A month later,
ETF conference room,
“I want a break.” Neha said in a tired voice.
“You just had your lunch, wasn’t that enough?” Arjun remarked sarcastically.
“No. It's the May of 2015 and we don't even get a break?” She stared at him.
“Team, we’re going to Lonavala…”Sameer came in with a file.
Neha exclaimed in French, “Pour vacation!??”
“No. For a case and,” Neha walked out of the room, “Neha, where’re you going?” She waved her fingers and left while he stared at her for a second before continuing, “I’ll brief you all.”
After 10 minutes,
“Sorry,” Neha came in and held her ear, “there was an important call, I couldn’t miss.”
Sameer nodded and gave her a file, “The case details. Shree, arrange our tickets and accommodation.”
“Why are we all not staying at my place? It’s summer break and there will hardly be any good place left,” She looked at Sameer and Arjun for confirmation, “Shree just book tickets, don’t worry ‘bout accommodation, it’s on me.”
She sat down reading the details and after finishing, “I’m leaving already to make the necessary arrangements. See y’all tomorrow.” She walked out.
~
Neha got in her car and called up her childhood best-friend, “Yo man, what you doin’? Wanna come Lonavala?”
Maulik, while designing a new dress, “Just a minute, what appointments do I have today?” asked his secretary.
Neha heard a faint female voice, “One in evening, sir.”
“Cancel it. I’m coming!” He said excitedly.
“I love you chap, you’re the best!” She blew a loud kiss over the phone.
“When are we leaving?”
“In an hour, be ready, see you at station.”
“Sure.”
~
“Pack everything very carefully, not even a single speck should be left behind.”
“Yes boss.”
~
“Well, finally I have break that I wanted for so long and my bestie to share it with me. I’m happy!” Neha squealed childishly and ruffled his jet-black curls.
“Hey happy, I’m bestie!” Maulik pulled her into a bear hug, “So, what’s the plan?”
She pulled out a bottle of vodka, “Eat, drink and make merry!”
“Oh my god, woman, let the train leave the station at least.” He rolled his brown eyes and exhaled loudly.
“Who cares, who’s gonna come in our compartment? I bought all four tickets to keep unwanted people away.” she shrugged.
“Okay! What’s going on in your little brain lately?" He asked, gently hitting her forehead.
“A hell lot of things and I don’t even know where to start from.” She replied in a tired voice.
“First, tell me about this secret admirer of yours.” He said with a childlike excitement.
"Well, he sent me a bouquet of yellow and white flowers. Sent them twice actually. And then a book of metaphysical poems collection which I absolutely loved and the gifts came at the point when I was losing all shit and almost on the verge of breaking. I really wanna know who the person is.” She chugged on a quarter of vodka.
"I think I know who he is." He gave her a look, "Because no one else would do this for you."
"No, it's not him. He likes someone else, it can't be me! Don't be stupid." Neha rejected the idea.
He took the bottle for a few sips, “You'll know it soon. By the way, I got a new lover, kinda good.”
“That’s why you ain't meeting me. I see.” She narrowed her eyes and pouted her lips.
“You are the one who’s busy all the time, so shut up.”
She grabbed the bottle off his hand and gulped another quarter while showing a middle finger to him.
“Bitch!”
~
Next morning,
Rawte house, Lonavala
Neha sat on the floor, putting Jenga blocks in a box. She had already put the bottles of liquor aside and was clearing up the rest of space in living room before the ETF team’s arrival.
Maulik came out of kitchen with two mugs in his hands, “Good Morning!”
“Whiskey in the morning? You serious?” Neha looked at the mugs.
“Your hangover isn’t over, have some lemon tea idiot!”
She stuck out her tongue, “You dumbass! The colour is just same.”
“Who passed you in the exam? You can’t even…” He stopped as she shoved chips in his mouth while gulping the tea.
“Keep your mouth shut, okay?” She said in a cold, menacing tone to which he just nodded.
“Welcome home people! Hope your journey was pleasant!” Neha walked up to the door to greet her team members. “Come in and make yourself comfortable.”
