The Undertaker - Chapter 1

SHAVING AND SUICIDE

A calmness around the apartment sustained since the morning and had a varied effect on the different moods. There was some drizzling and the cold was expected to decline thereafter. The winter pleased most of the city dwellers this year and Christmas was only three days far. Happy places prevailed in the apartment. Families were decorating Fir trees and newlywed couples were making love. It seemed like everyone adored the drizzle. The blue apartment stood still and drizzles touched the rooftop. A few toads played around the dirty mud in the apartment ground and the security rested in his miniature office room. A few people were on the apartment ground looking at the sky and staring at the toads. The corner most flat of the second floor had its window ajar.

A boy gaped blankly in the forward direction and was not much affected by the weather or inversion. He would clench his fists, release them and clench it again. Shivering in a half-shirt, the boy did not try to derive anything from the surroundings. He seemed calm but in a bad way. A concerned mother, Miss Patnaik looked at her youngest child and felt sad for him. It was hard for her to believe how her happiest child turned into a loner with rimmed spectacles. She noticed the half-shirt he wore and moved towards him with a pullover. Her son, Jaan turned back and accepted the pullover with a blank expression. The mother fondled his clean-shaven throat and said: "This time, you will get what you want". Hearing this, Jaan smirked and looked forward yet again. His father relaxed in the bedroom unlike his mother. Jaan desired to be alone and was unhappy with the interruption his mother caused. He quietly wore the pullover and passed by his father's bedroom. All the eyes had sympathy for Jaan's poor state of life. It had been two years and life had been unkind to him. His family members sympathized with him or scolded him.

Last night as Jaan went through another night of sleep deprivation, he could hear his elder sister over the phone saying how she wanted to discard him. Jaan walked towards his personal room and closed the door. He walked to his twin XL bed and took out a fully packed bag from underneath the bed. He searched for a crowbar from inside the bag and held it tight. Adjusting his spectacles, he took a quick round view of his personal room. Everything seemed special - the trophies, the Cricket posters, the table mirror, the curtains, and his wall-crawler friend.

But, the study table made him chew his teeth with dismay on his face. He would recall the hours spent on it during his sophomore and board exams and his inability to score. The beginning of his rapid decline in relationships and studies resurfaced before his very face. He, however, was aware of the time and thus rapidly walked out with the crowbar. His parents were discussing his results which were to come out at 4 p.m. sharp. Jaan walked towards the room stealthily and hid near the edge of the corridor. He peeked at the parents who were arguing between themselves. Their backside was faced by Jaan. He slowly took one step after another to come in their proximity and climbed the bed. His mother sensed his very presence but her son was swift enough.

The drizzle prevailed but the calmness around the apartment did not. Residents from each floor accumulated near the Patnaik flat. The policemen still kept the residents quiet away from the door. The Patnaiks were told that they had been tied up with handcuffs and blown with a crowbar. The parents sat all silent, still in shock. The Station Head Officer did not decide to drop questions immediately and just handed Mr. Patnaik a paper. As Mr. Patnaik read through the page, his expressions turned melancholic and he seemed devastated. Miss Patnaik gasped and closed put hands over her mouth. In a stammering voice, Mr. Patnaik asked: "Do you have any proof?". The Station Head Officer replied with despair that their son had actually been murdered. A photo was handed to Mr. Patnaik which had Jaan's clothes stained with blood all over.

The father hysterically cried but Miss Patnaik just calmly took the letter from his hands and read it calmly :

Dear Parents,

I will be hitting you with a crowbar and it will cause you pain but this pain will stop all the arguments and tensions of our home. I am leaving you for your own happiness. You will be sad for a few days and then appreciate me for the step I have taken. And mom, I will be leaving this rough world in the pullover you handed me while I stared at the drizzle. I got shaved and thus I die an obedient son

Yours lovingly

Jaan

Miss Patnaik looked at the Station Head Officer and asked him "Will you do an investigation?". He nodded while looking at her. "Help me a bit, Sir. Tell it in the news that he fared well in these exams and had he been a little more patient, he would have heard it from his mother. And also tell that I must know his plans and this incident". The SHO and his team sensed her mental perception at that moment and they just nodded a little.