When I am lost
somewhere in this
big world
trapped
in an invisible cage
suffocated
with the air around me
my mind
burdened with thoughts
which are difficult to decipher
my eyes
searching for the way out
my soul struggling
to free itself
from the clutches
of despair
I see a light
I feel ecstatic
but as I go near
bright rays burn my eyes
I give up
I can feel the fire
engulfing
each and every part of me
and I am surrounded
by the warmth
which I was searching for
from eternity
and in those last moments
when I am fully consumed
I illuminate the entire universe
with the ferocious energy
that's enough to destroy
the shackles which tied me down
and free my soul forever

Liberating
is what you feel
when the cold sea waves
kiss your soul
and the sand engulfs
your feet
comforting the tiredness
which was weighing you down
when the birds
free themseleves
out of the cage we humans built
flying away in the open sky
when you end ties
with negativity
ending the trauma
you put yourself through
that's when you rise
above everything
and see the beauty
that exists in life
that's when you realize
you are truly free
and that freedom
is an eternal bliss!

Night

Night, I am terrified
of the darkness
you bring along
yet I look forward
to your homecoming
I am petrified
of the unknown
you hide in the sky
yet I look forward
to the peeking stars
who add to your beauty
No matter how much you scare me
I'll still be in love with you
for I see people bringing down their guards
and facing their hidden demons
I see people removing their masks
and accepting their real skin
I see people enjoying their solitude
with a smile keeping all worries aside
The quietness alarms me
for the world seems so much at peace
Those few hours of complete darkness
is what keeps us alive
for the sun brings along
a new day
to put on new mask
to build a new wall
and wander aimlessly in the rat race...

Picture Poem

There's no place I would rather be
than the blanket of your arms
snuggling away every worry and sadness looming over my head

There's nothing I would rather feel
than your warm breath on my neck
calming down every nerve of the body like the sun after rain

There's nothing I would rather touch
than your fingers
for it soothes away every pain I endured in life

There's no one I would be with, rather than you
for you made me believe in happiness
but destiny is cruel, my love
it snatched away everything I ever had
and all that is left now is this bench
the sole witness to our budding love and our slow death...

She was the fire of ignited minds;

She was the sunshine of gloomy faces;

She was the falling star for everyone’s wishes;

She was everyone’s dream,

Yet there was a side of her which no one knew

For everyone believed in her smile

No one saw the lonely tears she cried

Everyday she pasted a smile on her face

And went on with her life

Whoever saw her was jealous of her life

But they didn’t know how much strength she put around for that one smile

How much she burnt inside to lighten up others life

How much it pained her to take a breath yet she took everyone’s breath away

They do not know and they never will….

For she will keep it all inside her till the time she can…

For she won’t let herself be weak in front of others

For she doesn’t want others to take advantage of her weakness

For she is strong and she knows she can overcome this…

I wander
place to place
in quest of the things I lost
in this world's rat race
wishing for a miracle
to give me back
the things I took for granted
to give me a reason
to keep on fighting
to come back stronger
everytime I break apart
to have a place where I belong
but now I know
everything I lost
has been there all along
for you have always been
my home!!

drop by drop
the rain
cleanses the Earth
quenching it's thirst
healing it's brokenness
rejuvenating it's soul
and mesmerized humans
simply wait
for someone
to bring along that kind of rain
never realizing
that they themselves
are
THE RAIN!!

To defeat every

obstacle

sadness

failure

pain

I

will rise again

like a phoenix from the ashes

to rebuild hope

to reunite with happiness

to overturn failures

to overcome pain

Yes I will rise again

Unrequited Love

Maybe...maybe it was not meant to be,
Maybe I was too occupied loving you,
that I turned blind eye to the reality,
Maybe I was foolish enough to dream about us,
for you are the moon and I, a mere star,
Maybe I couldn't show you all the love I had,
for I was saving my heart from the quagmire of your love,
Or maybe you knew how much I loved you,
and you felt it too,
Maybe we could have been together,
had I let you known how much deep my love was,
Maybe...maybe we could have started our story,
but the game of destiny played its card,
for here we are,
Maybe...almost together yet so far!

Scars - Part 5

Part 1 and 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part 5 

As he watched the evening news, his smile widened and a sense of satisfaction engulfed his face.

“Everything is fair in love and hatred! Finally after 4 years, I got justice. It feels so good”, Harshad said to himself and walked away from the television screen.

Kapil and Aditi were also a part of Harshad’s gang along with Rekha and Trisha. Rekha and Trisha framed Harshad in the rape case and when Aditi gave the false statement against him he lost hope. His family’s death further broke him but he vowed to destroy all the people who destroyed his life. 