“Bhai!” Maulik rushed to hug Arjun, “I missed you so much!” Arjun was amused by his excitement, “We met last week!”
“I missed you more” Neha pushed Maulik aside and hugged her brother.
“I hope you haven’t messed up something really bad. Have you?” Arjun asked looking at them suspiciously and walked in. He looked around the house, carefully scrutinizing the changes since his last visit a few years ago. Most of the family frames were replaced with landscapes and abstract paintings except a wallpaper, which was his picture, from Leh valley, of his college times. He looked at it and wondered why it was here now, after all these years.
The pastel yellow and white walls contrasted well with the brightly coloured curtains, sofa covers and quilts, all decorated tastefully. The blend of modern and traditional art in the room along with wooden floor made it look exquisite. "Good job, Maulik!" Arjun patted the young designer affectionately.
Neha smiled proudly, "Peeps, meet my pal Maulik, a fashion icon, an amazing human and my best-friend!”
"Also, family's unofficially adopted kid." Arjun added.
"I’ve been really waiting to meet you all, have heard so much about you guys that…” Maulik exclaimed like a kid meeting his favourite heroes.
“Don’t mind his fan-boy moment. I’ll get you tea and coffee.” Neha walked into kitchen.
“Karan! Great to see you back.” Maulik hugged him.
“Same!” Karan smiled widely, embracing him.
"Sameer bhai, you look hotter than usual, what's up?" Maulik teased, only to receive a smack on his head.
"Chotu! Man those muscles, I'd die for them. Seriously!"
"Thank you but I won't let you die." Chotu smiled and gave him a bear hug.
"Shree! You're so cute, oh my god!" Shree looked at him confused, "It's a compliment, nothing else."
"You have weird ways of complementing." Shree grinned.
"Aisha! You're a goddess incarnate, I swear I'm not exaggerating. You're so amazing, I can't find words. Do you mind me hugging you?"
Aisha looked at him, amused, "No one has ever asked this to me. But yes you can." She opened her arms.
Neha came out of the kitchen, "Momo, don't forget they don't teach consent in hetero schools."
"That's fucked up but we always do what's taught in homo schools." Maulik replied.
"Yes, 'cause we' Homo sapiens and not Hetero!" Neha laughed at her own joke. "Come over for coffee!"
"Liza, your taste for fashion is so amazing, I really appreciate it! Feel free to check out my collections, you'll like them." Maulik continued with his introductions.
"Thank you! I'm honoured!" Liza bowed a little.
"My pleasure, lady!"
"Hey Ms. Publicist! Oh, sorry, Sakshi! Neha told that and I couldn't stop myself," He looked in her eyes, "I can see so much of pain of losing a loved one in these eyes..."
Neha cut him short, "Maulik, you don't say that..." He shut her with his hand gesture.
"It is difficult, I know and can understand your pain well. I lost my mom when I was seven. But I've learnt to cherish the memories I've had with her and she's a constant source of inspiration for me, I don't let it pain me anymore. You should try doing that."
"Thank you." Sakshi smiled at him.
"Maulik, you don't discuss something so personal like that. It's unprofessional." Neha preached.
"Next time." Maulik stared at her, "You all are having coffee, but I'll give you the tea!" He said as all sat at the dining table. "You know the Avengers, right?" Everyone nodded, "So in Neha's head-cannon, every one of you is a Marvel character."
"That's cool" Shree's eyes gleamed with happiness.
"Yeah, Iron Man" Malik greeted him. "Sameer bhai is Captain America and Arjun bhai is Hawkeye."
"And Chotu is the Hulk" Neha added, seemingly annoyed." But I wish I could shut your mouth permanently for spilling the tea. I hate you!"
"Where's the cake?" Maulik asked.
"What cake?" Neha looked puzzled.
"One we baked at night, duh."
"We did? I thought I was dreaming"
"How drunk were you to not realise that we actually baked a chocolate cake at night,"Maulik stared at her. "I'll bring it, wait."
