Destiny - 3

Note: Please read part 1 & part 2 before reading this part

Part - 3

The bus swerved into different roads that were enveloped by a very dense fog and Shyam followed it with turbulent momentum. He observed the passengers getting down at each and every stop and his enemy wasn’t present amongst them.

Finally the bus reached the depot with a few passengers in it. Shyam instantly put his bike stand and ran towards the area where it was stationed.

"Son! Can you please hold this basket until I get down the stairs", said an old woman handing over a big basket to him at the door of the bus. He took the burden from her. He held his breath for a long time as it contained fish. Dry fish! He handed the basket back to her after she got down and hurried into the bus. There was nobody except the conductor and the driver. He looked all around the place. His enemy had gone. Disappeared into the darkness!

A message tone sounded in his mobile. It was Pooja.

"Reached home safely. Good Night and Sweet Dreams".

Shyam came home weary and dejected. He neither knew the stranger nor his name. He first saw him at the beach. The guy was staring at them when he was parking his bike. He grew slightly suspicious but assumed it was a fact that people generally stare at beautiful girls in public places. But when they came back from the beach, he was still there, watching every movement of them. His suspicion gradually increased when Pooja grew tensed on seeing the stranger.

The same guy again appeared at the theatre. He had seen Pooja talking to him during the interval. She was tensed throughout the second half of the movie. Many questions pondered over his mind and his head started aching. He picked his mobile and called her. Alas, the line was engaged. His frustration reached its peak.

“With whom is she talking at midnight”, he wondered. “It must be Shekhar”

“Instead of telling him, she could have shared her problems with me”, he muttered and fell asleep.

It was Sunday evening. Deepak's parents were out to attend a marriage reception. This was the best time he watched fashion shows on his favourite channel.

"What beautiful models?" he said to himself when the door bell rang.

"Oh my God! Why did they come so early?" he groaned.

He quickly changed the channel to a news channel and opened the door. It was Shyam.

"Come in", he said heaving a sign of relief.

Shyam walked inside. Deepak hastily closed the door and put back the fashion show.

"We have to go to beach now", said Shyam.

“Now!” exclaimed Deepak sorrowfully. He had no other choice.

He quickly dressed himself, had once last glance at the models and accompanied his friend to the beach hurling a flurry of curses in his mind.

Vikas waited at the beach. A car stopped before him. Pooja approached him holding something in a dark plastic cover.

"Here's the money you asked", she said handing it to him.

He peeked into the cover and appeared convinced. He put it carefully inside his bag.

"And never show me your face again", she said angrily.

He smiled sarcastically and left her.

"Pooja has left in that car", said Deepak watching them from a distance.

"You idiot! What's the use watching Pooja? Watch that guy's movements?" growled Shyam.

Vikas stopped a speeding auto and hopped into it.

“Come on Shyam! Start the bike”, roared Deepak and they chased him. They travelled across many lanes, roads and junctions until the auto came to a sudden halt.

"Railway Station!" exclaimed Deepak.

"You park my bike and come inside. I will be following him", said Shyam handing the bike to Deepak.

The station was crowded. Vikas went towards the platform where the Bangalore express was stationed. He got into the sleeper compartment and sat near a window.

Shyam waited until Deepak joined him.

"I think he had reserved his ticket. Everything is well planned”, said Shyam.

“You wait at the door. I will go in”, he told Deepak.

Shyam got inside the train patted Vikas on his back

Happy Journey mate", he said. “But without that bag”

Vikas was taken aback. He got up, held his bag tightly and ran towards the door. Deepak pounced on him at the door and held him with all his might. Vikas punched hard at Deepak on his nose. But Shyam caught his shirt, dragged him back and overpowered him. He firmly held Vikas by wrist and led him to the restroom.

"You keep a guard here. I will talk to him and come", he said to Deepak.

Blood oozed out from Deepak’s nose. He looked at his friend furiously and nodded his head.

Shyam dragged Vikas inside the restroom and banged the door.

“Please! I want this money. I will return it in a couple of months. Believe me”, pleaded Vikas.

“First tell me who are you? Why are you blackmailing her? Then I will let you go, with the money of course”

Vikas had no option. He had to tell everything. He nodded his head.

