All Yours, Stranger: Some Mysteries are Dangerously Sexy Read online

  ‘Oh my God!’ she gasped as she watched the video. It showed the badly bruised faces of the triplets. All three looked dazed. And all of them were muttering the same thing: I’m sorry, Mini. Rivanah didn’t know what to do with it. Precisely then she heard a sound. She listened hard. Somewhere something was . . . ringing. Rivanah paused the video and followed the sound to a corner of the room which had a dressing table and a closet. She opened the closet which was empty except for a small old Nokia phone placed on one of its shelves. She picked it up. A private number was flashing on it. She answered the call.

  ‘Hello,’ Rivanah said anxiously.

  ‘Hello, Mini.’

  It was the stranger! The voice was deep, solid and piercing.

  ‘Are you the . . .?’

  ‘I’m the one you were seeking so desperately.’ This time the voice changed to that of a kid. Rivanah frowned but realized instantly that the person must be using a voice morphing software and was probably calling from a computer.

  ‘This isn’t your real voice?’

  ‘Is this your real self?’ He sounded like an old man this time. The question made her recollect something: When was the last time you made a terrible, terrible mistake? The stranger had asked her this many times.

  ‘What’s up with this video?’

  ‘The triplets who tried to take advantage of you the other night. They went scot-free after bribing the police. And the next weekend it was some other girl they tried to hunt. So I hunted them down and did a few things so that they never hunt again.’

  A smile shone on Rivanah’s face.

  ‘Thanks for helping me the other night’.

  ‘You are welcome, Mini.’

  There was silence. Rivanah was happy to connect to the stranger. Perhaps the psychiatrist was right. She indeed was suffering from the Cinderella complex. She took her time to frame her next question and kept it simple.

  ‘Who is Hiya Chowdhury?’ she asked.

  ‘If I had to tell you I would have done so by now.’

  ‘So, you want me to know but you don’t want to tell me?’

  ‘You are becoming smarter, Mini. I like it.’

  A tiny smile appeared on Rivanah’s face. After a long time she was feeling calm talking to someone. Only she knew how much she had waited for this.

  ‘So, you are not going to tell me anything about Hiya, right?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘And you won’t let me rest too if I don’t seek the answer myself?’

  ‘You are not only smarter now but you are getting to know me too.’

  The tiny smile stretched into a big one. She would find out how exactly Hiya was linked to her but before that she had other things on her mind.

  ‘I have things to tell you,’ she said.

  The silence that followed told her that the stranger was listening. She continued, ‘I presume you know what’s happening between Danny and me. Nitya has come to live with us and—’

  ‘I know.’ The stranger cut her short.

  ‘Well, I feel my relationship with Danny is slipping out of our grasp . . . maybe my grasp. It makes me feel miserable. I’m losing myself too in the process.’

  ‘You can’t hold on to something by questioning it all the time.’ The stranger was back to the deep, piercing male voice.

  ‘How can I not question it? From the time Nitya has come into our life, our house, I have almost been compelled to see what I kept myself away from earlier—Danny and Nitya together. Yes, I’m jealous. Maybe I won’t admit this in front of Danny or Nitya, but I won’t hide it from you. I’m jealous of the closeness they share. Somewhere it makes me feel my connection with Danny is inferior. The exclusivity I thought I enjoyed, I see Danny giving it to Nitya. And I don’t like it one bit.’

  ‘We presume that with love comes exclusivity. Since we presume it, we believe it even more strongly. With love comes only one thing: honesty. And honesty is different from loyalty. Most of us never get this difference. Most of us never remain happy in a relationship either.’

  ‘But I’m both loyal and honest.’

  ‘Choose your gods wisely, Mini, for they’ll decide how well you fight your demons.”

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘If you were honest then you wouldn’t have suffered so much within you. You would have expressed it all to Danny.’

  ‘But if I do that then he would think I’m an insensitive, jealous bitch.’

  ‘What do you have a problem with, Mini? Whether you are an insensitive, jealous bitch or Danny knowing that you are one?’

  This time Rivanah was left with no words.

