Present Day

It was a gloomy day. Sheenu was in a desolate mood. The weather outside–black clouds and raindrops were adding to her depressed state. Icy wind skimmed Sheenu’s face as she stepped out, and left her heart churning. She sat inside the already waiting cab and asked the driver to head towards the Villliyanur cemetery. The heavy traffic of Pondicherry wasn’t bothering her that day. She wanted to take her time before reaching the destination. The noise from unrestricted vehicles failed to penetrate her mind’s stillness. Unlike the rest of the days, she wanted the horns to blast her ears and puncture her brain; at least she might be distracted

then. But the world doesn’t work according to our wishes, it has a mind of its own, and thus within twenty five minutes, Sheenu found her cab standing in front of the cemetery. It had stopped raining. She removed her shoes as she did in front of a temple and let the cold

cement at the entrance soothe her barefoot. Drops of saltwater reached her mouth tip, and she licked them out of habit.

“Here I am,” she said to the invisible spirit.

She no longer had the will to move forward but her legs carried her; to the destined location. On the way her feet touched the grass blade, it had grown longer. “Does no one look after this place?” She pondered. Sheenu stood in front of the cemetery and did what she was trying so desperately not to. She cried her eyes out. The black marble headstone with visible yellow chips read, ‘Mrs. Natasha John- A beloved mother’. Her mom, Natasha John, was a woman full of energy. While Sheenu fumbled with food boxes in the kitchen, she would clean the house, run the nursery and still get the time to cook food for her daughter. Natasha scolded her a lot, and rightly so.

“What will you do in your in-law’s house? She will kick you out the very next day?” She used to say while cleaning the utensils grudgingly.

“She will praise me, mum for my expertise,” Sheenu would say with a smirk.

“Praise my foot, praise you for your laziness or your big mouth,” she would end every argument there.

Her mother was bitter and sweet and the only woman Sheenu loved from the moment she started recognizing faces. She was her support system and control system, too. Without her, Sheenu would run astray; with her, Sheenu envisioned an ideal future that befitted her. But Alas! She was gone. Sheenu hugged herself, trying to feel the warmth of her mother. She lost her dad three years after she was born. Her mom was her only family.

“Why mum? Why? Why did you go away?” she shouted in the air, shedding rivers now. She was trying to suppress her hiccups when another wail sliced through the air and started tormenting her ears.

A procession reached the place where Sheenu was standing. Dressed in all black, mob of sad faces flooded the area. The sadness resonated with hers and she felt more relaxed and depressed at the same time. She could easily be tagged as a psycho who relishes in the pain of others, believing that life is playing morbid tricks with everyone around her. Sheenu scanned

the faces of the people to measure the level of grief they were going through. When she felt that her sadness meter had emptied, her vision landed on one particular set of eyes, which were moister than the rest. She nearly sustained a heart attack. Those wet eyes belonged

to…

…

In the past,

Mr. Harry was Sheenu’s language teacher at college. Sheenu was an English honors student, but her skills in the language only unraveled after coming under the wings of Mr. Harry.

Harry was a six feet tall guy with a very lean body. Unlike the usual chocolate-skinned teachers in her college, Harry was white. He was from one of those French families who stayed in Pondicherry instead of returning to their original roots. Harry was a pleasant distraction for the young ladies in college who were used to seeing mocha-colored Indian men. As soon as the temperature dropped a few degrees in Pondicherry, Harry would be seen dressed in a striped blue sweater with white collars jutting out, and girls fought just to sit near him, even Sheenu. As a teacher, Harry was patient and soft-spoken. He would narrate a passage with three different perspectives, making ample use of real-life examples. He had a novel to his name. Students loved him, at least the girls did. For boys, he was like that rain that soaked the grasses wet, preventing any greenery from reaching their side of the fence. Sheenu liked everything about him but often found his description missing the major point. She challenged Harry’s statements on so many occasions.

“I don’t think the red symbolizes love in this passage. I think the author is trying to portray

the bloody red sun as an indicator of bad omen…” and she continued to back her answer with more solid proofs.

Harry would listen patiently, nodding his head in between, eyes focussed on Sheenu as if drinking every word before leaving her mouth.

