Voiced Whispers Part 5

"And don't try to act too smart there. Stay careful, and take good care of your belongings."

"I will mom. Taxi!"

Surprisingly, and thankfully, the first cab that stopped agreed to take me.

"Take me to Howrah station."

"Take care of yourself son! Keep calling!"

"Yes mom, I won't forget to keep calling you. Stop worrying about me so much!"

The cab drove ahead now, and as mom went back inside, I told the cab driver, "Rajabazar."

"But you said we were going to the station."

"Yes, but now we are not. We are going to Rajabazar."

Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of an eight foot wall with a bag in my hand and another on my shoulder. I had to wait for a little less than two hours for them to come. The process had begun.

CHAPTER 14.

Time is a rather relative quant.i.ty to the human mind. Scientists may advocate its absolute nature, but to an average human mind, the concept of time can never really be absolute. Only a few days back, I had spent 3 hours watching a Batman movie, and it flew away like a breeze.

However, these two hours that I had spent waiting for Meira and her accomplice to come out had been excruciating. Standing in a dark corner, in front of that eight foot wall in a small lane behind a brothel isn't exactly the best way to spend time. Thankfully, most people crossing me were so drunk that they didn't really notice me, and pa.s.sed by me with a glance or two even if they did. I kept to myself, and tried to avoid any form of contact with any person there.

Midnight struck, but they didn't come. Then I realized my how stupid I had been, and my obsession with midnight. She had asked me to come at 3 a.m., and I had made arrangements according to that too. Only that I forgot at the last moment, in my excitement, and I had come much earlier for that. Three more painful hours on this shady lane with these bags would kill me. I sat down on the least dirty looking part of the road, and waited for them to come.

Thankfully, they decided to come a little early. The road was deserted by the time they came, so there was no one who could see them leaving. I heard their soft footsteps on the other side of the wall, and propelled myself up on top of the wall, with support from the pipe on the side wall. I jumped to the other side, landing softly on my feet.

"Where is Meira?"

"She's coming. She needs a little more time than me. I made sure the guards were out cold, but we still need to be careful.

"Did everything go according to plan?"

"Better than the plan, you may say. Everything has been perfect so far. She should be out in five minutes."

"That's great."

"I still don't understand why you're doing this for a girl you met just once."

"How do you know I've met her just once?"

"Girls talk, especially when they have no other source of entertainment. She mentioned you quite a few times during our conversations."

"I see. Well, good to know that she remembered me."

"So, why exactly are you doing this for her?"

"It's not just for her. This feels like redemption from my sins for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that I did something wrong a long time ago, and I want to cover up for that now, and this is the best way to do that."

"You're one crazy person. I don't know what you are up to, but as long as you're helping us out, it doesn't matter."

"I'm glad to know you think so highly of me."

"I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry. You're a great guy, but it still seems strange to me why anyone would do such a thing for someone he barely knows."

Our whispers were cut off by the footsteps of Meira approaching. She stepped out of the back door, barely being able to conceal her smile.

"You look beautiful in that smile you're wearing," I said, smiling at her.

"It's all because of you that this smile is there," she grinned back.

"I think we should leave now. The guards may wake up, and if we are caught, all three of us will be dead."

"Yes, you're right. We should go soon. Being caught is the last thing we want after so much effort. We are very close to being free now!"

The three of us stood against the wall. The first girl climbed on my hand, then my shoulder, and then jumped across the wall, landing safely on the other side.

"Send the bags across."

We threw the bags over, and she caught them on the other side. Meira was next. She followed the same routine, and reached the other side too. I was the only one left to go across. However, there was no pipe here on the side wall to help me climb the wall, and jumping two feet up wasn't exactly something I was an expert at.

"C'mon, hurry! We have to get out of here as soon as possible!" they whispered from the other side.

I was trying as hard as I could to get out of there, but jumping the wall seemed more difficult than ever. I wasn't being able to jump the distance. I looked around for something to climb on to so that I could leave, and found a small broken stool. I took the wobbly stool and placed it in front of the wall. In one quick motion, I was on top of the wall.

The stool shook and fell, creating a noise slightly audible. I heard footsteps coming from inside.

