VINDICTIVE
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Reena closed the door behind her.
Crossing the drawing room, she threw her purse and shopping bags on the sofa,
loosening her hair, crossed the bed and straight away went into the attached
washroom. She came out as fresh as morning dawn with nothing on but a bathing
towel. Humming she threw the towel and stood before the dressing mirror
watching her entire body from head to toe. “ Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is
the fairest of them all,” chanting a childhood rhyme, she smiled and slid into
the inner wear making her more voluptuous. She was about to put on the red gown
when the shrill voice of the door bell made her wear the gown in a hurry while
going to open the door. She opened the door and to her consternation, he stood
before him smiling.
She blinked twice and thrice. Inspite of being
surprise personified, she wanted to hug him but resisted the temptation as
every minute details of some years spent with him in a live-in relationship
flashed before her eyes like lightening. Before she could gather herself, her
gown malfunctioned and she had no choice but to run inside blushing. A broad
mischievous smile appeared on Aakash’s face. He slowly took steps to get inside
the drawing room.
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After half an hour both, Aakash and
Reena were sitting at café coffee day chatting and digging the old memories
when Reena abruptly asked, “ Aakash, what are you doing in Mumbai.?”
“Work” He replied gazing her face
constantly measuring the effect of time on her.
“ Yours own or same somebody else’s
work ,” she asked with inherent sarcascism.
“ My own,” he muttered rather
unconvincingly.
“So you have set up your own
business, at last,” though Reena sounded uninterested but her wide expressive
eyes betrayed her inquisitiveness.
“ I am…ah ..was in escort business. I used to handle escorts
and provide escorts to rich and famous.” Aakash replied sipping coffee. It was
clear that he was unsure of himself whether to divulge details about his present
occupation or not.
“ Used to….and what makes you to
meet me? I am sure you will not want me to escort someone rich and famous.” Her
tone was again sarcastic .
Aakash became serious. He took the
hand of Reena in his own and said, “I am sorry for everything, Reena. I was a looser and I am a looser. I have lost
everything and now I am at the brink of last ……….”. Reena interrupted him
abruptly.
“How come ? Where is that wealthy
women…what was her name…yeah..Roshini Mamm. As soon as you became an escort to
her, you just left me rather threw me out as a fly in your soup.” Her face was
reddened with anger while controlling herself.
“You have changed Reena,” he tried
to pat her hand but she withdrew it.
“Am I ? You bet. But don’t change
the topic. I want clarifications now.” She made him look like a culprit.
“ I realized that leaving you was a blunder,” his voice
started trembling. He folded his both hands, “will you forgive and forget
everything ? I again seek your acceptance, Reena, please. For the sake of those
years spent together. ” Aakash begged like a begger at a cross road and perhaps
this wasn’t enough for Reena.
“ Accha ! what happened to that
bitch….did she threw you out or you had had enough of her?”
“ She ditched me. I lost
everything, my health and my wealth. Reena, please I want to come back to
you..” Aakash wanted to reach to her face and she immediately jerked his hands
away resenting his move. Her patience had been tested and somewhere something
snapped in her. She got up, threw a hundred rupee note on the table and
dashed to the exist leading to a park. Aakash followed her when she
abruptly stopped, turned and shouted, “ you b******. You took away everything
from me. My reputation, my honour, my family, my love and left me in lurch. Now when you are nobody, you seek my
forgiveness and want to come back to me.”
Aakash stood still. He had no
courage to face her. He again pleaded, “please Reena, I am ready to repent.
Absence of yours in my life is telling. I was misguided by Roshini. She and her
friends exploited me.”
“And you exploited me. You know you
have ruined my life. You want to repent. What can you do now?” Astonishingly
Reena became a lamb from tigress. She started sobbing. Watching her sob, Aakash
was happy that he had broken the ice.
“ I shall do everything for you.
Just take me back for the sake of those two years we spent together.” Aakash
was now hopeful of homecoming.
“ Can you cure my AIDS ?” her
sobbing turned to muffed crying. Stunned Aakash withdrew his hand from hers as
if thousands of scorpions had stung him.
“ You too…..! AIDS ?” he almost
shouted.
“ Yes, AIDS and you f*****you gave
me that…..you b****** I was infected by you…you son of a *****.” She became
hysterical catching his collar.
Words betrayed Aakash. His face
became grim. His mind started working overtime. Was she then responsible for
his own acquired medical condition which has almost reached to a critical
stage? Did she use to betray his faith when they were in live- in relationship
? His hopeful face lost its sheen as if someone had taken away the cake from
the mouth of a hungry dog. The silence was deafening.
Reena broke the silence, “ would
you like to come back to me now, be with me and share my remaining life with
this physically acquired ailment?” She came at a kissing distance to him.
Aakash immediately backed off. He stood motionless for some time but his brain
was working fast.
The word revenge was taking shape
in his mind.
“Han….ah…no…can’t…You know I have
to reach back. I have a job to do,” he managed to say, “ I am sorry, see you
later. Take care.” He rushed to cross the road and hailing an auto drove away.
Reena laughed loudly. Revenge was on her mind
too
---------------------------------
That night she again stood before
the mirror after bathing when her mobile rang.
“Hello.” She said watching her body
in the mirror.
“Did you tell Aakash that you have
AIDS and that you got the AIDS from him.” Other side her cousin Richa sounded
curious.
“Yes” Reena replied.
“But why tell a lie. You had
undergone the necessary tests when he left you and those were all negative. You
could have put him off by simply shooing him off.”
“Because I never wanted that
b****** anywhere near me in my life again. This is my way of taking revenge on
him. I want him to suffer now. Simple thought of having AIDS acquired from me
will make him sleepless.”
“But Reena, Aakash has AIDS ! He
has AIDS. Critical stage.” Richa informed her. Reena switched of the phone and
threw herself on the bed. “ So that is why he wanted to come back to me after
acquiring this deadly disease. Escort duty. My foot. Serves him right.” saying
so she fell asleep. After a long time she had a sound sleep.
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Next day Aakash was found dead
hanging from the tree in the park near Reena’s housing society. A note in his
pocket read, “ Reena is responsible for my death.”
Law then took its own course.
------------------------------------------------------------------------All
rights reserved/Tribhawan Kaul
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