I find us packing our stuff as soon as we get to the hotel. The adrenaline is getting to us. We are finally getting somewhere. Though the thought of Ritam’s crippled sister saddens us. But at least we have a name. Ritam Dey. That’s a start. I am sure we will be at Ragini’s doorstep soon.
‘Are we leaving already?’ I ask. ‘It’s a nice city. Can we rest a while? Have a few walks along the city lanes? Nice dinner?’‘Deb,’ Avantika says and throws my bag to me.‘What?’‘Nivedita. It must have been weeks since her brother hasn’t met her.What if Ritam’s parents didn’t let Nivedita know? What if they never tell her that Ritam is never coming back?’ she says with concern.‘I was just kidding. I wanted to see how kicked you were.’From what I inferred from the diary Ritam’s parents had never bothered to contact Nivedita after they sent herShrey and Tiya are still sleeping when we leave the hotel for the mental asylum where Nivedita is admitted. We had looked up the address yesterday and everyone we asked knew where it was. Avantika and I have hardly talked since morning. We are a little unsure of what we’ll say to Nivedita. Not only that; we don’t know what to expect.According to his notes, Nivedita doesn’t talk or understand anybody other than her brother. She talks through her smiles, which only Ritam understood. We won’t be able to tell her anything. And even if we do, what will we even say to her? I sweat thinking what I would’ve done had Avantika not been with me.‘This is going to be strange,’ I tell Avantika.‘I know.’We enter the building. It’s an old one, probably standing since the early1890s. We ask the receptionist if we could meet Nivedita. She asks if we are from her family. We nod. She brings out a register, goes to
I find us packing our stuff as soon as we get to the hotel. The adrenaline is getting to us. We are finally getting somewhere. Though the thought of Ritam’s crippled sister saddens us. But at least we have a name. Ritam Dey. That’s a start. I am sure we will be at Ragini’s doorstep soon.‘Are we leaving already?’ I ask. ‘It’s a nice city. Can we rest a while? Have a few walks along the city lanes? Nice dinner?’‘Deb,’ Avantika says and throws my bag to me.‘What?’‘Nivedita. It must have been weeks since her brother hasn’t met her.What if Ritam’s parents didn’t let Nivedita know? What if they never tell her that Ritam is never coming back?’ she says with concern.‘I was just kidding. I wanted to see how kicked you were.’From what I inferred from the diary Ritam’s parents had never bothered to contact Nivedita after they sent her
It’s becoming embarrassing now. I can’t take my eyes off my own girlfriend, the girl I’ve been dating for five years. My jaw had dropped the moment I’d seen her walk out of the hotel door and I have not returned to normal yet. I thank Shrey for it. Avantika and I have been driving for the past six hours and it is the best drive ever. She has mastered the art of seduction. Though, I should add here that my threshold is shamefully low. At times I have gotten seduced seeing her brush her teeth.But today is off-the-charts awesome. Avantika has been slipping her hands in ... everywhere! I liked her anyway but I like the new her more. But it’s bothering me. She does not have to pretend in front of me. That’s not what people in love do, right?‘You really don’t have to do this. I think you’re still fun and awesome.’ ‘Why do you think I’m doing this for you?’ she says and looks at me.‘I don&
A warm breath grazes my neck, and I hear a soft whisper in my ear: ‘Get up.’ Avantika looks at me and smiles, her hair falls over my face and she smells of expensive moisturizers and shampoo.Shrey and Tiya haven’t woken up yet. I get up and follow Avantika to the balcony, where she has already ordered tea for us. The tea tastes horrible but the early morning breeze is amazing. We look inside and Shrey has already moved to the bed. He hugs Tiya, who purrs in her sleep, and kisses her on her neck. Avantika looks at them and smiles. I wrap myself around Avantika and hold her close.‘That girl is crazy,’ she says.‘I know. I don’t know what Shrey is doing with her.’‘Naah, she is a nice girl. She apologized yesterday’ she says.‘She did?’Avantika nods.‘Deb ... why Haridwar?’‘Umm, just like that,’ I say.‘You can hide it from them, b
Our argument regarding Tiya reaches a crescendo and we are almost at each other’s throats. We’re shouting outside our hotel and a lot of people are staring at us.‘Are you crazy?’ I say out aloud. Shrey makes a face and pulls me away from his car. ‘She is not coming with us, Shrey. This isn’t happening.’‘But why not?’‘She is a girl. She can’t go on a road trip. It’s not safe. Plus, we stay at really dirty places.’‘She would be more comfortable in a filthy room than you. Stop being so sexist. And I really want her to tag along. She’s special,’ Shrey counters.‘She is seventeen.’‘Eighteen. And how does that matter? I really like her. This could be something new and meaningful.’‘You always say that, Shrey. Three weeks later, it’s all history. All that will remain will be a few naked pictures of her. I am not ru
It’s been four hours since I’ve been in office and I still don’t know how to approach it. Ever since Shrey and I had started working together, he has been pestering me to take a vacation. But I’ve always turned it down as we both can’t take leave from the office at the same time.But when Avantika left this morning, I felt like going on a vacation myself. Not really a vacation, more like an investigative journalism mission sort of thing. It sounds super cool in my head, like what those men in Hollywood movies do. I just have to find out more about this guy.All I know is the nickname of his best friend and where he did his schooling from. I have to know more. I rub my hands together in excitement and mentally start packing my bags for a road trip. I have been waiting for the right moment. I don’t want to sound like I have an agenda in mind. I don’t want to sound stupid going on a road trip to trace a dead guy’s girlfrie