(Ishan's)
I woke up hearing commotion in the corridor. I sat up in my bed and wondered what was wrong. I got up from bed and walked into the living room. My parents were coming out from the bedroom as well.
"What is the noise?" Dad asked.
I shook my head, as I had no idea and went and opened the front door and looked out. A few of our neighbours were also coming out of their respective homes now. I rubbed my head and yawned and walked out to the corridor to see what was wrong.
A stretcher was coming out of Apartment 406 held by some paramedics. On the stretcher was Akram Khan. He seemed to be injured on his head. I winced looking at the blood that was coming from his head. The paramedics hurried him off to the elevator and down. The neighbours gathered in the corridor was whispering among themselves.
Then I saw two policemen coming out from Apartment 406. And they were leading someone out from the apartment, with handcuffs and all.
It was Farhan.
I couldn't believe my eyes for a second. I looked in the direction of Farhan's parents who were outside their door looking at the scene. They seemed to have realized for the first time that their son was not in his room... And that he was indeed the one who was with the police. Farhan's mom ran to him...
"Farhan..." She caught hold of him. "What the hell is the meaning of this?"
"Mother..." He told her.
"Are you his parents?" The policemen asked Farhan's parents.
"Yes." They quickly answered.
"Come to the police station. It's an attempt to murder case." They told them and dragged away Farhan. I ran to him... "Farhan," I called.
"Family and friends, please stay away and come to the police station later." The policeman said, pushing me away. Farhan's mother was crying behind me...
They led Farhan away and we stood watching. I just could not believe this. What did the hell happen? How was Farhan at Mr Khan's house? And attempt to murder??
"Ishan..." Farhan's dad called me.
I looked at uncle...
Both Father and mother of Farhan looked too confused and lost. Farhan's brother, Faizan bhai was away at the hostel as well. I felt I needed to take charge. I needed to think something...something...
We needed to go to the police station. But...Yeah. We might need a lawyer...
Arjun's dad was a criminal lawyer.
"Stay here," I told aunty and uncle. "I will get Arjun's dad."
They nodded.
I didn't even bother to take the elevator and ran up the two stairs to the 6th floor and ran through the corridor to Arjun's house. The sixth floor was still quiet and nobody seemed to have noticed the commotion on the 4th floor.
I rang the calling bell to Arjun's house. I waited... Impatiently. I was panicking out. I rang the bell again. And since it was delaying in answering, I rang the bell a couple more times.
The door was opened by Arjun. He looked like he woke up from sleep. "Ishan?" he asked, confused, "What's up?"
"Your dad is home, right?" I asked. "Could you please wake him up...? It's urgent."
"What happened?" Arjun asked.
"Farhan got arrested. He got taken to the police station. Go get your dad." I said.
"What the?" Arjun asked.
"We need your dad."
"Okay. Okay... I will go wake him up..." He said running off.
I stood at the door nervously. The door to the twins' apartment opened and Adithi stepped out in her pyjamas. "Oh... I was right. I thought I heard your voice." She said. "I had slept off in living room couch today while watching TV. So could hear your voice."
"Go back and sleep," I told her.
"What is happening? Why are you here?"
If I tell her, she will insist to come with us to the police station. And it's the middle of the night. I did not want her to overexert her like that.
I turned to her. "It's nothing. Go back." I said. I knew that was not going to help. Adithi can't resist anything she is curious about.
Arjun and his father came out of the house in the next second. Uncle had managed to get into a suit hurriedly...
"Oh... Why is uncle??" Adithi asked pointing. "What is happening?"
I walked closer to her. "It's nothing." I told her, "Will tell you tomorrow. Go back and sleep," I tucked a lock of her hair back to her ear back, and rubbed my thumb to her cheek lovingly. "Go sleep. Good night..."
She still looked confused but I gently pushed her back into her home, and she closed the door. Good. Taken care of that. I turned back to Arjun and his father.
"What exactly happened?" Uncle asked me. "Why did Farhan get arrested?"
"He seemed to have injured Mr Akram Khan of 406... The police said its an attempt to murder. I don't know more details too."
Arjun and his dad looked shocked to death.
A few hours later, we were at the police station. We heard the details of what had happened...
"It's still a crime." The Inspector concluded.
"But he was hitting her," Farhan said.
"That doesn't justify your actions. We can't charge it as self-defence. And you broke and entered the house... And also, hit the guy more than once..."
"Farhan?" Arjun's dad asked, "Did you hit him more than once?"
Farhan looked down to the floor. "Yes....." he slowly said.
I saw Arjun's dad look agitated.
"Why?" I hissed at Farhan. If he only hit just once, then we could have somehow lessened the intensity of the situation. Even I have the common sense as much.
"I wanted to finish him," Farhan said. There was deep hatred in his voice. His eyes gave out a fire of anger and disgust. "Wanted him to die..."
Arjun's dad placed a hand on Farhan's shoulder immediately as if warning him to shut up.
The inspector grunted....
Arjun's dad looked a bit lost and troubled now.
"Intentional murder attempt." The Inspector said.
In a few minutes, they locked him up again.
Arjun and I sat on the front steps of the police station. Many hours had passed and now dawn was breaking... Arjun's dad was still inside the police station trying to figure out a solution.
Arjun and I were just silently sitting. Uncle (Arjun's dad) came and sat by us after some time.
"Any progress, dad?" Arjun asked.
"No," Uncle said. "When he has even confessed his crime as he intended to kill him...Nothing can be done. I am just worried if the guy actually dies or something, then..."
