A PART DIED THIS MORNING- Short Story by Anupam J.

A PART DIED THIS MORNING-Anupam J.

A PART DIED THIS MORNING

(Written For TOI WRITE INDIA)

 © Anupam Jaiswal

Anubha looked at that silky, blue scarf in such a way as it was the only thing on earth she longed for. She would have asked for the same, if had been given a chance to choose one. She never expected that kind of a gift from Chetan.

Chetan was a typical businessman and an accomplished virtuoso, at his trade, but not of the emotions as emotions were not of his trade. His heart was pumping the red hot blood in the same passion as all hearts in the world do but, perhaps he didn’t have a heart at all; he was heartless.

She was expecting. She was so happy that day that she slept with the blue silk scarf in her hand, though he was not there with her, his gifted scarf was.

It was for the first time in last eight years when he gifted her something and she forgot all his sins.

**

It was a bright sunny morning. She was sitting in the starbucks café, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. She was looking at the roses bloomed in the garden outside the cafe.

Suddenly, she felt something, she felt the first kick of her baby inside her belly, and she ran her hands on her belly to find out what that was. It felt like a butterfly inside and was tickling her. She almost screamed with joy, a sensation ran down through her spine experiencing a wonderful feeling. She dialed Chetan’s number immediately.

He was in the conference room and his cell was continually ringing but he didn’t pick the call. She tried so many times and probably was trying for the last time, he picked up this time.

“Dear, busy with the clients from UK, will call you later”. He disconnected the call, without waiting for reply.

Anubha felt like crying, but she couldn’t. She left the café that very moment and headed towards her home.

She had a mixed feeling, one was the calling of life and the other one was the scariest feeling, she had been trying to put in the ground, but  it surged occasionally, the feeling of left abandoned.

Chetan had finally succeeded in pushing her away totally; his unintentional deeds absolutely amputated her from his life.

She was not able to cope with the emotions she was carrying inside her, she wanted someone to share her feeling with, and she needed Chetan that moment because no one else could substitute him, but he was not there. The only thing she had with her of him was that blue scarf he gifted her & the baby inside her, who kicked her again. At least thrice she experienced that wonderful feeling.

It took almost eight years of her life but definitely she felt contended that moment. Though the life didn’t give her the chance to feel so contended, but this time she was.

**

He returned home early that night, he was looking serious. They both had dinner together without exchanging a single word. After dinner, he sat in the drawing room beside her, but she moved to the terrace. It was so cold out there; the icy wind was blowing passionately almost piercing the souls of that night.

He followed her.

She was sitting there on the swing chair, her body froze there and her face turned ash white; He also sat there with her and said,

“Dear, it’s too cold here, please come inside.” She didn’t react;

“I was so busy today; I couldn’t properly reply to your call.” He tried to convince her.

She was listening silently, but said nothing.

“Anubha, please say something, please tell, why you called me? I tried to call you later but your cell was switched off.”

“Chetan, for how much bucks you have traded your emotions? She silently exploded but her voice was colder than the ice.

“I’ve been waiting for you since we married; please tell me, did I make a mistake falling in love with you? I did all for our marriage.”

“I stood against my family, I left my job, I even waited so long for the baby, I loved you but, I was left abandoned.” “I tried hard, I tried to make myself understand, that you will be back to me someday, but it never happened.”

“Sometimes I feel like killing you. It seems as if I have to live my life alone, so why don’t we part our ways forever”?

Chetan said nothing; he constantly listened to her only.

“Chetan, I want to be with you, please keep all your business away for some months, please ask Bhandari to take care of your business.” Be with me at least for a few months.

“OK”. He looked serious, “I will try to do exactly as you want, I will meet Bhandari tomorrow, and I will try to charge him with the tasks which keep me away from you”. It may take few days but, I will be with you for sure.

Chetan clutched his hand, in between her hands. Her hands were colder than ice.

“Today, our baby kicked thrice in my belly, I wanted to share this feeling with you but you were busy with your UK clients.”

“Chetan, I am your wife and I deserve your attention, more particularly at this time.

“I am pregnant and need more attention, love and care, not from the nurses and doctors but from you. I am not able to manage it all on my own. Chetan try to hear the voice of life, its calling you.”

 “Sorry Anubha” He repented. “I will make arrangements by tomorrow; I will be with you very soon.”

Though he had to leave for UK next morning, he couldn’t muster courage to say that to her. He kept mum.

“How did you find that gift?”

“It was awesome Chetan, but I need you, you are my precious gift, you are the person I loved like anything, please be with me, I can’t manage this alone.”

