Ratneshwari

Chapter 35

Ratneshwari was returning home after school. She got down from the bus and went to a nearby grocery shop to buy sugar.

The shop was closed. She saw a boy who used to work in the shop. She said to him,"I need to buy something." The boy said,"Akka, the owner is having lunch in that stall. The keys are with him. I am going to have some tea. Please wait for a few minutes." Ratneshwari nodded her head.

When she was waiting near the shop, she saw a crowd outside a house. There was a police van outside the house. A girl arrived there after sometime. She had a carry bag with her. She said to Ratneshwari,"Are you waiting for the shopkeeper?" Ratneshwari nodded her head.

Ratneshwari said to the girl,"What happened there? I mean, in that house. Why have so many people gathered outside the house?" The girl said,"Oh that! Two women were murdered in that house last night. I went there. The Police officers were searching the place for evidence."

Ratneshwari was looking at that house. Some police officers came out of the house and entered the van. A few others, went to a nearby stall to have some tea. Ratneshwari noticed a familiar face among the ones at the stall. It was Shivan. She was seeing him after years. Her eyes became moist. He had not changed even a bit in those 8 years. It was a strange feeling for her. She did not know what was more painful - that she could not not go and hug him or the fact that he had cheated on her and is now someone else's husband.

Just then, the shopkeeper arrived and opened the shop. She bought two kilograms of sugar and left.

She returned home and kept the sugar in the kitchen. Many thoughts were running in her head. "Was I really that incompetent?", she thought. She was tired and lonely. She wanted to go back to him. She wanted him to hug her and hide her away from the eyes of the cruel people of the world. She wanted to know how it feels to be loved by someone. She wanted to ask him,"What did I lack? Tell me, I will try my best to improve myself. But do not go away from me."

She did not feel like cooking dinner that night. She was too sad to feel hunger or thirst. She cried and cried and then fell asleep out of exhaustion.
..
..
..

Two months had passed. One evening, Ratneshwari was watching the news. The news reporter said,"Breaking news! The culprit behind Coimbatore serial murders has been found. The culprit is a 25 year old man named Jalal. He was a chemistry student and was working towards his PhD. The culprit has confessed his crimes. He told the interrogators that, there was no specific reason behind murdering his victims. He had always been fascinated by human blood and flesh. He feels an irresistible urge to murder people and that was the reason behind the murders. The special unit of ........"

Ratneshwari switched off the TV and went to the kitchen to cook dinner. She said to herself,"The case is closed. So, he will leave the city now." She sighed.

(Next day)

It was raining heavily day. Ratneshwari was returning from school. It had rained suddenly and so, Ratneshwari did not have an umbrella with her. She decided to sit inside a nearby cafe for sometime. There were many people like her who were sitting inside the cafe and waiting for the rain to stop.

She was looking at the cafe's entrance when she saw Shivan. His clothes were wet. He entered the cafe and was looking here and there for a place to sit. Coincidentally, all the other tables were already occupied. Shivan spotted Ratneshwari. She was sitting alone and so, there was an unoccupied chair beside her. He had no other choice. He walked up to her and said,"Can I sit here?" Ratneshwari nodded her head.

A waiter walked up to him and said,"Sir, what shall I bring for you?" He said,"Ginger tea and biscuits." The waiter came back a little later with the tea. Shivan sipped the tea and looked at Ratneshwari. He did not say anything to her. There was an awkward silence between them. Both of them were feeling uncomfortable. Finally, Shivan decided to break the silence.

"Ratna, how are you?"

"Fine. And you?"

"I am fine."

"Why am I even asking you this? You always wanted to be with Sheetal, right? You must be living happily with her. And.....you have a child too."

"And you? Did you get married?"

"No"

"Why?"

"Shiv, do you know one thing? If you keep something in your house and then throw it outside after some days, no one picks it up. The 'thing' is called 'garbage'. No one takes garbage inside his house."

Shivan did not say anything. He did not know what to say. It was clear that she was suffering and it was all because of him. After the silence of a few minutes, Ratneshwari said to him,"I saw you that day. You were in the tea stall with the other police officers. It has been 8 years. Did you get any promotion in these years?"

Shivan said,"Yes, I got promoted three years ago. Now, I am the DCP. What do you do for a living? And where do you live?" Ratneshwari looked at him and said,"I teach in a school. I have my own house. We used to live here before we shifted to Madurai. My father had built a house here. I live in that house."

"Do you live alone?", Shivan said to Ratneshwari. She said,"You were the only family I had. You left me alone. Now tell me, do I have anyone to live with?"

There was silence again. The silence was becoming more and more disturbing for both of them. There were many things to say. But they did not know where they should start and what they should say. Shivan noticed that Ratneshwari's eyes were full of tears. She looked outside and saw a man selling lemons in the rain. She wiped her tears and sighed.

Looking at that man, she said to Shivan,"How nice it would have been, if we could buy happiness from the market, just like we buy other things! With the little wealth I have, I would have bought a fistful of happiness for myself. Then, perhaps I would not have suffered so much. I cry every day. I cry every night. But, is it of any use? Will my sufferings ever end? I never did anything wrong. But what did I get in return? My own husband turned his back on me. What can I expect from others?"

Ratneshwari sighed. She wiped her tears and said,"It's getting late. The rain has stopped. I think that I should go." Then, she left the cafe. She left hurriedly and did not look back even once.