The man was staring at the large mansion. His eyes scanned through the large iron gates and the name inscribed on the wall beside, proudly informing that this large house was known as the “Maya mahal”.
Maya, the name did rang bells in his head and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise remembering the beautiful angelic face, those lovely almond eyes and that soft cloud of hair resting on those tender shoulders. The girl was indeed the love of his life and the peace of his mind. The first day he met that 27 year old pampered princess, he knew in his heart, the violins were being played by the angels up in heaven. He was so happy, he actually froze during the first introduction; ruining it momentarily. But as the days passed he was able to secure a permanent spot in her life. He smiled again remembering the best day of his life, when she had accepted his proposal. He was the happiest person on earth that day. The thought of it made him blush. The vibration from the cell phone brought his train of thoughts back to the station of reality.
“Come fast. Waiting for you. I am rolling a joint. Too much tension is bad for my skin. ;)” was the message. He chuckled in disbelief. Tonight she was going to elope and this girl is getting high, that too for the sake of her skin. The irony however was, that if her dad caught her, he would skin her permanently. Raja Singh, truly lived up to his name, a ruthless businessman of 55, lived no less than a king. The business he so expertly handled was that of liquor. The finest of those exotic drinks made way to the parties and celebration from the factories owned by this millionaire. Raja Singh also had good connections in the underworld, and every fortnight enjoyed a dinner with the top mafia bosses of the country in Dubai. Lucky for the man, he lived on the other end of the town in his own villa, the “Raj Mahal”. Being a widower he was infamous for having bedded the finest whores from around the world. The world he created was no less than paradise. People often remarked him of being the Indian Hugh Hefner, never to his face, though. “Maya Mahal” was basically built for Maya, his daughter, to keep her away from the world he ruled. She didn’t like it either, seeing his dad hanging with girls half his age always made her mad. She often said, if it was not for marijuana, she would have gone mad or killed her father a long time ago. The stubborn pampered princess also played the part of a sad toughened daughter. Except for occasional visits from her dad, she never saw his face, let alone a visit to his place. Her mansion included just her head maid and few servants. Many a times, it served as a rendezvous where her friends will have a celebration or a group study or a night out. The place was, obviously heavily guarded with the cameras and modern alarming systems, but no manual forces were permitted. The goons under her dad were the second most hated people for her, after her dad. No way was she going to allow them to loiter around. The walls were not barbed but had a thin metal layer on the top, which carried 440 volts of electricity twenty hours a day, plus any attempt to climb through the wall rang alarms in the security chambers of “RajMahal”, and within 7 minutes armed forces would surround the place. Then, there was Rishi, her golden retriever, who acted more like a big brother than a friend. She would play with him, walk him and cry in front of him, too. Rishi knew all her secrets, even those, she forgot; thanks to her after-weed conversations with him. He too, like his mistress remained high most time of the day, but at night, he was someone she totally relied on, a fierce beast pacing around the grounds loyally guarding his mistress. She knew if someday the alarms blazed and someone trespassed through the premises of her home, Rishi would tear him in the seven minutes her dad’s sidekicks would require to reach there. Tonight however, he was sound asleep, an effect of the sleeping pills mixed in his nightly bowl of milk, by Maya herself. For the first time in their loyal relation, she had betrayed him. Knowing very well her dad might shoot him for failing in his duty; but he would forgive her. He knew all about Mohit, she had fought with him, cried for him, made love with him; all when Rishi was around. He would understand; because he was not human, but belonged to a higher species. Next, Maya had found a way to disable all the alarms and currents around the mansion, to make sure her lover found a safe passage through all the web of security levels to the window of her room. A rope was waiting for Mohit, leading to the old storage room on the back of the house, where no security cameras were placed. From there he would make his way to the bedroom of his beloved, where she was to wait for him, with bags packed and tickets ready.
