I Am Guilty

14. Wants And Needs

"Why did you do that?"
Sapna asked her husband within her tears when he sat beside her, filled with guilt.

They had brought Bansi home after the doctors confirmed that she was fine and just needed a carefree environment.

He looked at his daughter that was now lying on deep slumber, without caring about what was happening around her.
Aniket Mathur was enveloped with guilt. He knew there was no going back with the young girl.
With a monster like Arjun, it was necessary to keep him in check. There was no justification as to why Arjun could go to extremes like molesting an innocent girl and killing her. No punishment could make him clean again.
But Bansi was a child that hardly killed a fly. She did not deserve this. Aniket tried to justify himself that he was blinded by rage, when he realized that Bansi was in touch of someone they despised to the core.

"Ask her to stop doing whatever she is up-to. We have enough faced humiliation, thanks to the sorry excuse of your son. I neither want him back around my house, nor do I appreciate anyone in contact with him." Aniket stated in a no-nonsense tone.

Sapna looked up at him with furious eyes. She once looked at her sleeping daughter and walked out of the room without caring to answer him.
Aniket clenched his jaw. He did not liked to be ignored like that. He followed her to their bedroom with long strides and held her right arm and jerked her towards him. She was extremely angry to give in and jerked her arm away from his grip.

"Don't walk out on me. I am asking you to do something." He snapped.

Crease on her brow deepened.
"Are you even listening to yourself? Whatever happened, it happened a dacade ago. It's a lot of time to punish someone. He is now married to Veena. At least think of her. You can't stop him from coming back until his wife is staying in this house."

Aniket was taken aback. He found himself unprepared for this.
Sapna sat down at the edge of the bed and broke down in the hollow of her palms. She did not how long her both children were going to suffer.

Veena, who had prepared a glass of juice for everyone halted at the threshold of their bedroom and she could hear every single word.

"Look, you don't understand." Aniket said when his wife was a bit composed.

"I know Veena was dragged in this matter, without her knowing anything. Talk to her. Ask her to get this sham of marriage annulled. And...  He left her here like a coward. He can't even take responsibility of his own wife, if at all he considers this as a marriage."

He paced around in the room, raking his fingers in his hair.
Veena was taken aback.

"But she said she needs time." Sapna tried to explain.

"Then ask her to go and stay with him, wherever he is." He snapped.

Sapna gasped and Veena held the tray a little tighter. She found something breaking within. She was unwanted in the house.

"What are you even saying?" Sapna asked with croaked voice.

"Look I know Veena is a victim here. But I don't want him to come here because of her. Either ask her to get this marriage annulled or ask her go with him. She will have my love and support as long as she is not stubborn on 'need time' thing. Talk to her. Let's get the marriage annulled when he comes back the next time."

Veena did not find it worth to stand and listen to whatever they would decide. She had had enough. She walked to the kitchen to place the tray on the table and walked away to her room. She closed the door with a soft thud.

She was too numb to react. Aniket's words rang in her ears and she found herself helpless with every moment.
The feeling of being unwanted in the home was unsettling. Arjun's scared face, when he held his sister behind him fluttered in front her eyes. She did not want to imagine what he went through when he was asked to leave twice in front of everyone. She did not even know, how unceremoniously he was thrown out when he was just a teenager.

A sharp shaky breath was all her number senses could manage. She did not know if after all this, would Arjun decide to come back. A lone tear escaped her eyes as she thought of her uncertain future. She could neither stay married nor could get herself free. Her parents had called her back multiple times, but she could neither go back, nor was her presence appreciated here. She was at crossroads.

"I hate you, Arjun!" She exclaimed and broke down for a hundredth time since the sham of marriage.

"Just drop me to the hotel, Kunal." Arjun said when they boarded a cab from the airport at Lucknow airport.

It was early evening. Kunal looked at him and blinked. Arjun had been quite the entire way back to Lucknow. Not that he was someone to talk without reason, but his silence was grave that day.

"You won't be coming home?" Kunal asked.

"I have a few things to take care of."

Kunal nodded.
"What time is your train tomorrow?" Kunal asked again and Arjun looked at him.
Kunal always knew little details.

"At 8." Came a short crisp reply.

"And it's necessary to go?" Kunal asked again.

Akin sighed in frustration with closed eyes.

"What do you want, Kunal?"

"You are not in good shape. Anyone looking at you can say that you are not well. Why do you have to lead the damn trek?"

"Because it gives me good payback. And it's a question of just a week. I will be good. And I will take care of myself." Arjun explained.

Kunal scoffed in disapproval, but asked the driver to turn the car towards the hotel where Arjun worked.

Arjun had already accepted the offer to lead the Hampta Pass trek in the mighty Himalayas. The hotel that he worked in, not only provided lodging, but also extended the venture for tourism. The treks in the Himalayas was organized occasionally and Arjun would lead the treks most of the time.
He had experience and expertise in completing the trek as planned and bring back the trekkers group safely.
There were times when he used to lead back to back treks with a gap of one or two days for resting.
Monsoon and winters were peak seasons for the treks and Summers would call for occasional trek lovers.
He would come back home drained and exhausted.

It would take more than just a week's sleep for his body to revive. The cold weather of Himalayas had made his heart colder and body tougher.

Now that the winters had kick-started,  Kunal was sure that he would be gone for more than three or four months.

"When will you come back?"
The concern in Kunal's voice was not unnoticed.

Arjun held his gaze for a moment.
"I will come back after every every trek. May be for a day or for a few hours."

Kunal nodded.
"Take care. And keep in contact."

The car stopped in front of the hotel and he looked on as his friend stepped down with the small shoulder bag.
There were times when Kunal would wait for any signal from Arjun. The news of heavy snow and landslides would shake him to the core, for the safety of his friend. But that was what Arjun always wanted.

The passion to put his life at risk was never appreciated by Kunal. But Arjun always chose to be the sounding board to his friend who gave him hour long lectures for risking his life in those stupid treks.

What no one knew was, in one such trek, Bansi's friend was involved, who happened to tell her about the trek leader. He had enthusiastically mentioned that the trek was well managed and well planned by a man named Arjun Mathur.
The name piqued her interest and she asked for the contact number of the trek leader.
She knew it was a stupid thing to do as there could be many people with the same name. But, she decided that would make a call and make sure that at least she tried.

To her amazement, it was the same person and she was overjoyed to talk to him.
Initially, Arjun was caught off-guard and tried to refuse. But Bansi did not give up and his heart melted. He finally accepted that he was the one she was looking for.

He never knew, he would find himself in the whirlwind and carry another innocent girl with him.

There was no going back.

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