  ‘Am I one?’

  The stranger’s response was a prolonged silence.

  ‘What should I do?’ Rivanah said, concerned. ‘I don’t want to lose Danny.’

  ‘Go away for a while. Sometimes physical distance throws light on what emotional closeness conveniently eclipses. Whatever he isn’t able to see right now perhaps will be clear to him once there’s some distance.’

  ‘You mean I should stop living with him?’

  ‘Precisely.’

  Rivanah thought hard and said, ‘You told me about Ekansh’s affair once. So . . . what I mean is . . . could you help me find out if Danny and Nitya are having an affair behind my back? Look, I just want to be sure. It will help me—’

  ‘I can do that for you.’

  A wave of relief encompassed her as she said, ‘I can’t thank you enough.’

  ‘You can thank me by resigning from your job,’ the stranger said.

  It took a few seconds for Rivanah to understand what she had heard. She said, ‘Resign from my job? Are you out of your mind?’

  ‘This isn’t your job, Mini.’ For the first time he sounded threatening during the call.

  ‘I secured this job during the campus recruitment in my college with my hard work. Whose job is it then, if not mine?’

  ‘Do I need to name her? I thought you were becoming smarter, Mini.’

  Rivanah’s lips slowly parted with astonishment.

  ‘Who the hell is Hiya Chowdhury? I don’t even remember her face,’ she said.

  ‘She is the bridge.’

  ‘Why the hell can’t you meet me and clarify everything once and for all?’

  ‘If I clarify everything, then the purpose will fail.’

  ‘What’s the purpose?’

  A few silent seconds later the stranger said, ‘Know your worth, Mini.’

  9

  Rivanah came back to her flat an hour after her talk with the stranger ended. Nitya opened the door, showing no pleasure or displeasure in seeing her. It was only a plain ‘Hi’ that Rivanah blurted which was reciprocated with equal plainness from Nitya’s side. Danny came to the drawing room all dressed up.

  ‘Hi, dear. I have to leave now. See you in the evening.’ He kissed her cheek and went out. Nitya had disappeared into the kitchen by then. Rivanah went to the adjacent window and looked down to see Danny drive away from the parking spot below the apartment. He didn’t even ask if she had had her breakfast, if she would rest or go to office . . . nothing! Most importantly he didn’t even care to know if the seminar had actually happened or not. Had he really started taking her for granted? She could have had an affair and Danny wouldn’t know. Worse, he wouldn’t inquire. Had things come to such a rotten state or was she thinking too much? Or was it Nitya who was slowly blurring her presence for him? Rivanah felt a thud in her heart. Was the stranger right? Should she distance herself a bit to make herself and the problem of their relationship more visible to Danny? Considering there indeed was a problem and she wasn’t exaggerating.

  That day, Rivanah searched for her appointment letter in her mail’s inbox. She clicked it open and read the contents carefully. It was her appointment letter. Tech Sky had come to her college. She had cleared the prelims first and then the HR round. She remembered it clearly, so how could it be Hiya’s job? She searched with ‘Hiya Chowdhury’ in her mail. No mails came up. Clueless, she ca
rried on with her office work. The pressure at office made her forget about the issue for the time being.

  When she came back in the evening to her flat she found Nitya alone. She joined her for a cup of ginger tea in the drawing room after freshening up.

  ‘The ginger tea is amazing,’ Rivanah said, sipping the tea.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘No work today?’ Rivanah was being kind to her and trying to strike up a conversation only to unknot whatever she had against Nitya within her. Maybe there was indeed nothing between Danny and Nitya, she thought, and tried hard to believe it.

  ‘There was but I did it over the phone,’ Nitya said with eyes fixed on the television.

  ‘How are you feeling now?’ Rivanah said, looking at the television where a boring soap was going on.

  ‘You want me to leave the flat soon, don’t you?’ Nitya said, still not looking at Rivanah. The latter looked at Nitya with a taken-aback expression. She wasn’t expecting her to interpret what she said this way. It disturbed her.

  ‘Why would you say such a thing?’ Rivanah said, not caring to hide her irritation.