"Shit. Fuck!" Neha checked her phone and swallowed hard, thought for a second and called up the last dialled number, "Hello," she said softly, "I.. I'm sorry for whatever I said last night, I was drunk as hell and don't remember shit." The call was disconnected from the other end without any reply.
"Who did you just call?" Karan asked inquisitively.
"I don't know, it's saved as 'Call-when-you-need' and I don't really remember anything more." Neha replied, trying hard to remember the details but failed. "Momo, what else did I do?"
"Played Jenga, drank more and passed out mumbling nonsense. Even I don't remember anything else. We really drank a lot! I ain't drinking for a month now." Maulik crossed his fingers and kissed them. "Forget it, have cake!"
~
DRINKS Beverages Co.
“How did the ETF get here?” a husky voice roared from the phone.
“I have no clue but seems like an inside job.” Jonny trembled while replying.
“Be careful.”
“Yes boss.” He said and disconnected the call.
~
“This manager seems a tough guy, won’t give any details.” Aisha said.
Karan placed a box on the table, “Liza and I checked the samples, and there are traces of cocaine.”
“And heroin too.” Liza added.
“This guy… I know him.” Maulik came in the study room where the team had made their temporary office.
“What? How?” Neha asked.
“He’s Jonny, I took drugs from him, remember?”
“You sure?” Arjun questioned.
“Yes! How can I forget the face of a person who almost ruined my life. I know, it’s him for sure. That tattoo on his neck, I remember it very well.”
“When did you last meet him?” Sameer questioned.
“Mumbai, more than two years ago. After that I never went back on those roads.” Maulik said proudly.
“Can you give us any details, like who all were with him, where did he get supplies from, anything else?” Aisha asked.
“And it’s alright if you don’t.” Neha held his hand assuring.
“I don’t know where exactly he got it from, it was mostly imported and the quality was really good. He didn’t have many varieties but only the best and expensive products. I almost spent a lac on it. He used to bring them in tiny glass bottles. I still have some of those bottles. He also had a friend, both of them would mostly come together.”
“Holy shit! Why didn’t you tell all this to me before?” Neha looked at him, annoyed.
“You didn’t ask.” He shrugged.
Neha took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, “You’ve got yourself into trouble! Idiot! Oh, I’m so stupid, I shouldn’t’ve asked you to come here, shit, it’s all my mistake, you should not be here, oh my..” She mumbled.
“Neha? What is such a big deal about this? I don’t get it. Like, why are you so upset as if I’m gonna di…”
She placed fingers his lips, “Don’t you dare!” She pulled out a pistol from her pocket, “Keep this with you all the time and don’t go anywhere alone. Stay alert, keep all your senses open to the surroundings.”
“Oh my god, girl, relax! I’m fine and nothing’s gonna happen to me. I don’t think that guy even remembers me, two years is a long time.” Maulik said reassuringly.
“Right. Sorry, I just over-reacted. But still be careful, okay?”
“Yep. Take this gun back, I don’t want it. Also, I’m leaving for Mumbai in a while, I just came to say a goodbye to all of you. Thanks for the drama bitch!”
“Go after dinner.”
“Okay.”
When everyone left for dinner, Neha stopped Arjun and Sameer, “Bro, Need a word with you guys,” She closed the door, carefully seeing that no one else was around, “I’m planning to go to Pune with Maulik tonight. I have a very strong feeling that I’ll find something useful there.”
“Neha, first of all, tell us why you want to go and where exactly are you planning to find that useful thing?” Sameer asked.
“Also, you’re risking Maulik’s life, which you shouldn’t.” Arjun added.
“I know but trust me, everything’s under control. And if I don’t come back by tomorrow morning, you should use my chip to locate me, but not before 9 am. I promise I’ll be back safe and sound.”
“Please bring something concrete or we won’t be able to justify your absence.” Sameer said.
“Be very careful Neha, an innocent life is at stake.” Arjun said cautiously.
