The Day The State Split Asunder - 40

The time was 10:00 PM. Adarsh, Roshni and most of the employees had left the office but Karthik resolved to stay back and finish off the work which has been pending for more than a week. At 10:45 PM, he shut down his laptop and packed his backpack. He then walked towards the window back of his cubicle and opened it. 

The cold wind gushed in with a great force, making him shiver. He then looked up at the dark sky, gazing at the beauty of the vanilla moon and shimmering stars afar. As he watched them shine and sparkle in the darkness of night, he closed his eyes, awakening a memory, and the colours of life's possibilities exploded beneath his lids.

'Sanjana, you are an angel, sent from above. Whether I am with you or far away, my thoughts are always drawn to you. I can't get you off my mind even for a second as my thoughts continue reminding you all the time... You're in my heart… You're on my mind… You're my soul and you're my world…' Feelings were surging up inside his chest. 'I can't say how special you're to me…'

He then took out his mobile and launched the Google Maps application, and keyed in the address of Sanjana's. The application showed that the place is just a thirty-two minutes drive from the office. Placing the mobile inside his pocket, he jubilantly strode out of the office and hustled towards the elevator and reached the parking lot. 

Before starting on his bike, he once again opened the maps application on his mobile and made mental notes of the nearby landmarks on the way to make his navigation easy. 

Owing to the late-night hour, there's not much traffic on the roads. As against the predicted time of thirty-five minutes, he reached Sanjana's apartment in less than twenty minutes. He parked his bike a few metres away from the gate behind a Volkswagen Polo car. 

The cold December wintry wind was striking hard and fog settled in the air. He walked straight into the building rubbing his palms to keep himself warm against the cold winds. The security guard didn't make any attempt to stop him and question where he is heading towards. 

After climbing the three flights of stairs, the pathway to the corridor forked into two and there's only one tube light for the entire corridor. He aimlessly cut towards the left and started searching for Sanjana's flat number 303. He found it after crossing the first door on the way and pressed the calling bell.

Tout de suite Sanjana opened the door and smiled at him. Peering her face outside, she looked left and right to ensure there's no one watching her. 

'Come in,' she said in a low whispering tone.

She was dressed in her night outfit with a white shirt and black trousers and tied her hair up in a bun. The dress perfectly hugged her curves and there's no bindi on the centre of her forehead. 

Karthik stepped in and gazed around the hall. The walls were painted with an ivory yellow colour and the Philips LED Batten tube light illuminated the room brightly. He sat on the couch while Sanjana sat on the sofa. The room was dead silent and being winter, the fan wasn't turned on.

Sanjana wore a smile like a loaded gun, infectious, powerfully blazing, utter confidence radiating, a beacon as if an exploding star transforming into a black hole drawing nearer those exposed.

And after glancing at him and at the time on the wall clock, she finally broke the silence. 'You came early! Twelve o clock is still twenty minutes away.'

'I directly came here from the office. Going home and coming back will consume a lot of time.'

'It's good that you came early. You know what, after I completed reading the book which you gave, I was getting mad with boredom. I was remembering you and just like magic, you knocked at my door,' She said in a very soft voice.

'You don't get mad, you make others mad,' Karthik whispered slowly.

'What! I am sorry, I couldn't hear your voice. Can you please talk a bit louder?'

'Nothing, I was just saying that the telepathy might have worked. I read somewhere that when the friendship between two people is pure and pious, the telepathy technique works.'

'I wonder how you know all these things. In the morning you said about the spirit board and now you are speaking about this telepathy. You seem to be a walking encyclopedia,' she smiled. 'And by the way, did you eat anything? You said you directly came from the office.'

'No Sanjana. I didn't eat anything.'

'Ayyo!' She said bringing her palm towards her chin, 'You should've eaten something. Just give me five minutes. I will make maggi for you.'

'Sanjana, thank you so much. But, I am not feeling hungry at all. Please don't make it.' 

'Karthik, but you need to eat something. You don't like maggi?'

'In the matters of food please don't force me. I am not hungry!'

'Maktub!' She replied. 'It is written.'

'Oh! So finally you have understood the meaning of that word. Great!'

'Yes! And it has a much deeper meaning.'

'What is that deep meaning?'

'Karthik, like Santiago in the book, each and every one of us are on a journey to somewhere as we wander through the world in search of our dreams, there is a mysterious thread that winds through the Universe unfolding our destiny in front of us. Everyone has a step, but we all take different turns. We are all on this journey and with the right attitude each new day is a grand adventure, just waiting to happen...'

'Hmm… Looks like you have done a lot of research upon it.'

'If anything interests me, I will go till any extent to know more about it.'

'That's great!' he took a moment's pause thinking what to speak next. 'So you stay here along with your sister?'

Sanjana looked down at the floor and smiled. 'Karthik, actually I stay alone!'

'What?! Then why did you say that you stay with your sister?'   

'Because I want to maintain my own private life. All these years I was fed up staying in the hostels where people around always interfere in your private life. And I don't like it. I always wanted my own private space. After completing my graduation, I decided to step out of these hostels. But, even before stepping out of the hostel, I allowed myself to step out of my fears without worrying about the judgments of society. On that day, I felt like I was celebrating a new kind of freedom. And it has been amazing so far...'  

'Of course, everyone has their own private space and we must respect it,' Karthik said. 'I have never seen a bold girl like you.'

'Karthik, boldness is not just about privacy. If a man decides to stay alone, people don't question him. On the other hand, if a woman wants to stay alone, people will ask a million questions saying - 'a woman should never stay alone' and make a hell out of it.'

