Chapter 32

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"Do you really love me? Like real love?"
Sidharth asks her for the nth time. Shehnaaz runs her fingers through his hair as he lays on the bed with his head on her lap.
"Aur Kitni baar poochoge?"
"Yakeen dila raha hun khud ko. Abb sab se darr lag ta hai.."
She kisses his head, "Don't be. Try to sleep."
"I can't.. "
"Why?"

Sidharth sits up and tries to look for the right words to express himself.
"Bolo, Sidu."
"When I try to sleep, a lot of things start running inside my mind. I feel like my brain will blow up."
"What things?"
"I still don't remember what happened that night. I start thinking about it but it doesn't come back. And my mind wanders off to the days I spend behind the bars. I try to get those out but everything goes on a loop. When I stop thinking about it, my thoughts go to what my future holds. Koi job nahi hai, kaise kya hoga? And the case is now on my head. Darr lagta soch kar about the final result of the case. What if the court declares me guilty and sentences me to the prison again? I don't want to go back to the hell. I.. don't want to go there.."
Shehnaaz wraps her arms around him, "You will not go back to the jail. I promise."
She hugs him tightly and he winces.
"You are hurt. Please abhi toh dikhao mujhe. "

He holds an ice pack near his ribs where he had a swelling and skin had turned bluish black,
"You were beaten up inside. Weren't you?"
He nods his head.
"Why?"
"It is a forest inside and they live by the jungle law. Survival of the fittest. One who has power, rules on others."
"Do you want to talk about it? You will feel better if you do."

"There are mega dormitories in the prison where inmates live in close proximity. After signing the register, I was taken to one of them. The dorm room where I was supposed to live had more people than it could accommodate. There I was introduced to a man named Chaman bhai. He showed me my place to sleep. A corner on the floor with a rough prison blanket as bed. You have only one more similar blanket that you can use as a pillow or cover yourself up. We were allowed to go out of the dorm to the garden, TV room or reading room from 9 in the morning till 5 in the evening. After 5 you are locked up inside it."
He looks at his hands, "Chaman took me to meet Lala. He is like an incharge there. No, he is not a police guy but a hard-core criminal, sentenced to life imprisonment for five murders and other offences."

Flashbacks
A middle aged man with short hair and a thick moustache sat on a cemented platform.
"Kya naam hai tera? Idhar kayeko aya? Ache Ghar se dikhta hai, padha likha. Phir kayeko hun?"
"Si.. Sidharth. I didn't do anything.. Maine kuch nahi kiya."
"Sahi magar kya nahi kiya jo idhar hai tu? Chori ya accident?"
"Molestation.."
He started laughing.
"Hmm.. yani rape karne ki koshis.. thik."
"No.. I haven't.. Maine kuch nahi kiya.."

The man smiles, "Dekh this is not a real world where you will be judged and definitely not by people like us. We all are equal here, some real criminals like me and some innocents like that guy, Afzal. There are people like me who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and there are people like Chaman who are still awaiting trial. We won't judge you if you are a rapist or not."
"I.. am not.. a.."
"I can see that. Tu Acha insaan dikhta hai apun ko. I can see honesty and goodness in your eyes, rare to find it here though. Sun, tujhe yahan jitne din rehne ko mile, tu reh. You won't be asked any questions. Bas jo bolun main suna padega."

Sidharth nodded his head.
"Abhi kuch din jyasti bhar nahi Jane ka. Mere laundon ke saath rehne ka. Sarr nichu kar ke rehne ka. Kiske masle mein ghusne ka nahi. 9 baje so Jane ka, uthne ka nahi. Chaman iska bistar mere baju lagane ka. Khana pakana malum hai tereko?"
Sidharth nodded his head again.
"Tu Bittu ki madad karega. Jyasti nahi bolne ka. Ankh aur kaan khule rakhne ka. Samjha. Tereko ghar phone karne ka hai?"
Sidharth nodded his head again.
"Come to me after 8. And when you call home, ask them to get some money for you. Here you can survive only with money. Strength and connections help too but most important is money."

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