The jump was swift. No current, No alarms, No dogs to be aware of. He again checked the instructions on the Micromax Canvas Fun for the exact route to the back window. With the security cameras still in action, he knew he couldn’t afford miscalculated steps. Sitting in the dark shadows by the wall, he scrolled the through the conversation. Reviewing the elope route again, he made up his mind and stood up. He was one step closer in to his beloved and couldn’t wait to see her again. Their last meeting, a day before, was not very pleasant. The nicely planned lunch was ruined by her angry mood. She left without touching the food, and making a fool out of him at the restaurant. But he never minded, anger gave her skin a shade of pink, which he adored. Actually he adored every emotion she emitted and every mood she wore. He knew he was truly mad for her. Her mere memories made his miserable heartbeats go full speed. His insides calmed as his eyes fell on the hanging rope. Now coming back to the situation at hand, he looked hard in every direction before he began his climb. A minute and thirty two seconds later he felt a pinch on his right arm. Panicky in mid-air, he shook the damned mosquito and looked back at the bitten area. There was a tiny swell just below the ‘H’ of his tattoo. No harm done; he thought. His eyes scanned his newly made tattoo, yet again. The tattoo was the first three letters of his name; MOH, in dark Gothic font. He reminded himself of the fact that hit him as an epiphany around a week ago. The tattoo was still fresh, being made last evening only. He was very excited to show Maya the tattoo, but she didn’t picked up his call last night. Nevertheless he was delighted for the good omens hinting on, why he was destined for Maya. Moh-Maya was as common a phase as Shiva -Parvati and Radhe-Krishna, though it referred not to agod and goddess couple but rather to the materialism and illusion of this world; but the names were still interlinked together, forever. With a faint smile, and renewed energy, he resumed the climb more swiftly and quickly, his mind filled with the messages he read few hours ago. The messages included her swift elope plan and a lovely smiling picture of her attached to it. That smile put a large chain of events in motion, and here he was, hanging in mid air, within the premises of a house owned by an infamously feared man, whose minions would cut him to pieces if he got caught. But that was only possible once he escaped Rishi, who appeared to be mildly stirring in his sleep. But it was well said and known all over, “All is fair in love and war”. So clearly, he had his reasons.
The room was all pink with a dark shade of purple on the corners. A plush divan in the center, a dressing table by the left wall, a couch on the right side, with 2 dark purple chairs made up for the furniture in the room. On the top of the large mirror on the left wall was the air conditioner; this one came in a light shade of pink, being retouched by dark strokes of purple. The room looked as if a mad experiment of a child. Yet, here, on the divan was the 27-year old Maya, rolling a joint. By the couch was kept a small bag, probably stuffed with her clothes. The tickets were in her purse which lay neatly on the dressing table.
Humming a soft tune, She was lost in the memories of her beloved. Mohit, according to her, was that kind of guy, who was just near perfect for her. A young man in his late twenties, in love with her from 7 years, persuing a career in law, writing witty poems for her; what more can she ask for. Slowing flicking the lights out, she settled down on the couch, just in the dim red night lights and the slow soft music of pink floyd, she lit her joint with the same gold plated lighter which Mohit gifted her on her 24th birthday.
Two puffs later, in the comfort of her couch, she began to revise her plan of escape; she knew it was the one and only chance of eloping with her loved one, before she would be married to the preffered one, by her father. Sir M.K. moorty, was the son of her father's late best friend and partner Mr. Subhash Krishnamoorty, who was the once a partner of Raja singh's small business of liquor. With the great business skills of the gifted tamil, their company reached great heights. Raja was always in awe and indebted to him, for his intelligence. On his deathbed 7 years ago, Raja vowed to his dying friend that his daughter would be wedded to the the only son of Mr. S.K moorty, who was then, a student of psychology in the prestigious Oxford university. From then to now, all Maya knew about the career graph of her to-be husband was that he made way to the top of his batch, studied further, finished his research on "Effects of holotropic breathwork on mind and psych" for which he was won many scientific awards along a nomination for the Nobel prize. Apart from these awards, the british honored him by knighting him and giving him the title of 'Sir'.