“Wow. What a keen observation and meticulous description of the scene Sheenu. It’s time for us to reverse our student-teacher role,” He would add with a smile and a small wink.

But Sheenu knew better. Just because she had a different way of reading a story didn’t make her better than Harry. Harry had published a novel for god’s sake while Sheenu was still struggling to find a place for her short stories in literary magazines. This was one reason she persuaded Harry for giving her tuitions. Harry was reluctant. This was against the school’s policies but in the end, they made a compromise. Harry would teach Sheenu on weekends and she would mum her mouth regarding this treaty between the two. Sheenu was elated, but she was taking a major risk. It was an impulsive decision and her heart was controlling her brain this time.

“What a disturbing performance in the paper kids, my heart is breaking. Do I even teach you anything?” Harry said, throwing the answer sheets on the student’s benches with an

unjustifiable force. He might have been a little calm had his novel’s tenth rejection not coincided with this paper. It was three years since his first novel came out. It was moderately successful and yet no publisher was willing to give him another try and Harry had high expectations from himself. He couldn’t handle failure.

“You too, Sheenu, thirty marks out of fifty. I thought you were a bright student.” Harry said, looking straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.

Harry distributed the rest of the papers and by the end of this ordeal, his face was red. He avoided eye contact with everyone and kept staring at the papers lying at his desk, making notes in between.

“Sir, I want to ask something,” Sheenu said, having no clue about her next sentence.

Not now Sheenu- he waved his pencil in a motion of sit down and continued scraping paper, left and right.

It hurt. A score of thirty out of fifty hurt Sheenu less than being disregarded by Harry. She wanted him to look at her like he would while listening to her short stories. The absence of that gaze hurt Sheenu; the absence of his attention hurt her. Harry’s was not an ordinary gaze. Sheenu had often wished that Harry’s eyes were blue, like that of a typical westerner, shown in movies. It was her bad luck that he was blessed with black eyes, so dark and full of mystery. To add to the contrast of his dark eyes against his light skin, they also had a burning intensity. So much so that if he looked at someone for long, they wouldn’t be able to look at him the same way. Not like a teacher, not after that.

…

“Good evening, Sir,” Sheenu said with a smile as soon as Harry opened the door to his house. “Hmm…Evening” Harry said, diverting his gaze to the floor.

“Are you still angry, Sir?” Sheenu asked, fully aware of the answer.

“Come; Sit…” he motioned at the Sofa. “Let’s start with your lesson,” Harry said, not bothering to answer her.

“Sir, I am sorry… I can improve,” Sheenu said as soon as she sat on the Sofa” Harry pulled a chair and sat close to Sheenu. “Let’s see what work you have done” Sheenu took out a notebook and passed it to Harry without glancing towards him. “What is this, Sheenu?” Harry asked with a joker-like smile. He enjoyed reading it.

“I tried to write a story on us…” she said with a side-glance. Suddenly, the room felt icy cold.

“The time you pumped up my marks just so I could top the class. You have always been so warm towards me, sir. What went so wrong this time?”

“Look Sheenu, rewarding two more marks is something else, and seeing you perform this poor

is entirely else. I am your teacher. I can’t see my favorite child rusting as that,” Harry replied.

Sheenu was smiling by this time, “I understand Harry. Ops… I mean Sir” She laughed in her carefree manner.

A lady entered the living room. Harry’s wife-Mrs Mona.

Mrs. Mona (Pillai) Allan was a brown-skinned Indian woman. She had a chubby face and was eager to smile. She had a warm and motherly aura associated with herself, although she was barren. It was the reason that she worshipped Harry, because he never made her feel guilty about it.

“Sheenu has written a funny story,” Harry said, arching his brows at Sheenu to follow along. “Yes mam, I did. It’s my third short story”

“Can I read it?” Mona said, reaching for the notebook.

“No, darling. It’s in the draft stage. Let Sheenu polish it first, then you will get to read it,” Harry said, sliding the story out of her reach.

“Dear, is the tea ready? I am dying to have a cup of it,” Harry said, baring his brilliant teeth. Mona melted again, like she did every time he flashed his billion dollars smile.

