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Somrita Chatterjee

Crime Thriller Tragedy

4.0  

Somrita Chatterjee

Crime Thriller Tragedy

The Tardy Silence

The Tardy Silence

9 mins
19.8K


It was a dusty, sunny day in Bangalore when Meera put her glares on her face and was struggling hard to deal with the scorching heat and pollution. She took long steps as she was eager to reach the bus stand so that she get at least some shade in the bus stand. She carried a beautiful blue silk scarf which she bought it from a friend who recently started a boutique store exclusively for women. She liked to flaunt it and currently it was her favourite and it managed to capture a special place in her wardrobe. She wrapped it around her head so that the weather smiles at her at least for some time.

Bangalore usually as it seems to be is a very pleasant city with awesome weather conditions. But it was an awful weather compared to the lovely rains and the tropical climate that goes on throughout the year. Meera struggled really hard to reach her stop after walking for around twenty minutes. She didn’t have to wait for long as her bus came right in time and thankfully she managed to grab a decent seat. She paid the conductor and kept her headphones to listen to some Punjabi songs to revive her mood.

Meera lived with her mother in a 2-BHK flat from past two years in Bangalore. She was working in an IT firm and was an extremely strict and professional person in matters of her work. She was working as a Manager and she wanted to grow more in her career .She is never monotonous in her work life and she wants to learn new things and ideas and improve herself gradually. Nevertheless to say she earned the bread and butter of her family.

“Keep the slippers out and walk in”- Her mother shouted as she was about to enter her house.

“The roads are not muddy as there are no rains from days now” she replied back not with a grin but with a convincing answer.

But yes she did keep her slippers outside the entrance and entered the house.

Mothers and daughters usually have an intriguing relationships but Meera‘s case was somewhat different from the others. She was close to her mother and loved her a lot but never showed it to her. Her mother was of the usual lot and never demanded anything from her. She was happy staying with her daughter and led a calm life around the house and making it her world.

Meera freshened up and immediately went to the table for a quick lunch. She was damn hungry. She was so hungry that she can eat up her cat Milo. The table had dishes made of chicken curry, plain rice and cauliflower curry adding some great essence in the house.

“Mom, are you joining for lunch?” – She shouted as her mom came walking with some pulses and potato chips.

“Why there are so many dishes on the table today? “

“I know it is neither my birthday nor yours!”

“I guess it a Sunday and a holiday for you”- Her mom replied sarcastically and finally sat on the chair.

Meera started eating, while Milo purred around her feet for the entire time.

Finally she sat on the sofa and switched on the TV after her sumptuous lunch and started to laze around. Her mother joined her after cleaning the table and stuff around the kitchen but she soon went to her bedroom to take a small nap. As she was browsing the channels her eyes caught the photo album which was resting in the rack of the centre table. She immediately knew what it was. It was her wedding album. She understood that her mother would have kept it outside in the open.

Yes she has a past. A grave one!!!

Five years ago she got married to Srini, a Bangalore based guy. It was an arranged marriage brought by some relatives from her mother’s side. As any other normal girl, she also had many dreams of a simple, gentle and peaceful marriage but yes maybe destiny just was not ready to give her in plentiful or maybe for a lifetime.

You should see the girl on her marriage day. She looked sweet, subtle, and domestic and quite a lot of gracefulness reflected as she sat for the marriage. She looked very happy that day. Because she was!

A happy graceful and healthy marriage travelled through the lives of Srini and Meera till two years and they were also blessed with a baby girl. They were a happy and content family with no signs of ill luck, fate or unnatural circumstances. But as it says we never know when we start to lose ourselves and lose the most precious moments in our life. She lost him and her daughter in a car accident while they were driving back to home after a doctor’s visit. She was grief stricken. She didn’t know what to do, where to go, how to live. She lost the lives of the two dearest people who existed for her. She lost as a wife and most importantly she lost as a mother.

This was the state which prevailed for a period of a year or so.

But yes then she got up! Strong as she never was! Disciplined as she never was! Bold as she never knew what it meant!

She made her career as her focus and her goal for the remaining part of life and decided to bring her mother to her house and take care of her. She became a dutiful daughter herself now.

She was very attached to her daughter as any mother would be with her girl. She was happy and contented with her, her naughtiness, her paintings, her toys, her small Barbie frocks all laid on the wardrobe in her bedroom. Yes it was her family and it was no more.