He came back to the city and got in touch with Aditi who by then had realized how Rekha and Trisha had brainwashed her to frame him.

He and Aditi together hatched the plan to kill Rekha. After which Aditi helped Harshad to fake his death by stealing an unclaimed dead body from the morgue to put him off the hook.

Getting into Trisha’s flat was no big deal, as Aditi had made the duplicate keys which helped them on the day of the murder, she made sure everyone in the building was asleep and they stealthily entered Trisha’s flat, he panicked when he saw her awake but was relieved once she went back to sleep. Not wanting to waste the opportunity he slashed her throat first and then wrists. She died within minutes. 

In the hurry to leave Aditi didn't notice her ring which had fallen off but Harshad did and he placed Aditi’s ring in a place from where it can be easily found and left.

                                                                                    

Even though Aditi had realized her mistake but it was too late for him to forgive her. When guilt-ridden Aditi contacted him, he played along to take revenge from all three of them and Aditi being naive didn't realize the same. 

Rekha and Trisha suffered for their sins and now was the turn of Aditi, her guilt was so big that she never told anyone about Harshad's involvement and the fact he was alive, not even to Kapil.

After Aditi’s sentencing, Harshad left the city and started a new life. True, his life never went back to normal, yet everyday he would take a new identity and visit places helping people on his way as he knew how hard life was being on the other side, living a nightmare no one knew about. 

Sometimes nightmares scar the lives they touch and stay on forever.

The End 

Scars - Part 4

Part 1 and 2 Part 3

Part 4

As Kapil came out, Omar and Abhishek introduced themselves and briefed about the case they were investigating.

“Oh yes, I heard about Trisha. Tell me officer what do you want to know?”

“So how long have you known Trisha and Rekha?”

“We were together in school but post that there wasn’t much contact with them, I heard from our common friends that they both were pursuing medicine. After that I met Trisha only at Rekha’s funeral. That was the last time I saw her.”

“Do you know Harshad?”

“Yes, actually we were a gang. Rekha, Trisha, Harshad and I. But later on things changed and our gang split up.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Harshad and Rekha were in a relationship, but after sometime they started having problems due to Rekha’s behaviour. She was a rich spoilt brat who loved attention whereas Harshad was a very down to earth guy. He would agree to whatever Rekha said but everyone has a limit. There were rumours that she was two timing him and flirting with other guys. People used to make fun of Harshad and Rekha never gave him any importance. When it became unbearable for Harshad he confronted her. There was a big argument between them and Harshad decided to break up.”

“But Rekha’s parents told us that Harshad was behind her”

“Oh, they don’t know anything. Sometimes I think even I never knew her.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because she stoop to such a level from where there was no returning back. Rekha couldn’t accept that Harshad left her. Though she never loved him, but her pride was everything for her. So she hatched a plan with Trisha and filed a rape case against Harshad. He was arrested from his home in front of all his family members. He was completely baffled at the turn of events.  He pleaded innocence but no one was ready to hear him out. Eventually he was acquitted but the damage was already done. Since Rekha and Trisha were rich they got out of the legal hassles by bribing the officials but Harshad's life completely changed after that. Fed up of the daily taunts from neighbours, his entire family committed suicide. In a blink, he lost everything”

“Kapil, we think Harshad is the one who killed Rekha and Trisha, we were not aware of the motive but now you have given us the motive as well”

“That’s impossible! Harshad is dead. He died two years back in a road accident, actually the same day as Rekha, April 29”

Omar and Abhishek looked at each other flabbergasted. Kapil noticed the same but didn’t say anything.

“What?”

“Yes Officer. I clearly remember we were coming back after Rekha’s funeral when I got a call from Police Station. I was the one who received his body. It was fully mutilated and I identified him from his belongings”

“Does anyone else know about it?”

“No, as I told you his entire family committed suicide and none of his relatives were in contact with him. After that rape case, he was alone. There was no one whom I could inform so I only cremated his body”

“Ok so..”, the ringing phone made Omar stop in midway. He excused himself and went to attend the call. The call was from the officer whom he has asked to find the jeweller. After finishing the call, Omar sent a photo to that officer's phone and immediately he received the reply he waited for. 

After five minutes…

“So Kapil, tell me something, does your wife know Harshad?”, asked Omar

Kapil was taken aback at the question. Omar noticed Aditi’s changed expressions.

“Yes, actually we met through Harshad only. They were childhood friends; losing Harshad was a big shock for her”

“Ah well... I want you to look at a picture and tell me if you recognize that person.”