“In a minute dear” She rushed out from the room.

…

Present-day

Sheenu was rooted to the spot. It was 10 years since she last saw Harry. She wanted to talk to him, ‘But was it an appropriate moment?’ she wondered. She stared at him for long. He was sniffling, and every few minutes someone from the crowd came forward and patted his shoulder. “It will be all right” Sheenu imagined them saying. ‘What had happened?’ Sheenu wanted to know, and she wanted to pat his shoulder and console him, too. The black coffin lying at the center was lifted, and Harry’s wails became louder. “Whose coffin is this” Sheenu was curious. Before she knew it, Sheenu walked into the crowd and witnessed the coffin being lowered into the six feet deep grave. There it was, written in golden letters over the Mahogany box, ‘Mona Allan (1950-2000)’. Sheenu was shaking. As Harry poured the first

scoop of earth over his dead wife’s body, he started trembling. Sheenu involuntarily reached his shoulder and steadied him. Harry was oblivious to his surroundings and took no notice of her. After the grave was covered and the tombstone erected on the head, people thinned out.

Sheenu was left wondering why they would bury a Hindu woman in a graveyard? Before leaving, few people talked to Harry.

“She is safe in God’s heaven, you must return home now”

“She will want you to be happy, Harry. Get a hold of yourself” “We are with you in this, Harry. Just don’t feel alone”

“Let’s go home, Harry. You need to rest now.”

“No”, Harry replied in between sobs, “I want to stay here with her. I want to feel her presence as long as I can.”

The people listened to his request and emptied the place, leaving him alone with Sheenu who

was standing right next to him.

“I want to be left alone,” Harry said with his head bent while his hands continuously wiped his tears away.

Sheenu wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to say?

“I… want to stay here, with you,” Sheenu said with a firm face and wavering voice.

“Don’t…” Harry turned towards her and became silent. “Sheenu…” He breathed out her name.

“Yes sir, Sheenu” she patted his shoulder feeling a little confident.

“What?.. How..? Where…” He recited the three question starters. “How are you even here?” “It’s a long story sir, but how did this happen?” She motioned towards the grave.

Harry started bawling again and Sheenu felt bad for reminding him of his misery from which he was momentarily distracted.

“She… My wife… Mona” he wailed. “A heart attack…” he couldn’t complete a single sentence without breaking.

Sheenu held his arm and stroked his back. “It will be alright sir. Alright”

“How will it be alright, Sheenu? One person who loved me… Who revered me like an angel is gone? Nothing will ever be better Sheenu. Nothing”

A part of his sentence hurt him, but Sheenu couldn’t decide which and shook the thought instantly. Harry was inconsolable, and she wanted to help him.

“Don’t mourn me, when I am gone. I have lived a full life, Mona said” Harry looked at the sky; his tears reached the jawline, and he kicked the mud with his feet.

“Now, you are gone. GONE.” He shouted, flailing his hands in the air. “Who will look after me now, Mona?”

Sheenu became worried. She took hold of his hand and jerked him back, before he could kick his wife’s tombstone.

“Get a grip on yourself, sir. What are you doing?” she yelled.

Harry paused for a moment and then started crying louder, his body shuddering with every movement.

“I am so sorry, Sheenu. I don’t know what to do. I feel so alone. I don’t want to go back. My house will eat at my distress. I will go crazy, Sheenu. Crazy,” Harry said with swollen red eyes. It was clear he hadn’t slept for days.

Then, Sheenu said something so bizarre that her living mother would have never approved of.

“I will go with you and take care of you until you feel better”

“Don’t be stupid, Sheenu. This can never happen,” Harry said, trying to put some sense in her.

“I know it seems unconventional, but I will only stay till you start feeling a little better”

“This is a stupid idea, Sheenu. Think about your family” Harry was a little loud this time, thinking that his pitch might pierce her head and she would see some logic.

“I buried my only family deep beneath this ten-acre cemetery” “Oh… I” Harry couldn’t find any appropriate words

“It’s ok sir. It’s been five years since.”

Harry was hesitant.