I clutched my head. Why is this happening? Farhan's life is finished if it's like this.
"I just can't figure out why he, Farhan out of all the people did this," Uncle said.
Because he loves the wife. But the word 'love' felt a bit unfitting for what Farhan ever felt for that lady. It was nothing like what I ever felt for Suhana or Arjun feels for Suhana now... Farhan's feelings were bigger than that. They sort of felt a bit 'sacred' and 'holy' for me...
He was just in pain because of that wife girl...
If I can, I could have told uncle and Arjun that it was because Farhan 'loved' the wife. But I felt the word 'love' will taint Farhan's feelings for her, and make it look so cheap and low than what it actually was. Also, Farhan never wanted his secret out... He might be regretting even letting me know about it. I simply could not tell it to someone else.
I did not want Farhan to be criticized for having feelings for a married woman. He might be ridiculed by society and he did not deserve that.
Somehow I was proud of him even in this situation... That he wanted to protect the girl so much.
"Can't we get the statement of Mr Khan's wife that she was being attacked and Farhan did it save her?" I asked the uncle.
"We can..." Uncle said, "And it would have helped if Farhan had not hit the guy more than once and confessed that he indented to kill him."
I clutched my fist tighter in frustration.
"What about the age?" Arjun asked his dad. "He is still just seventeen. Not legally adult."
"That might help in bringing down the punishment a bit." Arjun's dad said.
I sighed...
Arjun's dad got a call just then, from his assistant. "It's from Tarun." Uncle said, "I had sent him to the hospital to check the victim's condition..." Uncle took the call, "hello..."
I saw uncle's face going grave...
He hung up the call looking pale.
"What happened, dad?" Arjun asked, nervous.
"Akram Khan passed away...."
Arjun and I walked into the apartment lobby, both just silent... Well, we did not talk to each other much even at the police station anyway.
I saw Jiggy in the lobby. He ran to us...
"You two, what the hell happened? I got to know from the apartment people that Farhan got arrested.." he said. "What the hell is that about?"
I did not know what to tell him.
"Why the hell didn't you take me with you as well?" Jiggy hit me. "You could have called me last night..."
"Sorry. We were not in the mindset for that. In the situation, I could not think of that."
"But..." Jiggy said.
"Will we think of getting faster to the police station or wait to call you?" Arjun asked. "Anyway, it was the middle of the night. You came to know now, right?"
"Anyway..." Jiggy said, dropping the argument of informing him. "How is he? What exactly happened?"
I saw the twins running to us as well. They seemed to have heard the news from somewhere as well.
Arjun and I explained to the three what happened. I of course kept Farhan's secret and did not tell about his feelings for Akram Khan's wife.
Adithi looked petrified when we finished and Suhana had her hands over her mouth in horror.
"At least, two to three years. Maximum five to seven." Arjun said. "That's what dad said... Can't escape prison."
Tears began to fill Suhana's eyes and fell down.
I looked at Adithi. She was not crying... She seemed to be coping up better than I thought. But that is Adithi speciality. She may seem crazy and innocent. But honestly, mentally she might be the strongest among us all. Will cope up with most things...
"This doesn't make sense..." Suhana cried. "How? How could this happen?"
Yeah... I felt the same. How did the world turn around in one single night? But then... when at the time of Adithi's accident, I had already come to realize that your world CAN turn around in just in a matter of hours... Some things done can't ever be undone. And time is something you can't ever compete with. Once done, we can't go back and change it... No matter how much we want to undo it. You just have to bear with the consequences of your actions, even if that one action, one second, might change your whole life and future to the worst. That's how life works. It's hard and nasty. We wish we can change it. But we can't. We can try complaining, crying, trashing, refusing to accept the reality, breaking down. But in the end, we just have to live with it. And most of the time, we learn that the hard way by undergoing the bitter parts of life.
Suhana began to break down and cry. Arjun hugged her, looking really disturbed himself. Jiggy was on verge of tears as well. Adithi took my hand in hers. I was not sure if that was to comfort herself or me.
We all were accepting the truth our own way. That he was actually gone...
Like this one member of our group was taken away.
I walked to the visiting room of the juvenile prison. The trial was finished and he had got 5 years in juvenile prison. I watched Farhan come, led by the prison guard. He came and sat in front of me. I could not bear to look at him. He was in a prison uniform.
"Hey..." Farhan said looking at me.
"Hey..." I told him.
I had come to visit him with others yesterday as well. But today I wanted to come by myself. I had not even told Adithi that I was going to visit Farhan...
"So?" Farhan asked.
"Name... I found out her name." I said. My voice was not coming out. "I felt like I need to tell you,"
Farhan just looked a bit taken-a-back.
I told Farhan the name of Akram Khan's wife. "That's her name," I told him.
He seemed thankful. I saw tears in his eyes.
"I heard that she is being shifted to a shelter for ladies. The women's rights workers took her in, and she will be staying in the shelter for now. And..." I hesitated, "her baby is fine. Even if she had bleeding. The baby is okay now..."
"Good," Farhan said, looking genuinely happy.
I was again filling up with just pride about my friend. Because no matter how I think, we can never match up to what he did or feel for that lady...
"I just felt I needed to tell you all that," I said.
"Thanks, Ishan," Farhan said. "I really appreciate that."
I wiped the tears that came to my eyes. I could not bear to sit in front of him anymore. I felt I might cry too much and embarrass myself.
"Then... Take care." I told him. "We will come to visit some times."
He nodded.
I walked away, wiping my uncontrollable tears.