All these memories flashed though her head as she flapped the wedding photos one after another. But yes she could remember there was a time when she didn’t even have the slightest courage to see a single photo; today she does it with utmost courage and strength from inside.

As the day passed, she became more stressful and irritated. She turned her head from the album and gave a glance at the outside world. It was dusk. It was getting dark. She didn’t like this time of the day.

It was depressing. It seemed to her she is soon going to lose all everything she had in her life. She felt disheartening. As she was thinking about how awful the evening is going to be the doorbell rang!

“Is Mrs. Deshmukh inside? “ –a strong sweet female voice opened as Meera opened the door.

The lady was their neighbour and her mother’s friend.

Her mother immediately came from the other room and attended her. They had planned to go for a walk and some grocery shopping.

Meera kept on looking outside till it became dark. Meanwhile her mother and her neighbour had left the house. She was getting sad and more depressed as the minutes passed. It was the time to feed her cat as well. She didn’t want to prepare the food and feed her. Her cat kept on purring by her feet and kept on making sounds of hunger. She kept ignoring the sounds and kept on flapping the album pushing her cat aside by her feet. She was really not interested in attending her. Her irritation and tolerance level was really getting degrees high as time passed.

Suddenly she rose from her chair. She could not take the sound of the cat anymore. She took the knife which was on fruits on the fruit stand and went near to the cat’s neck and shouted in anger.

“If one more time you make this sound, I am going to rip you off and feed you to the street dogs!”

The cat got scared for once a moment and then scratched her hand with the paw and made a loud screech. It was unbearable. It was enough for Meera. She held the cat around her neck in the left hand with the knife in her right hand; she proceeded towards the garage.

As she reached, she twisted the neck and ripped it off with a knife. It was a quick job for her. The dead cat fell from her hand and lied on the floor. She stood there for a while. She starred at her. She didn’t know what to do next .She was stoned.

She raised her head and saw her bike there.

She ran to the house. She took the keys, started her bike and just drove. She didn’t know where she was going. She was just driving the bike. She took the knife along with her wrapped in her beautiful blue silk scarf, scared and confused.

A time came when she shouted with her all anger and cries. She was broken. She parked the bike at the side and wept like a baby. She was shattered. She surrendered.

It was half past 9 when she was still sitting on her bike and resting her head on the handle and tears rolling her cheeks and face.

Finally, she decided to go for a coffee .She drove down the lane to a nearby cafe. She managed herself with a corner window seat.

She sat in the Starbucks cafe, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf…..

She kept on reasoning herself with the situations.

Why did she do that? Was it necessary? Is human’s anger and irritation way above than taking a life? Of course it was not reasonable but why! She felt like a murderer! Was she really one? Her guilt was choking her now. She didn’t want this. She started to remember her daughter. Her cries and shouts and nags bounced her head. The cat’s nags and the way that she wanted some food and care from her mother reminded her of her own daughter. She felt a link. She felt this was the connection which led her to make the most heinous crime of her life probably.

Finally she decided to go home. She decided to face her mother about this. She drove back and parked the bike on the road itself not gathering enough courage to park it in the garage.

She saw her mother sitting on the dinner table.

“Keep your slippers outside!” Her mother said to her as she was about to enter.

“Your slippers bring the maximum dirt to the house.”

She quietly kept the slippers outside and sat on the sofa.

“Get freshened up, dinner is ready.”

She gave her mother a quiet look and called her near to her.

She was about to narrate the entire incident.

“Mom, I need to tell you something…”-as she uttered these words, her mother interrupted.

“Meera, I don’t want you to say something, I know what it is. I have already been to the garage. I was searching for Milo and landed up there when I couldn’t find her. Please come and finish the dinner and let me be free, I need to sleep early and probably I guess you too have your office. It is a fresh week starting tomorrow.”

Meera didn’t feel to say anything now. She felt to listen to her mother. She washed her hands and sat in the dining table. They finished the food whatever was left from the lunch. She complained nothing.

“I understand the reason Meera but it was not the way, certainly not this way”- Her mother told this and held her palm.

She finished her dinner and went to her room. Her mother went to the other room. They both slept early. It was a silent night!

Monday was a new and a different day.


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