Love, Truth and Death

I don’t know how I have reached here. By the way, where am I?

My eyes can’t even find a single homosapien around. There were four or five small shops that marked the end of the silver colored road. The night was a full moon night. The fluorescent gaze added to the beauty of the silver colored road that I have been lying on for so long. Five to six steps more marked the end of the bright open space above. Front ahead appeared a never ending tunnel lined by huge trees on both sides that has bulged towards the road to create a tunnel like structure. Moonlight that could reach the road after passing through the narrow gaps in between the leaves gave a starry appearance on the road…

“Why the hell am I here???”  I asked myself.

I touched my forehead to think… My fingers felt something moist… I figured my hand has become crimsoned that appeared darker than ever in this moonlit darkness. I could feel a pain in my temple, just above my left ear… How the heck did I land here…and why on earth am I here?

Yes I can remember some of it… They were here… I got shot and fell…But where is Caroline?

 

7 hours before…

“Hello…” , Sid said.

“Ha….hello…where have you reached” I said.

“Just arriving…I’ve almost reached”

“ok…ya I can see you..”

I hanged up the phone and went forward.

“Where’s Caroline” Sid asked.

“Don’t know…She’s not yet arrived…” I continued, “are you sure we should do this…”

“Yes…I can do anything for her” Sid replied.

“I know you love her and you can do anything for her…risking your life for it is…”

I could hardly finish, Sid interrupted, “Damn it, she has been kidnapped, and her sister knows where they have kept her…and wants me to help her…It has been three days she has not met her sister…God knows in what danger she might be in….”

I interrupted, “I don’t feel this as quite a good idea… I think we should seek the Police for help…”

“Whatever…I am going with Caroline…if you don’t want to come…you can leave…”

We waited for over an hour… we did not talk to each other.

Sid and Linda loved each other… Linda, sister of Caroline has been kidnapped. These two sisters came from some other place and met in a café… Sid fell in love with Linda at the first sight and their relationship flowed much ahead than it should have within 4 months, and it flowed so much that he set out to rescue her without any assistance of the Police. Well, as of me why am I taking this risk… well I have always been by Sid in all his hardships (why? Maybe I will tell in some other story)… Sid is completely unaware that I had a long time relationship with Linda when I was in the states.

When Sid told me about his dream girl he met at some café… my reaction was a hidden smile to myself… The next day I broke up with Linda and made her promise me that she should not tell anyone about our relationship. Well, Linda is the only daughter of a middle class family  who moved to Darjeeling last year due to transfer of her father. Caroline is the adopted child of the Linda family and no words could explain how spoilt Caroline is… from unkempt dresses to drugs there was nothing she could not do. She was even sent to remand home once or twice owing to her mental health. She hated the family from the core of her heart. Caroline’s father died in a car accident due to Linda’s father. Since, then the family adopted Caroline. Linda too loves her sister, though Caroline has no love for her…she hates Linda and always wants her to be unhappy…

And Sid was going to risk his life and mine due to this psycho sister…

“Sid, Caroline”  , I spoke after an hour of silence…

“Ya come…”, Sid said and we went forward… I followed Sid…

Her appearance was not the usual one…She was dressed in a blue jeans and a violet full sleeved vest. She hung a bag across her shoulders. It seemed that she was completely changed… the  desire to meet her sister, her could be waiting death, her danger changed from deep within… her wet eyes clearly showed that she had been crying all through in her way…

“Sid, di called half an hour ago somehow… she told that she is in a cottage near a jungle near Siliguri…”

“Lets go…Lets not waste any time…” , Sid said.

It was a long journey from Kalimpong to the jungle… It was already dark. We walked through the jungle…it was a dense jungle… after walking for about two hours we finally could spot the cottage… We came to the end of the jungle, ahead laid a silvery road lit by the white moonlight… We all moved towards the cottage. We reached half way that silver road… ahead lied a beautiful tunnel created by bulging trees on either side of the road, where the moonlight through the leaves had made a starry appearance… We were about to enter the starry road when a voice called from behind…

“Di, I am here…”

We all turned around to see Linda…

Caroline ran towards her and hugged her and started crying…

“Di, I am sorry, I have always been rude to you, I have always hurt you, I have always wished ill for you, but these two long days…your distance from me has even made me cry for you…now seeing you has given me some relief…please will you forgive me di??”