“Won’t disappoint you, Bhaiya,” She gave him a quick hug, “I’m hungry, shall we eat?”
After an entertaining dinner with the team, Maulik joined is hands in namaste, “I’ll take your leave now. It was great meeting you all.”
“Mamma’s good boy flexing!” Neha rolled her eyes, “I’m coming with you.” Neha declared.
“Why do you wanna come to Pune?”
“Got some work there.”
“But you already got work here.”
“No buts and ifs, I’m coming with you, that’s it.” Neha said in a tone of finality.
~
On train, en-route Pune,
Maulik and Neha boarded the second-class sleeper, which was crowded due to the holidays. They stood near the door, bantering as usual. Neha got a text message, which she read and quickly deleted, “I’ll just be back, stay here.”
She walked through a compartment and reached the end where an old ragged man was waiting for her. She sat down next to him.
“It is His factory, he earns a lot of profit through it. Jonny is very important to him and us. Use and treat him well. But don’t kill.” He cautioned.
“Should they know about his connection with the factory?”
“No. If they get close to knowing it, throw anything at them. And keep that emotional fool under check, he shouldn’t know this connection at all. He will ruin it all in is rage.”
"It’s difficult to manage but I'll do it.” She gave an assuring smile.
"You have to." He told her a few more details and slipped in a pendant, "take care!"
"You too." She held his hands and looked at him, each drawing strength from other. The train honked loudly, breaking their trance. She locked the pendant carefully in one of her chains and walked back to Maulik.
~
Past midnight,
Jonny’s place
A shadow made way into Jonny’s bedroom by tracing the walls and jumping in through window. The shadow injected a serum in Jonny’s arm, and sat beside him, “Who is your boss?” asked in a cold, menacing voice.
Jonny woke up alarmed, blinked his eyes to adjust to the twilight. He could see a hooded figure in front of him, with a mask on face, and peculiar green eyes that stared at him. “R.r.rricky.” he answered in a trembling voice.
“Not him, the real boss.”
“I..I don’t know.” He tried to move but the hooded figure had overpowered him and placed an ice knife on his chest that was hurting him steadily.
“You know him very well, you talk to him regularly, now tell me his name.”
“S..sik..”
“How do you contact him?”
“Calls mostly.”
“Where is he now?”
“Singapore.”
“When is he coming back?”
“I don’t know, but soon.”
“Good boy. Thanks.”
The shadow left the room through the same route it had come in. Jonny tried getting up but realized that he couldn’t move his limbs, they were numb.
~
Next Morning, Sameer, Aisha, Sakshi, Chotu and Karan reached DRINKS Beverages Co.’s office and got to know that Jonny has a paralysis attack last night and was hospitalised.
“A dead end, what now?” Aisha sighed.
“We question the manager and then decide.” Sameer ordered.
Chotu went in to bring Ricky.
~
Rawte House
Arjun was busy working on the board with his theory. DRINKS' he spelled these letters individually and stared at them, SIKNDR, he finally cracked it. "How could I miss something so simple?" He was furious at his own stupidity.
"Damn it Rawte! That's not how things work." Sameer stared at the board, trying his best to stay calm.
"It is out there, right out in open, do you not see?" Arjun's voice was rising slowly.
"Are you playing Scrambled Rawte? Then 50 other words can be made using these letters. It doesn't prove anything." Sameer retorted.
"You went to look for proofs, what did you find?" Arjun asked.
"Nothing much, except Jonny is paralyzed." Sameer sighed.
"That's suspicious, how did it happen?"
"Karan, Liza and Shree have gone to investigate it. And where's Neha?" Sameer looked around.
Neha jumped in through the window and lay flat on the floor with her head buried into the thick carpet.
"Neha?!" Arjun, Sameer, Aisha, Chotu and Sakshi exclaimed at once, rushing towards her.
"Get away, lemme breathe, I'm alive!" Neha said in a muffled voice through the carpet.
"If you stay any longer in the carpet, all you'll breathe is dust. Get up!" Arjun said rather curtly.
