Addiction - Avneil

The search..

Neil stormed through the crowd at the entrance of the railway station. He met DD at the entry gate.

Neil -"DD, what's the update on Avni's location?"

DD (looking less confident than he sounded on phone) -"Actually Sirji. Through her phone we can just get an approximate location within a circle of a certain radius. I can't pinpoint exactly bhabhi Kahan hain but she's in this station"(bhabhi = brothers wife)

Neil (again running his hand through his hair) -" let's storm the station then. Also call the station master and enquire about all trains leaving within next half an hour to anywhere. I doubt she's come here to board a local train. I think she's leaving the city. "

DD (saluting sir smartly!) -"sir yessir! "

It seemed like it was a small area to cover on the map but actually it was full of hundreds of commuters and travelers. Half of the platforms were too crowded to check. Neil got on the bridge above the platforms to be able to get a bird's  eye view. He remembered that Avni was wearing a red sari which made her easier to spot. He had told the same to DD. As neil remembered Avni's sari color he got weaker emotionally. He remembered when she had bought that sari so that she can wear it for going to her mom's place after marriage. He remembered how ravishing yet innocent she looked in it and how she came out in it with her wet hair post morning bath.

Neil shook his head vigorously to focus.

Neil (aloud but to himself) -"stop it Neil! Focus on finding avni. Else it will be too late and all you will be left with, will be her memories.."

Neil was now rushing through the busy platforms but couldn't find any woman in a bright red sari. He got a call from DD and snapped it open.

DD -"sir. There are four out-station trains. Two to Delhi. One to ahmedabad and one to Bangalore. "

Neil -"DD. This is too broad for me to work on. Get me their stops as well! Avni can get down on any of those stops and maybe not going to a city!"

DD cut the call and started the investigation even as neil was still rushing through one platform after another. He decided to take the GRP or railway police's help now as he had given up on the crowd and the clock was ticking away. As he was going towards the GRP office, DD called again!

Neil -"bolo DD. Which stops are the trains stopping on"(tell me)

As neil walked DD started narrating the list of stops for each of the trains. Neil tried his best to imprint every bit of information on his mind and at the same time analyze it for any thing that rings a bell or that Avni ever mentioned. Suddenly DD took a word that made Neil's ears stand up.

Avni in one of their better and fun conversations had told neil that she had seen taking revenge from dayawanti as her life's objective and that she didn't see a goal or life beyond that. She told him that like Neela ma, she hoped to discover herself after that by going to some other place.  Neil at this point had asked her which place she would go if she could, secretly hoping he will be the one whisking her away quietly to that place as a surprise after every thing is settled.

Avni had mentioned a tea or coffee estate. She wanted to smell the fresh fragrance of gardens everyday and wake up to a green, sunny and happy morning. She wanted to take strolls in the tea estate and to imagine her life post that junction...

Neil (almost shouting on the phone) -"DD I know which train she's taking! She will be getting down at one of the stops on the train to Bangalore and then take a bus to somewhere else! Rush to platform no. 5 right now and find her."

Neil at that very moment was on platform number four. He looked across to five and there was decent crowd. However the train was waiting on the platform and avni could've been inside or outside the train.

Suddenly , Neil saw some commotion at the end of platform five. It seems there was a scuffle or fight going on. No one seemed to be paying attention to it as nowadays public seldom feels or cares to help their fellow humans. As he screwed his eyes to see better at that distance he suddenly heard a scream from the direction of the fight, it definitely could have been Avni's!

Neil jumped down from the platform and ran across the railway tracks as far as his legs could take him, and he was in decent cardio shape! He lifted himself up and continued running towards the end of the platform in full speed. Now he could see better what was in front of him. And what he saw made his blood curdle. It was definitely avni at a distance and she was surrounded by two burly men. One of them had a knife out. One look at the men with his trained eyes and Neil realized that these are not eve-teasers or normal robbers. These were people who meant to kill. Possibly the same person who meant to get Avni killed by a truck accident had sent these killers after her in their second attempt to kill her.

Neil was still couple of hundred meters away and he shouted loudly so that they may get distracted. But the goons just looked up and seeing him running towards them they decided to quickly finish what they had been meaning to do, . To stab Avni - and to stab her to kill in one stroke... These were trained killers who were not afraid!

One of the goons held her hands behind her back and the other one raised his knife and was bringing it down to strike her heart with full force. And he was not aiming for the left  hand side where everyone's heart is. He was asking for the artery in her heart on the right hand side chest cavity. The goon knew that Avni had a special case of heart on right hand side. Neil was still away and watched this helplessly with red eyes as he continued sprinting towards them. He was going to be too late, there was no way he could reach her in time.

The goon brought down the knife and it was about to Pierce Avni's heart and it would mean a certain if not instantaneous death for her..