Stories By Chitresh Sinha

Mr. Rajat Saxena, a resident of Miramar, Goa was yesterday given police custody in response to the hundreds of threats received by him following the ….”Jyoti switched channels.

“Mr. Saxena felt every parent’s nightmare come alive when his 10 year old son, Ronil was found dead by the Miramar Beach. Eyewitnesses claim that they saw Ronil’s best friend, Albert running away from the crime scene minutes after they heard Ronil’s spine chilling scream”. Jyoti could not bear to hear them say it again so she switched channels again…

“…Our correspondent reports that yesterday night, under tragic circumstances, the grieving father unable to recover from his loss killed Albert in cold blood. We are being joined by the leading social act…..” Jyoti hurled the remote at the television set and the room was enveloped in an eerie silence and all that one could hear were Jyoti’s tears running down her face with the words “Nothing is ever what it seems, the mirror always has two sides” filling in the pauses.

Jyoti thought about the day that Albert was born. It had been a cold September night and the entire Saxena family had hovered above Dr.Mita as she helped Mila through her contractions. Jyoti wiped her eyes and chuckled as she remembered Rajat telling her “Boy, I am as nervous as I was 5 years ago when you were delivering Ronil. It really….” She was sucked back into reality as the TV suddenly came back on. She turned it off and continued to reminisce about that fateful day when Albert had joined the Saxena family.

Rajat met Mila in Germany while on a hunting trip and he owed her his life. If it wasn’t for Mila, the hunter would have become the hunted. Mila didn’t really have a great life or a steady job in Germany and Rajat didn’t think twice about relocating her to India. It wasn’t easy at all as Mila had no valid documents or employer references but then Rajat always said “Where there is a will, there is always a way, as long as you have been left enough money in that will”.

Jyoti remembered how surprised she had been when she first saw the very beautiful Mila walk into her house with her husband but then they understood each other perfectly right from the word go and Mila’s beauty never affected Jyoti as she knew that Mila could never take her place. Ronil didn’t follow his mother’s lead and distrusted Mila. Her beauty or charm couldn’t work their magic on him and he preferred staying away from her. Mila didn’t seem to mind as she understood he was a child and he needed time. Mila soon became part of the family and it wasn’t long before they realized that Albert had also found his way to India with Mila.

Ronil didn’t have any siblings and he wasn’t really good at making friends. Jyoti used to worry that Ronil would always be a loner and then he met Albert and she knew she need worry no more.

Ronil and Albert were inseparable from the time that Albert was old enough to play with Ronil. Ronil would come home from school and run to meet Albert. They would have lunch together, sleep together, watch TV together and play together under the ever watchful eyes of Jyoti and Mila.

Albert may have been younger to Ronil but then he was bigger than Ronil by the time he was six. Ronil always asked “Mom, why am I not German? I too want to be big and stro….”. Jyoti suddenly heard Mila calling for her from downstairs and she rushed down wondering for how long had Mila been waiting for her?

Mila had been hit the worst by the loss of the two most important objects in her life. She had stopped eating or drinking and she had turned into a lifeless ghost who just drifted from room to room hoping to catch just one more glimpse of her son or Ronil. Jyoti lay down beside Mila and continued to think about Ronil.

Ronil and Albert had formed a habit of going for a run on the beach every evening and they had been doing so for the past year. Jyoti didn’t worry too much as she knew Albert would take care of Ronil and Mila didn’t worry much as she knew Ronil would take care of Albert. They used to be back for supper sharp at seven with Albert chasing Ronil to beat him to the kitchen gate. He had never been able to beat Ronil but on that fateful day, he did…

Jyoti could not remember the details of that evening too vividly or maybe she did not want to but then you can’t block out your nightmares. She had fallen asleep. She was breathing heavily and Mila could hear her whispering Ronil’s and Albert’s names intermittently and every time she did so, Mila would hope to see them come running towards her at any moment.

In her dream, Jyoti saw herself waiting by the kitchen door. She could not see Ronil and it was past 9.Suddenly, she saw Albert walking towards her covered in blood and limping badly. She was worried about his injuries but she was more worried for her own son and she kept asking him where Ronil was but the disoriented Albert was unable to offer any response. She was petrified and maybe it was fear or maybe it was anger that made her slap Albert hard. She then picked him up and shook him hard while yelling “Tell me where is Ronil, tell me!”. Albert looked scared and confused and looked towards his mother for help. Mila tried to stop Jyoti but Jyoti pushed her away and in the confusion Albert broke away from her and started running towards the beach with blood still dripping from his left leg. Mila and Jyoti ran behind him asking him to stop and come back but he didn’t stop. They followed him to the beach and then suddenly he stopped by a lonely spot on the beach where he had been warned not to go. She rushed to Albert and the she started screaming.

Jyoti woke up from the dream covered in sweat but her screams did not stop.

Rajat had drifted into a dark place following Ronil’s death and he showed no signs of coming back anytime soon and the drinking didn’t help much either. He could see Albert hurting both mentally and physically but he still blamed him for the loss of his son’s life. Gone was the love and gone was the bonding he had shared with Mila and Albert. Every time he looked at the foreigners, he cursed himself for ever getting them to India. He yelled and hit Albert all day and neither Mila nor Albert retaliated even once. Mila had thoughts of leaving the Saxena household but then she could not dessert them now, they needed to stand by each other.

She soon regretted her decision of not leaving when she had the chance.

One Sunday out of the blue, Rajat got out his old hunting rifle, the same rifle he had used on his hunting trip with Mila and he aimed it at Albert and pulled the trigger.

The shudder of the shot echoed throughout the colony jolting up the neighbors’ from their peaceful Sunday morning .Then there was pin drop silence which was broken only by the voice of Eric Clapton crooning ‘Tears in Heaven’ in some neighbor’s house.

Mr.Sharma saw Rajat aim the rifle at a harmless child and he saw him pull the trigger. Maybe it was the sheer brutality of the act or maybe he felt the sense of loss that Rajat felt that made him come to Rajat and explain how Ronil had really died. What he said made Rajat’s insides curdle and not a day has passed that Rajat does not regret what he did to Albert and Mila.

Mr.Sharma explained that on the day that Ronil died, Mr.Sharma had been walking his 3 Alsatian triplets on the beach when he saw Ronil and Albert approaching him. Ronil had a habit of mocking the triplets and Mr.Sharma warned him against it that day as the dogs were already in an agitated state and he didn’t want them to get out of control. Ronil had paid no heed to his warnings and then before he realized it, the triplets had gotten loose and they were leaping towards Ronil and Albert.

Mr.Sharma broke down and fell to Rajat’s feet and explained that he had tried to control them but he had been too late. It had started drizzling and all the people had vacated the beach much before the incident took place. He wasn’t thinking clearly and he couldn’t explain why he had left Albert there and had run away home and hidden there till today morning and had told no one about what had actually transpired on the beach.

Rajat walked away from Mr.Sharma without saying a word. All he could think was “Albert tried to save Ronil’s life and I rewarded him by taking his life. Why didn’t Albert ever say anything?”

It wouldn’t have made much difference as dogs still haven’t been able to train humans to understand what their barking means…

————-THE END————

by Chitresh Sinha