Human beings, in shock, often fail to do the thing they're supposed to. A man slipping and falling on the tracks may not be able to get out of the way of an oncoming train even if he has the time, simply because he may be too scared to move. Similarly, despite knowing that the best thing for me to do was to leave, I sat on top of the wall, frozen. The whispers of the two girls were inaudible to me, and the wall was too high for them to reach me.

The footsteps drew closer, and got louder as they approached the door. They were clearly not of a man. I had to know who this woman was now, even if it meant landing us in trouble. I was sure she wouldn't reach us in time. The car I had hired for the job had smoothly pulled over on the road, and we were just a small dash away from reaching it. Three train berths to a safe haven had been reserved, and all I needed to do was get in that car.

The door opened slowly, and a slender figure stepped out of it. The darkness ensured I couldn't see her face. She could see mine, though. She walked slowly towards me, and as she did, she stepped into the faint light that shone on the small s.p.a.ce there.

Her face looked tired and worn out, her body exhausted. She was pretty, but I wasn't interested in how pretty she was. My gaze was fixed strongly at only one place her eyes. Those were eyes one wouldn't forget in a hurry. Those were eyes I had seen several times before. Those were eyes that I hadn't seen in years, except when I dreamed of them. Those were the eyes of a person I had thought was long gone, whom I would never be able to see again. Yet, I saw them again, and I was shocked.

A faint voice left my mouth, barely being audible.

"Aliya?"

CHAPTER 15.

Some things in life are best deleted from your brain, some memories best forgotten. Some people are better off disappearing into a state of oblivion from your mind, because their presence there brings you only pain. You know they will never come back to you, yet you keep hoping that some day they will. All they cause with this presence is pain, and lots of bad memories.

Until this very moment, that is exactly what Aliya was to me. Her physical absence in my life for so many years had pushed her back as a memory that would never go. I knew it was best for me to forget her, for she would never come back, but there was too much pain and too much guilt to forget this girl. I would think about her all the time, thinking of ways to apologise to her. But today, as she stood there, right in front of me, staring back at me as I looked into her eyes, there was not a word that came out of me.

"Ansh? Ansh! How did you get here? Why are you here? What the h.e.l.l are you doing? Why are these two girls in the cab?"

"I'll explain all of that to you later. First, you need to come with me."

"What are you up to? Tell me now!"

"Trust me Aliya, please. Have faith in me this one time, and I promise you that I will not disappoint you."

"The last time I trusted someone, it led me to spending so many years in this h.e.l.l. I will not make the same mistake again."

"Please Aliya, try to understand! I a.s.sure you that you will not regret this decision. Just give me your hand this one time, and I'll get you out of here."

She moved towards me, and stretched her hand out. I picked her up and set her down on the wall in front of me. Both of us jumped down, and walked towards the cab without uttering another word to each other.

The cab ride was one of the quietest rides I had ever been in. Meira and the other girl were very excited at being released from that place, and their excitement kept them quiet. Aliya, on the other hand, was in a state of shock, and it seemed like she would take time coming to terms with the fact that her childhood friend had just helped her get out of the place she had been dragged into years ago, and she had really escaped from the fate she had eventually resigned herself to. I, too, was spellbound at finding my lost friend again. Nature has its way of playing things out, and this time it did that in the most dramatic way possible.

Finally, Meira couldn't hold her excitement in, and burst out. "So what's the plan now? How do we escape from the city? We obviously can't stay here, because Gujjar's men will know that we are here, and they will make sure we are found and killed. We need an escape plan, and need to get out of this city soon."

"I have told you all of that already. We are headed to the station now, from where we will take a train to a far off place from here, where Gujjar has no influence. This will ensure that he doesn't get to know where we are, or who you people are with. He will obviously try to look for you people, and given that you three have gone missing at the same time, he will safely a.s.sume that the three of you have run off together. I have three tickets with me, since Aliya was a surprise addition." I said, grinning slightly at Aliya. She looked at me and smiled back faintly. She clearly wasn't in a state to talk. " Anyway, we can bribe the ticket checker, so that wouldn't really be a problem."

"You won't need to do that." The other girl said.

"I think it's safer to do so, since we won't have any trouble later on because of this. It is a rather long journey."

"I'm not going with you to wherever you're going."

"Are you in the right state of mind? Gujjar's men will be all over the place looking for you, and it's extremely unsafe for you to stay in this city. You should come with us for now, and maybe return to the city later."

