The Contract

The day was drawing to a close. For 30 year old Manu, it was about to begin. He was sitting in an old garage not far from the town waiting for his boys to come.

He liked his profession. There were no timings for his job. They were just random, planned at the last moment. It was not a tension-free job, but he liked it. He liked killing.

Most people in the town avoided talking to him as they knew that he was a professional killer. He was so professional that the police never had any evidence to prove it. And the people who saw him do it were never brave enough to tell it.

He led a care-free life. He would spend the money from the contract killings on booze and girls. He never saved money and bank accounts never interested him.

Nobody knew about his family background. And neither did they care for it. 

But, he did have a family once. His father was a government servant. He used to hate school and his father. For his father was a strict disciplinarian. At the age of five, he decided to run away from home. And since then, there was no looking back for him.

He could heard the faint sound of a jeep coming from a distance. The boys were coming.

They stopped the jeep in front of the garage. They dragged a man out, gagged with a tape over his mouth and took him inside the garage. They made him sit on a plastic chair and tied him to it.

Manu gestured his men to move aside. He looked at the man's face. The frightened, trembling face of a man who didn't know what was in store for him.

He pulled out the contents of the man's shirt pocket. He was just interested in one thing. An identity card. He wanted to make sure it was the right man. He took a glimpse of the photo on the card and the man before him. The same striking bald head. This was the man.

"Good job boys. He is the guy." he told them. He could start with his job now.

He took out a new shaving blade. He folded it in half vertically and made 2 pieces. He took one of the piece.

He smiled at the man's face. He went behind the man and pushed his head forward so that his neck pointed to his chest. He wanted to get it done quick.

He positioned his right hand with the blade in front of his neck. Then he slit his throat.

Blood started spurting out from the man's throat. But it would be over soon, Manu thought washing his hands from a bucket of water.

Then he felt a strange sensation. As if someone had pushed a hot iron rod from his back. He saw the bullet go past his stomach and hit the wall in front of him. He had been shot.

The bullet must have torn some of his intestines as he started throwing up blood from his mouth.

He felt weak and dizzy. He knelt on the ground with his face down. He saw the identity card lying before him. He remembered this face.

He fell dead, face down on the identity card. The identity card that once belonged to his father.

Geetha's new school

"Geetha, have you taken your lunchbox?" Mom shouted from the kitchen. Today was Geetha's first day at school after coming to Mumbai.

Geetha's dad served in the army and had recently been transferred to Mumbai. As usual for army kids, the school had to be of a CBSE board. It was always either Central School or Army School.

Geetha got admitted into Army School in Colaba, Mumbai. She was earlier studying in Third grade in Army School, Bangalore when her dad got transferred.

"Yes mom, I have taken the lunchbox. It's already late! I got to go.." Geetha answered.

"Wait, have some milk before you go" mom came out from the kitchen with a glass of milk in her hand.

Geetha looked at the glass. Why did a glass of milk always have to be so huge? "Mom ... please, not now ..." she moaned.

"You have to drink it my dear otherwise you will feel very hungry by lunch time" mom said affectionately placing her left hand behind Geetha's shoulder. "Come now, drink it" she said. 

Geetha knew there was no way out. She took the glass, closed her eyes and somehow finished it off in one gulp! "Not so fast Geetha!" her mom laughed.

"Okay, get ready. The school bus is waiting down." Mom said looking out from the balcony. "Bye mom!" Geetha shouted rushing outside closing the door behind her. 

Mom heaved a sigh of relief. She was so tired from the hectic schedule of getting Geetha ready for school. "How did my mother manage with so many of us?" She thought remembering her brothers and sisters.

Geetha got into the school bus. She knew that the school was not far from where they stayed. They stayed at Wodehouse building on Wodehouse Road and the school was at R.C.Church. It was a 10 minutes ride by bus.

The bus screeched to a halt outside the school. Geetha got out wondering how this school would be. Hope the teachers are not so strict as those in Bangalore, she thought. And the students. Will she be having the same kind of fun as with her friends in Bangalore?

There was still some time before the school would start. She walked towards her classroom. 

She saw a few students as she entered it. She searched for an empty chair, found one and kept her bag there.