"It's vacuum cleaned just a day before." Neha said and sat upright on the floor, leaning on the wall, stretching her legs. "Water!"
Aisha passed her a bottle, which she guzzled half in a go.
"What did you find?" Arjun asked without wasting a moment.
"Yo sis is dying here and all you care about is..." She stared at the board, registering the new developments. She gulped rest of the water quickly, taking enough time to think about the response. This was expected but not so early.
"Neha, please." Arjun was losing his patience.
"I confirmed, the story that Ricky and Jonny told match with the jail records at Pune and the Jailer confirmed it. That means they both are really working in this factory with a new start of their lives and have had a clean record ever since. They are also involved in local charities and welfare of the poor. It feels like they learnt the lesson and really started a normal life from scratch." Neha said and placed pictures supporting her claims.
Chotu received a call, and reported, "Sir, those boxes we collected our samples from, are missing. In fact, the whole series is missing as if it never existed. And there's a death very close to the warehouse of the factory."
"Let's go!" Sameer said, "Neha you can stay back, you're tired."
"No, I'm not." Neha smiled reassuringly.
~
They reached the warehouse, the body belonged to a middle-aged man, dressed simply and looked like a poor daily-wager.
"Why would someone kill him, he looks so innocent." Sakshi said.
"He's been shot, quite precisely with a .35 calibre gun." Chotu said as he checked the wound on the man's neck. He proceeded to check the pockets for identity.
Neha walked around towards the warehouse to look for evidences when a bullet shot went right past her right ear, "Try harder bitch!" she cursed in the direction of gunshot, steadying her gun and looking for the shooter.
The others too pulled out their weapons and were ready for an attack. Neha went ahead in the warehouse, Aisha followed close behind while Sameer and Arjun went to the other side. Chotu and Sakshi stayed near the dead man.
A small shoot-out followed and the team of four managed to have most gunners heavily injured or dead. There were 15 of them. They caught Ricky red-handed.
"S..sir! I don't know anything. I was asked to come here to check the status of shipments and it is my routine." He shivered like a leaf in the wind.
"And the man dead out there, do you know him?" Sameer asked.
"Yes, he used to work for us, transporting goods from here to factory in the truck. He was a hardworking man and honest too." Ricky answered.
"That's why you killed him." Arjun said, holding Ricky's collar, "Now out with the truth!" Slapped him.
"I swear, I don't know anything. Two days ago, I got a call and they asked me to keep a carton in my warehouse, that would be taken away after some days and I had to do it because they threatened to kill me. I don't know what is in that box and I didn't open it as it was sealed. I don't know what is in the box and how all those drugs came in the tetra-packs for fruit juices. I swear sir, I don't know" Ricky begged.
"Why were you jailed?" Neha asked.
"Eight years ago, I stole a man's purse as I was hungry for three days." He said unashamedly.
An empty stomach inspires crimes.
"Ask Shree to get his call details and we trace the person who called Ricky. And send the body for autopsy." Sameer said.
"Yes sir." Aisha said and called up Shree.
~
On their way back to Rawte House, Sakshi asked, "Neha, what's with you and windows? Like, you don't like doors or something?"
"Doors are too basic! Jump in through windows, that's the big bi energy!" Neha flaunted and went back to checking her messages. "I'm going for a date tonight, anyone wanna join?"
"Who are you going with?" Arjun asked.
"Jugni, the firefly! Met her this morning! She's amazing!" Neha replied dreamily.
"We've got work to do." Sameer said.
"You guys can't manage without me? Ah! I'm honoured! I'll be back in a few hours, please lemme go, chick and chill!" Neha winked.
"You sure about the girl?" Arjun questioned.
"Kinda! But she's really good kisser! Why do you think I was out of breath this morning?" Neha grinned.
Everyone turned towards her, gaping. This woman went out and kissed a girl in the morning in the middle of a case. Unreal.
"When did you meet the girl?" Arjun asked after recovering from the shock.
