Friendship and love can be attached to anyone but can only be expected to reciprocate from few species. Carol, a common working woman faces a series of events and is left with myriad number of questions.

 

“Uh-huh! Not again”, said Carol as she glanced at tremendous pour of rain that flooded the streets. Heavy work kept her late by 2 hours and the last thing she expects was to get drenched in the rain on the way home. The traffic on the roads was by no means less in spite of the heavy downpour. As she tried to cross the road, a woman probably in her early 30s came to her with a polite smile. She offered to give a share in her umbrella till the other end of the road. Feeling thankful Carol walked along with her and reached the other side. Just then the bus arrived and Carol had to bid her good-bye even without thanking her.

The next day, Carol managed to finish her work on time and came out of the office with a hope that she might jump into that stranger again. Luckily for Carol, she spotted the stranger walking towards her again.

“Hello! My name is Carol. It was rude on my part yesterday to rush away without properly thanking you. I am sorry.” Carol said in an apologetic tone.

“Never mind, I was in a bit hurry too. By the way I am Rupa. I work at Maya consultancy.” She said and stretched her hand. They both shook hands with glee.

In a matter of no time the two strangers became good friends. They began catching up with one another over coffee. Two women can be friends forever when they are jealousy and suspicion free.

One day carol invited Rupa over dinner to grab a chance to introduce her new bosom friend to her husband. But Rupa rejected the invitation saying that she would come one fine day when there was a real need.

Days rolled on and with every passing day the two friends became intensely close. But Rupa never went to Carol’s house and she never invited carol either. The local restaurants and food courts became their hanging places.

That evening carol came home an hour earlier. In order to give a relishing surprise to her loving husband, she prepared his favorite Butter Chicken and Rice. She kept pacing back and forth for his arrival. It was 8:30pm yet there was no sign of him. Grabbing the phone in despair, she dialed his number only to hear that the number was not reachable. Another couple of hours passed and slowly a pang of fear hit Carol. She kept on dialing to his number but the reply was always disappointing.

Not knowing what step to take next, she eventually dialed Rupa’s number. To her utter despair, her number too was not reachable.

The clock rang 12 bells indicating the deadly hour of the night and this alarmed Carol as she knew no matter how busy the schedule is, her husband would come home before midnight. Even without her knowledge she began profusely sweating. Deciding on what the next best step is, she dialed to the local Police Station. As she explained the details, the police officer could hardly comprehend her words, as her sobs were louder than her words. As usual the police assured her that they would start the search immediately.

Hours passed. There was still no news of him. Carol had nobody to share her situation with except Rupa. Carol was abandoned by her family because of her hasty decision about marriage. Her parents never approved of her husband.

To keep her diverted from the suspicious thoughts about her husband’s missing, carol switched on the T.V. Just then her phone rang and she picked it up on the first ring with a hope that it would be from her husband. Contradicting her hopes, the police officer on the phone informed about her husband. His words made Carol to collapse down. She felt lifeless as though she were a corpse. But the information on the phone is that her husband was found as a corpse. The condition of the dead body was so very pathetic that it was impossible even for Post Mortem. The only lovable person she ever had was no more.

Hours ran into days and days ran into weeks. It was then that she heard from Rupa, her second best friend after her husband. Now her husband being no more alive, Rupa is the only best friend.

“Carol, I heard the sad news. I am sorry I could not come to visit you earlier.” Rupa said sitting beside her.

“That’s fine Rupa. I am slowly trying to cope with the loss. But where have you been all these days? You were not there for me when I needed you the most.”

“I was a bit unwell.”

“Unwell! Did Anything serious happen Rupa?”

“No, no. It is just a mild burning sensation in the chest.”

“What? You should never neglect any illness although it is mild. What if it leads to heart attack? What if it is a tumor? What if that tumor turns into cancer? God forbid. But I am talking of the possibilities.” Carol blurted out in almost a hysterical voice. “Come with me right now. We shall go to hospital and get you a check up.

“Relax Carol! This is not anything you need to worry about. Running to hospital for such a petty illness is ridiculous.”

“It might sound ridiculous to you Rupa. I have already lost a biggest part of my life, my husband. Now I cannot even imagine any harm happening to you.” Saying these Carol dragged Rupa out and rushed her to hospital.

After the body scan, Carol kept starring at the report in bewilderment while Rupa waited outside.

“Rupa, I went insane looking at the reports.”

“Why? What is it with the reports?”

“These reports say…ummm…they sayyy… that your heart, kidney and lungs are missing.”

“Hahaha…” Rupa began laughing which scared Carol even too much. “That’s true Carol. I have none of those organs. And want to know why? The reason is your husband. Yes! Your loving husband veiled so many flagitious acts. He hid his villainy from you.”

“I don’t understand a word of what you say” Said carol patting her face which is now soaked in sweat. “Why on earth would my husband do anything to you?”

“For distortia. Distortia is an ancient magical art that can change the very form of any object to whatever form desired. But to master this art you need human internal organs. The more vital the organ is, the more powerful you become. Your husband trapped me, poisoned me and got my organs. He took them out of my body without spilling a drop of blood with his foul black magic. There was no blood but only pain. The intensity of torture he put me through is unexplainable. Now it’s my time Carol. The revenge time. The time of unseen revenge. He took my organs from me and I took his life from him. It’s a simple game. A simple game of revenge.”

“But how can you do this to me Rupa. After all the love I have given you, is this I get in return from you? Is not your conscience pricking you with guilt? You could have spared his life at least for my sake.”

“Only humans have kind heart to forgive even those who thugged their life.”, Saying this Rupa disappeared into thin air.

Carol stood befuddled. Was that a spirit? Yes it must be a spirit. But spirits can neither touch nor be touched. But Rupa did both. Then if not a spirit what/who was it? There are always questions that remain unanswered forever.

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