Needless Suicide by Gautham Srinivasan - HTML preview

EPILOGUE

50 years later

Her summer vacations were on. Anu had scribbled everything her grandfather had told her.

Still, all is not over, she realized. She asked her grandfather, “Grandpa, was Karthik ever found in these last fifty years?”

Her grandfather smiled, and replied, “No, dear, he was never found. He has successfully hid himself from this world all these years.”

Anu spoke, “It is even possible that he may have died. He would be your age, no?”

“You are right, Anu. He would indeed be of my age. What is the time?”

She replied, seeing the clock, “Ten minutes to midnight”.

Bhagwandas gave a cry of agony, “The same time when half a century ago, Kaushik jumped to his death. Anu, listen to me carefully, Record my statements now! I hereby give you a dying declaration. I won’t see the light of the day tomorrow. Fate has decided to take my soul away in less than ten minutes. You will help the Chennai police solve the fifty year old case. Go and tell them your grandfather was called Bhagwandas and Kaushik had nearly identified him. It was because your grandfather also had another name, another identity. He is the man who escaped Kaushik’s attempted murder and he is the man who spread lies in his schooldays to completely alienate his best friend of yore. Do you identify him, Anu, do you identify me? I am Karthik.”

Anu nodded, speechless at the revelation.

She mumbled, “I promise to bring to light the whereabouts of Karthik to solve the fifty year old case. I shall leave for the police station right now.”

He nodded and continued, “No! Anu, Now is not the time. Let the clock strike twelve. Let my soul leave the shackles of this impure body. I was waiting for this moment. Let it pass. All these years in the fear of getting arrested for forging my name, I could not reveal myself. Anu, I am no messenger of God. I am a liar. I am the one who had to lie always because I had lied once.

I made Kaushik a loner. And here, I shall wish to die a lonely death. Go out of here, Anu.”

As Anu stopped the recording and went out of the open door to call her parents here, she could see her grandfather breathe his last, the soul moving out of his body precisely at one minute to midnight. The clock never struck twelve. Midnight never came.

Anu realized the truth in Kaushik’s words.

Tomorrow never comes.