“Just think of me as a nurse looking over a patient until he is completely healed. It will make the situation more agreeable,” Sheenu suggested.

Sheenu had a point and Harry couldn’t find any more reasons to protest, plus he could act as much as a family to Sheenu as she was planning to be for him.

…

In the Past,

Sheenu entered Mr. Harry’s House. She had come here many times for her tuitions but today she was nervous. What happened last weekend shook her to the core.“Was it right?” Her mind went back to the events of last weekend, and she would be lying if she said she did not toy with the idea of going just a little further. No, she wouldn’t. She was not that girl. Out of its own accord, the scene played in her head. Mona, Harry’s wife, had served them two glasses of water and went to prepare tea when Sheenu picked her glass, took one small sip, and placed it down. Almost instantly Harry picked it up, turned the glass to the spot Sheenu’s lips had touched, and gulped it down. Sheenu might have shaken the thought as being a mere incident if only Harry had not given her that look, all the while draining her glass out. She sat at her usual place on the Sofa and Harry took his seat on the chair beside her. She took her notebook out and gave it to Harry to make corrections.

“Use words like ‘flying high’ instead of plain old happy to make your sentence engaging,” Harry said, looking intently into Sheenu’s eyes. There was a momentary pause. It was Harry’s, one of those gazes that left Sheenu’s stomach doing splits. She gulped and to align her mind, she made an excuse.

“I am going to get some water.” Sheenu closed her books and went straight to the kitchen.

Sheenu stood for two minutes in front of the refrigerator breathing heavily when she felt a presence behind her. She turned and came face to face with Harry.

“Sir, what are you doing here?” She said, inching away from him, all flustered.

“I was feeling thirsty too.” Harry reached for the fridge door and collided chest to chest with Sheenu.

“Oh”, Sheenu could only manage a gasp with his body pressing against hers. “Sir, it is not right.” she tried to push him away.

“I see nothing wrong in this,” he pulled her closer.

“Don’t deny it Sheenu, you always knew I liked more than just your stories,” Harry said looking straight into her eyes.

Sheenu fell silent. He was right, Sheenu had some idea of their attraction towards each other. 

“Stop! He is your teacher,” her mind was reprimanding her.

“I know, you like me too” his face was an inch away from her. “But” Sheenu stopped the moment his lips found hers.

He wrapped his arms around her, and Sheenu welcomed his embrace. Suddenly, she pushed Mr. Harry away. “But you are married.”

“Listen Sheenu, I have never felt this way for anyone except you” he pulled her hand and enveloped Sheenu in his bear hug once again.

There was some noise at the door and both of them separated with the speed of light.

Mona had come back from her grocery shopping. She entered the kitchen and had a look of mild surprise on her face.

“I had my fill. I will go back to checking your work now,” said Harry and ran away.

Sheenu followed but Mona injected, “Will you help me unpack these things dear,” she said with a grin.

“Sure, Mrs. Mona,” Sheenu replied with a small smile.

Moments passed and all the vegetables and stuff were unpacked and laid out neatly on the shelves. Sheenu readied herself to go when Mona gripped her arm. “The thing between you and my husband, do you think I do not know?”

Sheenu went blank, her face completely drained out. “Mam. Mam…”

“Don’t call me mam, Finish this thing at once” she said more through her wide-open eyes than mere words.

“Yes. Yes…” Sheenu began stuttering.

“Make yourself scarce. I don’t want to see your face again.” she was seething. Sheenu could only manage a nod.

“And I mean the college, too. If I find out that you continue to study in the same college as Harry’s, I will make a good example of yours in the society,” she said in a voice laced with malign. Sheenu just stared at her with eyes full of tears. She was never seen again, neither at her home nor in the college.

…

The unthinkable was happening, but Sheenu was having second thoughts. She knew well that it was not just out of pity that she had proposed staying with Harry. No. Seeing Harry today after so many years with grey hairs, freckles, and a body healthier than earlier, she was filled with a hope to repair a broken man and, with it she could achieve her long-lost wish-‘Harry’. Sheenu  packed her bags and took a cab to Harry’s home. She would bring her other stuff later. Her mind was constantly warned her. “Don’t go so early. Take three days at least. This will make you look less eager.”

