Shadows in the Dark by Suvika

Author:Suvika [Suvika]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-18T22:00:00+00:00

Ten

“Yes amma, I’m doing absolutely fine.” Holding his phone with his left hand, Sidharth continued to make a quick work of his dinner. “It’s just a scratch ma. Why would I need to stay in the hospital?” After reassuring his worried mother for a few more minutes and finishing his dinner in parallel, he ended the call. Taking in the nearly full plate of Avantika, he glanced around and found her talking on the phone. Again. That woman hadn’t stopped pacing since evening. It was like she couldn’t sit still. He never pegged her for a worrywart. Not for an incident this minor. He wasn’t sure he would have fared any better if the situation was reversed, he accepted. She had gone to her place just long enough to have a shower and change into tracks and t-shirt, her hair, still slightly damp, held back with a clip. The shower washed out the grime but had done absolutely nothing to relax her. She was wound up as tight as a spring. Despite the AC running full blast, to hold the Guntur heat at bay, there was a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead.

He thought of the way she’d taken his head in her lap during the drive to the hospital, gripping the sleeve of his shirt so tight, the eyes that had been staring out the window stark with terror. He’d wanted to hug her then. Hug her tight and kiss her until she lost that haunted look and got back her usual sass and spunk. Neither option had been viable at that time. So he’d tried to lighten the situation by cracking a joke on his hard head. She’d closed his mouth with her palm. He’d shut up and let her fuss over him till they reached the hospital. With a long deep sigh, he picked up her practically untouched plate, adding ghee to the rice before walking up to her.

“Did you see the guy? Could you catch him? What did he say? Why did he do it? Who is he?” Avantika rained questions on Abbas, making sure she was out of earshot.

“Yes, I saw the guy. No, I couldn’t catch him.” Abbas sounded disturbed. Or was he distracted? She wondered. Did he still think she was overreacting? “Avantika, the guy who threw the bottle is dead. Runover by a truck.”

“W-what?” She reeled at the news. “A-accident?”

“Police have declared it as an accident. But...I was right behind him. With so many vehicles parked, all those people, there was no way a truck driver can suddenly accelerate that way. He was either drunk or...”

“It was deliberate,” she finished.

“He wasn’t drunk.” He paused, as if weighing how much to tell her. “That crowd was from Vijayawada. Mostly daily labor. Someone promised them a meal and a quarter in exchange. They came in lorries and left soon afterwards.” He paused again. “I will look into this Avantika. I promise. I will ask Julia to put everything else on hold until we solve this.

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