My feet were dirty with all the sloshy mud in the backyard of the cemetary. The Bata slippers were of very little consolation and provided very little confidence too. Atleast my Van Heusen trousers were alright. Comfort and style where ever you go.
"Cannot find him. Must head back home", Jahar told me. Broken english with a bengali accent is just fabulous. One can really listen to the rolling english for a lifetime and yet be amused by it every time. The him in question was the third of us, Babai.
Taking a deep kash of a hand rolled, little wet bidi, I nodded in his direction and started moving. Damn it was difficult. My stomach was hurting me and from what we could gauge I had some time before I would be totally useless and would need a burial. The smoke made me feel good. Soothing. Or was it numbing. Perhaps the pain was numbing my mind.
No. No. I must shake this feeling off. We will find Babai and I must find a doctor before its too late. "Easy, bhai. We should just pass the night in this place. 2 more to go", shaking his head Jahar liked to be in command. If I was not at such a disadvantage. Heh. But then losing blood kinda makes you a dependent.
"Light me one more. Damn thing keeps on going out". Jahar was a expert in rolling bidis and once lit one in a perfect gale. Now this was something near to a perfect art. Well, actually I wanted to see if he could do it with his remaining good hand. The other was useless now. The same numbing had set in for him as it had for me.
Dawn was approaching. At any rate in 2 hours it should come and then an effort to find Babai can be made. I did not want to think further. Bad thoughts made me wince and made my gash bleed some more. Dhut..!! Nice pickle we are in. Trudging down inch by a long little inch we had managed to skirt around the cliff head above us in hopes of searching for our lost mate. Shit..!! This cemetery is full of human bloodsucking monster mosquitoes. Damn.. what do they have when they cant get Man?
No. I dont think I can sleep now. Jahar was trying to make himself a splint with the broken twigs he could find. Ugh .. that wood is supposed to be used to burn the dead. He had no qualms about anything. Implicit trust is a bad thing. Look at what I led him into. "You think he would have survived after that?" Jahar nodded. Simple souls. Simple answers.
No. Must make an effort. "Come on.. lets go on. Lets find someone and get out of this mess." Fine mess I was in. I tottered to my feet somehow. Shit..the pain was unbelievable.
"You want one more? I can do it with one hand too. See??" Heh... the damn bastard made me laugh and bend down with pain again. I think I will die of bidi poisoning if I keep this on. What the hell..in my condition I doubt ..lots of doubts. I think too much. There are nights I cant sleep becoz my head bursts with a million thoughts at the same time accompanied with severe head ache.
huh? is that babai..? shit..there is blood on his face? Watch out.. there is a bloody old monster behind you. Why cant he hear me? Babai.. Jahar shout to him..he is going to be killed. Fuck..what have I done? I shouldnt have talked them into exploring this famed haunted cliff. It is getting darker somehow. Are we already witnessing it now? The haunting. Their deaths shall be on me.
"Rajib da...Rajib da..are u alright..". Heh .. sounds were hollow too..
***
My ultra curiosity almost bled me to death that night. Although there wasnt a haunting, we kinda fell during the stupid rock climbing we had to do in the night. I and Jahar stopped on the very edge while Babai had tumbled off. He was in better shape than me. My emergency knife somehow found its way into my stomach. Another few hours without attention and I wouldnt be writing this story.
***
September 16, 2009
January 31, 2009
Cure for the Itch?
Warning: The following story has a little bit of gory details and may not be suitable for certain sensibilities. Please desist if you do not like such stories. The following story may or may not truly depict my inner desires and my real life habits.
----
She was found dead in her car in a parking lot with her throat slit. She was wearing a sexy little black dress and her blood had soaked it. The pendant that I gave her on her birthday was dripping with her blood. The car seat was drenched too. With her blood.
***
It was around 1:30 in the night when she was discovered by the security guard who was spoiling for a cigarette. His trip to the alley that night opposite his hotel was quite unusual for him. He rang up the police mumbling incoherent words.
***
That night was unusual for me too. When I looked upon her beautiful face for the last time, it was almost separated from the rest of her body. The killer had taken his time and cut through her slender neck leaving just a bit to let the head remain attached to the body. Although the flow of blood had ebbed, her clothes were still wet and warm. With her blood.
It was not exactly clear to me why would any one want to kill such a pretty woman. Yes, I am a diehard romantic and I personally consider it a cardinal sin to destroy beauty in whatever form it manifests. Maybe I am a bit more inclined to the human female form though I can quite appreciate works of art too. The Renaissance works are a treat.
“What do you think…..?” Inspector Karim asked.
What was I thinking? Standing on a murder scene and I have the gall to reminiscence about the stupid paintings that hung on my wall. Well, not all of them were stupid, at least not the Raphael.
Karim was the first to turn up on the murder scene. He was in the neighbourhood when he heard a scream or something. Well, if that is what he thinks is an explanation, so be it. He immediately ran towards the source of the sound and saw a woman with flailing arms in a car parked in a dark alley. She was still alive with her neck wide open when she looked into his eyes with her own beautiful ones. And then just like that she was no more.
“What do you think……...?” Karim asked.
I could not reply. I was overwhelmed by a coughing fit. Damn cigarettes! The feel of the smoke burning down one’s throat is one of pain. After that comes the feeling of pleasure. Yeah, cigarettes do that. But once you get the hang of the pleasure the pain fades into the background. My lungs are almost ready to give up now. I had to light one standing in a scene as shocking as this. Naturally.
