The night is crawling slowly but steadily in the small town where every one ignorant from the uncertainty of growing darkness, is busy in managing to return home.
A young boy named Hemant of 21 years is busy in making arrangements for enjoying the evening by passing some time in leisure; he has called his friend Deepak at home for that. The sound of the modern music system is shaking the walls of the home. There is nobody at the home, all are out of town to attend a marriage party and are not expected to return tonight.
Anonymous from unknown risk heading towards Hemant, he says to Deepak, “I am in love with a girl named Maya.”
Maya is like a baby bird, an untouched beauty of 20 years and is doing her graduation in arts from S. D. College. She is owner of unusually sexy figure, normally bears top with tight jeans and keep her hair open which gives her sexier look. Whenever she comes to meet Hemant it seems to him that some model like Bipasha Basu is progressing towards him and he fills with excitement and unforgettable delight. He tells Deepak that whenever she is in his remembrance he loss in her.
He tells him, “I shall go mad after her, in love.”
Deepak eagerly asks him, “Have you proposed her or not?”
Hemant sadly answers, “yes, I have but.”
He becomes somewhat uncomfortable when he tells him that she does not look much interested in him and perhaps that is why she has not still responded his offer of love. He also tells him that he has made his mind to talk to her parents for their marriage. Deepak tries to make him understand that the girl is not meant for him as she has different kind of attitude and she will never agree to his proposal but he does not believe his friend’s words and starts drinking, talking and listening music in high sound.
It was near about 1900 hrs when phone rings. Hemant picks up the landline phone and attends. SHO is on the other side of the phone.
SHO with a harsh and heavy voice, “Do you love Maya?”
“I will teach you such a lesson of love that your seven generations will afraid of even to think of love. I will kill you and will never let the world know what happened to you.” SHO threatened him in soundly.
“Otherwise I will send you behind the bars and no one will ever be able to save you,” the SHO added furiously and smashed the phone down; disconnected.
Hemant keeps standing holding the phone near his ear, totally stunned. He is able to neither understand nor decide what has happened and furthermore, whether it is a mere threat or the SHO will really come to arrest and kill him. When he keeps the phone down with a shivering hand, a cold wave run through him and is shaken to his whole being because he knows it very well that if the incident of Maya and Hemant’s love come into the light his whole career will destroy and he will not be able to earn his livelihood too.
His cold trembling lips whispered, “What will happen now?”
He is not able to decide ‘what to do or what not to do.’
“I have no any other way except to keep quite and wait for the police who are coming to arrest me,” he decides.
The whole world has changed for him in a few seconds and he is in no way able to come out of this unpleasant situation. Nobody is in the home at this moment and that is why his parents, friends and Maya will never ever come to know where he has gone and what has happened to him.
He suddenly losses in an unending worry of pending responsibilities, which he has to fulfill.
The foremost responsibility, which comes into his mind, is the marriage of his younger sister who is crossing her marriageable age. A suitable bridegroom has yet to be searched for her who may earn enough for both, after their marriage. He has to manage money for the same, he calculates his total income which he has earned by giving tuitions to others and founds that its very mean amount even two wooden beds can not be purchased with this, which are necessarily given as dowry at the time of marriage of a girl.
He curses the customs, the people and society, which mentally, socially and psychologically forces the in-laws to give and accept dowry. He shrinks like a small ball when he feels himself behind the bars and asking himself, “Who will marry my sister without dowry.”
His father has not much income and whatever he earns spends for food and attending and dealing with his guests and relatives. His father has no bank deposits and he himself has not accumulated much wealth so far, but he is hopeful that he will do it soon when he will get some good job.
His connection with the present is cut of and he is now totally sunken in the worries of future, which is itself unpredictable.
The second most important thing, which comes into his mind, is the settlement of his brother. His brother has just completed his Graduation in Arts but could not carry his studies further because of paucity of income sources. He is working since he was in twelfth class. He is a very hard working boy but nothing could make him successful till this time. Where he is working presently gives him only one thousand rupees per month, which is not enough to do anything.
Gravely tensed, Hemant’s mind is not in his control, running from here to there; chasing one after the other thought but there is no solution at all. His thought is running after one after the other person’s safety, security and welfare although; at this time his safety is at risk.
He could not do without thinking helplessly that who will support his ageing parents, marriageable sister and unemployed brother if he will be jailed or killed.
