chapter 29

 AnkitBack to College – Year 2004: Semester 5With Shiva and Sarv gone, and with Pratham always too busy in his shoots, I was alone. And I guessed so was Ankit, who was now in the first year of his MBA. He had spent so much time shadowing Pratham in the photography department that he never had time to make real friends.Us – Ankit and I – were two lone souls who had nothing better to do than gossip all day. We were like those rogue buddies who literally did everything together, from breakfast till dinner. The only time we spent apart was when we were in our classes or when we were with our respective life partners. Other than that, we were inseparable. Many times Ankit even slept over in our spare bedroom. He was my lifeline now and knew almost everything about me. He understood me and slowly was filling in the void that Rakshit’s disappearance had created. Of course, nobody could replace my brother, but Ankit came close enough.However, fate was not willing to give me that happiness as well. It had to extinguish every single spark that was keeping me alive. Because one horrible day, around the end of the fifth semester, suddenly, out of the blue, Ankit disappeared.  Present Day in Ishana’s HouseIshana paused. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. The memory of Ankit’s disappearance was just too tragic for her to recall – just like Rakshit’s.“What?” Ravi asked, almost falling.“Yes…” Ishana sighed, tears welling up.“What? Why?” Ravi was stunned.“Back then, we had no clue. Pratham, Sahana, his parents, his classmates, Police and I searched every nook and cranny of Delhi, but he was nowhere to be found. I still remember we had barely slept in three days. And we had spent every waking moment searching for him. Hoping he would just turn up and mock us for sending us on a goose chase. Every second I just prayed that he was passed out drunk somewhere. But…”“But what?” Ravi asked flabbergasted.“He never came back,” tears trickled down Ishana’s cheeks. “Though,” she exhaled heavily, “his body turned up on the streets of Delhi.”Ravi was speechless, and so was Ishana. The memory of tortured and beaten up body of Ankit was unbearable for her. She sobbed silently for some time. Ravi wanted to ask so many things, he wanted to know what had happened to a good soul like Ankit, but he couldn’t muster the courage. So he did the next best thing. He Googled Ankit’s death and found many newspaper clippings online.Just the headlines informed him what had happened in those gory days.College Student found dead on the roadside16 broken bones: Ankit’s killer still in the windWhy was Ankit tortured? A secret police couldn’t discoverAnd then there was a blurred image of Ankit’s mangled body lying on a roadside, and next to it was his candid photograph. Ankit seemed so full of life in that candid photo. Ravi just could not fathom who would do this and why. Ishana was still sobbing when Ravi finished reading. He could imagine why she was so broken. Death of your closest friend, especially in such a brutal way, could do this to a person. He waited for her to calm down, and after a while, she did and continued.  Back to College – Year 2004: Semester 5Days that followed Ankit’s demise were the darkest for us. Even Shiva and Sarv came back to support us. They knew how close I had gotten to him and how much this tragedy would impact me.As days progressed, people started to move on with their lives. But I couldn’t. He was my best friend, and his death had ripped another hole in my heart. I was still not able to believe that his death was a mere accident. Police had a theory that either Ankit got into trouble with the wrong people, or he was robbed. But I knew better. Ankit told me everything – literally everything – and if he was in trouble, he would have confided in me. And, as per their ‘robbed’ theory, I didn’t buy it either. He wasn’t rich. His wallet was often empty, and he didn’t own any luxurious items. To me, neither reasons were good enough, and the fact that he was tortured for two-three days before his murder was too much for me to bear.Somehow, I knew there were bigger forces at play here, a bigger plot. But no one was paying heed to me. Ankit’s death was gnawing at me. And no matter what, I wanted to unearth this mystery and avenge his death. And one day, I found a lead.Tam, the bitch, was Ankit’s classmate and had moved out after Engineering. She was now a full-time model and was doing pretty well as per standard. However, one day she was lingering in the college.“Pratham darling,” she simpered as she hugged him a little cozily. I had to clear my throat loudly to part them.“What?” She was agitated by the interruption. I glared at Pratham, and he shrugged showcasing he was the victim here. I wanted to punch her, give her a piece of my mind, but Pratham simply came and hugged me from behind.“Nothing,” Pratham interjected. Tam’s mouth fell open at his gesture. “Tam, what are you doing here? We haven’t seen you for ages,” Pratham added, tightening his grip around me. It was his way of calming me. He knew these days I was always on edge, and he didn’t want me to lash out on her.“I want to have a word with your girlfriend here, in private,” Tam pointed at me. Pratham looked at me nervously. His look said he didn’t want to leave me alone, but I gestured him to. “Now, be good girls and don’t fight,” he snickered. I screwed my eyes at him. Giving me a meaningful nod, he kissed me on my lips and left. Though he was out of sight now, I knew I didn’t leave his sight. “So, you finally got what you wanted. Pratham!” she hissed his name, and I resisted an urge to punch her. “Never mind, he will still be mine one day.” I couldn’t help but laugh sarcastically at her words. Mistaking my laugh as mockery, she closed in the distance between us and whispered, “You wouldn’t dare laugh if you knew what I know.” The venom in her voice erased all emotions within me. Goosebumps covered my body as she gave me her most sinister smile. However, her smile wasn’t anything in comparison to her next words. For what she said next shook me to my core.