One Fatal Decision

She sat in the cafe, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf. As she looked out of the window towards her apartment across the street, her tear-swollen eyes seemed to be searching for someone. The dark circles under her eyes were telling the story of a long smudged mascara and kajal. The wrinkly lines that were appearing on her face every now and then were the extended scream of her body that evidently was in pain. The traumatic struggle her body had undergone was finding silent expression through her face. And yet she was too distracted to pay any heed to that pain. Her mind was too preoccupied with the haunting horrors of the truths she had found that fateful morning.

‘How could he!’ She thought, ‘How could he betray her in the worst of fashions anyone could ever do; in the most unfathomable way; in the most disastrous way.’ Her entire world seemed to be smeared with blood coloured lava of the volcano that was erupting inside her. She recalled how deeply they were in love until that morning; how they have sworn their lives against a single tear falling from each other’s eye; how they have planned each and every moment of their lives.  And suddenly a smoky black tear ran down her cheek like the dusty downpour succeeding a volcanic eruption. ‘How people used to adore them as a couple! What will they think when they will come to know about what happened between them! What a fatal turn a single decision can take!’ Her train of thought failed in wiping the continuous flow of her tears.

It was her first cup of coffee after months and yet her taste buds failed to appreciate the taste of the drink she used to love; the drink over which their relationship grew. The drink that witnessed many of the promises they had made to each other at each succeeding stage of their relationship.

She didn’t protest as he accompanied her to his office and locked her in. Inside the cafe murmurs have made their way through all those present. Some of the ever inquisitive lot were trying to sneak a glance into the manager’s room while the others were trying to find the juiciest answer to the question of what might have happened. Others quietly escaped the cafe to avoid being present at a police investigation scene.

By the time, the inspector reached the manager’s office she had become numb and silent. On being enquired about her whereabouts and the reasons for her carrying a potential weapon, she replied without any eye-contact, “I murdered him.”

And thus all the apprehensions were clear. The murmurs in the cafe were now formulating stories about a murder that has happened somewhere near them. Immediately she was carried in the police gypsy to the police station for further enquiry. But after spending four hours in vain attempting to have her story, they left her locked up and went to find the clues themselves. The murder weapon had been by then sent to the forensic lab and they ran through her mobile’s call log to learn about her whereabouts.

The list of calls that were made ten days ago showed an entry named papa. A call was immediately made to the number. At the receiving end, an elderly voice replied “Hullo.”

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The inspector after giving his introduction asked about his relation to the owner of this number and the reply came, “This number belongs to our daughter in law. Why? Is she ok?” The inspector asked him to come right over to the police station for further details. After another few hours an elderly couple entered the police station. It took them five hours to travel from their town to the police station near their son’s residence.

With a series of questions about withholding their daughter-in-law in the police station they entered there only to be enquired further by the police officials. “Your daughter-in-law admitted having murdered someone.”They were told by the policemen. “Nonsense! We are from a reputed family and so is our daughter-in-law. There is definitely some misunderstanding.” They were then informed about the whole situation, the murder weapon which was a knife and the state of complete silence that was being adopted by her.

“Our daughter in law is very sensitive. Let us meet her and then she will tell you how terribly you are mistaken. I am sure the murder she is talking about would be of some stray animal that by mistake was run down by her car for she is not capable of any act of cruelty against any human being. She herself is a social activist fighting for women rights. And anything of that sort is impossible in her present state of…”  They were cut short by the officer who said, “Actually the forensic report tells that the blood on the murder weapon is very much of a human, or rather, two human beings!”

The couple listened with shock as the content of reports was told.  “The first blood group is O+”

“O+ is the blood group of our daughter-in-law.”, they replied with a tone of triumph. “You see it must be her blood that you find on that knife. We are telling you she can’t do anything of that sort…” They were stopped midway in their defence for their daughter-in-law when they heard the second blood group that was found on the knife. “The second blood group on the knife is A+.”

Their throat dried up admitting, “A+ is our son’s blood group.” Immediately calls were made to their son’s number which came out of reach. Police took the address to their apartment and a search team was driven there along with the father. An outraged and shocked mother stayed back to question her daughter- in-law against the possibility of her son’s murder.

“Tell me dear what has happened? I trust you, you can’t harm my son. You two were so much in love. But speak if anything has happened to him, he wouldn’t be helped if you would not say.”

She paused and asked threateningly, “Speak up if you have actually hurt him in outrage. If anything happens to him you won’t be spared.”

