The Cross Roads
I stared straight at him and Abhimanyu sighed deeply.
“See I don’t want to complicate things than they already are. So why don’t you just forget my slip of tongue and sleep? Believe
me that’s good for both of our lives and saves us from lot of trouble”, he requested.
His voice is so alluring, that I had to fight hard to get a grip on my control system. He clearly knows how to play the game, but
not with me. He is pitted against a winner and I am not going to leave the only one chance I have. So I didn’t change my
expressions and just continued my stare.
He settled himself exactly opposite to me and started. “I was your super senior in the medical college. I know you, but you
never noticed me. One of my classmates had a crush on you and I wrote the love letter he gave you. You didn’t even read that
damn letter fully because I made the mistake of describing you as cute Pomeranian puppy in the initial lines. I am a dog lover
you see. He cursed me for that till the end of the college.”
Each of those words exploded like atom bombs in my mind. For some time I was not able to respond. I clearly remember that
letter and that awkward looking fellow too; at whom I aimed all those curses I learned from childhood, the moment I saw the
word puppy. That’s not what bothering me. This whole thing makes Abhimanyu my super senior and a DOCTOR too. Isn’t he a
terrorist? How can he be a doctor? How is this possible? I was so confused that couldn’t even form a sentence to question him
further. He clearly understood my plight and explained further.
“Yes I was a doctor in my former life, but like Vijaya and everybody else in my group you saw at waterfall, I followed a different
path after studies. Though I studied in a very reputed medical college like you, I achieved that because of the good rank I got
in the entrance exams and hard work, not because my parents had money. They were poor and they remain so because their
only son, on whom they had lots of hopes, betrayed them and took a gun instead of stethoscope”. His words were very bitter
and filled with pain. I understood that it hurts him so much to talk about his past. I know better than to probe him further. I just
nodded my head and looked away and he closed his eyes and leaned against the tree trunk eventually.
The thick canopy of the tree protected us from prying eyes, if there were any. All night I couldn’t sleep and kept looking at him
every now and then. I sensed that he didn’t sleep either, but never looked at my direction. I read it somewhere that life has a
way of tying the loose ends. May be this situation is something like that. We started in same collage, took two completely
different paths and now sitting on a same branch without knowing what would happen next. I don’t know what led him to take
this radical path, but I believe that he is a good man at heart and I sympathise with his situation. I am glad that whatever the
way it was, life gave me this opportunity to meet him. I would be happy to help him if there is anything in my limits and I intend
to inform him that next time we talk.
I didn’t realise when I slept while thinking of all this. But I woke up with an alarm when Abhimanyu dragged me towards him
and closed my mouth. He gestured with his eyes to look down. I followed his path and saw two men in olive green uniforms
standing right under the tree. Their guns were shining brilliantly in the moon light. I tried to tell him that I wouldn’t make any
noise but he didn’t look at my direction and the grip on my waist was too painful. Abhimanyu watched their every movement
carefully. Much later, he whispered “Cops” in my ear and at once looked as if he regretted telling me. The grip on my mouth
tightened too. I know that I should be afraid of this but strangely I was enjoying it. Instead of trying to make some noise to get
cops attention, which is the most logical thing for a person kidnapped by terrorists do, I stayed calm and kept my mouth shut. I
convinced my mind that this excitement is caused by the adventure not because of Abhimanyu’s presence. Though the cops
left within 10 minutes, it took another 15 minutes for Abhimanyu to release his grip on my mouth and waist and one more hour
to finally relax. But he didn’t go far like he did before, instead he just sat next to me. I could see that he was in deep thought
but couldn’t control my curiosity any longer.
“Why didn’t you pursue your career in medicine like everybody else?” I whispered.
“Don’t you think that it is none of your bloody business?” He instantly went back to his savagery.
But that doesn’t terrify me anymore. Like he said before, his small slip of tongue proved to be a big slip. And that changed my
perspective of him completely. Why will I be afraid of a mere doctor? That to my super senior? NO WAY. More over a person
who wrote love letters (whether they are for him or not that doesn’t change anything), cannot be a savage. Above all, I
understood his trick of pretending to be angry to make me shut my mouth. And I am not going to shut it. I would rather make
him open his own mouth. Wow this sentence has a double meaning. I will get to that later. For now I wanted to hear his story. I
turned my determined eyes towards him and smiled.
He instantly detected the change in me and his expressions changed. “What? You think just because I was your super senior,
you can ask me anything? Are you mad? Hello miss, I am a terrorist and a manner less brute to quote your exact words. So
back off before it’s too late”.
I didn’t let him finish and did what I so wanted to do for a long time, though I didn’t even admit it to myself. I took his head in
my both hands and kissed him on his lips. He froze for a moment, but immediately took me into his hands. His curly hair felt so
nice around my fingers and I tightened my grip. We lost the track of time and didn’t know how long we were in this blissful
state.
It took some time for us to recover our wits and we didn’t talk to each other after that. I was too shy to talk and he became
moody. He just pulled me into his embrace and closed his eyes. I was afraid of closing my eyes, thinking that he might
disappear, if I close my eyes even for a moment. Something like this never happened to me. I always kept boys at arm’s
length and never allowed them to get too close. I can never forget this day and this heavenly moment. I rested my head
against his chest and clutched his shirt with my hands.
People branded me as a feminist from the first and I too think that I have at least some shades of it in my mentality and that is
why my thoughts were always rebellious for general liking. At school and college, I was a magnet for trouble and always fought
with boys no matter what. I stood up for my rights and made sure everybody, especially boys respect me for that. I worked
hard in my studies just to make my point. And at the end I fell in love with this stupid person who was a terrorist. I didn’t even
know whether he loves me back or not. He didn’t utter a word after that, though he put his comforting hands around me. That
didn’t help at all.
We set off immediately after dawn. My eyes were red because of lack of sleep and my body had given away. But I didn’t let
that show and walked with him in silence. I just concentrated on counting my steps and this way succeeded in brushing aside
other thoughts. Abhi was unusually calm throughout the journey. Around lunch time, we reached the outskirts of the Chinturu.
We stopping instantly and looked at each other. Abhi took out a letter from his back pack and offered it to me.
“Ashnita, just give this letter to police and tell them what happened. Don’t go into too much of details. That will lead them to
come up with lot more questions and will complicate things for you. Just tell them that we blind folded you all this while” he
said.
When I didn’t extend my hand to take that letter, he grabbed my hand roughly and pressed it into my palm. He eyes were full
of sorrow and were red in colour. “I don’t know if I will see you again. In that case....” He didn’t finish his sentence and looked
away.
“In that case...?”, I insisted. My throat felt constricted and tears filled my eyes.
“Forget about me and go on as if something like this never happened in your life. I am not worth remembering and dangerous
too. I don’t fit anywhere in your life. We are from two different worlds which never meet. I want you to be happy and have a
normal life. All the best”
Within a few moments he was out of sight. I just stood there for a long time looking at the direction he went. Tears streamed
freely from my eyes. And I know that like he suggested our worlds will never meet, but I can’t forget him either. I just hoped
that time might heal the pain. It’s too much to live with.