The bars rattled a little as Bhavya pushed the old, rusting door open. Closing the door behind her, she stepped into the dark cell cube. As usual, she could see a silhouetted figure sitting in the corner. Taking a deep breath, she went and sat down beside him.
She placed the slightly dented steel glass and the two tablets she had brought on the floor in between them. She didn't bother to greet him or ask him about his day.
Bhavya just gently told him, "Here are your tablets. Please have them in front of me."
Her keen eyes watched him finally make a move. Bhavya's gaze did not leave him and she watched as his fingers picked up the tablets and tore the strip's packaging. Taking them in his unsteady hands, he popped the tablets in his mouth and took a few sips of water from the glass.
"Thank you, Shivaay Bhaiya..." whispered Bhavya gratefully and took the glass from his hands.
Every time she came to see him, he managed to look worse. Shivaay had never been the strong, muscular kind. But now, his body looked emaciated. She was aware that he was barely eating anything. That's why she had made it a point to personally ensure that he at least took his heart medications on time. It was the least she could do for him.
He didn't reply. He went back to resting his head on the cool, damp wall like it was the only thing that was capable of providing him with any comfort. His body remained as still as a stone and he just stared at the wall opposite him. If he didn't blink from time to time, Bhavya wouldn't have been able to tell if he was breathing or not. But then again, she was not surprised. After spending a good part of life serving in the police force, she knew what these four walls were capable of doing to a human being.
She looked around the room. It was barely six feet by four. There were no windows. The air always smelled of sewage and perspiration. There was no mattress, no cushioning. There was only one thin blanket and even that looked dirty and tattered. The atmosphere was either suffocatingly quiet or pierced with the mind-numbing screams of tortured inmates. In there, you could have no idea how much time had passed or even if it was night or day. Given enough time, a person could forget their own name in there.
She couldn't allow that to happen with Shivaay, could she? But looking at him stare blankly at the chipping paint of the wall, she had her doubts. Most of the time he looked like he was going to break and descend into madness. Her heart clenched at that thought. Ever since she had met Shivaay, she had felt something for him. If she ever had an older brother, she imagined him to be something like him. During her dating period with Rudra and even after their marriage, Shivaay had been her greatest cheerleader. She was merely returning the favour by being there for him now. And well, if nothing, he was a great listener. So she could sit and crib about anything and everything under the sun to him. He wouldn't say a word.
"Oberoi Industries lost another deal yesterday..." Bhavya told Shivaay, hoping to engage him in a conversation. She laughed, "I guess, only you got the coveted business genes. Both Om and Rudra are failing miserably. Thank god that I already have this job. When these two idiots drive the empire into bankruptcy, at least we won't die out of hunger."
"Gauri and Om had a fight last night. Om spent the night in the guest room..." she continued. "But I think he deserves it. He has turned into a proper asshole. No offence to anyone."
Shivaay did not react. Bhavya knew that he was past caring. He had done his bit. Now what the rest of them did with their lives was none of his business.
Bhavya didn't wait for a response. But her voice turned softer. "Dadi is fine. And despite everything, I am okay too. It's funny how people who know loss well manage their lives. We survive and somehow, just find a way to live. You, me, Anika..."
On listening to her name, some warmth returned to Shivaay's eyes. He slowly removed his head from the wall and turned to look at Bhavya. She watched in fascination as the colour returned to his deathly pale and gaunt face. It was the norm. The only time she could get a reaction out of him was when she mentioned Anika. But no matter how many times had she seen it happen, it always made her smile.
"How is Anika?" he asked in a quiet, hoarse voice.
Bhavya lunged at the opportunity and questioned, "Why don't you ask her that yourself? When she visits you, you refuse to even look at her."
Shivaay let out a dry chuckle. Bhavya flinched at how hollow, helpless and eerie his laugh sounded.
"I don't think I have the right to ask her that anymore. I didn't think of her while doing all this. I just...left..." Shivaay's chest heaved with emotions. He rasped like it was an effort to even talk, "Now, when I can think of nothing else but her, worry about nothing but her well-being, it makes me feel like a hypocrite."
"Being a hypocrite is better than being a coward!" Bhavya retaliated. "She still loves you. And she is never going to stop. So stop punishing her for your own delusions."
Shivaay closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the wall again.
Bhavya continued, "And what is the use of this sacrifice if no one is benefitted out of it? Anika is not happy. She is pining away for you, you are wasting away here. Your brothers are hell-bent on destroying everything good that you ever built. Dadi is ill. Jhanvi aunty is distraught. Gauri tries hard to keep the family together and fails."
She scooted closer to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No one is happy. Don't you realize that?"
"What is the truth? Why did you kill Tej Singh Oberoi?" she asked, her voice bordering on frustration. "I have asked you the same question every day for the past year and I will keep asking you till you don't confess. I know you hate it when I come and ask you the same question again and again but I am not going to give up. I can help you. Why don't you let me do it?"
"Don't you want to talk with Rudra again? Don't you want to live a good life with Anika Bhabhi again?" Bhavya questioned and bit out angrily. "Don't you want to go home? Please stop punishing yourself and tell me the truth!"
Shivaay stared at her, unblinking. But he still had nothing to say. Not getting any response from him like always, in a swift move, Bhavya wiped the stray tear that she had shed and got up. She lightly dusted her pants and whispered. "Good night. I will see you tomorrow."
Taking one last look at him, she walked out of the cell and locked it. If he was headstrong, so was she. She already had dug out a lot of evidence that pointed to his innocence. She just needed to somehow prise out the truth from this man. Unless he didn't cooperate with her, she couldn't do anything.
"ACP..." Shivaay called out to her.
Bhavya stopped in her tracks and swiftly turned around. Raising a brow, she asked, "Yes?"
A small, ghost of a smile appeared on Shivaay's face like he was challenging her. He quipped, "Tomorrow is a Sunday."
Bhavya expertly hid the excitement she felt after seeing a different emotion on his face after such a long time. Shivaay knew that she usually took off on Sundays to spend time with the family. It felt good to see that even the walls of the cell had not been able to dim his brilliant mind.
Maintaining a poker face, she said, "I know. See you tomorrow."
With that, she turned on her heels and walked out. She was going to come here every day alright and ask him the same questions until he didn't tell the truth. Perhaps, Shivaay was forgetting that even she was an Oberoi now. And there was one thing that every Oberoi was good at - being stubborn.