I could not decide what to do. My head was beginning to feel light with this grand display of blood and the smoke twirling out of my nostrils.
Karim had tears in his eyes when I looked at him. I hate it when grown men cannot control their tears. I wished I knew what he was thinking.
“You cannot get away with this..!!”. I was surprised Karim managed this between his sobs. Yeah do that. But one must not make promises that one cannot keep. It tends to blow up in your face sooner or later. I should know. I have made a lot of empty promises.
***
I went into the alley to take a leak when I saw a car parked in the shadows. My curious nature led the way and I soon found myself staring upon a pretty woman snorting stuff. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. However, I struck up a conversation.
After some time with her, I learnt that she was sad and tired of life. I nodded although I knew it was a lame excuse to explain the stuff. She told me that it was her birthday and she had finally convinced her boyfriend that she no longer took drugs. Although she was not sure she could shake it off. They were going to meet at a hotel opposite this alley. In about 15 minutes.
Well, it was her birthday. So I presented her with a pendant that belonged to my ex girlfriend. Well, I have a past too. And I wanted to forget it.We talked for nearly 5 minutes when it began.
It began as an itch. And the next moment I slit her throat. It was cleanly done although the excessive blood spoiled the beauty of the incision.
What? It was her birthday. A birthday present was in order.
***
Karim told me that he was a policeman as soon as he saw me. But somehow the importance of that statement was lost on me. However, as is my wont, I got to know him a bit before it began again. It started with an itch.
Karim did not protest when I started clobbering him with the lid of the trash can. He did not fend me off. Maybe it was partly because his hands were tied and partly because his eyes were in the girl’s hands for anyone to find.
------
----
She was found dead in her car in a parking lot with her throat slit. She was wearing a sexy little black dress and her blood had soaked it. The pendant that I gave her on her birthday was dripping with her blood. The car seat was drenched too. With her blood.
***
It was around 1:30 in the night when she was discovered by the security guard who was spoiling for a cigarette. His trip to the alley that night opposite his hotel was quite unusual for him. He rang up the police mumbling incoherent words.
***
That night was unusual for me too. When I looked upon her beautiful face for the last time, it was almost separated from the rest of her body. The killer had taken his time and cut through her slender neck leaving just a bit to let the head remain attached to the body. Although the flow of blood had ebbed, her clothes were still wet and warm. With her blood.
It was not exactly clear to me why would any one want to kill such a pretty woman. Yes, I am a diehard romantic and I personally consider it a cardinal sin to destroy beauty in whatever form it manifests. Maybe I am a bit more inclined to the human female form though I can quite appreciate works of art too. The Renaissance works are a treat.
“What do you think…..?” Inspector Karim asked.
What was I thinking? Standing on a murder scene and I have the gall to reminiscence about the stupid paintings that hung on my wall. Well, not all of them were stupid, at least not the Raphael.
Karim was the first to turn up on the murder scene. He was in the neighbourhood when he heard a scream or something. Well, if that is what he thinks is an explanation, so be it. He immediately ran towards the source of the sound and saw a woman with flailing arms in a car parked in a dark alley. She was still alive with her neck wide open when she looked into his eyes with her own beautiful ones. And then just like that she was no more.
“What do you think……...?” Karim asked.
I could not reply. I was overwhelmed by a coughing fit. Damn cigarettes! The feel of the smoke burning down one’s throat is one of pain. After that comes the feeling of pleasure. Yeah, cigarettes do that. But once you get the hang of the pleasure the pain fades into the background. My lungs are almost ready to give up now. I had to light one standing in a scene as shocking as this. Naturally.
I could not decide what to do. My head was beginning to feel light with this grand display of blood and the smoke twirling out of my nostrils.
Karim had tears in his eyes when I looked at him. I hate it when grown men cannot control their tears. I wished I knew what he was thinking.
“You cannot get away with this..!!”. I was surprised Karim managed this between his sobs. Yeah do that. But one must not make promises that one cannot keep. It tends to blow up in your face sooner or later. I should know. I have made a lot of empty promises.
***
I went into the alley to take a leak when I saw a car parked in the shadows. My curious nature led the way and I soon found myself staring upon a pretty woman snorting stuff. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. However, I struck up a conversation.
After some time with her, I learnt that she was sad and tired of life. I nodded although I knew it was a lame excuse to explain the stuff. She told me that it was her birthday and she had finally convinced her boyfriend that she no longer took drugs. Although she was not sure she could shake it off. They were going to meet at a hotel opposite this alley. In about 15 minutes.
Well, it was her birthday. So I presented her with a pendant that belonged to my ex girlfriend. Well, I have a past too. And I wanted to forget it.We talked for nearly 5 minutes when it began.
It began as an itch. And the next moment I slit her throat. It was cleanly done although the excessive blood spoiled the beauty of the incision.
What? It was her birthday. A birthday present was in order.
***
Karim told me that he was a policeman as soon as he saw me. But somehow the importance of that statement was lost on me. However, as is my wont, I got to know him a bit before it began again. It started with an itch.
Karim did not protest when I started clobbering him with the lid of the trash can. He did not fend me off. Maybe it was partly because his hands were tied and partly because his eyes were in the girl’s hands for anyone to find.
------
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