After an hour on the terrace, they were chilled to the marrow.

He held her hand and took her inside.

**

She woke up and looked at the clock, it was about 3 AM, feeling thirsty; she walked to the kitchen and tried to quench her thirst. She put the glass aside and picked up a knife from the recently brought cutlery set.

The knife was shining like anything; it seemed that it had never been used. She started moving towards bed room but she didn’t put the knife aside, it was in her hands.

She went straight to the bed and stabbed Chetan thrice? He opened his eyes in pain and found a fountain of blood near his ribs, but could do nothing except showing her his shocked eyes.

***

She sat in Starbuks café, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf.

Though she carried that scarf with her, but was not paying much attention to it. She was sitting alone in the café. Suddenly Chetan appeared outside the window, he was bleeding like anything, and it seemed that someone had stabbed him in his stomach with some sharp object.

She got scared, he was asking for help, she rushed outside the café, held him and took him inside the café, she picked up her scarf to wrap the wounds, and suddenly the blood stained knife fell down from the scarf.  She looked astonished! Though Chetan was in pain but he too looked stunned! At the same moment two boys entered the café; looked at her and Chetan, the knife was laying there on the floor.

“Catch her, don’t let her go.” One of them shouted. “She stabbed him”.

She gushed to the ground and became unconscious there. Her pulse was running like a superfast train but she was able to hear her heartbeat clearly.

This was the moment she awoke from her dreams, she got scared, and started looking for Chetan, he was not there, she found a piece of paper at the table which Chetan left for her, she took that.

The bell rang, she looked at the clock, it was quarter to 8 am, Beny had come.

She felt at ease.

**

Feeling the pain in his ribs, He too awoke from his dream. The passenger beside him nudged him due to his snores. He was thinking of the dream, he woke up from. It was scary. 

He was not able to believe whatever he saw in his dream. He saw, she killed her with a sharp shining knife, while he was sleeping. “Huh! She can’t kill me like this”. He murmured. A strange sensation ran down through his spine.

 He was in the plane to UK. He was feeling guilty. He could not tell her that he had to leave next morning for three days.

He left a note for her, there on the table.

“Dear, I couldn’t tell you, but I have to leave by now, something very important has to be done. I will be back in just three days. Please take care of yourself, I called Beny to take care of you until I come back, when you wake up in the morning, she will be there with you. Take care, love you so much, and see you soon.”

The plane was about to land but, he kept sitting there, thinking of her and the dream, where she killed him stabbing brutally his stomach.

Plane had landed in UK. He went to the Hotel Renaissance BR, where his meeting was scheduled after one hour. He joined them in time for the meeting and did the paperwork for which he came to UK.

His flight to India was in the morning and he had nothing to do except staying in the hotel. He slept and had that scary nightmare again this night.

**

They both were experiencing the two sides, two angles of the same dream. But in both the dreams his killing was a common factor. He dreamed that Anubha killed him brutally with a knife, and she dreamed that he was bleeding and dying in her arms.

Very soon he was in the airbus to India; He was analyzing the dream he had in last two nights. He was so busy with these thoughts that he couldn’t guess that when the plane had landed in India. He reached home, he looked determined. He went straight to her, she was sleeping, he put his ears to her belly to listen to the voice of the baby, he looked keen to feel the feeling she experienced that day and could not share with him. Suddenly he sensed the movement inside her belly, he started crying with joy.

She woke up, and looked at him in amazement.

“I have ground you down, made you cry but you didn’t say anything. I was so busy with my business all the time which was not needed in fact but, I have just handed over the charge to Bhandari. I made you suffer for eight years but now it won’t happen anymore, not for a single moment. I have left it all behind and have come back to.” He repented and looked determined.

She held his hand in between her hands, and asked him to sit there with her. She hugged him tight and they bawled together. She was missing him so much since that dream, as never before. She had her life back, finding him near her.

At least, you could have told me. You don’t know what I have suffered. I dreamed that someone has stabbed you and I couldn’t save you, you were dying in my arms.

“What”! He looked at her in amazement. He remembered his dream but said nothing.

“Yes, please don’t leave me now.”

“I suppose I am just seeing things clearly for the first time. I was so busy with me only that I could not listen to the voice of life, which has constantly been calling me.”

For the first time in eight years, he let her know his feelings.

He felt a part of him, died last night. The illumination of the rising sun scattered across the room.

Written by

Anupam Jaiswal

09839224658

Acs.anupam@gmail.com