“Sure, Officer”

Omar passed on his phone to Kapil while Kapil was confused after seeing the photo.

“Is it some kind of a joke, Officer?”

“Of course not”

“Then, why are showing me mine and Aditi’s photo?”

“Mr Kapil, we are showing you killer’s photo”

“What nonsense is this?”

“Oh you very well know what we are talking about. You both killed Trisha, didn’t you? You thought no one will find out? There’s nothing called as a perfect crime Mr Kapil. See this ring; this is Aditi’s isn’t it?”

“Yes, but where did you find it?”

“Hahaha nice joke right, Omar?”, Abhishek chuckled looking at Omar

“This was found at the crime scene, from Trisha’s bedroom which probably Aditi lost in haste while escaping from the crime scene and the jeweller has confirmed that you both bought this ring. We also showed this photo to him and he identified you both.”

“Officer, this is my ring I agree but I lost this ring few weeks back, I don’t know how it reached Trisha’s house”, Aditi pleaded

“Yes officer, I think you are making a mistake. We never went to Trisha’s house”, Kapil said

“Maybe you never went to Trisha’s house but you did went to a party at the same hospital where Trisha worked…and Aditi too”, Abhishek said looking at Aditi and Kapil.

Abhishek recalled why the killer’s sketch seemed familiar to him; he had seen Kapil and Aditi with Trisha in the photo album which was recovered from her place and the sketch which was drawn according to security guard’s description was of Aditi with fake moustache and beard. The guard didn't realize that it was actually a woman in the garb of a man

When Abhishek and Omar were waiting for Kapil, they had found few photos of Aditi and Kapil hanging on the wall and it matched with the sketch completely and this made Abhishek absolutely sure of Aditi being the killer.

"Yes I am nurse and I work at the same hospital where Trisha worked and that was an official function so we were there."

“Officer, please. I agree I lied to you about not meeting Trisha after Rekha’s funeral but that’s because I didn’t want to get involved in the murder case. But we didn’t kill anyone sir, please don’t do this to us”, Kapil pleaded.

"Mr Kapil, we don’t believe any of the things which you say and based on the evidences found we are arresting you both", Omar said

Aditi couldn't hold it any longer, she knew Kapil was innocent and she didn't want him to suffer anymore.

"I am guilty. Please leave Kapil”, Aditi said coldly

All eyes turned towards her questioningly.

“I was the witness in the fake case which Rekha filed and I testified against Harshad. That time I didn't know the truth and when I came to know the truth it was too late. I had lost Harshad.. I had disappointed the only person who supported me through thick and thin. So I planned all of this, I wanted to avenge the injustice meted out to Harshad", she replied coldly.

"What are you saying, Aditi? That all is past and you know it wasn’t your fault.”, said Kapil

"Believe me Kapil, it’s easier said than done. I am as much responsible as Rekha and Trisha and I couldn’t live with this guilt so I took this extreme step. Please forgive me for hiding everything from you. I lied about doing night shifts actually I was keeping an eye to Trisha. I used to visit her house frequently and I managed to get duplicate keys of her house. That night I left early and waited at her house to come back from work. Once I got an opportunity I attacked her, I didn't want her to die so easily so I made her suffer for everything she did to Harshad."

"And what about Rekha? Did you kill her too?"

"Yes I did, the same way I killed Rekha and then I went on to meet Harshad and told him everything. I promised him I will avenge for all the wrong these people had done with him but I didn't know that would be the last time I see him. The same day he was killed in an accident."

Kapil was too shocked by the turn of events to react. He knew how guilty Aditi felt but never in his dreams had he thought she would kill someone to get rid of the guilt but he also knew how much Harshad meant to her.

He remembered how he and Aditi had a huge fight after she appeared in court as a fake witness. They stopped talking after that as Kapil supported Harshad till the end. When Aditi realized that she has been fooled, she came back to Kapil and together they went to meet Harshad but unfortunately he had left the city by then and after that all he saw Harshad’s dead body being handed over to him. He had no clue about Aditi’s meeting with Harshad neither did he know what was going on in Aditi’s mind. Only thing he knew was that he had lost everyone he loved and cared about in front of his eyes and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Meanwhile a team of officers reached Kapil’s residence with the arrest warrant and Aditi was taken into custody.

“Dr. Trisha Kashyap murder case solved”

“Dr. Trisha: Noble profession criminal past”

Far away, a pair of eyes was keeping a close watch on the turn of events and was glad everything was going as planned.

To be continued...