“We were together in the training batch. Then I proposed Pooja”, he said recollecting the events of the past.

“She accepted my proposal and we were in love. Four precious months in my life! There were no misunderstandings between us. Everything went fine until that fellow Shekhar came back from onsite. She started getting closer to him. I knew that he was her best friend. She told me a lot of things about him. But then, some incidents made me think otherwise”

“What are those incidents?” asked Shyam.

“After he came, she started avoiding me. They often talked secretly and she never told me what the matter was. She often roamed with him in his new car. Initially I did not question her respecting her privacy. I once saw him resting his head on her shoulder in the bus one day. She did not notice me then. I asked her if something was wrong. She told me that he was unwell and giddy but I saw him partying and chasing one of his friends. I knew that he as perfectly fit. Then came my birthday. I wanted to spend some time with her in the evening. She said she was having fever. I then went to her room late in the evening, but I was told that she had gone out with Shekhar somewhere. As days passed, we got into several heated arguments. Things were never the same. Misunderstandings arose between us. I knew that there was something going on between them. Even my friends told me the same thing. One evening I saw them sitting at a park. She was crying. She was holding his hand and was saying something. He was consoling her. And then mate, I cannot reveal you some things that I have seen, but they were true. I knew that she was cheating me. We got into a huge quarrel one evening and finally decided to part ways. I got transferred to Bangalore and she came here”

Shyam listened to him patiently.

“I was doing a part-time business and suffered a huge loss. The people who lent me money have gone to the police. In that distressed situation, I received her wedding card. I needed money desperately. I asked her for help. She denied. So I had to blackmail her”, said Vikas.

Time passed by. Deepak felt very uncomfortable as many people gushed in and out of the train passing him. Shyam came out of the restroom.

“Let’s go”, he said to Deepak.

Deepak wiped the blood on his nose with his index finger and showed it to Shyam.

“I am really sorry Deep”, said Shyam

“What’s the next program?” asked Deepak.

“I will drop you at a nearby hospital and then meet Pooja”, he replied.

Pooja was initially reluctant to speak about Vikas but after Shyam forced her, she finally told her version of the story.

“It was true that I loved him. I was sincere towards him. But he started suspecting me about having an affair with Shekhar. Shekhar was my childhood friend and naturally very close to me. He is infact like a brother to me. He has a lot of problems which he shares with me. Recently his elder sister complained of pain and got admitted in the hospital. It was diagnosed that she had cancer. He was very upset about it. I had to console him several times regarding that matter. He had many other family problems regarding property. He shared them all with me. These are something which I cannot keep telling everyone. But Vikas hated me talking to him. He never listened to me. Vikas invited me to his birthday. I was having fever that day and hence couldn’t participate in his party. But that day, Shekhar met with an accident and I had to pay a visit to him. Vikas never understood my feelings. He spoke very meanly about me and Shekhar to his friends. He disgraced me in public. It was pain, an unbearable pain. I cannot tolerate people suspecting my integrity. Quoting an affair with Shekhar as a reason, he decided to part ways with me” she said breaking into tears.

“Shyam! I could have told you all this earlier but I was not sure as to how would you react. You even know that my dad isn’t well and I was afraid that I might lose him, if our marriage gets cancelled”, she said sobbing.

“Vikas approached me suddenly after a long time and asked me money. He said that he was in a debt and the police are looking for him. Shekhar came to my rescue and helped me in arranging the money. I did not give him money since he was blackmailing me, but because I wanted to help him. Because I wanted him to be happy”, she concluded.

Shyam reached the hospital where Deepak was waiting for him wearing a bandage on his nose. He updated Deepak with the recent developments.

“So, your enemy is gone and the problems are solved”, said Deepak.

“No Deep! He is not our enemy”, said Shyam.

“Then!”

“Shekhar is cheating Pooja in the name of friendship”, said Shyam controlling his anger. “I will seal his fate tomorrow morning”

Monday morning!

The city edition of the newspaper read

“Man found murdered in the train”

To be continued....

Disclaimer: All events and characters in this story are fictitious. If it resembles any real-life incident or any person, either living or dead I am not responsible for that :-):-):-) .