  ‘Because you are jealous of Danny and me, isn’t it?’ This time Nitya turned to look straight at Rivanah.

  ‘Jealous? Why would I be jealous?’ She was, she knew. But she didn’t owe a confession to Nitya.

  ‘I would have been. Namrata was.’

  ‘Namrata?’

  ‘Danny’s ex-girlfriend.’

  Danny did tell her about Namrata but it was in passing and Rivanah didn’t remember much.

  ‘Well, I’m not Namrata,’ she said. And then added spitefully, ‘And yes, I would like to know by when you can leave, if not soon.’ She knew she shouldn’t have been so rude but Nitya asked for it, she told herself.

  ‘Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe never. Maybe this time you will have to leave,’ Nitya said in a casual tone. But in that casual tone Rivanah could feel a pulsating threat.

  ‘What do you mean?’ She put the cup of ginger tea away.

  ‘I don’t know whether you have understood till now or not that Danny is not the marrying type. It’s not that he won’t marry you. The fact is he won’t marry anyone no matter how close he is to that person. And that way we both are similar. Even I’m not the marrying type.’

  ‘But I’m sure Danny will change for me even if for a second I presume what you said about Danny is right, doesn’t matter how much I doubt it otherwise.’

  ‘I have known Danny for the last nine years.’

  I knew Ekansh for six years and still I didn’t know shit about him. ‘I’m sorry, but you still don’t know him yet. Moreover, you know him as a best friend and I know him as a boyfriend. There’s a difference.’ The last part was meant to injure her. The last part was deliberate.

  ‘Why don’t we test it?’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Just to find out who knows Danny better?’

  ‘Is it some kind of competition?’

  ‘Are you getting scared, dear?’

  Rivanah and Nitya’s eyes remain locked for a few seconds after which the former said, ‘Okay, how do we test it?’

  ‘Ask him about marriage. If he agrees to it then great and if not . . .’

  ‘If not?’

  ‘Then you will know you are wasting your time . . . just like Namrata was.’

  One thing Rivanah was sure of now: she wasn’t wrong about Nitya’s vibes. They wouldn’t have had this discussion otherwise. She indeed coveted Danny secretly. It was possible she envied the closeness that Danny and Rivanah’s relationship had in comparison to hers with her ex. Rivanah went to her room without stretching the talk.

  Danny came home late at night. He was hungry. Rivanah had thrown whatever Nitya had cooked for him in the trash can and cooked for him herself. With a fake smile plastered on her face, she listened to Danny rave about how successful his audition was and how much the producer had liked him. There was no interruption from Nitya. In her mind Rivanah was preparing herself. Once Danny switched off the lights in their bedroom, she first closed the door and then came close to sit beside him on the bed.

  ‘You want to say something?’ Danny said, looking at her in the dark. She was glad the lights were off. She didn’t want to see his reaction but only hear it.

  ‘Let’s get married, Danny.’ She put it to him simple and straight.

  There was a momentary silence. Her mind said it was hesitation, while her heart said otherwise. Somewhere in between she died.

  ‘Sure, baby,’ Danny mumbled.

  For a moment Rivanah wanted to jump up with happiness and then realized Danny could be joking.

  ‘I’m serious,’ she said. Danny sat up.

  ‘You can’t be.’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘What about your parents?’

  ‘So, are you waiting for them to give a nod to our relationship?’

  ‘Obviously!’

  ‘What “obviously”, Danny? You know they won’t ever agree to this.’

  ‘Then why are you suddenly so gung-ho about it?’

  ‘You and I love each other. Isn’t that a good reason to be gung-ho about it?’

  ‘It is, but why now? Why can’t it wait till I get something concrete?’

  ‘So, we will get married right after you secure a movie deal?’

  ‘Of course we will. Why, don’t you want to marry me?’

  She heaved a sigh of relief. It was only now that Rivanah wanted to see his expression.