Scars - Part 3

Part 1 and 2

Part 3

This entire scenario was now beginning to creep out Omar. And as he thought about it, nothing made sense.

“But how are these cases related to each other?”

“Omar, I think we should reopen Rekha Mishra’s case. I am sure the person who killed Dr. Rekha is the one who killed Dr. Trisha as well.”

"We have just 48 hours and time is running out. If you believe so, then let's reopen Dr. Rekha’s case and if the killer is same I want him arrested ASAP”

Officer Abhishek with a team of officers went to Dr. Rekha’s house to meet her parents.  Her parents were happy to see Officer Abhishek, anticipating a final breakthrough in their daughter’s case however their happiness was short lived when they got to know about Trisha's murder.

They had just returned from Australia where their son lived and had no clue about the incidents which happened meanwhile. When they heard Officer Abhishek’s thoughts about the killer being the same, they broke down.

“Oh no, he killed her as well”, said Rekha’s mom in between the sobs

“I am sorry, you know the killer?”, asked Officer puzzled     

                        

“Harshad. He was her friend and was in love with her but Rekha never accepted his love. He was behind her for months but suddenly one day he just vanished and never came back.”

“Then how can you say he is behind all this? And if you knew why you didn’t tell us before?”

“We never doubted on him as this incident happened 2-3 years before her death. But when you told about Trisha then all I could think was of him. Rekha, Trisha and Harshad were school friends but when Rekha didn’t accept his love he went away from their lives. We never heard from him again but he is the only common link between the two girls.”

“If Harshad is the one behind all this, then you are as much responsible for Trisha’s murder as him”, Abhishek said and stormed out of the house while the Mishras cried in the background.

He quickly dialled Omar and informed him of the developments. They made a list of their common friends and divided among themselves so that they can meet all of them tonight itself.  After four years they were getting a breakthrough and they didn’t want to waste any more time.

One after the other they met the people in the list but to no avail. None of them was aware about Harshad. 

Meanwhile the sketch artist did his job and finally the killer had a face. 

Omar saw Abhishek lost in a deep thought after seeing the sketch.

"Do you know this face?" Omar asked breaking Abhishek's train of thoughts. 

"I don't know Omar...it looks familiar but I am not able to trace it out" 

"Just keep trying, and you will trace him out"

"Yeah"

"Okay so their friends were of no use, what next?"

"Hold on, there's one more name left on the list."

"Who?"

"Kapil Awasthi. I went to his place but it was locked. We have to check on him tomorrow"

"But if this guy also turns out like others then we will be back to square one"

"I have a feeling he wont disappoint us"

"Abhishek and his gut feeling", teased Omar and both of them burst laughing. 

The entire department was in awe of Abhiskek's sixth sense. He was rarely wrong, but that's the thing which comes when you have been in service for more than a decade.

"But on a serious note, I hope you are right this time like always"

"Yeah. Any leads on the ring which we found at the crime scene?"

"No, not yet but there are not many jewelers who make that kind of ring so sooner or later we will receive a lead, till then we have no other option but to wait"

Next day, Abhishek and Omar left to meet their last hope.

"So finally our guy is at home”, Omar said to Abhishek as they rang the bell

“Yes?”, a feminine voice asked        

“We are here to meet Kapil Awasthi”, Omar and Abhishek showed their IDs and said

“I am his wife Aditi, please come inside I will call him.” 

Both of them made themselves comfortable on the sofa. As Abhishek scanned the room, his gaze stuck at something. He nudged Omar and he too followed Abhishek's gaze.

"Is it..?", before Omar could complete Abhishek nodded.

Their gaze was stuck on the photograph on the wall, the photograph which matched the sketch they were carrying. 

To be continued...

Scars - Part 1 and 2

Part 1

She felt a cold blade against her neck and the next moment she found herself falling down the skyscraper into the maddening traffic below.

Thud

Trisha woke up with a jolt as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. From past few days she was having the same dream every night. And every time, she would wake up scared only to find herself alive and in the safe confines of her flat, her home for the past 6 years.

She took out her mobile and checked the time. It was 2 in the morning. 

She collected her thoughts and went to kitchen; she poured herself a glass of cold water and went to the balcony for some fresh air.

“I need to take a break. It’s been so long I took a proper holiday! It’s enough I am going to take a break from everything specially these nightmares”, she thought to herself.

She closed the balcony door and moved back to her room to catch up on the remaining sleep but she failed to notice the shadow in her room which retreated back into the dark. 

