Herasy

Part 1

The bus halted at a junction that was a couple of metres away from the station. A small group of employees got down and started walking towards the station. Shyam and Deepak sauntered among them cracking funny jokes and laughing to themselves. A gentle breeze enlivened the evening atmosphere

“Working on a Saturday is hell. That too after a long vacation”, muttered Shyam. “I could have leisurely come on Monday if the manager hadn’t called me”. He found Deep laughing to himself

 “You seem to be very happy today! What’s the matter?” he asked his friend who appeared to be in a very joyous mood

“Yeah! Today I saw her”, said Deep feeling shy.

“What? Sarya came to office today!” exclaimed Shyam as his friend grinned in excitement. 

“Today, she was in a saree. She looked really awesome, that too in her favourite colour black. I could not keep my eyes off her when I saw her. You know Shyam…”

“Enough Enough!” Shyam tapped his hand and on his forehead and looked at his friend. “How long will you keep on staring at her? It’s been months since you were seeing her. One fine day, somebody else would take her away in front of your eyes leaving you broken hearted”, he paused for a moment as Deep stared at him annoyingly.  

“So follow my advice! Go and talk her”, he suggested.

Deep nodded his head silently. His joyous mood turned somber as they reached the railway station.

The station wore a gloomy look which was quite in contrast to the weekdays where people would throng in large numbers, most of them being software engineers working in that part of the city. 

“By the way, is she still in office?” asked Shyam expressing curiosity.

“No! While coming I made a glance at her cubicle. She wasn’t there nor was her handbag. She must have left early”, said Deep as they reached the stairway.

They had to climb a staircase that led to the platform where the train arrived. 

“Oh! So you missed following her today”.

“I wanted to follow her. But when I was about to leave, that onsite guy assigned me some work”.

“You could have told him that you were leaving for the day and it would be done only tomorrow”, remarked Shyam. “Why do you commit things at the end of the day?”

“He told me that it’s of high priority and...” Deep cut short his words when Shyam held his hand suddenly.

“What happened? What happened Shyam?” Deep asked his friend anxiously.

“L..Lo..Look..Look there”, screamed Shyam. He immediately started climbing the stairs with tremendous precipitation. Vinesh was running before him towards the platform.

“Shyam! Stop”, shouting Deep ran after him.

“Vinesh!” Shyam screamed at the top of his voice but Vinesh never paid heed to his friend. 

Shyam ran as fast as his legs could carry and got down the stairs that led to the platform where Vinesh stood panting. A horn sounded signaling the arrival of the suburban train. The sound of the horn indicated that the train was just a few metres away from the station

“Vinesh! Listen to me. Please…..” he pleaded his friend nearing him.

“Shyam! Please don’t stop me. I have made up my mind. That’s all”, said Vinesh. The train arrived at the platform.

“You idiot. Stop there”, saying Shyam ran towards him and dived in the air hoping to grab his collar. But it was in vain.

Vinesh jumped on the tracks and the train dashed his body with all its force. The body flew in the air and landed at the bushes on the other side.

Shyam laid flat on the platform. Dust was smeared all over his face. Blood oozed from his knuckles. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the train before him that was gradually decelerating preparing for a halt.

“What happened Shyam?” Deep knelt over him and grabbed his shoulder.

Shyam raised his hand lying still on the ground and pointed his finger towards the train. “Vinesh!” he moaned. 

All the passengers inside the train stared at both of them. 

Deep made Shyam sit on a cement bench. The security guards at the station hurried towards them accompanied by a few passengers. Nobody seemed to be bothered about Vinesh.

“What happened?” they asked Deep.

“My friend slipped while he tried to catch the train”, said Deepak looking at Shyam. 

“Is he hurt?” asked someone.

“I am alright”, said Shyam regaining his senses. The onlookers slowly dispersed from the scene. The train departed. The station turned desolated once again.

Shyam slowly got up and gazed at the other side of the tracks hoping to get a glimpse of Vinesh’s body. He could not find it. 

“Have you gone mad? What happened?” asked Deep angrily.

“I saw Vinesh”, said Shyam looking at Deep. “I saw him running towards the train. He was trying to kill himself. I..I tried my best to stop him. But I could not…”

“Shyam!” exclaimed Deep with his eyes wide open. “It’s been a week since he had passed away. How could you see him?”

Shyam stared at his companion.

“I knew that you have been the witness to that horrible incident last week. That has disturbed you a lot. And this is the first time you are visiting this station after that..”, continued Deep.

“But…But..I really saw him Deep..” Shyam stammered.

“Shut up Shyam! If you talk like this, people will think that you are mad”. Both were silent for a few seconds.

“I understand your pain. Even I miss him a lot. But we have to move forward”, Deep grew emotional. “Shyam! Vinesh has left us once and forever. Stop thinking about him. Concentrate on your life and career”. Shyam nodded his head.

The sunlight was at its nadir as darkness approached. The next train arrived at the station. Shyam glinted his eyes towards all possible directions. Vinesh was not present anywhere. Had he been dreaming? Had he imagined something? He was confused. He dusted his clothes and got into the train with Deep.

The train was empty as it was during the weekends. Shyam sat near a window facing the platform and Deep sat next to him. 

Suddenly Deep’s mobile rang and he attended the call.

The signal sounded. The train started moving. Shyam turned his head and glared at the cement bench where he sat before getting into the train. A figure was sitting on it and staring at him. It looked like Vinesh.

Shyam rubbed his eyes and looked again. He was sure. It was Vinesh. Blood was dripping from his mouth. There was a red cut on his forehead that extended up to the tip of his nose. Cracks appeared on his cheeks. His clothes were torn at many places. But his gaze was fixed firmly on Shyam as the train moved away from the station. 

 

Pataliputra, 375 AD

The city looked pompous and lively on the occasion of the annual fair. Men thronged the streets in silk attires and women adorned themselves wearing ornaments that glittered in the sunlight.

The walls at the entrance of houses were decorated with colourful paintings. Horses were embellished with grandiloquent saddles and the soldiers wore a novel look. 

I walked inside the arena where the wrestling competition was being conducted. A large number of people gathered to witness the fights and cheer their heroes. She was also present there watching the battle with great excitement. I knew that she would be there. I keenly observed her different facial expressions varying from nervousness to elation frequently as she viewed the fight. She was indeed very beautiful. I wanted her to be with me throughout my life. She is mine. I will use all my magic to possess her. I will kill anyone who will oppose our union.

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 :-):-):-) .