Lethal Love

The sun rises in the same way all over the world, for all people, but it sets differently for each person. The acts done in between the two daily landmarks makes a pedestrian into a corpse, a businessman into a beggar or a student to a suicidal. Something similar occurred with Shyam on that day, when he woke up to a calm morning but slept fitfully, his mind unable to shrug off the thought of Meenaxi, a beautiful girl he had encountered in the college that day.
“Who in God’s name is she?” Shyam muttered to himself as he saw a vivacious girl enter the gates of college. It was unusual as the year was halfway through and it was rare for anyone to get admission at that time. It was even more unusual that nobody else except himself was gawking at her. “What else to expect from a college where most of the boys are dumb nerds?” he muttered, referring to his medical college.
He was unable to erase the image of the girl from his mind. He hoped stupidly that she would sit beside him in the class. To his surprise, she actually sat beside him. In a gentle, sweet, cooing voice she asked his name and phone number. To Shyam, it was nothing but heaven personified. So far, he was the class pariah among girls, with no one interested in talking to him. But it was all going to change with this new girl.
“Hi. I am Shyam. Here’s my number. How about you?” he replied with a nonchalant excitement.
“Hi. I am Meenaxi. Unfortunately I was out of station for three months, so couldn’t join the class with you. I am afraid I am very much behind the class.”
“Don’t worry! Now you are my friend, and my friends are rarely behind in studies. I will help you.” Shyam’s excitement and trepidation was growing.
“I am indeed lucky to have you around Shyam.”
Shyam was already lost in dreams of a dreamy girl who had the full potential of ruining his sleep for the next week. While leaving, Meenaxi asked Shyam to drop her to her home on his motorcycle. Shyam had to repeatedly pinch himself just to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. The pinches left a spot of erythematous redness around his arm. Meenaxi called him in the evening to ask him some doubts regarding cavernous sinuses. Shyam explained the complex concept with ease. “Oh thank you so much sweetheart. I would never have done this topic without your help!” she said before hanging up. Shyam kissed the mouthpiece of the phone ten times before hanging up. Sweetheart! She had called him a sweetheart! His life was made!1

Next day, it was a different Shyam his friends saw. There was a distinct jump in his step, a distinct whistle as he jumped, gelled hair with a cool pair of sunglasses. It seemed he had just returned from a photo shoot. But it was all for Meenaxi. He desperately hoped that she would notice him, that she would complement him for his new style. Once again, his wishes were fulfilled.
“Hey man! You are looking hot! Great!” Meenaxi shouted from a distance. However nobody turned to look at him. He didn’t mind it. After all, Meenaxi had noticed him, and that was enough for him. For once, he didn’t mind being the class pariah. He believed that it somehow led Meenaxi to him. It was God’s way of compensating him. That day too, she sat beside him whole day, and even touched him twice intentionally, at least that’s what Shyam thought, and asked him to drop her home. That day she clutched him so tightly on the motorcycle that Shyam could feel her breaths in his ear. He could feel the sweat from her forehead on his neck. It took all conscious effort from Shyam to stay conscious or else he would have fainted from excitement. Instead of dropping her home, he took her to coffee shop especially popular amongst dating couples. “My treat. For a new, beautiful friend.” He announced as he neared the shop. Meenaxi looked at him flirtingly as they entered the shop. They ordered a cappuccino for each and a chocolate sundae. The waiter looked at them strangely. “Must be a new one here,” Shyam muttered to himself. To his surprise, Meenaxi didn’t even touch the coffee or the sundae. She explained saying that she was on a diet and didn’t want to gain extra weight. After Shyam paid the bill to the waiter (he didn’t tip him because he was gawking at them), he suddenly went down on his knees and spoke “Meenaxi, I am madly in love with you! Do you love me?” Meenaxi gave him one of those flirtatious smiles and nodded briefly. To Shyam, it was the zenith of happiness.2

The next day, Meenaxi called him and asked him to meet her at the same coffee shop where he had proposed her.
“Shyam, I need to tell you something very important. It is important for determining the course of our relationship.”
“Tell me, Meenu. Tell me whatever you have to say.”
“Shyam, my parents were killed when I was a little girl. I hate that person more than anyone else in the world. If our married life is ever to be happy, I want you to kill that man, so that his existence itself is eradicated from the earth. With him, his memories will depart too.”
Shyam was stunned beyond words. How could anybody do this to such a delicate girl? It incensed his mind, burned his hands with a fire that could only be sated with the blood of the perpetrator of the heinous crime.
“Who is he? Tell me his name and I shall avenge you!” Shyam thundered.
“His name is Ramkishen. I don’t know where he is right now.”
The name struck a familiar feeling for Shyam. He knew the person!
“Listen, I know him. I swear to you, I will not meet you again until I have shed the blood of this demon!” Shyam swore.3

The events that followed this conversation are too rote to describe. After all, how to describe a murder? Perhaps it would suffice to say that it was a gruesome murder and even the hardened police officers were disturbed at what one human could do to another.4

Or in fact, to his relative.
Specifically to his father.5

There’s a reason as to why mothers of grooms are always wary of their to-be-daughters in law. Somehow, the bond between a husband and wife turns out to be stronger than that between a parent and a child. The reasons for this irony are never understood, nor would they ever be. The police officials had seen many cases in which sons harass their parents on being incited by his wife, but murder? It was a first for them. What was more disturbing was the manner of the murder, indicating an extreme hate of the killer for his father. Question was - Which son would hate his father so much?6

The case made national headlines. Images of a violent man being restrained and brought to the police station became common. Press entries of the case became milestones of the progress and various twists in the case.7


Dt 13/Feb/09
Shyam blames his girlfriend
In a shocking revelation to the court, the accused admitted that he was incited by his girlfriend, Meenaxi, and that his father had murdered her parents, and that he was just taking revenge on her behalf. It puts a different spin on the case as there will be two accused in the case if Shyam’s statement is proved correct…8


Dt 17/Feb/09
Surprise! Surprise!
Seems like the twists in the Shyam case are not going to end. In a shocking development, the college in which Shyam studied and where he claims to have met Meenaxi has denied the presence of any girl named such in their college. There are no other records of her. Shyam’s classmates too deny that any new girl was admitted in college in the middle of the session, but they unanimously agree that Shyam was behaving very oddly in the last 2-3 days. Who is this girl then? Is she real, or is she invented by Shyam to escape punishment? Only time will tell…9


Dt 18/Feb/09

Accused suffered a disturbing childhood
Upon being grilled by the prosecution, Shyam confessed that he had had a violent relationship with his father. He used to beat him often and he often dreamt of killing him. And he did it “without a hint of guilt, and in fact with a smile” in his own words. Indeed, are the parents responsible for their own sufferings at the ends of their children? The victim, Shyam’s father, according to his wife, was unapologetic about beating his son, stating it was his “right” to atone Shyam for his sins. Indeed, the ways of ‘atonement’ will have to be altered if the society wants to get rid of its Shyams. However the significance of this revelation in the current case is yet to be seen…