Part 2

Trisha was a Psychiatrist at one of the top hospitals in the country and was one among the best in the hospital. She had everything ticked off from her wishlist, she had a nice home in one of the posh areas of the city, earned double of what her fellow doctors were earning and had a nice set of parents who supported her all through everything.

Little did she know about the danger lurking around the corner which was coming closer with every passing second.

Next day the news channels were abuzz with the new scoop coming in. 

“Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Trisha Kashyap found dead”

“City of Murders: Another promising life lost”

“Dr. Trisha Kashyap Murder Case: Are our women safe?”

Officer Omar and Abhishek reached the crime scene. 

"Sir, it looks like killer was known to the victim, there was no sign of forced entry and no sign of struggle as well"

Omar looked around the room and scrutinized the crime scene to the very detail. He saw the security guard standing at the corner. His gaze met Omar's and he walked towards him as he saw his gesture.

"What's your name?"

"Sir, Madhur"

“Since when are you working here?”

“Sir, 4 years”

"Did you see anyone coming or going yesterday night or anything suspicious?"

"No sir, no one came here yesterday but..."

"But, what?"

"Sir, today I saw a man standing outside the apartment early morning. It is the first time I saw him."

"Didn't you ask him?"

"I did, but he left in haste without saying anything"

"Do you remember his face clearly? Can you help our sketch artist with his details?"

"Yes sir, I remember it."

Omar nodded and asked Abhishek to call the sketch artist. 

"He will reach within 45 minutes", Abhishek informed Omar

"Great"

Meanwhile both the officers checked the flat and interrogated the neighbors. Abhishek also checked with the building’s Secretary about security guard’s credentials but it was all clean. He used to work in the building opposite to the apartment and was sincere at his job.

Meanwhile Omar found a ring on the floor; he picked it up and saw the initials AK engraved on it. He quickly put it in the evidence box to investigate further. 

Abhishek saw Omar looking towards the window. Working with him since 5 years, he knew exactly what Omar was thinking. 

"Omar, I don't think the killer came from the window. This is the 12th floor, right in the middle of 24 floors of this building and its impossible to climb up from the ground or down from terrace", Abhishek said

"I think you are right. We need to meet victim's friends and colleagues to reach the killer"

At Police HQ, the officers went into tizzy. This new murder had added to the mounting pressure.

“I don’t care how you do it but I want the murderer caught within 48 hours”, the commissioner ordered Officer Omar

“Sir, we are working on it closely and are investigating everyone related to the doctor. Also, one of our officers is on the way to meet her parents and check if she had any enemies and to know more about her friend circle. We are also interrogating the security guard and the sketch artist is on his way. By end of the day, we will have a face to this killer”, Officer Omar informed.

“All that’s fine but make sure this murder case is solved as soon as possible, the people are already raising questions on their safety and this case has added fuel to the fire. There’s a lot of pressure from media as well as they are following this case closely, our one mistake can ruin things.”

“Yes sir”

Back in his cabin, Officer Omar was in a deep thought. Though he had assured Commissioner he will solve the case, he had no idea how to proceed. He had reached a dead end in this investigation.

According to Dr. Trisha’s parents, she didn’t have any enmity with anyone. She was a kind hearted girl who could never do any wrong to anyone. Even her friends and coworkers agreed with them. 

“If it’s not personal and professional, then what else could be the reason”, Officer Omar thought to himself.

The ring which Omar found at the crime scene did not belong to Trisha which meant it was killer's ring. This was a great lead as those kind of rings very few people use to make. He had immediately asked one of his officers to find the jeweler who sold this ring in the hope to find a clue related to killer.

“Omar”

He was jolted back to reality as Officer Abhishek came in with a bundle of files. Officer Abhishek was not only assisting him on this murder case which had entire city glued to the news channels but was also one of his close friends.

“Yes Abhishek, go on”

“According to the post mortem report, death was due to loss of blood and it happened between 2 am to 5 am. There was a deep cut on her neck which apparently resulted in her death. Apart from that killer had also slashed both her wrists to make sure she is dead.”

“And there’s one more interesting thing”

Abhishek stopped for a moment, looked at Omar and continued again.

“Do you remember Rekha Mishra murder case?”

“Yes of course, we had to close the case as her killer was never found. Even after 4 years we are clueless about that case. But why do you bring that up now?”

“Because I think we have found the murderer”

“How is that possi…”, Omar stopped midway as he realised the similarity of both the murders. 

Dr. Rekha was a surgeon at the same hospital where Dr. Trisha worked and apparently both of them were good friends from their school days.

And coincidence being, both of them were murdered in the same manner on the same date, 29-April only 4 years apart.

To be continued...