'But don't you feel afraid of staying alone?'

'No! Not at all. I am just enjoying it!' her eyes twinkled as she said.

'Sanjana, if you don't mind, Can I tell you one thing?'

'Yes, Karthik. You can...'

'Sanjana, really you have beautiful eyes. Only Shakespeare, John Keats and William Blake can dare describe the beauty of your eyes. You should've opted for movies instead of marketing. The Tollywood movie industry will roll out a red carpet for you as there is an acute shortage of Telugu heroines,' Karthik said and smiled. 

'Stop it Karthik!' Sanjana said, 'You talk too much!' 

'Sanjana, eyes are gates to the heart! They help you read the heart and mind a channel to the deepest secrets, they enable you to uncover one's feelings. For example, do you want me to say what is going in your mind?' Karthik said.

Sanjana smirked a little. 'Yes! If you can.'

'Then just look straight into my eyes' Karthik also leaned a bit forward and looked deep into her blue eyes which were so clear as the summer sky. 'Please look straight so that I can read it!'

Sanjana leaned forward looking straight into his eyes. 

I wish I could stay like this forever… He thought. If sapphires contained living souls, they still would not reach the depths I could see..

'Umm… Sanjana you know, these eyes are like a projector, each moment is a new frame on the screen. You blink and the film is over,' Karthik said. 'It's difficult to unravel your thoughts. Can you just expand a bit more?'

Sanjana expanded her eyes, arching her eyebrows.

'I got it!' Karthik said. 'You are thinking in your mind that this bastard doesn't know anything he is just bragging about himself in an attempt to flatter me!'

Sanjana placed both the palms on her mouth and then said, 'No! No! No! That's not correct. I didn't think like that!' She shook her head from left to right. 'You're lying!'

'Eyes never lie Sanjana! They are the windows to your inner soul. We may try to hide our feelings, but we forget that our eyes speak,' Karthik smiled and then laughed out loud. 'I was just kidding! I think you believed it to be true! Except for God, no one can decrypt the language of eyes!'

'Karthik! Karthik! You really scared me! And honestly, I never thought like that,' Sanjana sighed.

'I know Sanjana, but one thing is true. You really really have a beautiful set of eyes.'

'Karthik,' her voice became low. 'My uncle used to say that my eyes resemble my fathers. He also had the same set of eyes as mine.' 

'I know,' Karthik said.

'How do you know?'

'Swa..' Karthik bit his tongue as he was about to mention Swamiji's name. He then made up an answer in the air instantly. 'It's simple, daughters inherit father's genes and sons inherit mothers genes.'

'I am not aware of this genetic science, and you didn't tell me about your parents anytime?'

'My mother is a homemaker and my father runs a small business. Once upon a time, my father used to run a big business, but his partner cheated him. We have lost everything. But my father didn't lose courage. He fought against all the odds and succeeded in setting up a small business. He is the role model of my life.'

'But I don't understand why you didn't inherit any of his qualities?'

'Hmm… You're a very good observer.'

'Arey! Just now you said that sons inherit mothers genes. So it's obvious that you might not have inherited your father's qualities and traits and moreover, you get worried even for little things...' Sanjana smiled and once again looked at the time on the clock. The long and short hands of the clock are aligned one upon the other pointing to the number twelve.

'Hey! The time is up!' Sanjana said with an overwhelming joy on her face. 'Karthik, it's time to play the game!' 

'Which game?'

'The spirit game. I told you many times but you still keep forgetting.' 

'Sanjana, I don't have a good memory like you. But, I am telling you one more time. It is really a dangerous game. If anything goes wrong, we have to pay a heavy price.'

'I already told you before that I am not going to accept 'no' as an answer.'

'So, you've already made up your mind.'

'Yes! Now tell me how to play the game.'

'There are actually a few rules for this game. The first rule is we need to choose a dark room and the lights should be off. As I said in the morning, this game is played at night as spirits are said to be more active late in the day. And we need a candle.'

'I think we can play it in the bedroom and I have a dozen candles in Kitchen. And what's next?'

'And also, we need to use a triangular pointer called a planchette. Since we don't have it, we can use the coin. The coin rests on the paper, which has the words 'yes' and 'no' in its top corners, an alphabet in the centre, and the word 'goodbye' at the bottom.'

'Next?'

'We need to invite spirits.'

'Wow! But how?'

'We need to begin by asking a question that can be answered with a 'yes' or a 'no'. The coin will begin to move when the spirit answers.'

'Will the coin move by itself?'

'No, it doesn't move by itself. You and I need to put a finger on the coin. Neither you nor I are going to push the coin. The spirit will be guiding us,' he said forcing a lump down his throat in apprehension. Sweat started getting surfaced on his forehead.

'Why are you sweating? Are you getting afraid? Don't worry, Sanjana is here.'

'I am not a lion-hearted person like you. If anything were to happen to me, you should take care of my parents.'

'Nothing will happen! And if you and I are not going to push the coin then how will it move?'

'The spirit communicates with you subconsciously. Your body responds to your brain without you consciously telling it to do so, causing the muscles in your hands and arms to move the coin to the answers that you unconsciously want to receive. I mean we move when we're not trying to move.'

'Sounds a kind of fantasy! And at the same time, it's confusing. We move when we're not trying to move?' She shot a quizzical look at him.

'Everything gets clear once we start playing the game. Can you get me a large piece of paper, a pen and a candle?'

'Ok!'

To be continued...