|The secrets we take to grave|✔︎

9|It's our mess|

Song for the chapter- Kho Gaye by Taaruk Raaina.

Sia

“How did the investigation go?” I squeeze his palms. The bags that appear under his eyes do not go unnoticed by me. He looks dazed and distant.

“I don’t know why was the only family member to be called upon to be interrogated” He says looking at nothing in particular.

“They know.” I press my lips. “I saw the chats”

“Bhai and I rarely texted. It was calls most..”

“He has been sending me messages . Despite the fact that I had blocked him. I was the last person he sent a text”

There is an indecipherable blend of emotions in his face. “You had blocked him?”

I sigh, nodding.

“I didn’t ask you to Sia.”

“I did it on my own” I assert. I plead to the good Gods that he doesn’t now misunderstand me for being too hard on Anubhav. He has always had a way of misinterpreting my words.

I see him giving a small nod. “Maybe that's why they asked me if I had a strained conversation with him”

“What did you tell him?”

He looks at me, running his fingers over our locked hands. “I told him we spoke very little. The last real heated conversation we had was three months ago. The latter bit is indeed true”

I sigh and pull my hands away. “When are the reports due?”

“This evening I hear”

The two glistening cups of americano landed on our table. Gaurav thanks the barista with a small smile. So strangely he leaves subtle hints of Anubhav sometimes. Despite not being biologically related, the two of them had harbored similar personalities.

Only that Gaurav tries to be secretive and fails, and Anubhav was effortlessly mysterious without even letting anyone know. The two of them are so loving and endearing and kind. I rest it on their upbringing.

“We are gonna get through this together” He says, once again taking my hand in his. I love him so much for this.

“I just want the truth to be out” I affirm.

“Even if we end up getting dragged in the mud?” He reverts.

I eye him in amusement. I clamp my mouth shut. It is not a new thing for the people who are laymen to legal proceedings or simply who we call the civilians, repel the lengthy process of police station and court visits which ends up snatching away their sleep.

But does the weight of the harassment loom heavier than the need for truth?
“I know what you are thinking” He rocks his chin in his palms now as I don’t hold his hand back. “I would want the truth as well but not if my parents are repeatedly dragged to court for this, Anubhav’s grandpa is aging, he hasn’t slept a wink since the cremation”

“I understand” I flush at my own presumption. “I would try to ensure that the process is smooth. I work for your father now. I would make sure his name doesn’t gets dirty in the middle of this”

He smiles finally. I wonder why I haven’t noticed in the last three years that his smile resembled Anubhav’s.

______

My eyes jolt open abruptly. I have cold sweat sticking every inch of my body. I didn't even sleep last night. I had a peculiar dream that spooked the soul out of me. The same one, I had the night of Anubhav’s demise.

The one where he slits his throat with a blade.

“You okay” Sandhya di runs upto my bed, stopping her cleaning chore midway.
I reassure her by nodding.

“Someone is waiting outside for you” She says, her voice dropping.

“Who?”

She shrugs and cues me outside. Oh God I hate interactions so much right tea.

“Get me some black tea please. No matter what delicacy you plan for your guest” I plod down my bed and discover astonishment in the living room.

“Mr. Bhattacharya.” I call out softly. I swallow whatever pathetic blend of anxiousness is brewing inside me. The tall and lean man who has been examining the portraits on the wall, faces me.

“Sia” He smiles. He pinches the bridge of his nose. Anubhav has definitely inherited his high nasal bridge from his grandfather. He looks fit enough for his age but his face seems unnaturally pale. Paler than they have appeared in the photos.

“Have a seat Sir.” I state. He sits on the sofa opposite to mine.

“The autopsy reports have come”

I look up from fidgeting my fingers in my lip. His declaration skyrockets my over-brimming anxiety.

“They have mentioned some mammoth medical terminologies like Traumatic brain injury, blood clot, swelling” He can hear me wincing. “The key takeaway for me is the fact that they call it death by suicide”

“And you don’t believe it” I state.

He cocks his head leftward, “What do you believe?”

“I don’t know if he was suicidal”

“He was” He sighed “Apart from that, they have examined the surface of the gun, the only fingerprint they had found matches his DNA”

“Now they are going to rule out the possibility of foul play”

He affirms in a nod.

“Now the police are going to close the case without a talk with his psychiatrist” I say, He needless to respond. I knew what would happen. Some unnamed dejection seeps in my vein.

“He loved you so much” He says, almost pulling me out of my whirlpool. “I am pretty much sure you were the one he was thinking about in his last moments”

The remaining bits of my heart sink to my stomach. I am scared I might start weeping now. Luckily, Sandhya di barges in with a loaded tray. Two steaming cups of tea and a platter of fritters are lined up on the table.

He gets to his feet at the very moment. Di seems to have taken offense.

“He tells me that you are a very strong person. A competent lawyer” He remarks or more precisely throws out a compliment at my direction.

I narrow my eyes. I cannot guess where this is headed towards.

“You know what to do”

I don’t. I don’t know what he means. 

He finally eyes my sister and greets her with an untamed smile. “It was nice meeting you” He tells me again.

I am done with the cryptic codes for now.

Hey guys,

How is the chapter?

Any thoughts on the story so far?

Also the next few updates will be double (or triple) :)I just can't wait to share the story with all of you

Lots of love.