Sheenu reached the place; it was a small white bungalow with an enormous bay window on the right side as an aesthetic feature. It was a semi-attached plot with a brick red bungalow on one side and greenery on the other. Sheenu opened the black metal gate herself and entered. She reached the main entrance of the building and rang the second doorbell. Harry opened the door with a little less enthusiasm than she had hoped.

“The guest room is on the right side of the main dining room, as you are already aware of. Leave your bags here. I will put them into your room and go get fresh first,” Harry said, bending forward to pick the bags.

Sheenu did as was asked and just as she came out after washing her hands and face; Harry put some juice and snacks on the dining table.

“Here… Have something first. You must be tired from the journey,” Harry said in a soothing voice.

“I am supposed to be nursing you and not vice versa,” Sheenu said, trying to establish herself as the boss.

“It’s ok Sheenu. We are together in this. I am not the only one who has lost a loved one. If we are going to do this, we must act like a family first, looking out for each other.”

It would be an understatement to say Sheenu melted on hearing these words. She was jelly. She smiled at Harry, who returned her gesture with a dazzling smile of his own. “Can this smile, forever be mine?” Sheenu wished intensely.

Next day,

Sheenu cooked, cleaned the house, washed utensils, and asked Harry to take a rest, as he didn’t sleep last night as well. His eyes were the evidence. He had dark circles underneath his red and puffy eyes. That night, when Sheenu was keeping water in Harry’s room, she found him lost in an album. She went closer and saw that the already shining pages of the album were glistening with Harry’s tear. She snatched the book in one instant and regretted her decision.

“Sheenu…” Harry looked at her as if his soul has been sucked out of the body. “Give it back to me… Please,” he begged her.

“No, Harry, I have seen enough of this sorrow and crying. You need to rest now.” She reprimanded him.

“But I can’t sleep without it,” he pleaded, standing up and reaching for the album. “You can’t sleep with it,” Sheenu said, reaching away from his grasp.

Harry fell into his bed defeated, his eyes lost in the pink sheet covering his feet.

“I am taking this with me,” Sheenu showed the album as she reached for the bedroom door. Harry’s voice made her stop. He was crying.

“I feel so alone without her, Sheenu… I,” Harry broke down Sheenu went closer to him and patted his back.

“It will pass Harry, soon”

Harry rested his head on her side and closed his eyes. She stood there, watching him. Within fifteen minutes, he was sleeping. Sheenu adjusted herself on his bed and patted his silky head. She knew, from that moment, that she was never going back to her home now.

…

Five weeks later,

Harry and Sheenu were sitting together on the sofa, watching TV. ‘Friends’ was on, and both of them were roaring. Suddenly Harry became serious and looked at Sheenu.

“You never told me why you left college, dear,” Harry said, holding Sheenu’s hand in his.

“It’s a bad memory hun, one that I don’t prefer recalling,” Sheenu replied looking deep into Harry’s eyes.

“I would prefer you tell me. I don’t like people keeping secrets from me” He gave her a half- smile.

“A… She, your wife-Mona, she came to know about our brief affair and threatened me to leave the college or any place where your shadow fell,” Sheenu said with creased brows as if still feeling scared.

“Really” Harry jumped up from his resting position and sat straight .“What did you do then?” he asked with his mouth open.

“I went home, deadly scared and narrated the whole incident to my mother” “Then what happened,” Harry waited.

“I experienced a jaw-breaking slap. My mum couldn’t believe I would do such a disgusting thing, an affair, and that too with my teacher.” Sheenu said, almost laughing.

“It was she who suggested that I listen to your wife’s warning and leave the college. I think she was also playing her part in keeping us separated.”

“I tried to reason with her saying that I will never find a good job if I leave my college in between. You know what she told me”

“What?” Harry asked, engrossed

“A nasty job is any day better than a bad name,” Sheenu burst out laughing. “Seriously”, Harry found it unbelieving.

“Yes, of course, and that’s what happened, too. No college was ready to take me mid- semester and even when I tried applying next year; I couldn’t give any proper excuse for leaving a college after two-and-a-half years.”

