Malabika sipped her coffee and stared
blankly at the stars above her. The stillness of the night was interrupted at
small intervals by the sound of the mobile and flashing of the screen of the
mobile. The mobile screen flashed continuously showing a message from her
beloved Shaina. Malabika had been ignoring the messages for a long time. She
had not been answering Shaina’s phone calls also. She had been constantly
gazing into the darkness of the lonely night. She could sense the coldness of the
night and the solitude that surrounds her. Her thought process was suddenly
interrupted with the screeching sound of the mobile. “Why can’t she leave me
alone? These modern systems are too intrusive and never allow one to be in some
privacy”, she thought. She laid there still with a shawl wrapped around her to
shield her from the chilly breeze of the night.
Malabika had been in this relationship
since 2 years now. She had met Shaina in a conference in Mumbai. She has had
many relations in the past. But with Shaina, she had shared the finest times of
her life. She had never been so content in her life. Shaina and she, though are
from the same city, have decided not to stay together. Actually, it was
Malabika who had been anxious about sharing the same space and Shaina paid due
respect to her fear and space. However, as time permitted, they often met each
other.
The sound of the door-bell woke her up from
her slumber and reluctantly she headed towards the door. “Mala, why have you not
been answering my phone calls? Darling have you ever realized how worried have
I been?” Malabika was flooded with all these expected questions from Shaina.
Getting no response from Malabika, Shaina held her in tight embrace and planted
a kiss on her lips. “Darling, is everything all right.? Was I in some way rude
to you. Tell me what is there in your heart?” “Uff! The questions, cant these
be stopped.” Malabika without uttering anything stood upright and unmoved. Shaina
could sense the coldness that surrounded Malabika and she shuddered at the
thought of another panic attack. Because Shaina knew that Malabika had been a
patient of chronic depression for years now and a small thing can bring back
her memories which might cause another panic attack. All she could do was to
hold Malabika in her for sometime. Shaina therefore did not force Mala to speak and
just took her to the bedroom.
Shaina could sense something; however she
did not dare to stir Malabika again with some redundant and disconcerting
thoughts. All she wanted at that point, was to make Malabika sleep. Shaina was
quite alarmed by the fact that Malabika had not been sleeping for days. She had
been popping sleeping pills now and then. She shooed malabika to sleep on her
lap. Shaina could see through the faint light of the night bulb Malabika’s
drained face. “She might have been too much stressed out. Why was I not near
her?, thought Shaina. Shaina had
referred her to a psychiatrist which Mallabika had happily refused to go.
However, on her too much persistence, Malabika has been seeing a psychiatrist
for the past 6 months.
Shaina remembered the moment when she saw
Malabika for the first time. “an exquisite beauty, with a very appealing pair of
eyes”.. that’s how she described Malabika. In fact she still is minus her dark
circles. It was love at first sight; since then they had been together. “Shaina”,
She heard a faint voice from the bed. “Yes, darling! Are you feeling better?”
“Shaina”, there was no answer from the bed, except her name. She might be murmuring
something in deep slumber.
Slowly she got down from the bed and went
towards the living room. “How nicely Mala had decorated the place” Shaina thought
looking admiringly at all the art pieces that Mala had collected from various
places of India
Suddenly her eyes fell on the landline phone.
The wire has been unplugged. Slowly she went and plugged the phone. The
voicemail was full of messages and the messages kept on beeping one by one. On
the voicemail she could hear the voice of Mala’s mother, “Why are you not
picking up the phone? Are you scared of your identity now? You have brought
disgrace to your family. Are you hearing it… why have you changed your mobile no?”…
The next message…. The voice echoed “You are dead for us now; do not dare to
step in the house for ever, even if we are dead…… the voice went on…. Shaina
not hear anything now….could now only see the beautiful face of