“No lyn(Caroline), you have always loved me… your hatred towards the family for the accident had layered it inside you…the more you loved us…the more you actually hated us…” , replied Linda.

“Di…whatever it is…but how did you escape??” asked Caroline.

“No lyn, I did not escape… I was never kidnapped in the first instance…”

“Whaat! Then why did you call us here in this way…” replied Sid.

“I need to tell you something… before we can carry on with our relationship…I need to tell you about me and …”

Linda was going to pronounce my name and I interrupted her… I put my hands on her mouth and said “No Linda you promised”

Linda removed my hand and said “No, I am sorry, but this is necessary.”

“What the hell is going on…Will someone tell me…” screamed Sid.

“I need to tell you my past. You should know this… Your friend and I have been in a relationship for six years in the US. When you saw me at the café and told your friend about me, the next day he met me….”

She went on saying things she should have not. She did not even spared our intimate moments and the details she spoke with was just terrifying. After saying all about us and our good times in the US she asked Sid…

“After all this do you still love me?”

Sid did not speak for a few moments…

“Sid it’s not as she is sayi…”

He interrupted me and put his hands in his pocket and took out a pistol and put it against my forehead…

“Why the hell did you do it to me… Why the hell did you not tell me about you and that b**ch…”

“Sid, you brought a gun…”

“Sid, put your gun down…” Linda said pointing a gun towards Sid.

“Linda you!! Gun!!” I was shocked.

“Sid has always fooled you… You think he works in a bank… but do you know what work he does in the bank…I am telling you…”

Sid pointed the gun towards Linda and said “Linda shut your mouth…”

Linda still continued “ he robs bank… even that theft you told me of that diamond necklace in your house was carried out by your friend… I could have never known the truth, if Joy Uncle, my father’s friend and SP saw Sid’s photo and told me about him…and all his works… how he runs a Mafia gang…”

Suddenly Caroline ran towards Linda and came in front and the bullet hit her in her shoulder…she fainted…

Boom…another shot… A jet of blood started oozing out from Sid’s stomach…He fell down…Linda ran towards me and gave me a hug… she whispered in my ear…

“I love you…”

“I lo…” I could hardly complete….Boom another gunshot…Linda turned around and emptied the magazine on Sid…Sid lay still…Linda dropped the gun and clung herself around my neck…I could feel the blood oozing out from her spine right below the neck…

“You think, you asked me to break up with you and love your friend and I did all that because I loved you so much…no I loved you so much… and that’s why I broke up… I have been tested positive with the last stage of Leukemia and I did’nt want to waste your life hanging around you being a patient… I called you here to tell you the truth about your friend and to save you from further loses… also I would get to spend a little more time with you..but God didn’t want that…He wants me early up there… my last wish is that I want you to marry Caroline…I will miss you…I love…”

She pushed me aside and I fell aside…boom another shot…Sid with his last strength shot at me…He missed..the bullet touched my temple and passed. Sid  died thereafter…

I rose and crawled to Linda… Tears rolled down her eyes… “I love You” I said…She lay still thereafter… I kissed her forehead… and closed her eyes…

I rose to save Caroline…But as soon as I stood up everything around started appearing hazy… I was struck by dizziness…I fell down…

 

After 7 hours…

“Caroline….Caroline…” , I shouted…the voice echoed through the darkness…

She must have left thinking we all are dead… I went up to Linda and sat by her… suddenly…

Beep beep..Beep…My cellphone rang up…

I took the phone in my hand… the ring stopped for a few seconds and again started ringing…

“Hello”, I said in a sleepy voice…

“Hello, it’s me Sid… Linda has been kidnapped…”

I woke up hurriedly. Sid continued, “She somehow called Caroline and told her where she is… I am meeting Caroline near 65,High Road… be there at five in the evening sharp…we need to rescue her”

Sid hung up the phone…A drop of sweat came down my temple cheek and fell on the cellphone screen…

 

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