A Midnight Walk - InsideIIM Short Story Corner

"Oh shit, if we get caught with this alcohol, then we'll be in a huge mess." One of them exclaimed.

Yes, that was true. The last thing they would want was to let the guard catch them with alcohol in their rooms. Though drinking was an acceptable norm in the campus, but still against the rules. Drinking was never a problem, but getting caught was a huge one. The rules dictated an expulsion from the college, but nobody ever had been. The typical action was ripping off of all POR's and a grade drop, but it was still a very high price to pay. It would mean an extremely troubled placement season!

Thump, Thump.

The three relatively sober minds synced with each other, and the three quick bodies started hiding all the 'evidence of the crime'. All the beer cans went into the bag lying near the table. Smirnoff was pushed into the half-empty drawer of the table. Glasses were rushed to the dustbin, but nachos were hidden under one of the beds (engineer in them wouldn't allow throwing of any food). The room was bombarded with quick sprays of an air-freshener, and the drunken body was helped to sit on the sole chair inside the room. After ensuring that the crime scene is free of all the evidence, one of the perplexed people opened the door. What they saw perplexed them even more.

"Rutuj, someone wants to meet you." Finally, an embarrassed voice broke the silence.

Rutuj got up. "WTF? Who is here to meet me now?" His still body started trembling again, as he walked towards the door and stood in front of the visitor, but his blurred eyes could only see a silhouette of a person.

"Are you drunk?" A feminine voice asked.

"Yes. And I am going to drink more. Who are you to judge me?" He was blabbering. He didn't care what he said.

Before he could say anything else, his face met with a hard slap. He was shocked and taken aback. He couldn't see the figure clearly, but a bracelet, with a heart-shaped centrepiece, has been glanced by his eyes.

"B..i.nn..i?" A recovering conscious asked in a whisper like voice. But before the sound could be heard, another hard slap stung his face. He almost fell down. His three friends, who were watching the entire scene with horror in their eyes, rushed to pick him up.

"Listen carefully." Said the feminine voice, much harsher than the slaps her hand had delivered. Three of them realized that it was directed to them. "Make him wash his face and bite a lemon. Bring him back to his sobriety and send him to his room. I am waiting there." She paced to Rutuj's room, leaving three of them to follow her instructions like frightened children.

***

Rutuj walked into his room to a familiar sight: Binni was cleaning his table. He has always been a lazy person, and would never put things in their places. His table would house everything from his Tshirts to his wallet, and from his laptop to his books. Binni would always scold him for this mess, but would eventually clean it by herself. He liked seeing her do that. He'd always say, You are not only cleaning my table, but you've put my life at its right place as well. But tonight, the right and wrong were all dizzy. While slaps had done their trick, still, the influence of alcohol had not completely waned yet.

She sensed his steps like she'd always do. She looked at him with a dash of anger, and he realized that he was in for a lecture. He knew how to read her eyes. Sometimes, even without looking into them.

"Sit" She directed him to the bed, and he followed her instruction like a good boy.

"What did I see there? Did you start drinking? You forgot the promise you've given to your mother? How will she feel when she'll know of this? Wait, I'll just call her and tell all these stupid things you are doing." That was her classic attack. Rutuj has always been a mama's boy, and she'd always threaten him with her "Call your mum' attack. He had ignored it for a few times, but when she actually made a call once, this attack becomes unconquerable. He'd usually tackle it by taking her in his arms, and then try to diffuse the situation with sugary words, but he knew, that was not an option today.

"Why are you here?" She could sense a bit of anger in his voice. And that was obvious. She had left him just before his summer internship, the time when he needed her the most. And from what she had heard, she knew that he had made a terrible mess of his internship. She knew the coldness could have been avoided, but she needed some time to make herself strong. Strong enough to face him now.

"I think I owe you an explanation."

"Oh yes, you definitely do." He was still angry. She pulled a chair and sat in front of him. She took his hand and pressed it in between her two small hands. All she could think now was how this was the ideal place for his hand, and how it was going to be for a short while. A tear rolled down her eye. Those three months had still not made her strong enough. But she had to give him a closure tonight.

"See, the situation at my home is not conducive for our relationship. I can't hurt my family. Please try to understand my situation." Her voice was choked, and a constant flow of tears warmed the deadlock of hands. He looked at her, and all of his anger dissolved in those tears. His free hand automatically touched her face and made an attempt to wipe out those tears. He has not realized, but his eyes weren't dry either. But tonight, he had mustered a courage unknown to himself.