Now, at the age of 32, Sir M.K. moorty returned to him home country and has agreed to marry the daughter of his father's best friend. Sweets were exchanged and the deal was done. That what Maya thought of it, a deal, between a businessman and a knight. She was not even asked for her choice and her agreement was never brought to consideration. It's been a month now, when she first met him, her dark skinned and scarred face 32 year old fiance. The sight of him repelled her modesty and she was adamant on showing her worst features to him. But their conversation was as interesting as his personality. Her high pitched sarcasm was met by his mature compliments, her scorn never helped to subside his soft smile. Apart from his physical features, he was a gentleman in true sense, a lovely companion to chat with. His fame in the field of psychology was truly praise-worthy. But, she was already in love, so all this fuss was to be flushed down the gutter soon. The problem was, she couldn't fight her dad or let him know about the affair, as he would simply force her to marry the chosen man; the most reputed man of the town can't afford such a love affair to ruin his promise. Mohit will be left for dead and Maya, whether she liked or not would be made to marry her fiancé as per the date on their wedding card, a week from tonight. So she momentarily and wisely accepted to marry him when her fiancé proposed her. The engagement was one of the finest in town. Many famous personalities blessed the engaged couple, as the rings were exchanged between the beauty and the brains. All the ceremonies were on schedule and the wedding was highly anticipated; the to-be groom was on the seventh heaven, and Maya was playing her part of a blushing to-be bride perfectly.
But last night, when she was engrossed in her dialy trance ritual, a very daring idea struck her, the path chosen in every great love story; the elope, which probably made many of them counted as a great love story. Now being in a higher state of consciousness, she got all excited and trippy about eloping, sketching plans and back-up plans, thereby ignoring the constant vibration of her cellular. Mohit knew she never attended calls when high, and so she didn't bothered herself to get up from the divan and reach out for the cell thrown on the couch. An hour later, she had the plan ready and verified, and she then went on to make a few calls and confirm two tickets for any available plane to any available destination for the very next day. After the call, she lit another joint and turned the flasher lights on. Scrolling through her trance playlist, she found a suitable song for her last party in her room. With 'Power of celtic' at maximum sound, her soundproof room was now a neatly transformed rave disco. After swirling and dancing for some time, she went to Rishi, who was lying in the far corner;She grabbed her dear pet, and locked him in a tight hug, murmuring in his ears how sorry she was for leaving him, and asking him to forgive her for the treachery she was about to perform on him. She broke the hug 10 minutes later, after her sobbing had ceased. With a staight face and strong shoulders she stood up, patting him for a couple of times, she kissed his forehead and allowed him to lick her palm; she knew she would miss him the most. She lowered the volume of the stereo, and went to the couch, dropped on it and closed her eyes, relaxing and preparing her mind for the next day.
Today, 24 hours later, lying on the same couch, she was more excited than tensed. The day had went okay. There were no surprise troubles in store for her. All the arrangements were taken care of. Thepacking was done. Money and weed were stuffed in good amounts. Mohit was on the way, and to surprise him a little, she was lying naked on her couch, floating in the bliss of love and lightheadedness. She felt those butterflies she had known from the day mohit had proposed her. This feeling was her best known feeling. Pure jolts of love; A beautiful different trip.
Lost in the oblivion, she drifted from the world of imagination to her land of dreams. The joint she was smoking fell on her beautiful feather mat, and managed to burn a hole in it, but it all went unnoticed by Maya who was now sleeping soundly like a newborn baby i.e, pure, beautiful, and naked.
The head maid smiling in her sleep would never have thought even in her dreams about the man tiptoeing right past her room to reach his final destination. He was greeted by a poster with "No admission without permission" written in bold letters; slightly smiling his gaze moved to the purple heart shaped doorknob with a tag warning 'Do not disturb'. He knew that no one except Rishi was allowed to enter the room without Maya's permission, not even the headmaid.With a thumping heart and shaky hands, he held the knob and twisted it. With the door half open, he saw the most angelic thing he ever dreamt of witnessing. On the couch, was Maya, naked, her whole body making him feel a divine presence. Those long legs and white thighs, that soft tummy and cuved waist, those hands folded over those full breasts, that long neck and that lovely face. Ah! He fell to his knees, and then started crying like a baby. He had never thought of her sexually nor ever lusted for her; he just loved her, with all his heart and mind and soul. And there she was, so pure, so beautiful, in front of him, sleeping like a doll. Still sobbing he looked around, the only light in the room was of the red night bulb, giving the room an effect of the photo developing room, but when mixed with the soft sound of 'comfortably numb' oozing from the speakers, it