Exasperated, she pleaded, “Tell us where is he and we will do everything to defend you. We won’t accuse you. Please tell where he is?” But no accusations or abuses made her still figure move. Her eyes were still searching the door without apprehending all that is happening around her.

Another two hours passed as the police searched the apartment for the missing victim; for any signs of violence; for any traces of blood. They again send the dried samples of blood for forensic tests and returned with the intention to enquire her sternly about the case after sealing their flat as a crime scene. The tired eyes of his parents were streaming tears continuously by then but she remained unmoved. No physical or emotional force succeeded in swaying her. She was as silent as a corpse with continuous flowing tears as the only sign of life.

It was nearing the time of dawn when another enraged figure entered the police station. “Where the hell is my wife? What is happening here? Why have you arrested her? This is not right; I am telling you. ”

The faces of the aggrieved parents lit up at the sight of their son while he became even more anxious on finding them there. Lots of questions flowed from both the sides. He reported that he was out on a foreign trip since last two week and was on a flight last night so his mobile was out of reach. He had been busy the entire trip and wanted to give his wife a surprise so he had not contacted her all this time. On finding his flat sealed and the guard of the apartment begging for his life, calling him a ghost he was out of himself with anger. He was informed by the neighbours and he came right away to the police station. He started accusing the police for wrongly framing and harassing his wife while the police talked about her confession and the murder weapon.

However, in the lack of sufficient evidence as the dried blood samples seemed to be her own, she easily got the bail that day. Her inaction and silence didn’t change throughout the proceedings.  And as he waited for her with open arms, she walked passed him to the table where the knife lay wrapped up in the blue silk scarf as evidence. She took them, held it out towards him and to the surprise of all said, “I murdered him.”

She was looking directly into his eyes. The tears in her eyes had steamed and her face was burning like a geyser. He looked at her blankly for minutes. And then saw the blood-stained knife that looked familiar from his past.

The blood-stained knife was wrapped up in the blue silk scarf that he had gifted her few days back when they were informed about her pregnancy. It was the first thing he had brought for their son. And then it struck him.

“You can’t be serious!” His eyes widened in shock. “HOW COULD YOU? HE WAS OUR FIRST CHILD! YOU HEARTLESS MURDERESS! HOW COULD YOU!” He grabbed her shoulders with all his strength. “I hate you. All the love I ever felt for you has died with him. How could you?” The pain that shadowed his face told that he meant every word he was saying. And yet he pleadingly searched her eyes for any trace of jest saying, “He was our first child!”

“No he was not! She was our first child!” She silently replied and moved out.

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The Next day’s local newspapers reported the incident as under:

Foeticide breeds Foeticide

In a dramatic turn of events, a couple living in a newly developed housing scheme were reportedly involved in foeticides. The enraged wife when came to know about the termination of her first pregnancy by her husband and in-laws deliberately aborted her second child. She informed the police that her first gynaecologist was her sister-in-law who along with her husband and in-laws didn’t reveal to her that she was pregnant until they could clearly find the sex of the unborn child. She was told that the symptoms of pregnancy that she had been showing were due to menstrual irregularities and hormonal imbalance. When the foetus developing in her was found to be a girl, her pregnancy was terminated under the pretext of a surgery essential to cure the problems that might come while she will try to conceive. She came across the reports of this abortion due to the negligence of a new nurse in her sister-in-law’s hospital. Enraged and aggrieved by this betrayal on the part of her family, she tried to abort her child using a knife. A gynaecologist friend of hers, with whom she had inquired about the procedure of self-induced abortion on the pretext of writing an article on the subject, stopped by to check on her as she felt something amiss in the hasty nature of her friend’s inquiry. To her horror she found her unconscious in a pool of blood and partially detached placenta and foetus in view. She took her to her private maternity home and rescued her life. On her request, her friend agreed to keep it a secret and sensing that her friend needs help, the gynaecologist asked her to stay with her. It was when they went to the lady’s flat to fetch her things that she, upon re-witnessing the scene of her crime of passion, broke down. As her friend went to bring her some water, she left her house with the knife that tore the connection of her developing baby boy from her womb. She had done that to make her husband realize the gravity of the heinous crime he had committed; to tell him that like this baby boy, the baby girl they had so inhumanely killed had his blood in her developing veins but the trauma of the revelation and the crime of passion resulting thus were too heavy for her to bear and she had a nervous breakdown. She left her flat to escape getting choked on her own tears and realization of what she has done but her body that was still recovering from the surgery forced her into that café. The lady is now under medical care while her husband, in-laws and the doctor who performed the abortion have been arrested for their involvement in the crime of Foeticide.

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