June 28, 2017

Drugs. The only thing in Anirudh's life he had let control him. He was only a smoker at first. Just regular filter cigarettes, the ones he found a way into after his father died. It was mainly because he felt sad and he didn't like feeling sad. It's a weak emotion. And Anirudh doesn't do weak.

It was the main reason why he let drugs take over him. That bloody cook bitch Rekha. She found out that Hansika and him were being sexually active a week after they first 'made love' and she told his mother. She decided it wasn't good for them and the family's name would also be spoiled this way. So, she paid for Hansika's transfer into the medical college's hostel.

It had been seven years. Of course, she came home during vacation or any long holidays. All those days she did come back home, she spent the days at his room. No one dared ask anything. Even her own father.

Her father. Neeraj Chaturvedi.

Anirudh quite liked the misery on his face when he kissed his daughter in front of him. So helpless, so disheartened. Hansika didn't seem to like the way he treated her father, but he always consoled her with his sweet kisses. She was a sucker for them, he thought.

God, he missed her. He missed her so much. Seven years of no breakfast wake-ups, no evening make outs, no smile-on-her-face moments. He could only resort to drugs. It started with joints, then some crack. Moved to pills, and then his friends found him some syringes. He floated above the sky in a world where Hansika wasn't on the ground near him. It was his way of life.

At first, he thought the misery would be over once she finished her degree. And it temporarily did. She was home for six months. Just six. And then she went again. This time, to do her specialization. Pediatrics, she said. Bullshit, he thought.

Of course, his MBA was over by then. He 'took over' the company. But to this date, he never actually went to that awful place and sat on the chair for one whole day. Just a few good hours, and he left. A mundane, 9 to 5 job, even if he was the boss of it, did not excite him. He only took the job to have the money flowing. He can't be poor. It's worse than being sad.

Years passed by, and she finished her specialization too. Anirudh had a field day at her graduation. His patience could only be dragged so much. And God forbid, the hostels were too strict, not letting him sneak in. Not anymore, though. He was going to have her all to him.

He was going to marry her.

Only, she didn't plan on it. She came back for one week. Let him have his way with her body for seven whole days, over and over. And then she left. Without even a proper bye or reason this time. When he asked his mother, she simply told him that she had this medical camp to attend. Something about doing a government service. And she didn't even know the place where her camp was.

This game she was playing was too hard for him to follow. He was growing too old for it, too. The final key to drop out of the piano was this: Meenal bringing home some prospects. For his marriage. She told him that Hansika was a good girl, and she wouldn't mind having her married to him, but it was Hansika who didn't want to. She had other goals, other dreams.

"It's better if you start letting go of her now, Anirudh," Meenal cupped his son's face and told him.

That was the last he was seen at home. He took his clothes, his credit card, and his stash of chillum. A few months back when he went to the Pune beach with his friends, he found this old, abandoned lighthouse. It was pretty good, stairs pretty stable and the power still working inside. The big lights didn't work, so it made sense why it was abandoned. But Anirudh had a liking to it. A strange liking. Then again, Anirudh's likings were seldom normal. Strange was his middle name, he'd say.

It was obvious that the lighthouse was privately bought by him the proceeding week. He had that money under the name of buying a new house because of his mother's compulsion. But who needs a house when there's a beautiful seaside view abandoned lighthouse that was perfect to fulfill all his needs? He couldn't wait to show Hansika.

Sadly, she wasn't available to him anymore. But, he couldn't just sit there and wait. He was fed up with seven whole years of that. This time, he was going to get into action.

Shankar. Well defined boy, six foot and 80 kilograms. A full-fierce goatee and a man bun. Good friends with Anirudh. Anirudh met him via his other friend who he smoked with. Got him all stuff, any stuff. Legal, illegal, good, bad; when Anirudh needed stuff, Shankar got them.

He was the one who came up with the idea when Anirudh badly wanted Hansika. It was right in front of his eyes all the time! The first and last person Hansika held close to her heart, apart from Anirudh himself: Neeraj.

The plan was simple. Anirudh was to go back home, get Neeraj to come with him faking an emergency he didn't want to tell his mother, hold him captive in the lighthouse and inform Hansika. She'd come to him like bee does to its attacked honeycomb.

