"Hello."
"Hello, Abhi?" replied a familiar voice at the other end. "Could you please meet me? 3:30 Music World?"
"Umm… I am not sure…"
"I want to meet you" persisted the voice at the other end. "It is really important that we meet."
Abhi thought for a while. He had been seeing Rima for about a couple of months and already there were tensions. Abhi, independent and open minded as usual, had initially found it difficult to keep up with his pressing schedule at work as a "Marketing Executive", as the company termed it with such flourish although in reality he was a salesman. Not just any ordinary salesman, but one who has risen through the ranks to have his own flat in South Kolkata. He was looking forward to book a Santro soon. He definitely worked hard and had a difficult time meeting his work pressure and meet Rima too every other day. Not that Rima complained, but Abhi felt bad and helpless.
But as days had progressed he came to consider the difficulties as some blessing in disguise for there was another factor that had been bothering Abhi the most. Rima, he has seen, was an impulsive liar. That had not been very obvious at the beginning, but as days progressed, Abhi realized with growing concern, the inconsistencies of the accounts she had shared and the views that she expressed. For instance: Rima might have a plan to visit her college friends and go for a movie, but if you asked her out, she could invent a story about some dead uncle and the funeral and how difficult it would be for her to avoid it, hence she was unavailable. Abhi understood but could do nothing about it.
"Well… if you say so… then make it 5:00" he replied unwillingly and with all the uncertainty he could muster in his voice.
"No, no. Not that late. I need to meet you by 4:00 max" she declared with finality. "See you then" and she hung up.
Abhi looked at the receiver with rising resentment and disbelief. Why could he never say "NO"? He had been thinking of having a good sleep to make up for the week’s loss of it. Now he knew he could not sleep. He was tensed about the meeting but decided to go anyway. If she wanted him to buy any Music CD he could refuse, or could he? This was the crisis he could not avoid and not even a Sunday afternoon nap could deliver him from the trap. Abhi remembered his escapades to the various malls round the city with Rima. She would carelessly pass among the various display sections and strategically comment on items she fancied buying. "Isn’t that pendant lovely?" or "Neha has one just like that… her boyfriend bought it for her" or "Look how cheap this jewelry is… It costs a fortune in the Shopper’s Stop"…
He considered going to bed for a moment and not turn up at the appointment but dismissed the idea and then decided to call up Rudra his cousin brother, five years his senior but his closest confidant.
When Abhi had first seen Rima at a wedding, she wore a cherry red sari and made her look very sensuous. Abhi could hardly take his eyes off her or better to say he was struck by her sight. She had noticed the interest in his eyes and they had gone out after a week of exchanging telephone calls. All was fine but there again after a month Abhi had felt his sixth sense beeping warnings. The signs were not very obvious. The troubles with her lying habits were becoming more and more visible. Still Abhi had hoped that the particular habit was a ploy to tease him, only to have realized later that it was her nature and nothing more. The relationship was not perfectly like the ones that you would see between two persons in love. It was much a relationship of convenience. Abhi hated being cowed down by her lies and demands. It was as if he was paying a price for being in love. Every other day she would want to go to the Movies and hang out for the dinner. It was Abhi who ended up paying most of the times for she could tactfully avoid the bill. Abhi would have had paid the bills anyway, but it became so glaringly obvious with her comments and expressions that she would not pay. The matter was not very grave but Abhi certainly felt an undercurrent of exploitation every now and then. He had hoped that kindness and good faith will have some effect on her but as the saying goes ‘You cannot straighten a dog’s tail’, she too refused to adjust.
Abhi had been through a lot of stress and he knew it had originated solely from his association with Rima. Rudra had been a kind shoulder to lean onto and Rudra had always discouraged this association with her as the incidents unfolded. Abhi wanted to see till the end so he had stuck on otherwise the warning bells were always ringing. Rudra could not deter him from his resolution to see till the end even if it meant a lot of trouble and ultimately lead to some form of bitterness. Abhi knew that he was serious about Rima and have taken a definitive liking for her. He was also aware that Rima was probably fleecing him but then ‘Love is blind’. The more Abhi sensed the hard fact the more resolute he grew to see it to the end. After all no one is really bad at heart and everyone tries their best until destiny takes over. It was a strange experiment that Abhi had indulged in and he knew it would soon end… he could almost smell the end of this tyranny.
Rudra arrived within thirty minutes and they set about to make a strategy. Rudra talked and Abhi listened with occasional disagreements. Finally it seemed they have had arrived at a solution and Abhi sat back in the couch to light a cigarette with a satisfied look. Rudra had brought along with him some high quality Marijuana that some student of his, who currently studied in the North Bengal University, had presented him. He set about preparing a high dose of the narcotic. Some clear thinking was required and the weed would help… and after a puff or two, Abhi felt his head swim in a lake of changing colours…
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