"Saw her a night before and today morning... I ain't giving details, 'cause you never did." She replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
~
Another uneventful day later, the ETF team got a breakthrough but the carton was already gone without a trace and Ricky committed suicide and left a note claiming to be behind it all. The case was officially closed but the team was sure that it wasn't really the end.
~
Rawte House,
"Can we not have a break for a day at least? It's been two months since we got even a half-day off. Please?" Neha said in the sweetest voice possible.
Sameer looked at her and rest of the team's tired faces, they really needed a break, "I'll call Commissioner Sir and get the permission."
"And if he doesn't agree, give me the call, I'll manage." Neha said while Sameer ignored.
After five minutes of discussion with Commissioner, Sameer gave the news that they could have a two-day off and he could feel everyone relax and smiled.
"You guys can watch movies, read comics, play games or go around sightseeing, anything!" Neha said and walked into the bar in the corner of the living room.
"And you're not drinking." Arjun ordered.
"Why? What else do I do?" Neha retorted.
"Why? You just gave a to-do list!" Karan said, "I'm going to visit the mountains, wanna join?"
She nodded. "Bhaiya, what will you do?"
"Read comics or watch movies." He looked at the shelf that had his childhood comics nostalgically.
"Rathore sir, will you join us?" Aisha asked.
"In evening maybe, I'll finish some pending work for now and then rest."
"Two bros gonna chill five feet apart 'cause they're not gay! Toodles buddies!" Neha waved at them while they gave her you-are-impossible look.
~
At night, everyone came home tired after long day out.
"Anyone wants to play Jenga?" Arjun asked.
"Me!" Neha replied enthusiastically. "Also, this is Truth or Dare Jenga which is even more fun."
"And how is that played?" Sakshi asked.
"You pull out a block, it has two questions, one truth and other dare, select one and do accordingly, until the blocks don't fall." Neha explained and got up to bring the blocks.
"Play at your own risk." Arjun warned as he started helping Neha pile up the blocks in order.
"Let's start. Who goes first?" Neha looked at everyone.
"I!" Arjun said and carefully pulled out a block from the middle.
"Truth or dare?"
"Dare!"
"For a guy, put on makeup. For a girl, wash off your make up."
"This wasn't there before!" Arjun protested.
"Ya, we changed the chits last year 'cause we knew all of them. I'll bring my makeup kit and make you beautiful." Neha said and rushed up to her room.
"Is it not okay if I don't.." Arjun tried protesting, all in vain. Neha brought her kit and sat down like a professional artist. "I'll put on makeup while the game continues."
"Neha it's your turn." Karan said.
"Go for truth." Arjun told.
"Okay," she pulled out a block, "Who is the sexiest person here?" She chuckled, "Of course me!" She said with a hand pointing towards herself. Everyone looked at her amused.
Shree took the next turn, "Dare. Spin an imaginary hula hoop around your waist for 2 minutes."
"Cheers for Shree!" Neha said, "You can do it!"
Shree looked around, closed his eyes and slowly moved his waist to and fro animatedly and everyone had a good laugh at it.
Chotu picked the next block, "What is the most illegal thing you have ever done?" Chotu bit his lip before answering, "I smoked a cigarette once, when I was 16."
"Chotu, is it that illegal?" Karan raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, I wasn't allowed to smoke and also it was a no-smoking zone. Thankfully it was deserted at night so no one actually caught me." Chotu confessed.
"You're such adorable baby Chotu!" Neha said while she continued applying blush on Arjun's cheeks.
Aisha pulled out a block, ”What is your deepest darkest fear?" She exhaled loudly, "Heights. I can't stand anything that is higher than seven floors."
"My superwoman is scared of heights, aww!" Neha remarked.
Sameer picked the next block, "Would you trade your sibling in for a million dollars?" He looked at Karan, "That's a cheap deal, I need more money."
"You won't trade me for any damn amount in this world, I'm sure of it bhai!" Karan responded.
Sameer shook his head in disbelief, "You're too precious dear!"
"See! This is how you treat your siblings, learn brother!" Neha said to Arjun.
