Knock Knock

November 12^th 9 pm

The bike came to a stop as they reached her home. Vaishali slowly got down from the bike. Gautham removed the helmet from his head and looked at her.

“Thank you Gautham” she said with a smile.

The full moon, in all its glory, lit the street up beautifully. The dense trees made it more pleasant by passing on the cold, yet gentle, breeze. 

‘’Good night’’ she said as she walked away towards her apartment. He stood there for a minute, watching her disappear out of his sight.

It was a beautiful apartment. The cluster of buildings laid out spaciously, with thick dense trees adorning either side of the buildings. ‘A lovely place blissfully away, despite not being far, from the chaos and pollution of the city’ Gautham thought.

He looked at his watch. It was 5 past 9. He kicked his bike on and started to leave. He had hardly moved on to the next gear when he felt his mobile vibrating in his pocket. He picked it up to see Vaishali’s name display on the screen. With a gentle smile he answered the call.

‘’Gautham!!!” the voice cried.

‘’Vaishali???’’

‘’Gautham…….. Gautham………. Come up immediately….. Gautham pls…. Gautham….. Door no 503……”

Gautham was paralysed in shock hearing the panic in her voice. He dropped the bike on the road and dashed towards her apartment. 

Her house was in the 5^th floor. He raced up the stairs hastily. He could hear her voice crying out and it grew louder with every second. He sprinted like a man possessed, and in the process knocking down a teen talking in her phone, leaving her startled. 

The impact of the collision sent his bag sprawling on to the floor. He didn’t bother to pick it up and as he continued to rush towards her house his mind tried to draw his attention to the mobile phone which just fell from the bag. But his feet were too much in a hurry to let his mind process any further. He reached the 5^th floor and just before entering Door no 503 he remembered about the phone which had just fallen out from his bag, and the thought sent chills down his spine. He came to a sudden halt. He could hear Vaishali’s cries from inside the house. With trembling hands, he opened the door and went inside.

Gautham froze with terror from what he saw. The door locked behind him.

November 13^th 

The phones kept ringing. It only added to the already noisy environment. 

‘’Is the jeep ready’’ Kumaravel was asking his sub-ordinate. ‘’Elumalai, you accompany them to the Court’’ he instructed. ‘’Make sure you reach by 10’’

As he was giving out instructions, Inspector Vinith entered. Kumaravel wished him with a salute.

‘’Have you got any updates on the Vaishali case’’ Vinith quipped.

‘’Yes sir. We have completed the preliminary enquiries. But sir…..’’ Kumaravel dragged.

‘’What’s the matter?’’

‘’We are looking at two deaths, and not one.’’

Vinith looked up. ‘’Two?’’

‘’Yes sir. We went there after we received a complaint that the house remained locked and there was blood coming through beneath the doors’’

‘’It’s the apartment where the girl lives?’’

‘’Yes sir. She lives there alone’’

‘’Alone? What about her family?’’

‘’They live in Trichy, where her father carries on his business. Vaishali had come to Chennai few months ago for joining her graduation. She was the only child of her over-protective parents who didn’t want her to stay in college hostel. So they had taken a small house on rent for her.’’

‘’No one lives with her?’’

‘’No one sir. They had employed a maid who is the only one who visits the house’’

‘’Did you speak with her?’’

‘’Yes sir. She had come to the house last morning as usual, but found it locked. She tried calling Vaishali, but didn’t receive any answer. So she left. And today early morning Vaishali’s neighbours called us after seeing blood coming through the doors of the house. We went there around 6 in the morning and broke open the house.’’

‘’Go on”

‘’We found the girl hanging from the ceiling fan, and the body of a boy with his wrists slashed. From our initial enquiry, both of them were studying in the same college”

There was silence in the room.

‘’Has the initial medical examination been done?’’

‘’Yes sir. As per the reports the girl must have died more than 24 hours ago. But the wounds in the guy’s body suggest he might have breathed his last only few hours before. In fact it looks like one of the girls in the apartment had seen him rushing upstairs to Door no 503 last night’’

‘’Wait. The girl was dead at least a day ago, right? And the door was locked since yesterday morning. If that’s the case how did this guy get inside the house last night?’’

‘’………..’’

‘’Both the deaths are suicides, right?’’

‘’We aren’t sure, sir. There are blood stains all over the house from the hall to the bedroom to the kitchen. And there are no finger-prints on the blood stained knife – not even of the guy himself. If the guy had killed himself, why aren’t his fingerprints available in the knife – it is unlikely that he would have bothered to mask his fingerprints if he was committing suicide. This raises a doubt that someone else might have killed him. That might probably explain the blood stains all over the house – the guy might have tried to escape from the attacker or tried to escape out of the house after the attack.’’

‘’In that case, where did the attacker go?’’

‘’We don’t have an idea sir’’

 ‘’Were you able to get any evidence from the house?’’ quipped Vinith.

‘’Just the routine stuffs sir. Nothing significant to raise any suspicion. We have collected their phones, but they are locked. So we have brought a guy from a local electronic repair shop to unlock them. We have informed both their parents. The girls’ parents will be reaching by noon. We spoke to the guy’s parents – they aren’t aware of enmity with anyone.’’

