picture on your bedroom wall. Tomorrow, take the photo to your
parents’ place as early as possible and pretend to be sick and don’t come to
work for three or four days. Stay put. I’ll tell you where to take those discs
afterwards,” he was quiet. She heard him turn and walk away. She turned
slightly to be sure. He wasn’t there! Was this some trap? May be he wants that
programme!
When she went home, she took
the frame and found the back cover had two layers. She undid one and then the
next. In between were spread three discs marked A,B,C!. Ajit had scribbled some
name which was not legible. Her hands quivered as she took the discs and placed
them in a plastic bag. Everything that the stranger said was right!
She packed a few clothes in a
haversack and called her brother asking him to pick her up at night as she was
unwell. The brother knew that Mandira was going through a bad patch and agreed.
He came to her apartment picking up her bags while she held the frame tied
loosely with a few twines. “What’s this?,” he enquired. “Oh. While cleaning it
fell down and the packing came off. I’ll take it at the shop on our way if
possible,” Mandira tried to explain. He shrugged and they both drove off.
Mandira pretended to be ill
and stayed in bed most of the time. She called her office on Monday and said
that she needed three or four days off as she was having fever. She heard her
manager grunt and hang the phone.
Mandira’s mom came to her
with the cordless telephone saying that her neighbour was on the line.
“Mandira,” a shrill voice shouted, “Your flat has been broken into while you
were away,” she screamed. “We have called the building secretary and he has
called the police. Come please even if you are sick,” the neighbour was yelling.
Mandira told her parents about the incident.
“Thank God. You were not
there. These days dacoits will murder even for five rupees!,” self-consoling
notes. Mandira got up. She was uneasy and felt that there was some truth in
what the stranger was saying. After registering the complaint, Mandira returned
feeling more helpless and more threatened. “They will hound me, if they want.
Ajit should have been more careful. Why didn’t he tell me this when he had
shared so many things with me?,” Mandira felt worse. She thought about the
offer she had got from Singapore.
Should she quit this and just put all this nightmare behind?
The following week, she
resumed her work. Her colleagues sympathized with her more now. Wasn’t her luck
really bad these days,? They asked her. She nodded. There was no loss of cash
or gold but the house was totally a mess. She had a tough time picking up
hairpins and napkins and the jumbled togs from the floor. Mother was of help
but Mandira knew the seriousness of the matter. The stalker was not seen for a
couple of months. The discs were in her bag which she had left at her parents’
place.
The parents had broached the
topic of remarriage-she was young, qualified and without any commitments of
kids. She could resettle her life, was the advice of many. She asked for more
time. But they knew that silently they should look for a match for her now.
Mandira spent more time with
her parents now. They thought she needed some support as she was shaken up with
the recent incident. A few weeks passed and she saw the stranger again. He
didn’t stare at her. As she got on to the escalator, he was a few steps behind.
This time too she was apprehensive. ”Now at least you believe what I say. I
hope you do. You have an offer to go abroad. Take it up. Sometime go scuba
diving or go on a cruise and drop those CDs as if they fell accidentally in the
sea. And by the way, think of remarriage positively,” he got off the escalator
and walked towards the food court. She too followed him and sat at the same
table taking her coffee with her. Her look was enough to make him speak almost
inaudibly.
“Mandira,
since my childhood, I have this strange power. I don’t know what to call it.
Many spirits- benign-mind you- talk to me and ask me to convey to their loved
ones to do something that has been left incomplete. Ajit was a dear colleague.
I didn’t attend your wedding as I was abroad. After his death, I had a similar
experience and he felt, I should warn you. Hope you understand,” he mumbled.
She too mumbled a weak thanks and got up without looking behind. She knew she
would be heading to new shores shortly.
Amazing write up once again... !!! love that suspense you build up all the time mam ! :)
ReplyDeleteAwesomeness!!! :)
ReplyDelete