"I won't be staying in the city. I'm coming with you to the station, and then leaving for Bhubaneswar. That's out of the region Gujjar operates in, so I should be safe there. I have a few friends there, and I will be safe in that place. There's a train that will leave in a few hours. I'll buy a ticket in that one from the money I stole from the h.e.l.l-hole. I will be perfectly fine, so you don't need to worry about anything."

"Whatever you think is right for you. I still think that we should stay together till the heat is down, so that we can at least know we are safe."

"Getting me out wasn't part of your plan anyway. Besides, it's more logical for us to split, since they'll be looking for all three girls together, as you've said yourself. It should be much safer for us to go our separate ways. You've done enough for me, and I hope I can pay you back someday for getting me out of there, but I shouldn't be taking any more help from you. I can fend for myself, and I will do so. Thank you so much for being here with me through this tough time."

"I'm glad I could help you so far. I wish you would come with us, but I think now that you're right. This will keep all of us safer. I hope you stay safe wherever you are, and your friends take good care of you."

She smiled at me, and the silence took over the journey once again. It was funny how the streets that were bustling with activity throughout the day looked so odd in this calmness. Being brought up amidst the car horn noises and people shouting at each other for nothing on the road, the silence was unnerving for me. I wasn't used to such quiet. My ears had started ringing."

"Where will we go from the station?"

"It's a surprise for you people. I hope you like it. It is one of the few places I know that will keep you both safe and unknown, and is also really beautiful. I think you can settle down there for a while."

"I hope it doesn't turn into a shock as we reach there." Meira said, giggling slightly.

The cab pulled over at the station, and we got off, with me being the only person with any luggage. I paid the cab driver, and we walked to the giant screen where the trains with their departure platforms were written.

"My train is on time. I should go and buy my ticket."

"Our train leaves soon, so I think we should hurry and get into the train now."

The girl went to the buy her ticket, and we went off to the platform to board our train.

The train left in ten minutes, and took us away from all the troubles, the issues, and the guilt. More than that, it gave me hours of time to catch up with someone I wanted to talk to for years; someone who had troubled me in my sleep for so many nights. There were so many apologies to make, so many tears to shed, and so many things to say. It was time for me to talk to my best friend again, and I was sure that I wouldn't let her down this time.

All three of us lay down in our berths after a long day, but I don't think anyone really slept. I just stared at the berth above me, finally happy about what I had achieved. My job, to a great extent, was done.

CHAPTER 16.

I didn't realize when I slept, but I sure knew when I woke up, because that's when most other pa.s.sengers woke up too. Aliya was screaming. I woke up in a hurry and looked at her berth, where I saw her sitting up straight, looking petrified.

"What happened? Are you all right?"

She didn't reply to my question. I shook her gently, and she responded by a rather violent shake. She got back to her senses then.

"I'm sorry. I just had a very bad dream. I'll take care of things now. What time is it?"

"It's 5 a.m., but you don't need to worry about all that. Take the rest you deserve. I'll manage these pa.s.sengers." I said, and then turned to the concerned looking pa.s.sengers who had gathered around, looking visibly grumpy at being woken up so early. "I'm really sorry. She had a bad dream and got scared. It won't happen again. Please go back to your seats."

"Why do you people even travel like this, disturbing the entire compartment due to your fussy habits? Kids these days, I tell you. They have no manners at all!" Grumbled a pa.s.senger as he went back to his seat and fell asleep almost immediately.

I lay back down and stared up again. Sleep had surely escaped this time. There was no way I was going back to sleep again. My thoughts were all about Aliya, and how things had now changed. Her world had been completely ruined, and there was no way she could get those years of her childhood back. I just hoped she would be able to lead a normal life again, even though some part of me was afraid that the damage done was now irreversible.

The sun rays gently brushed across my face through the windows just above my seat. I sat up and looked out into the fields, staring at the golden gra.s.s, as the bright sunlight shined upon it, with the wind blowing it gently. As the sun kissed gra.s.s went past me, I could feel the distance that we had travelled. I walked towards the door of the compartment, and just stood there, gazing out in the open. These beautiful fields often gave me a sense of freedom, a medium to let my mind escape into the open and run wild, sending my imaginations to the most distant corners of the world, just like these never ending fields went beyond the horizon. Sometimes I would regret the growth of cities, since they ate into these beautiful lands. The trees, the fields, the birds, all seemed so perfect at that moment.