Vinith was trying to find out the possibilities. Vaishali had died at least a day back. Gautham was seen rushing to her flat the previous night, after which he seems to have died. Gautham’s death is not a suicide – if he wanted to commit suicide why would he go to her apartment. Both Gautham and Vaishali were from the same college. Are their deaths connected? Were both Gautham and Vaishali murdered by a same person? If yes, where is the murderer?

Probably the murderer is still in the house….

Nov 11^th

Vaishali hurried into her home. As soon as she entered, she threw her bag in the sofa and fell face-first on the bed. All the emotions which she had bottled up inside, exploded and came out in the form of tears.

‘’I hate this. I HATE THIS!!! ‘’ she shouted. ‘’Why is my life so miserable??? Why am I being treated like a piece of crap??? ‘’ she couldn’t control her tears.

She looked at her deity’s picture hanging in a frame on the wall and started yelling “Why did you make me so powerless; so weak? Why do you allow people to trample me; walk over me? Why do you ALWAYS match a kind heart with a weak mind & body and give more strength & power to the uglier ones. CAN’T YOU GET YOUR COMBINATION RIGHT?? EVER????

She walked into the bathroom and turned the shower fully on. The cold water struggled for a while to cool her body down. She felt the water pushing her tears down her body – like a car wiper, wiping off the tears only to find more tears flowing down. Her eyes were refusing to relent. She stood there for minutes, her mind failing to let go the humiliating feeling earlier in the day caused by Gautham. ‘’What sort of pleasure they get by showcasing their ‘might’ on weaker and helpless people. Do they consider pushing a weaker person down with their power, as an act of bravado?? No, idiot. It’s NOT. It’s an act of SHAME. It’s a poor and most pitiful way of fooling your false ego in making it feel powerful. You CANNOT become powerful by crushing a weaker and defenceless soul’’

Vaishali was finding it unbearable to put up with Gautham’s taunts. She felt deeply degraded and humiliated. And she felt it frustrating that she couldn’t do anything to stop it or even put it across. The helpless silence added to her agony.

She came out of the shower. She walked around aimlessly, choosing to ignore her usual routine of evening music. She even skipped her dinner and choose to seek solace in her bed. She lay with her eyes open and staring at the ceiling, while her mind was submerged with thoughts. She didn’t have the strength to battle the demons in her mind, nor did she get the comfort of seeking someone’s help. She pitied herself. She felt miserable being in this position and not being able to find a way out, until she foolishly thought she found one.

Nov 12^th 1 pm

As Gautham was making his way to his class, he saw his bhakra sitting in the canteen all alone by herself. He went and sat next to her in the table.

‘’You aren’t coming to the class? 

Vaishali remained quiet.

‘’Go, get me a samosa and coke’’ he ordered

She lifted her face and looked at him, without revealing any trace of the simmering anger rising inside her.

‘’What are you looking at? Go’’

She quietly stood up.

‘’Wait.’’ Gautham called up two of his friends sitting nearby and asked ‘’Do you want samosa?’’

‘’No, it is getting late for the class’’ they said.

‘’Ukkaru da, what’s the hurry” he said to them and looked at Vaishali ‘’Make it 3 samosas and a coke’’

She quietly went and came back with the samosas and coke. Gautham had an evil smile as he sipped the coke.

The 1^st hour in the college had begun, but Gautham noticed Vaishali wasn’t in the class – she hadn’t come back from the canteen. The classes went on till the mid-break at 4 pm. Still there was no trace of Vaishali. Intrigued he asked one of his classmates. ‘’ She hasn’t come today to college” she replied. 

‘’But I saw her in the canteen today afternoon’’ Gautham remarked.

‘’Today afternoon? No, you probably would have seen someone else. I have been trying to reach her since yesterday. Her mobile is also switched off. And moreover I was there in the canteen today afternoon. I’m sure I didn’t see her there’’

Gautham was confused. She sure was there in the canteen today afternoon. But why didn’t she come to the class. 

The next sessions went on till 6 pm, but Gautham’s mind was confused with Vaishali’s absence. Thinking about it, he was walking towards the canteen. And lo, there she was. Sitting in the same table where he saw her in the afternoon. She was sitting with her head facing down and her body completely still. He went near her.

‘’Hey Vaishali’’ he called.

She looked up. He could see she was visible disturbed. Her face looked pale. It was possible she had been crying for long, he thought. 

‘’What’s wrong? Why are you sitting here? Why didn’t you come to the class today?

‘’I didn’t feel like coming’’ she said in a disinterested tone.

He sat opposite her. ‘’Is something wrong?’’ he asked again.

‘’Nothing. It would be better if you just leave me alone’’

He remembered what happened in the afternoon.  She looked disturbed even then. But of course he didn’t care to notice then. And he also remembered what he did. He, rather unusually, felt bad about his behaviour. He wanted to apologise to her, but his male ego wouldn’t let him do. Nonetheless, he wanted to try and compensate now by being of some help to her.