Both his parents are not able to collect the heap of wealth, which is generally needed in this Indian society, now days. His father will do suicide, out of frustration to escape himself from the sense of shame of the society; his mother, sister and brother will come on the road, as they will not have enough money to pay for the rented house.
Hemant’s eyes were gazing and expressing, “How beautifully our roof is protecting us from the dangerous of the unknown hidden risks and never falls down unexpectedly; gives shelter whosoever is under it but the Almighty’s roof can break any time, all of a sudden and we people can’t do anything except accepting whatever wrong or right He does.”
“How submissive we are?” his frustrated words wander from his blood sucked lips.
He is so much depressed that he thinks of running from the home and went to some other state where no one knows him where he will be able to start his new life.
“To run from the problems is not a solution rather they will become worse and will never ever allow you to even think about their solution; they will destroy you completely,” he makes himself understand.
Now darkness is all-round it is near about 2200 hrs and he is totally alone. Deepak has gone after enjoying the evening. He is in the same posture for the last three hours sitting on the floor with head sunk into curbed legs, clutched with his arms so that he may not run.
With the trembling hands and sinking heart he dares to pick up the handset of the phone and dials Maya’s number, “Hello, can I talk to Maya please?”
Maya’s father astonishingly, “Who are you?”
He explains about himself, and Maya’s father calls her on phone to response him.
He quickly asks Maya’ “Have you asked someone to threat me on the phone.
She irritatingly answered, “No, what nonsense are you taking about, why I’ll do so, what’s the problem Hem (she calls him ‘Hem’ with love)?”
He keeps quite and puts the phone down. Thereafter, he dialed Deepak’s number and asked him whether he is threatening him on the phone or not. Deepak denied straightforwardly, contrarily asking him, “Why I will do so and why are you asking me such questions at this time?”
Deepak suggested him not to worry and sleep soundly. But how he could sleep when some one has threatened him that he will kill him or will put him behind the bars for forever.
It is 2400 hrs in the watch at midnight when another call comes, the phone rings continuously but Hemant’s hands are not able to pick up the phone. He tries to stuff his both hears with his fingers so that the sound of ring may not be able to enter in his ears but it was inevitable, it was ringing for the last 15 minutes but he was so much afraid that he could not attend it. Later on, collecting a lot of courage, he attended but thanked God that it was of his parents who said they will not come today as their hired car has gone out of order. They asked him about his nervousness but he did not told them. He kept the phone down and once again the darkness of midnight gheraod him. Once again he was between the awful never-ending thoughts.
He then called Deepak and told him everything happened to him, Deepak took it lightly. Now the darkness was on its extreme and Deepak was trying to make him understand that nothing to worry about but Hemant was restless.
It was 2500 hrs at midnight when he unwilling but suddenly lost in short snap. He awoke with an awfully quick jerk when a vehicle sounding like a screeching van stopped outside of their home. He stood up, determined to save himself in every way. He had already kept the lights off. He saw through a window that four men have boarded down from the jeep bearing dress. They knocked the door but he didn’t open. They started striking hard.
He phoned his parents in a hurry and told them that someone wants to kill him, there is something wrong, mother. He told Deepak and Maya too. Deepak was near there home and he was the person who could reach soon just in 15-20 minutes but as he was drunk last night he could not do so.
When he reached Hemant’s home, he saw gate wide open, the front wooden door broken, things scattered here and there which showed that something unpleasant had happened there. There was no light and no Hemant but darkness all around; Deepak tried to search Hemant but he was nowhere then he saw small spots of fresh blood which were running through the carpets lying on one side of the room. He could not dare to touch them.
Deepak awfully, “O God! What have you done?”
Hemant and Maya’s Parents had also reached till this time they removed the carpets and the world vanished for them their ray of hope for the life had lost.
In extreme grief his father and mother cried loudly, “ O merciless God! What you did, you snatched our only support-stick,” and lost their consciousness.
Neighbourers came later on, so soundly they were slept that they had not listened any cries. Everybody was stunned on the happening because Hemant was a nice guy, who used not to misbehave with others and never tried to hurt any one in Neighbourhood and elsewhere. They were whispering who would have killed him so mercilessly? People made different stories about his death but in reality, nobody knew exactly, why and who had killed him. Whether they were the Police, in reality or were in disguise, Deepak was also in darkness.
Hemant’s parents filed an FIR with the police because it is the police who can tell what happened to their lovely only son. They go to police station two times a day in the morning and evening to make a request but their request has not yet been granted.