The Murderer of Aarav Singh Raizada

His Happiness

"Take a seat sir" the commissioner said and Arnav sat down before him.

Leaning on the desk, Commissioner Peter said, "Sir the reason I called you was that...we have received the post-mortem report of Aarav! Usually we don't share the confidential details with the family members of the victim but since you're...."

"Come to the point"

Clearing his throat and adjusting his specs, Peter said, "Sir, the reports say that your son was physically and sexually abused!"

Arnav looked at him shocked and he said, "I know this is hard but we need to know who did this to him! This might turn the whole case to a completely different direction!"

Arnav nodded.

"I need to talk to your family and everyone related to Aarav. I want to know what relation they shared with him!"

Arnav cleared his throat and asked, "When do you want us to be ready?"

"Afternoon?"

"Okay"

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"Tell me how you know him and what you did to him!"Arnav shouted.

"HE IS MY GRANDSON!" Pallavi shouted.

Arnav left her hair from his hold and looked at her shocked. "Grandson?" he whispered.

Pallavi held her hair and said, "I conceived my daughter at the age of 19. My daughter worked here.....as a...."

"Got it! And Aarav is your daughter's son!" Arnav said angrily.

"She was just 14!" Pallavi said in tears, "She was scared about her child. After delivering, she died out of bleeding! I didn't know what to do! It's a boy child! Many of my dealers had their eyes on him. They wanted a boy child who would look after their illegal businesses. So I found the easiest way! Sunshine orphanage had an event in the nearby locality and I dropped the baby on the streets for one of them to find!"

Arnav sighed and sat down, "So Aarav is your grandchild! He came here to find out about his parents!"

Pallavi nodded and said, "My men brought him here. I asked him why he was here and he kept mum. We suspected him to be a spy and beat him up until he spilled about his intention – to find who his parents are! We all laughed at him and then I spotted the word Sunshine orphanage in his words. And I knew who he was!"

"So he found out about his parents and that's it? He went home then?"

"NO!" she said, "He found his mother. He was not satisfied. He wanted to find about his father! I told him but also warned him not to go to him! He is such a vile man! He cannot be trusted! Aarav promised me that he would never go there and also that he would contact me! But he never called! He never came back!"

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For life to get prettiness,

Cherish all those naughtiness

For him to find happiness,

One should get it on springiness...

Arnav leaned back on the recliner remembering the verse.

For him to find happiness, one should give him gardening tools. His primes happiness is Khushi and Aarav. But Arnav was damn sure that the him in the context was not him but his late son Aarav.

What did it take Aarav to get his happiness?

Family?

Books?

Football?

Fida?

Fida! Arnav recalled the words from the letter.

But the love he got from her was different. "Fresh" that was how he defined it to me. "Fida was fresh as a flower!"

So the letter is with Fida or somewhere related to Fida?

Arnav sat up and frowned.

For him to find happiness,

One should get it on springiness...

Springiness....

One should get it on springiness!

Springiness in the sense? Bouncing?

But Fida doesn't match the last line, does she? Arnav ruffled his hair.

What should he get it on bouncing so that Aarav would get his happiness?

Arnav's mind suddenly went back to the days....back to that old sport that he used to play with his son, the one that both of them forgot to play due to Arnav's busy schedule. The rare smile that adorned his son's lips when Arnav let him win and when he lifts him so that the boy could chuck the ball right in the basket!

Basket ball!

Springing on his feet, Arnav ran to Aarav's room and shut the door behind him. Kneeling down the bed, Arnav put his hand and felt the ball kept behind Aarav's favourite football.

The basketball looks old and worn out. Arnav sat on the bed feeling a pang of guilt hitting him. When was the last time he played it with Aarav? Must be when Aarav was in 6th std. That is six years back! How much did his son love basketball? But more than his love to basketball, Aarav loved playing it with his father. There were people with whom he can play the sport – Akash and NK – but all Aarav did was wait for Arnav to get back from his office, get freshen up and later both of them playing it in their garden. But the ritual broke when Arnav got a multinational deal and had to work late.

Tears rolled down his cheeks recalling the fallen face of a 13 year old Aarav when he turned up the offer to play basket ball since he was tired from his office work. He had given the boy an earful for disturbing him after a long day at work. That was the last day Arnav saw him with the basket ball. He never came calling him, nor did ever see him playing it. Days later Aarav asked him to get him a football and the family saw him diverting his attention towards the new ball.

Arnav thought that his son forgot the old sport he used to play when he saw him taking the trophy of football championship on the behalf of his team.

But he never knew that Aarav still kept the ball, until now!

Holding the ball close to him, Arnav could see that it was still the same! The same one they used to bounce between the ground and palm.

Suddenly he frowned.

Oh, it was not the same!

It was the same old ball but Arnav ran his fingers through the new stitches on the ball.

"Someone opened it and stitched it again" Arnav murmured.

Without a second thought, Arnav got himself a knife and ripped it open.

For him to find happiness,

One should get it springiness...

Inside the bladder of the ball was the letter neatly folded in a plastic cover!