‘’You don’t have to tell me if you wish not to. But sitting here all alone isn’t going to help you feel any better. You could have stayed at your home if you weren’t feeling good. Ok, now get up. Come and meet our friends. They have been wondering what happened to you since yesterday. It seems they weren’t able to reach you even in mobile’’.

‘’My mobile isn’t working. It’s not getting switched on for some reason’’ she interrupted.

‘’Give me the phone. Let me have a look’’

After examining the phone for few minutes he said ‘’I guess it must be the battery. Try to give it for a repair’’

‘’I don’t know good repair shops near my home’’ 

‘’In that case, I can have it done for you in a good shop near my home’’ he offered

‘’No, that’s fine. I’ll manage’’

‘’It’s nothing. Anyway you’ll not be able to use the phone tonight. I’ll get it repaired and give it to you tomorrow morning’’ he said

‘’I hope it is not a trouble to you’’

‘’Stop being formal’’. Saying that he put her phone in his bag. ‘’Now come and get some fresh air’’

They went out to an eatery near the college. They spent the next hour or so chatting over some refreshments. 

It was 8 pm. ‘’It’s getting late, I guess I have to make a move’’ Vaishali said “I need to book a cab. Can I use your phone?” 

‘’No, you can’t. Sorry’’ he replied with a fake coldness.

With a grin, he continued “I’ll drop you home”

”No, no. I will take a cab or an auto”.

 ‘’Relax. It’s getting late. I’ll drop you home’’

‘’No pls. You don’t have to strain yourself. And my home is not in the same route as yours.’’

‘’It’s nothing. I just have to take a small detour for 10 minutes. It isn’t much of a difficulty.’’

‘’Are you sure?’’ she asked hesitantly.

‘’Yes. Come, sit”

Nov 13^th 

Just as he got submerged with the thoughts, Kumaravel’s voice brought him back to the present ‘’ Sir we have unlocked Vaishali’s phone’’

‘’Bring it here’’ Vinith said.

He held the phone in his hand. It looked as good as new but for a few scratches. A litter of cute French bulldogs adorned the home screen wallpaper. Vinith quickly scanned the call log. 

There were no calls made or received the previous day. 

Vaishali had last received a call from her mother the day before. It seemed to have lasted only a little over 3 minutes. Must have been a routine call, Vinith reckoned. Further scrutiny of the call log didn’t raise any suspicion. Vinith then moved on to her WhatsApp chats. He scrolled down the chat window glancing through the messages from individuals. He opened the chat from a contact named ‘Rahul’. His eyebrows went up as he read the messages

2 NOVEMBER 2019

I just can’t stand this anymore. I’m quitting the college and coming back home…     8.38 pm

Vaishu pls.. I understand how you feel.. But quitting your studies for this reason

is not a solution. 8.38 pm

Its getting too stressful da.. Its beyond what I can tolerate. You know it

8.39 pm

Talk to chithi and chitappa about this 8.40 pm

Pls… I cant keep repeating the same thing to you.. You know what they’ll say.. They’ll only ask me to adjust or ignore and continue. If only it was as easy as that…  8.41 pm

Vaishu just give me a few days time. We’ll try to sort it out 8.41 pm

Vinith scanned through the messages, occasionally stopping at some messages.

19 OCTOBER 2019

He’s at it again da… He makes it a point to humiliate me in front of everyone..    9.14 pm

 What happened? Gautham? 9.16 pm

I hate him to the core… 9.17 pm

Tell me what happened dear 9.17 pm

He had deliberately put chicken gravy in my lunch and is forcing me to eat it, saying gravy isn’t non-veg. I threw away my food and came home without eating. From then, everyday he’s doing it. It’s the 4^th straight day I’m coming 

home without having lunch 9.18 pm

Vinith continued scrolling the messages. She had spoken about how Gautham made her sit late at the college and complete the project work given to him and his friends; how he used to make her run errands for him; how he gangs up with his friends to take pleasure in humiliating her in front of them. Vinith felt empathetic with her, as he read the messages explaining how low and powerless it made her feel. He kept the phone down. 

The dots were beginning to reveal the pattern. 

Nov 12^th morning:

Vaishali was sitting down on the floor leaning against the wall. Her hands were holding a beautiful frame containing a photo of her with her parents. With tears rolling down she looked at the joyous faces in the photo. She cursed herself when she realised she might have erased the smiles from all those faces. She saw her body hanging from the ceiling. She hated herself for letting the momentary helplessness take away the entirety of her family’s dreams. And through all these pain and tears, she could picture her devil Gautham laughing at her and mocking her pain. She had always believed in the Tamil saying which claims that the Supreme power of God cracks down on those who abuse their power on the defenceless. She had waited her entire life expecting this restoration of balance in power. Now she decided it was time to take things in her own hands. She felt a new sense of power in her. ‘It’s payback time, Mr. Gautham’ she thought to herself. It was time to avenge her death. She planned in her mind what she wanted to do. She wanted his death at the same place where her dreams came to an end. 

‘The world will be a better place for the Vaishalis, with one Gautham less’ she told herself.