Love Circum-fended

𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 [ᴇᴘɪʟᴏɢᴜᴇ]

Anjana pushes him a little more outside in apprehension. Suddenly, he slips and falls out of the window. She gasped in horror seeing him fall down to death. Peeping out of the window, she sees Amaran's body on the ground and the blood oozing from his head getting diffused in the rainwater, as a few raindrops touch her face.

At a clap of the thunder, she shuts the window and sits down on the floor shivering from the coldness. Cupping her face in her hands, she cries hysterically realizing what she did. After a few minutes, rubbing her tears off, she dazed at the wall. All of a sudden, she hears the sound of the rain increasing in the room.

Turning back, she finds the window opening. Rising to see the weather changing beautifully, she feels the rain by letting her hand out. A note from her pocket, flew its way to Amaran's table under the keyboard. "The PA's note?", she asked to the air space beside her. She goes near the table and reads the note.

Anjana had bribed Sethuraman, the Personal Assistant of Amaran to observe the latter's activities and report to her. She asked him to write a suicide note in Amaran's handwriting and hand it over to her.

Reading the suicide note, she sighed heavily. Anjana felt a hand on her hand, interlocking its fingers with hers. "Thank you...", it said to Anjana. "Indhra... please don't... please don't say you're leaving..", said Anjana in the fear of losing her.

"I have to...", said Indhra firmly. Anjana pressed her hand, asking her to stay. Indhra takes her hand off and hugs Anjana saying, "I want to see you be successful at anything you do.. and take good care of your family.. Be good Anjana...". Anjana listened to her with tears brimming from her eyes. "You know how much you mean to me.. but seeing all of this that you did for me... (pause) I don't think I'm that worthy Anu, am I? I don't know. But, THANK YOU for all that you did for me..."

Indhra places a letter on her hand and moves away from her. They look at each other for one last time.

"Are you going to leave me all alone again, Indhra?", Anjana asks Indhra with questioning eyes. Teary-eyed, Indhra responds to Anjana saying, "It isn't fair right..?", as she slowly diffuses into the thin air. Anjana gazes at the sky from the window and looked at her palm, tightly enclosing Indhra's ring.

THE END

Naveen wipes Anjana's tears as he finishes narrating, closes the laptop and keeps it on the table beside their cot.

Anjana (wiping her tears): That's it?

Naveen: Yeah..

Anjana looks back into her laptop on her and starts typing.

Naveen: How was it?

Anjana: Naveen.. why are you getting so personal with the names..?

Naveen: I felt it would be appropriate...

Anjana: How is it appropriate.. you can't put the same names... leave mine and Indhra's, why Amaran's? They have peacefully accepted the reason of his death as a suicide, why do we have to dig into it further and put ourselves into trouble?

Naveen: It has been five years.. do you think they will still remember?

Anjana sighs.

Naveen: Okay okay.. I'll change the names.. It is just the draft right..

Anjana (with a frown): Hmm.. (continues typing)

Naveen looks at her still disappointed, walks to the couch and sits there looking into his laptop. He changes the names of the protagonists and antagonist using the replace tool.