The ride was a not long, covering
only a few kilometers, from her PG to the Forum Value Mall and even the reduced
number of vehicles on that stretch on a Sunday noon made it easier to be at the
parking lot of the mall in time. The entire ride, she had been hugging me
putting her arms right around my stomach and locking them tight. We hadn’t spoken
a word the whole ride but our hearts had been communicating to each other at a
frequency no scientists can reach and decrypt the messages.
As I locked the helmet to the
bike and turned back, I saw her combing her hair with her little thin fair
fingers. She had neatly held the hair in between her both hands and rolled them
all behind her back, advising them not to open up free again. The second time
she did that again, it was a request more than advise but the naughty hairs had
already started having their discussion on flying free along with the wind. Listening
to that discussion, she quickly took out a black colored hairband and guided
all those naughty hairs in it and tied them up neatly. A little disappointed,
they fell back behind her. But there were few hairs, the luckier and the
shorter ones on the right side which escaped the hairband and fell right in front
of her cheeks covering most part of it. She smiled at me, without caring about
those hairs, when she saw me watching amused at her.
“Where do you want to have your
lunch?” I asked trying to move my eyes off her cute face.
“Anywhere” she said with a
twinkle in her eyes.
“I haven’t heard of any hotel
with that name” I said sarcastically.
“He he. Nice PJ” she said,
grinning widely.
“Then tell me where do you want
to have your lunch?”
“I said na, anywhere is fine”
“I dint ask you to give me that
reply. I asked you to know what you want to eat today” I said pressing the
number button numbered 4 in the lift.
“I can’t decide. You decide” she
said with a little disappointed frown on her face.
“Ok ok I will decide. Now please don’t
wipe off that cute smile from your face. How about lunch in MTR?” I said waiting
for her smile to return.
Her smile did return when she
suddenly turned at me and said, smiling widely, “Wow. I just wanted to say that”
“Then why dint you say idiot?” I
exclaimed walking out of the lift behind her.
As we walked into the MTR main
door, my eyes searched for loneliest empty table but before I could notice one,
she headed straight to the one which was right beside window and a nice view. Though
the table was not lonely, it did have had a nice view. And upon that, my girl
was happy with that and that in turn made me happier.
A decent looking middle aged man
came walking to us and handed us the menu. Opening it and glancing through
nothing, I raised my head up and looked at her. She was still busy enjoying the
view like a small kid.
“Hey Sona! Check the menu” I said
“You decide whatever you want.
Just order one coke with whatever you decide” she said not even turning at me.
“I can order anything I want? Are
you sure?”
“Yesssssss” she said turning at
me and frowning. Though I liked her face when she smiled but the frown was her
cutest act. The small naughty nose of hers would push up shrinking more and the
lips would purse in leaving the chubby cheeks shining and the little eyes
twinkling in anger.
“Okkkkkkkk” I said mimicking her
frown.
“Shut up and order food” she said
with her smile replacing that cute frown within a moment.
It was a long wait for the food
to arrive on the table but I made sure to spend the whole time in staring at
her face, which at times irritated her when she had to blush noticing me stare
at her, but I was enjoying every moment of it. Only twice did my eyes move out
from her to check the mails and messages in my mobile.
It was almost the time for the
film when we had finished up our lunch. My stomach had filled up completely and
I needed a sound sleep more than that film but she was still as excited as she
was two days before when we had booked the tickets online.
Sipping the last
drop of coke from the bottle, she smiled at me saying, “Yummmmy lunch”
“And a heavy one too. I guess I
will end up sleeping in my seat” I said smiling widely at her.
“I will kill you if you sleep”
“Go ahead”
“Shut up” and back was her angry
cute frown on her face which I enjoyed the most and within a moment it again vaporized
into air with the smile getting back in its place.
We walked quickly towards the INOX
Cinemas and walked in to the Screen 2 and comfortably sat on the hard cushioned
seats. It was well after the previews and the names rolled out and the real
movie started when she touched my hand and our fingers parted to hold each others’
fingers. The movie being a real interesting one we seldom got a chance to talk
and the two hours just went without a signal.
It was 4:15 PM when I checked my watch
stepping out the dark theatre into mall. Sighting a restroom right in front of
my eyes was a dream come true and signaling her to wait for few minutes I
literally ran into the restroom.
Sometimes it feels best when we
are inside the places which we hate even to give a look at when we are on the
outside of them and that moment proved my little assumption.
I walked back out of the restroom
but could not find Sonali anywhere where my eyesight could reach. I checked
again but no luck. I quickly walked to main entrance of the INOX but did not
see the blue colored T-Shirt anywhere. Being a shopaholic, I thought, she must
be wandering around some shops, but she has never done any sort of that in all
those years I have known her. It looked strange and hard to believe and already
my heart started sensing something dangerous.
Still keeping the heart beat
normal, I walked quickly all around the 4th floor of the mall and
quickly stepped down to the 3rd floor. With every floor and every
shop, my heart beat started rising higher and my forehead started sweating
faster.
Something smelled a lot fishy and
something scared the hell out of me. That something was pouncing on me hard to
rip me apart into pieces. It turned really weird and scary when the call to her
mobile signaled her mobile being switched off. I was having one of the hardest
time of my life believing myself to letting her go out of my sight and at the
same time, fighting my heart to avoid breaking up and forcing it to stay
calmer.
Two rounds in each of the floor,
a good long peek in every shop present in the mall, a full round in the parking
lot, a detailed check on the open area in the mall and the worst luck ever. No
sight of Sonali.
Feeling helpless, I decided what
was against the rule book in my line of work. I dialed the emergency number,
the immediate contact in my secret life, the life I had been hiding with
everyone I knew; my officer at the Intelligence Bureau.
“Hello. Why did you call me from
a public number?” I heard the voice of my officer.
“I need your help. This is
serious” I said, my voice sounded a little less confident.
“Your girlfriend has been
kidnapped. We already got the call. You will be contacted soon.”
“But why her?”
“Don’t you know what you have
landed yourself into? You have the most sensible data which can tear apart
their whole organization in your hands”
“But no one knew of this”
“No time to talk on phone. Meet me ASAP. Works to do.”
“But I have to find Sonali first.
She is in danger and she needs me”
“Even the country needs you and the data comes first. You know that very well. Be
brave. I know you will handle this situation”
Tooooon……… Tooooooon…..
And along with the silence of the
phone, I saw the darkest picture in front of my eyes. The only tear that was
dying hard to fall off the corner of my left eye dint help much nor the
pounding heart nor just any damn thing in the world.
She dint knew a thing about this
and most of all she was the most innocent person to be pulled in all this, only
because she loved me? Was she atleast safe? Who the hell was behind this all?
How the information leak? Who had tracked me down to Bangalore? Where was the
end of this all? Moreover where was the starting?
The questions that never could be
answered started piling up. The darkness had just begun and a long dark night
awaited me…
Comments welcome...
To be continued…
To be continued…
Vishal…
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