"First of all, you asked me to keep my eyes closed for some eyeliner. And second, I'll give you away for free, but there are no takers." Arjun said with his eyes still closed.
"Whatever." Neha shrugged, "Next!"
Liza pulled out another block, "Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?" She nodded, "Yes! I know it childish but I do."
"You're my sister!" Neha gave her hand for a high-five, "What animal is it?"
"A kitten!" Liza said, turning slightly pink.
"Cute!" Neha smiled, " I have kittens, pups, teddys’, dolls, actually most of my soft-toys so that they don't feel left out."
Sakshi takes out the next block, "Have you ever let someone take the blame for something you did?" She thought for a while, "Yes, one time in my childhood I accidentally broke a window glass of one of our neighbour. The old man was very strict so my friend took the blame and got beaten up for doing that."
"So you were the notorious kid!" Aisha exclaimed.
"Not really." Sakshi tried to save herself.
"Okay. Ladies and gentlemen!" Neha clapped and announced dramatically, "I present to you the world's most beautiful Juno boy!"
Arjun looked at the mirror, his skin looked flawless with a faint pink blush on his cheeks, winged eyeliner and red lips accentuating his original features, "You pass, my makeup artist."
"Stunning!" Karan said.
"Yes, absolutely." Neha said as she clicked some fifty pictures.
"My turn," Karan said as he picked up a block, "Propose/seduce someone in the group." He bit his tongue nervously. He never thought that he would get a chance to convey his feelings in such a manner.
"As a police officer I can confirm that you are the thief who stole my heart!" Karan smiled slyly and looked into her eyes.
"That's the cheesiest pickup line ever! I'd definitely say yes to this!" Neha laughed out loud and looked away as she got conscious of his gaze.
Arjun picked up a block and chose Truth this time, "What is the most stupid thing your siblings have ever done." He turned to Neha, "Difficult choice but out of all stupid things ever done by you, this one tops the list." Neha stared at him doubtfully. "This happened when Neha was some 5 years old. We have a huge wooden trunk in our storeroom which belonged to our grandma."
"It is large enough to hold some ten dead bodies." Neha interrupted to receive a hard glare.
"It was summer vacation and Maa had removed all things from it to put them out in sun. She went in the trunk and then locked herself." Arjun said.
"I didn't lock myself in," She interrupted again, "I happened to push away an iron rod which was holding the trunk open. And you were the one to lock the room without even checking if I was inside."
"I didn't know you were in. And Maa asked me to lock the door so that you don't go in and do something stupid but you already did."
"But why did you go inside the trunk?" Aisha asked.
"Oh, I was playing hide-and-seek and that was a good place to hide." Neha replied instantly.
"And there was a big rat in there which scared Neha so much that she refused to sleep alone for a month." Arjun added.
"You had to remind me of that," Neha glared, "It was pitch dark and all I could hear was rats scurrying around. Thankfully, they weren't in the trunk but I didn't know that. I tried screaming, shouting and even breaking a side of the trunk but nothing worked. I never felt so helpless..." She stopped in middle.
"How did you come out?" Liza asked.
"After almost an hour or more, we realised that she was missing and searched for her everywhere. Then Rahul told that he had seen her go into the storeroom and not come out of it. We rushed there, opened the storeroom, searched everywhere else and then decided to check in the trunk where we finally found her, lying unconscious." Arjun narrated.
Neha pulled out the block from the second last row but the blocks above it full down, ending the game. Everyone looked at her as if she murdered someone. "What? I thought it won't fall. Sorry." She said unapologetically and read, "What is something that people think you would never do but you have?" She thought for a second, and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I will not answer any questions after this and no questions at all. So everyone thinks, I suppose, that I'd never have done this but I have had an abortion." She said slowly, stressing the last words.
Everyone looked at her, shocked and unsure.
"Neha?" Arjun tried saying only to be silenced by her look. She rose up and started walking out of the house, "Where are you going?"
"To die." She said without looking back and left.
~*~
