An Unfortunate Turn

Hemant and Anjali were sitting in the living room of their house in Gurgaon. The last couple of weeks have left them devastated. The usually stoic Hemant and his wife Anjali who has recently been ranked as one of the most influential women in the latest rankings of TIME’S magazine wear a weary look. They have been consumed by the loss of their eighteen-year-old son. They have not spoken to each other since the news their son’s demise broke out. The cremation ceremony, prayers, and visits from friends & relatives have left them little time to think of the tragedy that struck them. Now, that they are together and need each other the most to get past this dreadful time there is hardly any exchange of a word. Hemant approaches Anjali as she is seating on the easy chair facing the window which overlooks the iconic DLF Gateway tower. His presence seems to be of no resort to Anjali. He places his hand on Anjali’s shoulder but his touch had no effect on her. Anjali rose at once and left the room.

Before leaving she had just one question for Hemant, Why did you let this happen? and she barged out of the living room straight to her bedroom. She locked the door from inside, slipped into her bed and started weeping profusely. Hemant on the other side of the bedroom was clueless. He tried knocking the door, with little hope, that Anjali may relent. Dejected, he came back and sat at the center table. Her faces fell in his palms and he too was sobbing. His tears ran dry as he remembered the night when his son Akash was supposed to come home from his college in Jalandhar. Hemant and Anjali skipped the dinner at their usual time waiting for their son to join them. Their driver was already at the railway station waiting for Akash who was set to arrive by Shatabdi Express.

However, Akash did not show up. They tried calling his number but there was no response. Calls to his friends also went unanswered. It got them worried and they felt it best to leave for Jalandhar early in the morning. They reached his college and checked for Akash in his hostel room but found was locked. There were few students in the hostel as most of them have already left on vacation. They got a chance to meet the hostel warden who remembered seeing Akash yesterday evening as he was leaving the hostel with a couple of his friends. He also remarked about a guy accompanying them who was not from college. They were left with no choice but wait for the return of their son to the hostel. As they were sitting in hostel mess during lunch time pondering over the whereabouts of their son, Akash arrived. He looked disheveled and torn. His eye was bloodshot red and his face was pale. They were surprised to see him in such a state. Akash too could not believe that his parents were standing right in front of him.

As they sat together for lunch and Akash began to explain himself they could see him slurring, failing to remember the details. He did not even remember that he was supposed to come home yesterday. Hemant knew what was wrong with Akash. The strict disciplinarian in Hemant could not believe that his years of parenting and ways of raising Akash has led him here. Hemant never felt such a strong urge to thrash Akash. It was against his belief system. With a heavy heart, he left the mess and went to his car. As much as Anjali wanted to be with Akash she knew she had no choice but to leave because Hemant is not going to budge. When they reached back home it was late. As they opened the door they could hear the landline ringing. Anjali rushed to picks the phone expecting to hear from Akash. The caller on the other end enquired if it is Akash’s home. As Anjali told that it is her mother on the line, there was a big silence. The caller regretfully informed them that their son has met his demise. Anjali barely blurted- how? The caller responded, "To a drug overdose". Anjali looked at Hemant one last time and knew things won’t ever be same again.