“What did you do then?” Harry looked concerned, as if all of this was happening in the present.

“I became a librarian in a local college after three months of training,” Sheenu said with a sigh. It was clear she was not happy with how her life turned out. Besides one thing- she found Harry.

Harry took both of her hands in his and made small circle with his thumb.

“Look me in the eye, Sheenu. Listen. Everything will be alright. You can become a writer. I will train you from the start.” Harry said with his piercing gaze.

Sheenu smiled. She can never get a better husband than Harry. They were not married yet, probably never will be, but they belonged to each other in their hearts and no one can deny this truth, maybe excluding one person.

…

One week later,

Sheenu was waiting for Harry to return soon. She had prepared his favorite chicken biryani and couldn’t wait to see his face light up like a moon. The doorbell rang. Sheenu hurried

towards the door and opened it. Standing inches away from her face was a man; she didn’t want to see ever-Raj. Raj was a five-foot-tall, muscular built and chocolate-colored guy.

Sheenu had met him in Indira Gandhi College of Arts and Science, where she worked as a librarian. He worked in a laboratory there as a lab assistant.

“Sheenu, it’s been so long since I last saw you,” Raj said with a glowing face.

“Why are you here, Raj? I don’t want to see you,” Sheenu asked, taking a deep breath.

“Why are you being so rude, Sheenu? Everything was so nice between us,” he said stepping into the house.

Sheenu forced the door back in place, trying to keep Raj out. “It was just a fling, and it got over more than a year ago”

“A good fling it was. I can’t seem to shake it even after so long,” he said with a toothy grin.

Sheenu immediately felt disgusted. This was the same reason she wanted to forget ‘that time’, to forget him because everything between them was physical, no emotions whatsoever, and Sheenu liked to think that she was not that girl that an Indian Society despised.

“It is all over Raj. I don’t want to see you again. Please leave me alone.” Sheenu said, closing the door, but Raj locked his hand in between.

“Give me a reason to go away. Tell me why I should forget you?”

“Because I am in love with a man and this house belongs to him and I can’t replace him with any other person in my lifetime,” she said through the crack in the door

“Your old teacher Harry, he is the one. Isn’t it? That’s why you are living in his house. Sheenu I am telling you. You have gone absolutely insane.” He shouted through the door before turning and darting away.

Sheenu took a sigh of relief “I am not crazy, I have become sane,” she said to herself and smiled resting against the closed door.

She was thrown forward when Harry pushed the door open. “You came home, dear,” she said, relaxing a little.

“Who was it? Who was the man?” Harry was shouting. His eyes had grown so big that they could pop out any moment.

Sheenu became worried. “He… He was an old acquaintance, Harry. Calm down. He was just here to ask my whereabouts”

“Are you sure this was it and there is nothing more I should know,” Harry squinted at her? “No. Really. You can trust me.” Sheenu said through fast blinking eyes.

“Ok.” Harry’s angry features softened, and he patted Sheenu’s cheek. “What’s for lunch, love?” Harry asked all of a sudden and smiled.

Next Day

Sheenu had prepared Dal Makhni, another one of Harry’s favorite. It was one o’clock. Harry would arrive any moment, and finally the magical bell rang. Sheenu got excited and opened the door. The door flew open coupled with an extra force from outside, and a set of lips crashed into hers. She had no chance to react. Two hands grabbed her and halfway through the kiss, she recognized that these were not Harry’s lips; still, she let the kisser finish. Finally, the kisser departed.

“What the hell are you doing, Raj?” she shouted, trying to shift the entire blame on his head. “Don’t tell me you didn’t want it darling,” Raj said smugly.

“I did not and I am warning you never to cross the threshold of this house again or else there will be serious consequences.”

“Come on! Darling,” Raj said, moving towards her.

“Back off. I am warning you.” Sheenu took a serious tone. “Or else…” Raj inched closer.

“I am calling the police” Sheenu raised her mobile in hand.

Raj looked up and down at her and realized she was serious. He had no choice but to leave her. He gave her one last look of dejection and walked away.

