ZERO CLARITY (Completed)

1 State of Mind

Part 1 State of mind

Arnav woke up from his sleep jerking. It's been eighteen years since his mother was killed. He could not forget how she had been laid in the pool of her own blood... how she sacrificed her life after saving him from the killer. Ratna Singh Raizada... gave her life to save her son. Arnav gulped down hard. His mother left the world, leaving him alone in the selfish world. The killer who murdered his mother could not be caught. He didn't even know who killed her and why. It reminded mystery, beyond the guess.

Arnav looked at the clock. It was 6 am. He got off bed to start his regular routine of the day. This is how his days are going dry. An unknown blankness always suppressed his heart. Though he had a big family and some close friends he missed something always. Getting fresh, he went for the jagging and got back in an hour.

He checked his mobile and found a missed call from his friend Akash. He dialed his number. Akash was his friend and head of the finance department of AR.

"Good morning Akash. Tell me..."

"Good morning Arnav. Just for a reminder, we have a foreign client meeting at 9 o'clock"

"I do remember. I will be there sharp nine"

"Yeah..."

Cutting the call, Arnav went to the washroom.

Arnav came downstairs in a black shirt with a light grey suit and pants, looking smoking hot.

"Good morning Nani" He greeted Nani who was watching the daily horoscope on TV.

"Chotte, don't forget to light the lamp," Nani said.

Arnav nodded yes and came to the pooja room, removing his shoes outside, where Ratna's photo had been kept. He lit the lamp and came to the dining. It was his regular routine. Before going to the office, he always lit the lamp, in front of his mother's photo. Even though there were many people in RM it was only Arnav who always lit the lamp in front of Ratna's photo. They didn't know why anyone other than Arnav could light the lamp. Yes, no one other than Arnav could ever light the lamp, no matter how hard they tried. The lamp immediately went off even though there was no AIR BLOW in the room.

"Ratna Bhabi wants only her son to light the lamp," Manorama said.

Arnav ate silently not reacting to it. He never believed in such sentiments but he could not understand how this was happening. Apart from reality and science, this matter stayed a mystery of RM. To break the mystery, everyone tried to light the lamp but nothing worked, even Nani failed. They even changed the new lamp also but LAMP didn't matter at all. They didn't know what was the matter.

"Haan... She loves Chotte very much" Anjali, Arnav's Bhabi said. She was Arnav's cousin brother, Shyam's wife. Anjali and Shyam got married twelve years ago. Arnav was just sixteen years old at that time. So, Anjali also started calling him CHOTTE like Nani and Shyam did.

Arnav had breakfast and went to the office whereas Nani went to the temple as usual.

After worshiping Devi Maiya, Nani sat and closed her eyes leaning on a pillar. She was worried about Arnav. he was not showing interest to get married. She was scared that he would slip down on some girl who was not up to her expectation. She opened her eyes as someone called her. she saw a man who was looking like a SAINT smiling at her.

"Don't worry... your problem is going to solve very soon. You will find a girl for your grandson and she will be exactly how you want your daughter-in-law should be" he said as if he read her mind.

"How do you know what's worrying me?" her voice had been filled with excitement.

He smiled not answering.