Utter Disaster

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A disappointed Vinay staggered towards his home. For the past few days unexpected events had taken place in his life, turning his life upside down. Dejected, he didn't want to return home at all. But where else could he go? Sulabha was still in jail. For the first time in his life, he repented not having children. If they had a child, things would have been different. Vinay would not have been all by himself. He could have got an emotional support at least. Most importantly, Sulabha wouldn't have drifted.

Back home, he started to read the police papers.

Satish's Statement

Full Name- Satish son of Ram Madhvani Age 42 Occupation Architect, Resident of Mittal Towers, Kasba Bavda, Kolhapur

That night I was drunk, to be honest a little more than usual. This girl who was attending the bar, had an almond shaped face and twinkling black eyes. I felt I had seen her somewhere. I tried to make small talk to her in an inebriated state. She was too busy with her work and turned around my advances. But I persisted not only for that day, but every day thereafter. One fine day she accepted my proposal and we went on a date. We met a couple of times thereafter, but nothing happened between us. Nothing apart from casual holding of hands. I wanted to take the relationship one step further, if you understand what I mean, and that was the reason I took her to our property – Swarg Sadan located in a spot secluded enough to offer us the much needed privacy.' Vinay couldn't read it any further and he leaped to the second statement.

'Name Sulabha Vinay Sharma Age 42 Occupation House wife Resident of Swarg Sadan Ajara.

I loved Satish and I never wanted to marry Vinay.' The first line itself stabbed into Vinay's heart.' But by now he was prepared to hear the inevitable. He somehow gathered courage and proceeded further. 'The greatest regret of my life is that I couldn't withstand parental opposition. My parents never liked what I liked. I wanted to be a commercial artist, but they disapproved of my drawing and painting. I wanted to marry the man of my choice, but they wanted me to marry someone from our caste. I wish I had been stronger enough, assertive enough. Had I been so, my life would have been so different. But I couldn't lie to my parents, nor could I go against them. The only time I lied to them was when Satish invited me to his rest house. It is a special place in the woods, no less than a paradise, aptly named Swarg Sadan. He had said. My initial reaction was to seek my parents' permission. But I knew they would never permit going to a boy's house. I knew our future was not together. Yet, I wanted to spend some precious moments with him. I wanted to treasure those moments in the corner of my heart for my entire life and that was the reason why I went to Satish's bungalow.'

That was enough. No matter how much he tried, Vinay couldn't read her statement. He placed the papers aside.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, eclipsing the sun. The sunlight was shut now and a dark filter had cascaded the world outside. Everything was dark, everything was gloomy. The wind running through the woods produced a hideous sound. Vinay stood watching the baffled swaying trees. The dust was running in the air. Some of it entered Vinay's eyes. Instinctively, he rubbed his eyes. There was a storm within and outside. A strong gush of wind blew the papers with it. Vinay stood watching as the wind bounced the papers high in the air. The fate of the papers, like his life was uncertain now.

'Everything will be alright Vinay.' Nisha said as she placed her hands across his chest from behind. Then resting her head on his shoulders she said, 'I am there for you.' and whispered in his ears, 'Always.'

Vinay was taken aback by this behaviour of Nisha. She had never behaved like this him, except for her jocular references that she always wanted to marry a man like him.

At the same time Vinay couldn't deny that a pleasant sensation had coursed through his body. A part of him wanted to draw her closer and place his lips on hers. It hankered for the warmth that her body offered. However, another part of him was waging a war against all these thoughts. It wanted to bring Nisha back to her senses. It wanted to tell Nisha that he was the husband of her sister, that sister who was still in jail. Before he could make up his mind, it began to rain. But neither of the two moved. He could feel his polyster shirt turn wet and stick to his skin. The warmth of Nisha's body became prominent amidst the shower of cold rain drops.
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