It was shortly
after midnight when an SUV with its headlights turned off approached slowly and
stopped in the dark alley behind Stellar County Society in Greater Noida West.
A shadow in a hoodie emerged from the car and swiftly walked towards the broken
portion of the society’s boundary wall. The wall had collapsed because of
severe rains some time ago, and the ongoing RWA funds dispute had delayed its
repair and restoration.
The hooded and
masked entity, whose face was completely covered except the eyes, carefully
removed the makeshift barrier in the damaged part of the wall, which kept stray
animals and jaywalkers at bay, and entered the premises on all fours. It was
late in the night, so there was no one around to notice the unexpected entry.
As he entered, he turned around and replaced the fiber sheet back in its
place.
Taking advantage
of the dark and unattended area, he tiptoed to the tower where Anirudh and
Pankti lived and hid himself in a corner from where he could keep an eye on the
lobby guard. He appeared to be familiar with the society’s dimensions and
camera locations.
The guard on duty
was fast asleep in his chair. He quickly sneaked past him and took the lift to
the 17th floor, where Pankti lived. The iron door was latched from the outside,
which meant she had gone to the terrace as usual after dinner.
He then took the
stairway and slowly climbed to the top floor, where Anirudh lived. His door was
latched from the inside, indicating he was inside.
The hooded entity
then walked up towards the terrace and hid behind the door that led to it.
Meanwhile, Pankti
was alone on the terrace, taking a walk after dinner and humming a Kishore-Lata
popular song that she was listening to on her phone over Bluetooth. Of late,
she had developed a special liking for the 60s and 70s Bollywood songs after
learning that Anirudh enjoyed listening to them, which is a sure sign of a
woman hopelessly in love. A cold, gentle breeze was flowing across, and the
atmosphere was serene, making Pankti feel both relaxed and contended.
She walked for a
while before stopping by the railing at the far end of the terrace to look at
the high rises in front and the lights on the road below. She was humming along
to the music in her ear and couldn’t hear that somebody had come up behind
her.
She turned around
just in time to see a masked shadow standing extremely close to her. “Tum kon
ho?She was startled.
What the shadow
did next was unthinkable. It pushed Pankti right over the railing.
Around the same
time, Anirudh was lying on his bed in his flat beside Kabir, trying to sleep
but couldn’t doze off even for a minute. Sleep has been evading him tonight.
His mind was still struggling to decide between him and Pankti. His heart told
him to say ‘yes’ to her, but his mind was still full of bizarre thoughts.
He gently shook
Kabir, who was fast asleep. On the second attempt, Kabir eventually murmured,
“Papa itna mat socho…Pankti aunty ko haan bol do. Mujhe bhi wo bahut pasand
hai.” He turned around and slept with a smile on his face, leaving Anirudh
surprised.
Kabir might have
sensed the attraction Anirudh and Pankti used to feel for each other whenever
they were together. He was young, but not so small as to not get the vibe
between them. Over the years, he has seen his father hiding loneliness,
depression and sadness from him on several occasions, but since the time Pankti
entered their lives, he has noticed positive changes in his father. He has
become happier, more lively and extremely energetic.
Kabir’s words
brought Anirudh instantly to the decision he had been long looking for. He
swiftly picked up his phone from the bedside table and dialled Pankti’s number
with a broad smile on his face.
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