Sheenu’s chest rose up and down. This was not right. She had commited a sin and had to atone for it. She  needed to come clean in front of Harry.

As soon as Harry entered through the front door; she held his hand and made him sit on the Sofa. She sat on the ground by his legs and narrated the complete incident, her history with Raj, and also accepted something which many people will label as a stupid act- how she failed to resist the kiss momentarily. Throughout her story, Harry sat petrified, not having the will to talk but by the end, he was smiling at Sheenu’s honesty.

“Will, you ever be able to forgive me, Harry?” Sheenu asked, distressed.

“I will. It may take time but I definitely will” Harry gave her an encouraging smile.

…

Ten months and two weeks later,

It was Sheenu’s and Harry’s first anniversary of being together. Harry had made elaborate plans for the day. He gave his credit card to Sheenu and sent her to do shopping. At home, he was decorating the house with heart-shaped balloons tied in form of the flower. He had framed several of their photos together and put them on the wall where Sheenu could easily spot them. The three-tiered cake he ordered had already come, and he was hiding candies in Sheenu’s wardrobe. Just the moment Sheenu entered with enormous shopping bags in both hands, a balloon hanging over the door popped open, bathing Sheenu with rose petals all over.

“Oh, my god. What is this dear?” Sheenu said, showing all of her white teeth.

“Happy anniversary love.” Harry wished her. “Now don’t waste anytime go get changed fast. More surprises are waiting,” He said pushing her towards her room.

Sheenu shrieked as she opened her wardrobe and millions of candies crushed her beneath their

weight. “Harry…” she was laughing.

After taking approximately half an hour, Sheenu came out in a stunning black dress. Her silky black hair wee reaching her waist, and her fair skin shone brighter in the contrasting dress. There was a big box lying on the dining table. Sheenu eyed it for sometime and then opened the box carefully. She was amazed to see such a gigantic cake with a pink Barbie on top.

“You remembered I like Barbies?” Sheenu had never felt so contented before. “Of course, dear, How can I forget? Now cut the cake. We also have to open your gift after this”

The cake was cut and eaten. It was time for the gift now. “Now for the major surprise, I want you to close your eyes” “Really” Sheenu chuckled.

Harry covered her eyes with a thin white satin cloth. Sheenu waited.

“Now, raise your hands, dear.”  Harry commanded in a slow voice.

Sheenu brought her hands forward and Harris captivated them too with a white lacy satin cloth.

“Is it necessary dear-”

“Of course it is.” he stuffed her mouth with a large cake piece and kept on crushing it with one hand.

With the other hand covered in a forensic glove, he stabbed her multiple times, till her body was no longer writhing. The blood flowed from the dining cloth and made a big puddle on the white marble floor.

“What a waste” Harry exclaimed, throwing the knife stolen from her exes’ kitchen in one direction.

“Imagine I killed my wife for this bitch,” Harry ridiculed himself then called the police. Harry’s mind went to the last encounter with his wife.

“Don’t mourn me after I am gone. I have lived a full life,” Mona said consoling her husband. “I will not but first I must dispose of this little bottle.”

“What is it?” Mona asked in a cracking voice.

“It’s the poison running in your blood, dear. You are not dying out of regular old-age sickness. This little bottle aggravated your symptoms,” Harry said, making a puppy face.

“What?” Mona’s eyes were large “Why did you do it?” she said through the tear in her eyes.

“You think I never listened to your conversation with Sheenu. I was there, standing outside with my ears pressed against the wall.”

“Why would you do that Mona, why would you send away my one reason of happiness? You left me with no choice. I had to kill you.”

“Why wait for ten years then, why now?” she said through sobs.

“I want it to look believable dear that you are dying of natural causes. I don’t want to go to jail for your murder.” Harry said, showing her his prominent smile that Mona had so deeply loved.

“Your timing of death couldn’t be more perfect love; Sheenu’s mom’s death anniversary is coming near. I am planning to bury you right next to her.” Harry was beaming at his intelligence.

Mona’s face contorted in pain and she clutched her chest as her heart stopped pumping blood and she was gone, murdered cruelly by her husband.

The End

By CHANDNI BISHT

Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.