A short chubby girl came towards her "hey, are you studying in 3rd standard?". "Yes, this is my first day here" Geetha replied. "Oh, I am Renuka. You can call me Renu" she smiled. "I am Geetha".

"You know what!" Renu said with a mischievious smile. 

"What?"

"Our maths teacher is on leave today! We can watch cartoons during the maths period!" she said beaming. "Wow! That's wonderful!" Geetha almost shouted. She hated maths.

She smiled. She was going to have the most wonderful time of her life in this school.

A Love Story - Part 2

"How can I help you?" the old lady asked. I blurted out "Uh ... can I speak with Geetha? I ... I am her friend.'

"She is sitting in the staff room" she said pointing to a room on the right. I thanked her and went towards the staff room. The staff room had one huge rectangular table in the centre surrounded by chairs. And there she was sitting on one of the chairs reading a book. She looked so beautiful in that light maroon saree.

I summoned my courage and spoke "Excuse me". She looked up towards me and gave me that smile, the same smile that made me fall in love with her in the first place. It amost swept me off my feat. What I spoke later was barely audible. "Are you free now?", she nodded. "Can we go out for a walk? ", she closed her book, stood up and conveyed to the other staff sitting nearby that she would be out for a while.

I still don't understand to this day why she was ready to go out for a walk with a complete stranger like me. But that day changed both our lives. I believe that such is the power of love. Somehow it just connects two persons. Two complete strangers who never knew each other a few moments ago, now looking at each other as if asking 'where have you been all these years?'

We went for a walk to the army quarters nearby. I used to frequent this place as a child as it was by the sea shore and the favorite spot for us to have fun in the sand.

Both of us sat beside each other on the sand looking at the waves. Neither of us spoke for a few moments which looked like an eternity. I looked at her in her eyes and spoke "You know what, there is something in you that I like. Something in you that I was missing so far in my life till now." She nodded as if to say she agreed. I smiled.

"Can we meet often like this on weekends? I like this." She didn't say anything but just gazed at me. For me it was a signal that meant she was okay with the idea.

That's how it all started. We used to meet regularly on weekends at first and then slowly even started meeting on weekdays. First it was me who used to do most of the talking. Then guadually I learnt her sign language and started to understand her feelings, her each mood, her passions, her hobbies. 

I would often give my parents the pretext that there was some extra work at office and would be late home. Those were the days when I used to catch the last local trains while going back home.

Then there came a point in time when we decided that we should get married. It was not an easy task, as I thought my parents wouldn't easily agree to have a mute girl as their daughter-in-law.

But I was wrong. For thankfully, my mom and dad were rational and sensible enough to understand and accomodate. After seeing Geetha, they too started adoring her. We both got married on November 19, 1980.

We had 2 kids, a boy and a girl. They both did their engineering and are now on their own feet well settled, earning their own money and living in different countries.

Geetha and me stayed back in India as we felt that Mumbai was better and safer than any other place in the world. That was until last night.

I remember last night 26th November when I was in CST station. I was in the passenger hall to receive one of my friends and take him home. It was 21:20, still another 15 mins before his train would come.

I saw 2 young persons barging into the passenger hall. One guy took something from his bag and threw it towards me. I thought they were just some youngsters having fun. I do not remember much what happened after that. My shirt was filled with blood and my head was hurting. There was a deep gash on my forehead.

Before I could realize that these guys were not fun-loving youngsters, scores of people were injured or dead. I kept shouting at those guys but they never listened.

The police finally retaliated and killed one guy and captured the other. As the ambulances came to take the injured and the dead, I shouted at the paramedics to help me. But they wouldn't listen. I went mad with frustration.

Then I saw it. I saw my body being carried by the paramedics on a strether. A doctor came and covered the face. I was dead.

Now I am here standing at my bedroom window waiting for my only love Geetha to wake up. I feel a touch from behind. There she is, Geetha standing right beside me, as beautiful as ever before. I look at the bed for the last time. I know she would never wake up.

We both look at each other. She gives that smile. That is all I want. We both look up standing side by side towards the sky. The sun is shining very brightly now.