  ‘Statue!’ she exclaimed. After a long time their love story was experiencing a sunrise. She slowly kissed him all over his face while Danny tried to keep still with a funny expression on his face. She looked at him once, smiled naughtily and then kissed him again; this time harder, biting his nose. She lifted his hands and took his tee off. Lying on his back Danny tried to move but she glared at him.

  ‘No movement, Mr Statue,’ she said and pulled the elastic of his knickers, tugging down his briefs. She was excited to see his penis was already hard. She gave him an amused smile as she started blowing him slowly. Suddenly everything seemed back to normal. It wasn’t the sex alone but the sense of acute belonging that it brewed in her that excited her the most. As Danny locked his jaws with pleasure, Rivanah tugged her shorts and panties down and rode him. She herself placed his hands on her butt and put hers on his chest. As she started riding him she wondered how Nitya would react if she saw them now. It aroused her even more and she increased her speed. She intentionally moaned with a higher pitch than usual so that Nitya heard them. She collapsed on Danny’s chest as both climaxed together.

  ‘Can’t you statue me every night?’ Danny whispered in her ears. She looked up at him and laughed. As her laughter faded they looked into the other’s eyes. They spoke a truth: he was hers. She was his. So what was the problem? She gently placed her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. They went to sleep like that.

  Rivanah woke up after some time, took out a post-it slip from the bedside table’s drawer and wrote on it: Surprise, surprise! Danny and I are getting married. You are invited!

  She took the post-it and went to the drawing room. Nitya was sleeping there. She noticed her phone by her side. Rivanah stuck the slip behind Nitya’s phone so that she would wake up to it first thing in the morning. And with a victor’s smile she went back to her bedroom. Danny was asleep but she wasn’t sleepy.

  She opened her laptop and logged on to Facebook. She updated: After a really long time—feeling blessed. While checking out her friends’ updates, an idea struck Rivanah. She checked for Hiya Chowdhury’s profile on Facebook. To her surprise she found one. The profile picture was a girl’s photo taken from a side angle. Someone she didn’t remember. She and Hiya had three mutual friends. All of them were her college batchmates: Sumit, Sonakshi and Ritam. Could they know something about Hiya that she didn’t? The rest of the pictures and information was locked. There was no cover photo either. On an impulse she clicked on the Add Friend button befo
re she remembered Hiya was no more. Who would add her? There was no way she could see Hiya’s other photographs. Rivanah scrolled down and saw the last timeline post by someone named Argho Chowdhury. The post said: RIP Hiya di. She clicked on Argho’s profile, which had a close-up of him wearing sunglasses. As Rivanah scrolled down his profile, a particular piece of information caught her eye: Argho’s current location. It said Mumbai. And he had updated it exactly the day Rivanah had come to Mumbai a year back. A coincidence? Rivanah was wondering when she received a notification which made her break into a cold sweat: Hiya Chowdhury has accepted your friend request.

  10

  Rivanah swallowed the lump in her throat before clicking on the latest notification on her Facebook profile. The next instant she was on Hiya Chowdhury’s profile once again. Only this time nothing was locked any more since her friend request had been accepted. Rivanah clicked on the photo section. Except for the profile picture, there was no other photo. It was difficult to make out Hiya’s face in the profile picture. She checked that it had been uploaded some time last year. The date didn’t have any apparent significance. She checked her friends list. There were a total of fifty friends. Apart from the college batchmates Rivanah knew none. Of course there was Argho Chowdhury as well. She quickly checked her timeline. No posts except for one. And that one made her heart stop for a second. It read: I’m super excited. Tomorrow my dream company is coming to my college for recruitment. Please pray for me.

  The message had been posted two days before Tech Sky came to their college. And they had recruited only one student from their batch: Rivanah Banerjee. She immediately messaged her on Facebook: Who is this?

  The next minute a ‘Seen’ appeared beside her message along with the time. Who could be operating the account? The stranger himself? Then why would he not respond? Rivanah wondered and waited for a reply. None came. An hour later her eyes started to ache. She pushed her chair back and went to her bed with a clogged mind. She had to think about what was happening but she didn’t know where to start. Bouncing off her thoughts from nothing to everything to anything, she finally surrendered to sleep.