"It's ok, Bini. I can understand. You are the only girl that I have ever loved in my life, and that's why I was trying my best to win you back, and keep this relationship alive, but I'll back off now. In exchange for that, I need a few promises from you."

"What promises?" Her voice was still choked, but a tinge of surprise was audible now. She didn't think he'd agree so easily. She had expected a night-long fight. Rather, she had secretly hoped for it, even without knowing the reason why.

"First of all, you are visiting a doc asap. You are having those headaches nowadays. Who knows, you might have a tumour. And I don't want your future husband to face the trouble of searching for a new wife in 2-3 years. Anyways, he'd not get a better one than you." He was trying to be funny, and he managed to succeed somehow. He could see her lips make an upward arc, which was so typical of her smile, and he loved that.

"Second, take a good care of your health. Your consulting stint is going to be very demanding, and I don't want you to skip your lunches and dinners for some stupid client of yours. Rather, put up a bit of a weight. Fluffy girls look super cute" He winked at her.

"Umm hmm," The typical sound she made. The tears had dried now. She was mesmerizingly looking at him. He'd always manage to stop her tears, and she just loved his ability to do that. That's something I'll miss the most, she said to herself.

"And finally, don't name your child Rutuj. Such a pathetic name that is. My parents weren't smart enough, I hope you don't make the same mistake."

"Shut up" She burst into laughter now. He kept looking at her, trying to store every moment in his eyes.

They kept talking for the entire night, like two friends that have met after a long time, and still like two lovers who are not going to meet again for a long time.

"I think I must go now. You don't know how many juggad I've done to come here" She stood up.

"Okay. Let me drop you till the gate. This might be our last walk together." He got up too. The harshness of reality had started biting them again. She opened the door and was about to step out when she heard him.

"Do you remember one thing?" She turned back and curiously looked at him.

"You had accidentally deleted our chats a year back, and you've panicked so much. You were crying for the entire night. You were like, how can I live without those precious memories and all. It was such a trouble to console you then." He was smiling like a kid. She was confused. She didn't know where he was leading to.

He leaned forward, took her in his arms, and whispered in her ear, "Leaving those messages was a trouble for you. Tell me, how'll you manage to live without me?"

The time froze. All they could feel were the beatings of their hearts. The hug continued for a minute, until he said, "Let's go, you must be getting late."

They started walking towards the main gate. She had a gamut of expressions on her face, while he looked very calm now. At a point, she suddenly stopped, but he didn't realize that. He kept walking, and all she could see through her teary eyes was the silhouette of a person walking in front of her.

The silhouette of the person she loved the most, walking out of her life.

***

(After 10 months, in farewell party)

"So, the last award for the night is the stud of the batch." The unofficial farewell party was in its full swing. The college was finally over, and the booze was flowing like water. Everyone was enjoying the funny award night organized by the junior batch.

"And the award goes to Rutuj Sachdeva, for dating the cutest girl of our super senior batch. Oh man, what a great couple they are." The crowd erupted in cheers.

Rutuj slowly walked on to the stage. He accepted the award and took the mic in his hand.

"You should check your facts before you give these awards. Bini isn't my girlfriend anymore." A sudden silence spread in the crowd. Noone was aware of this fact, except three faces sitting at the back table, who quietly smiled at him. They knew, Rutuj always loved these dramatic silences.

"She is my fiance now. We are going to get married very soon and you all are invited." He was blushing as hell. The crowd started cursing him madly. The comparer decided to build on it. "Hey Rutuj, when did this happen? And how come we don't know anything about it? And when did you propose her? Tell us the entire story man." Bombardment of questions was quite obvious.

"Actually, she proposed to me. And it's a very long story yar." He was still unable to control his blush.

"Whatever, tell us the entire story. We have the entire night. Guys, do you want to hear the story or not?" The comparer shouted, and the entire crowd burst in cheers again. Beers were raised to support the cause.

"All right then" Rutuj took the center stage. He was about to share the most dramatic story of his relationship, which he has cherished for life.

"Let me start from the beginning."

He took another dramatic pause,

"A misguided ghost met an enigmatic angel, and they both went for a walk........."