The last of the cigarettes were smoked away that night. Anirudh glances at his Rolex. 11 PM. Way too early for him to sleep, but his mother would have gone flat about thirty minutes ago. He waited out of his house for an extra half an hour just in case. Dharma the guard did not notice him, or if he did, he didn't recognize him. He was an inefficient security, but that favoured Anirudh currently. Seated behind the wheels of his blue Swift, he decided to ring Neeraj.

The old man picked up after a minute. "Hello?" His raspy voice evidently showed how bad he was ageing.

Anirudh smirked silently. Time to get into action. "Uncle? It's... Me. Anirudh." He spoke in a soft whisper just to add to the effect.

"Beta," the clueless man replied, his voice dripping with concern. Anirudh never liked how he called him that as if he were his own son. "Where are you? Your mother is very concerned."

Anirudh rolled his eyes. And then he sniffed for dramatic effect. "I wish... I wish I could come back, Uncle. But everything's just messed up."

"What are you talking about, Beta? Nothing is messed up. Just... come back and apologize to your mother. She'll take you back in a wink!"

Anirudh was so close to snorting. Take you back, his ass. He didn't want to go back. He didn't need anything from that house anymore. Just the pawn that is the butler Neeraj.

"No, Uncle. I'm not talking about that. I'm... facing a problem. And I don't want to tell Mom." He spoke from his throat, making his voice quiver on purpose. Wow, what an act, he patted himself.

"Tell me. I'll do anything!"

So easy you are, Anirudh smirked. "It's... a money problem. I took a loan from a big shark a couple of months ago. He spoke a rate then and is asking for another rate now." Sniffles again. "I need some time to give the extra money. But he's threatening to demolish the house! It's why I can't come back. If he demolishes the house, I can never..." Time for the sobs, Anirudh thought.

"Don't panic. How much in excess is he asking? Should we go to the police?"

"NO!" He shouted, making Neeraj wince. "No police, else he'd kill me. Can you just... Uncle, can you please come and talk to him? Ask him for some time on behalf of me? Tell him I'm a hard worker and I'll pay the extra in 15 days!"

There was only a moment of contemplation. "Of course, Beta! I'll come as soon as sun rises tomorrow."

No, bitch. You're coming now, he wanted to say. "No, Uncle. The goon is only available at night. He leaves to other towns in the morning. I have no time left before he finds me and kills me."

Neeraj clucked his tongue. "Don't speak like that, Beta. I'm here, aren't I? I'll help you out. When do you want me to come?"

And now was the time for the 'guilty' dramatic pause. Guilty for it being so last minute, if none of you could figure it out.

"I'm waiting outside our house right now. Can you please come out without my mother knowing about it? Please?"

Another moment of contemplation. And then a quick "Okay." He was so too easy for Anirudh.

In two minutes, he was at the gates. Only, he took so long to come out. Must be the damn guard, Anirudh thought. Dharma and Neeraj were really good friends. And this was taking so long because they were interacting. Anirudh rolled his eyes and decided to honk his car. If the stupid guard wanted to come as well, he wouldn't stop him. After all, Hansika's godfather was dearly to her as well. Even though he had no interests in Dharma, maybe he'd have been a good pawn as well.

But Dharma thought otherwise because he didn't come with his friend to Anirudh's car. Even after Neeraj told him everything. It was fine for Anirudh, so long as he didn't tell anyone. A backup plan would be to use the same idea on him a few hours later and either get him to his place or shut him up forever. Either worked for Anirudh.

"Can we go, Uncle?" Anirudh asked.

"Yes, Beta. Where is this loan goon?"

"A few kilometers away. At the Diveagar beach."

Neeraj just nodded. Anirudh hid his smirk and started driving. He had the fish in the hook. Now, it was time for him to slowly reel it back.

"How's Mom, Uncle?" He asked, his voice dripping so much concern. Knowing how gullibe Neeraj is made this whole conversation a field day for Anirudh.

"Madam is fine. Still taking her pills regularly, sleeping and everything. She's just a little angry and sad. But trust me, one sorry will change her heart and you can come back home forever," the old man naively replied.