made the room an ideal place to relax. The room smelt of weed, and a thin line of faint smoke was coming near Maya. On going nearer to his beloved's slumped body, he found the black hole on the mat. Kneeling to pick up the half smoked joint, he found her wedding card thrown under the couch. Picking up the card, he looked for the auspicious date of the wedding, which was hidden beneath those girly scribbles with glitter pens all over the card. The date was of a 6 days later, with many crosses drawn around it, making it not an auspicious day after all. The name Maya Singh was rewritten in red glitters and below it was Mohit Agarwal written in purple, a big heart engulfing the names of both the lovers. The name of her fiance was totally covered in black, scribbled till it was not readable. Many stars and hearts decorated the card. He smiled at her vision, through the eyes of a child, so innocent, so creative, so beautiful. "It's time to wake her up.", he whispered to himself. He put his left hand on her mouth tightly to prevent her from shouting on getting startled. He didn't wanted to get caught reaching this far. Till now she was stirring to wakefulness, and her eyes was slowly parting trying to focus on what was happening. As soon as her eyes met his, they grew wide apart. He could see the panic in her eyes, the dread with which she was looking at the syringe he was holding in his right hand. Before she could react, he had plunged the needle deep in her left breast, and her struggle to be free subsided in a matter of 4-5 seconds as the paralysis took effect. He pulled his hand from her slightly parted mouth, looking in those watery eyes with his own tear filled eyes. He kissed her forehead and whispered in her ears,"I have always loved you from the day I first saw you, and my love has only grown from the day you accepted my proposal. You are my angel, and I will love you forever. Sleep well. I will miss you." But by now Maya's world was a never ending rollercoaster;everything around her was revolving very fast untill she felt a burning pain deep in her heart; her silent scream was subsided as a dark void engulfed her vision. And all went blank.
She felt as if she was born again. The world she saw through her half open eyes was a bright ball of white light, accompanying the deafening humming in her ears. She realised she must be dead. But then she felt it; the warmth of his tongue, Rishi was there licking her fingers. He must have killed him too. She felt a rush of guilt as it was her fault that Rishi met his death in such a gruesome manner. But a sense of relief crossed her mind in the company of her loyal pet. She tried to move, but instead fell with a THUD!
With blurry vision, she looked above at the ceiling of her room. Rubbing her forehead and shocked at her survival she quickly sat up bewildered, observing her surroundings; a ray of sunlight coming through the drapes announced that it was past sunrise, the room still smelt of weed but the room showed no sign of any break-in. Rishi was slumped near her bed; still exhausted due to the after-effects of the sleeping pill. She wondered if what she saw last night was just a vision or hallucination while she was high, but her thoughts were interrupted as her eyes fell on the syringe kept on her dressing table, placed on a sheet of white paper. Moving towards the table with staggering steps, she found that the paper was a letter, addressed to her. She looked at the tear soaked letter; many words were overwritten to make them legible. With a pounding head and straining eyes, she began to read it.
"My only love,
The day you accepted my love, I asked God, if he was playing tricks with me or is this for real. Looks like, he likes to make fun of me. Well, I am accustomed to it, I was never popular with girls. Always treated as this asexual friend, but then, you made me believe that dreams may come true. I really love you Maya. But why did you lie? I would have made you the happiest woman on this planet, if you would have given me a chance. But you lied, and cheated, that too looking me in the eyes, with a smile across your face. I don't hate you, i can't, but I am disappointed and hurt. I should have killed you tonight, but how could I? But I want you to live, happily. I wish you could be mine. Mohit too would be waking up in his from a similar unconscious state. Wait till he contacts you and when he does, please apologize to him on my behalf for the trouble I caused. One more thing, my engagement ring is on his finger now; where it rightly belongs. Ask him to keep you happy for me, or else, next time the injection may be lethal. God bless you both. Don't worry, I am breaking the marriage. So you won't be guilty in your dad's eye. I will manage him. Rest, make sure your love story is a success. I love you Maya, never hate me. I know you would have queries and doubts, but I only ask one thing, please never contact me. I will learn to live without love.
Your could have been husband,
Mohan Krishna Moorti.
P.s.- You sent your elope plan on my cell instead of Mohit's cell. So, avoid being high on serious issues. Else, the herb never hurts.
Love, peace, empathy."
Tears were flowing freely as Maya reread the letter. She felt anoverwhelming respect for her fiancé who was so much more than what she had thought of him. Still naked, she fell on the bed still trying to grasp this sudden change ofevents. She was dumbfounded and shocked. Sobbing still, she closed her eyes, losing herself, for the first time, in the thoughts of Sir Mohan Krishna Moorty.
The knight was dark and scary; yet had a brilliant mind and a beautiful heart..
THE END.
