Manish Murthy

I was sitting in front of my desktop, doing something or the other. I glared at the screen and looked at the photos of a hotel in front of a sun setting. Suddenly, sister came in from behind with a plate of food in her hands and said, “Hey, what’re you doing?”

“I was searching for some hotel in Kolkata.”

“Why?” She kept the plate beside the desktop.

“Parents liked Hooghly River, remember? So I guessed it’d be better if we pour their ‘asthiyan’ (burned bones) into the river through Hooghly Bridge.”

“Good idea, so when are we going?” She asked.

“Not ‘we’, didi. Only you’re going. I wanna chill out here and get into contact with some old pals again,” I replied.

She smiled, and said, “Uh, okay. Book a trip for two days, and make sure I’m going a week after.”

She turned back and was just about to exit the room when I said, “Tomorrow.”

“A week after, I said.”

“Tomorrow, I said too.”

“Oof! Do what you want!” She screamed and angrily shut the door with a bang. She was descending down the stairs as she thought, “He’s changing. Maybe he’s started to regret about what he used to think.”

“I’m sorry, sister,” I thought as I continued clicking something on my desktop. “It’s for your own good.” Suddenly, I saw that a mail has popped up. I clicked on it and Gmail opened. The mail opened which had the title--‘You’ve been expelled.’ I read the mail, “Dear student, we’re very unfortunate to tell you that you’ve been expelled from the college due to creating violence in the washrooms of the college building. Moreover, the police have stated for us to convey that you should come back as soon as possible and surrender, because it’d benefit you in the court hearing. Regards, Toronto National College.”

“Was just waiting for it,” I thought. “Maybe I should tell my sister as soon as possible, or it’d be a big problem if she reads it.” Then, I turned her head upwards and thought, “Maybe I should tell this after she comes back after her trip.” I stood up from the desktop, turned left towards the balcony and walked outside. I stood in front of the railing of the balcony. Suddenly, I saw my sister walking outside wearing formals. “Hey, didi! Where’re you going?!” I asked her from the first floor.

“I’ll be back soon, Manish. Stay put, ‘kay?” She was in a hurry as she again turned front towards her car and walked quickly.

“There is surely something suspicious. I guess I needa follow her to protect her.” I turned back towards the door and ran outside quickly. I turned right towards the stairs and dashed down. I turned right at the corridor, quickly sat and put on my red sneaker shoes without even opening their laces, and opened the gate. She had just started the engine. The car started moving in front of my eyes. I walked at the lawn, acing calmly as she seeped far. When she was something like thirty meters away, I came out of the lawn, sat on my bike, rolled the keys in and started the engine. “Let’s see if this bike can still run!” I rolled the accelerator and dashed away.

I, at all times, maintained a distance of twenty meters. She turned right and so did I. Then, she entered a highway-like place and turned left. After some twenty minutes, I saw her turning leftwards inside some industrial area. I turned in the same direction too, and it was difficult for a bike to go inside. The road was very uneven and the pebbles and rocks blocked the whole street. It had factories and small wholesale markets on both sides. I somehow drove upon the road, with repetitive jerks making me sick. They were suddenly over when I looked at her turning right inside a lane. I looked at the car and followed it. I turned right and saw her stopping her car. I, then, suddenly stopped my bike too at the end of the street and got off. I locked it and parked it there. I turned towards her. She walked inside a small warehouse. “I never thought she’d secretly come to a warehouse. But, why is she…?”

I started walking towards that direction. I was walking slowly and stealthily so that no one may hear my footsteps. To me, every second passed like an hour. I was unsure how much time has gone by. I was curious, but afraid too. “Why is she here? Does she come here everyday? What if she’s connected to TES in some way or the other too? But she’s an investigator, why would she be with them? W-What if she does some bad job here? No, she’s not like that. She won’t do anything like that, as far as I know…” I noticed that the warehouse was after an intersection of four diverging roads. I was at one edge of the warehouse, when I suddenly heard some gunshots. I suddenly turned right and hid behind the wall of the warehouse. I was sweating. “W-What was that?” I turned and tried to get a glimpse of the door, while half-trying not to get caught. “Why was there a gunshot?”

Suddenly, I saw my sister coming out, with blood all over her clothes. She had come out like she was just shot. She was unable to maintain balance, but still, she stood on her foot. “Pl-Please, leave me,” She said as she fell down on the ground. Then, I saw a man coming out with a pistol aiming at her. “Don’t you think that, Kavita?”

“I-I just wanted to know your truth.”

“I guess now you know it, right?” That man said. “And anyone who knows my truth without my permission has to die. That’s the law.”

“D-Don’t…” He pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit her. I started breathing heavily, with hands on my mouth so that he may not know that I’m here. Then, that man turned back, and that’s when I saw his face. “Sh-Shekhar…” I thought.

“Here, Naina,” He gave her his pistol and she took it in her hands. “I hope she didn’t cause you much trouble.”

The woman, who was wearing nothing but just a towel, shook her head and replied, “No, she didn’t.”

I moved my head back and sunk my head into my knees, which were covered by my arms. “N-No, Shekhar. I thought he was trying to save me from TES, but he’s a part of it, at last! H-He knew that didi was the last person I was close to, but still… still he murdered her…” The black van went by me as I looked at it with my red eyes full of anger for him. “I won’t spare you for this, Shekhar… One day, I’ll be the one to kill you…”

“Hey,” A woman walked towards me and asked, “Are you willing to donate your eyes to The Eye of Suicide?”