Anirudh bit back. "For what?"

Silence filled the car.

"Beta?"

Anirudh cleared his throat. "I don't want to marry anyone else."

He looked at his girl's father from the rear-view mirror. "How's Hansika, Uncle?"

He could see Neeraj visibly squirm. "She's... Fine."

"Uncle, everyone who knows me definitely knows this and so do you: I'm in love with your daughter. For about 20 years now."

Neeraj felt his throat close down as he listened to Anirudh. He was his boss' son, so his reverence to the young man was inevitable. But he did know the things that happened to his daughter because of him. Vaguely. He knew the things Rekha chose to tell him. He didn't want to believe her at first, because even though the issue is about his daughter, it was also about his boss' son and it couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

Even when Rekha told him and Meenal madam that Anirudh was being sexually active with Hansika, he couldn't believe it at first. He took his daughter alone and asked her if it was true. When she couldn't meet his eyes and tears hit her face, Neeraj finally understood. All the time alone at Anirudh's room, the extra efforts she put in doing things for him, the little grabs here and there, how she tensed when both him and Anirudh were in the same room as herself. Not all of it was in a playful spirit. They weren't kids. Not anymore.

Neeraj gave her one tight slap. And then he begged on her behalf to Meenal to let her be away from the house. The college hostel seemed like the best option, so he didn't complain. But whenever she came back home for the holidays, she did exactly the same thing she had been doing all her life. Neeraj didn't know what to make of his daughter anymore. He felt ashamed of himself sometimes. Maybe if her mother had been there for her... He didn't even know how to finish that line in his mind.

"And I'll do anything to get her," Anirudh continued, interrupting his train of thoughts. "Anything."

"Beta?" Neeraj asked, noticing the change in tone of Anirudh.

The car came to a halt and Neeraj looked out. They were at the beach, right in front of a lighthouse. When he turned to ask Anirudh where they were, he noticed the black cloth crumpled inside his fist.

Like the attack of a fierce tiger, Anirudh turned back and pounced on the old man. He tackled him to the seat and before the latter could get a grasp of the way he was betrayed, Anirudh forced the cloth against his nostrils. Chloroform. The former very well knew an over dosage would have Neeraj dead. Normally, he couldn't care less. But his ulterior motive was different. He needed Hansika, not a dead body.

Anirudh smirked as he laid back on his seat, watching the light drain from Neeraj's eyes slowly. It wasn't like how they showed in movies. The effect of chloroform was slower. And Anirudh loved watching the detoriation. The prey wasn't just in the trap. Oh, no, no. The prey was poisoned already. A nip of its skin had been tasted. And oh, the predator loved it.

***
June 30, 2017

Hansika felt like a time bomb was tied to her stomach and it was ticking away in sync with her heartbeat, ready to explode any second. She glanced at her wrist watch and blinked twice to register the time in her mind. She was all over the place. Not to mention, a solid two hours late.

When Meenal madam called her two days ago to tell her that her father was missing, her heart stilled. She was not in good terms with her father, not since she left home. She could never meet his face and just tell him; tell him that she was not doing any of this out of her own will. But on some level, Hansika blamed herself for falling into Anirudh's traps and following his words like a puppet. How could she defend herself to her father when she couldn't even forgive herself for the crime she did? The biggest crime you could do in this whole wide world is letting yourself down in front of someone who wants to see it. And she did exactly that.

Even with all of that guilt, she still yearned for her father's love. Or even just his forgiveness. So, when Meenal told her that he wasn't at home that morning and wasn't found anywhere nearby, she took a day off from her camp in Kanhe and searched around the village. Her hopes were soaring high at the possibility that he might have come to see her. She searched all through the entire village and even wandered a bit on the outskirts.

When she returned to the camp late that night, she got a message. A missed call from Anirudh that afternoon, while she was away and her phone had no signal. Hansika's stomach dropped.

An email popped up when she switched her mobile data on. It had a picture file attached and it was from an unknown person. When she opened it, she saw the picture of her father. Limbs tied to the chair he was seated on, lips sealed with a white plaster, face purple and slightly bruised, eyes closed. And to his right, a proud, tall man. The man who claimed her as his girl. His arm around the unconscious man's body, posing for the camera with a smile. His honey brown eyes were twinkling like a kid who just hit the lottery at the fair and is taking home the biggest soft toy. The blood on his knuckles proved otherwise.

Hansika felt a loud ringing in her ear as the world disappeared from her eyes for a second. Gripping her bed, she called him back.

"Oh, my love," he said as soon as he picked up. "Missed me?"

Hansika's voice quivered. "Wh- where is my father, Anirudh?"

He clucked his tongue. "So, you didn't miss me. Cool, bye." And then he had the audacity to actually cut the call.

By this time, Hansika's eyes reddened as harsh tears were pouring down. She called him again, praying for him to pick it up. When he did in the last ring, she cried into the phone, "YES, Ani! I missed you! So much!"

Anirudh's laughs were heard from the other end. "Ah, Princess. Always need a push, don't you?"

"Where's my father, Ani?" She repeated.

"Diveagar beach. Abandoned lighthouse. I want you here by sunrise. Your father's life is on the clock."

"Anirudh, please!"

"Love you, Princess." This time when he cut the call, he knew she wouldn't call back. She was already busy running to the Head of the camp to get permission for a day longer.

The conversation still played in Hansika's mind as she asked the auto rickshaw to stop in front of the lighthouse. The time was 8 AM, about two hours past the actual sunrise. The camp only let her go after the crack of dawn and she risked her life coming to the other of Pune this fast.

Birds were flying about, calling out for their kin, creating a still-morning atmosphere. As Hansika got out of the vehicle and paid the driver, she felt a huge body tower behind her.

She closed her eyes and felt the presence. Even before his voice came out, she knew it wasn't Anirudh. She knew the heat of his presence, and the coldness. This man wasn't him. And so, she swiftly turned, hands fisted to hit him.

The large man was quick to capture her wrists. "Easy, easy."

She observed him. Six foot, built up, the face of a goon.

"You Hansika?" His voice was gruff.

She only nodded. He smirked. "Anirudh's girl is just as feisty as himself. Nice."

Without a word, he dragged her to the lighthouse. She followed him silently, things very clear now. This... Goon: he was Anirudh's help in capturing her father.

"How's my father?" She asked.

The goon stopped in his tracks. They were in front of the lighthouse. "Don't be surprised when you get inside. Your man has a temper, so be careful with your words."

Hansika's gut got twice as heavier. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He just wordlessly climbed the stairs, motioning for her to come after him. Her legs shook as she held the railing and ascended the stairs.

When the last of the stairs were reached, she saw that the door was painted blue. Of course. The goon stopped right in front of the door and opened one side, motioning for her to get inside.

She looked at his eyes, her breath barely coming out. And she saw just a little bit of pity in them, amidst all the effects of drugs and the major indifference. Perhaps, she knew it right then.

One foot set inside, she felt it deep inside her heart. An unshakable feeling. She felt it before she saw it. When the door closed behind her, she turned left. And saw her father. He wasn't tied to the chair anymore.

Instead, he was on the ground. Hansika took one step closer to him. His neck was twisted the left side while the rest of his body was towards the right. And when she focused on his neck, she could see it clearly. The cut was deep. The skin around the cut was already blackening. The blood had dried on his skin and was seeping on the floor. She prayed and prayed as she looked at his chest, hoping for any moment. Any sign of breathing.

"Hansika!" Anirudh's excited voice pierced through her concentration.

He walked from the washing basin on the left, drying his hands in a towel. Through her tear-filled eyes, Hansika saw the stains of red on the towel.

He came close to her, crossing the dead body of her father like it was a mere obstacle. Only when he saw that she was tearing up, he glanced at Neeraj.

"I'm sorry about that, Princess. But give me a kiss first. You're finally here."

He didn't wait for a proper response to hold her face and claim her lips. She closed her eyes and simply let him. She let the murderer of her father steal kisses from her.

But that wasn't enough for Anirudh. He wanted to feel life on her lips. So, he pulled away, frowning.

"Hani, why are you so numb? Is this because of this?" He pointed to the corpse.

"I'm sorry about it, Princess. You were two hours late. And this guy somehow found the way out of his room in the