By: Dr Dhrubajyoti Bora

Bipul stared at a faint glow of an early dawn spread at one part of the east sky, exactly before him in the distant horizon. The air was fresh and clean. Sweet skirmishes of birds heralding the onset of a new day wafted into his ear from the dense foliage of the neighbourhood. His mind got the whiff of an idea that there was absolute vibrancy and symphony in nature. He hadn’t had the chance of enjoying such nature’s bounties earlier at this hour of the day as he was never an early riser. He felt his eyes were burning due to a lack of sleep. His mind was fatigued and frightened as if he’d been a toddler and been badly scolded by someone lacking basic human empathy!

Bipul heard the clattering sound of utensils coming from inside. His mother had the habit of rising from bed before the sunrays touched the Earth. Now, seeing him alone at this time on this bamboo bench at the backyard, would make her unnecessarily inquisitive, and ultimately make him frustrated with her innumerable, but honest questions. Bipul thought it would be better to go inside before she came out with the washable dishes of the previous night to the edge of the pond. Though he was certain remaining inside and keeping himself away from her would hardly make him comfortable and secure, yet he got to his feet and swiftly reached his room through the front door before the back door clicked open.

Bipul lived with his mother at one end of the village and beyond three houses another village started. They had a large backyard being barricaded by a bamboo fence, and his mother kept her busy cultivating vegetables throughout the year. As his education wasn’t sufficient to apply for a government job of minimum dignity, he opted to work as a salesman at one of the pharmacies in the heart of the town and was almost ten years into his profession. He was satisfied with his remuneration and even could save a small amount for himself, could buy his mother clothes on occasions like Bihu or Durga Puja, etc. His mother was also satisfied because she never wanted much from her son.

Everything was going fine till an unexpected jolt Bipul received the earlier night when he was on his way home, after closing the town pharmacy. The road from the main highway to his home was almost three kilometres and by the time he reached there, the whole village used to submerge in absolute stillness and darkness. People in the village hardly woke up beyond 9 pm. His bicycle was also out of order for a couple of days and as a habit of procrastination, he’d kept it reclined at one corner of the verandah instead of having it repaired. So, he’d to rely on his feet to and from the pharmacy, every day.

Hardly had he covered a distance of one kilometre when his eyes identified a shadowy outline of an SUV car being parked by the edge of the road. He slowed down, and at that moment, his ears caught an ongoing conversation coming from the nearby field, some hundred feet from the road. The field was under ankle deep water because of the recent downpour of the last few days and he could hear splashing sound coming from the field intermittently. He saw mobile flash lights flickering in the field and heard the drifting words, ‘’What did you think? Abdul told me everything that you’d told him,’’- said a raspy voice in a cruel intonation.

‘’It was Reshma’s blunder that she died. Bichitra had no intention to kill her, but her folly brought her death. You know nothing. Why are you blaming Bichitra da?’’, said another voice.

Bipul remained still. His fumbled hand in the darkness touched one of the car’s headlights. He stealthily walked to the back of the car, clinging to its body with his outstretched hand, and slightly craned his neck sideways. His intention was to hear every possible word of the conversation.

“You shouldn’t have killed Reshma, but trust me, I’ll not disclose it to anybody further. My only mistake was I trusted Abdul,’’ said a weak, trembling voice and then it sobbed.

“Please don’t kill me,’’ said the voice in between his sobbing.

“Ha ha!’’ Someone roared in laughter, and Bipul felt his heart pounding hard inside his rib cage. He continued, ‘’You fool, you think I’ll let you free? You’re a potential threat to me. She herself was a drug addict and she wanted to blackmail me. She alleged that Bichitra Phukan, son of Ramani Phukan, ran a drug racket in this town. Do you know my father? Do you know how much a reputed person he is?’’

‘’You’ve killed an innocent girl for a simple reason,’’ the weak voice continued. Though it was weak, it had a tinge of hatred in the tone.

‘’You moron, why don’t you listen to me? Were you her lover, boyfriend? She is dead now,’’ Bipul heard another voice. Bipul realised that there were at least three or four persons besides the victim, and they were arguing with one helpless man.

‘’He won’t understand. This boy would just not understand what I’m saying!’’

Bipul heard a sound, a thud. Perhaps the victim had been hit. He yelled in pain. Suddenly one of Bipul’s feet struck a bottle lying beside the car. Thong!

‘’Hey, – who is there?’’

A sharp beam of a torch-light immediately fell on the car.

‘’Someone is there! Who are you?’’

Bipul froze. Someone started running towards him, splashing water under his hurried, awkward steps. Bipul decided to run. “Run now, or you’re going to lose your life,” his sixth sense signalled him.

‘’Hey, stop, stop!’’

Now he heard a number of footsteps in the water filled field all bend on chasing him down. Bipul gathered all his strength and started running with tremendous might. He ran without looking back, till he reached his home, almost out of breath. He waited near his gate for some time to find out whether he’d been followed or not. “Today was a dark night. Otherwise, moonlight would’ve definitely caused much trouble,” he thought. Having ascertained that he’d not been followed, he entered his home.

Having a meagre meal, he retired to his bed earlier than usual. He told his mother that he wasn’t feeling well and disclosed nothing. While in his room, he could feel the panic still sticking to his heart. He tried to fall asleep, but failed. His cell phone rang at around 2 am, unexpectedly.

‘’Hello Bipul,’’- said a voice, trying to appear familiar.

‘’Who is it?’’

Bipul felt a knot in his throat. He had to lower his voice considerably lest he might wake up his mother.

‘’You’ve already known my name and now please don’t act like a stupid,’’ chuckled the voice. It continued, ‘’It was the fault of the girl she died. You don’t have to feel sorry for her.’’

‘’But the man in the field, how is he now?’’ Bipul felt his tongue was going dry. However, he wanted to know the truth.

‘’Oh, perhaps he’s dead by now.’’ It paused for a moment, then said, ‘’But the only person witnessing today’s incident is you. Don’t tell anybody, OK? It’ll tarnish my reputation, or my son’s life will be in peril. But afterwards, it’ll be problematic for you too. Do you get my point?’’

‘’Yeah I understand,’’ Bipul could barely hear his own voice. But the person on the other end heard it and said, ‘’OK, good boy.’’ Then he snapped the line.

About a fortnight ago, a girl was found in her rented apartment. The police couldn’t catch the culprit till date. But tonight, Bipul became the first person to know about the crime in detail. He’d now known the name of the main culprit. Now, he was merely squashed in between his moral obligation and the probable threat looming before him.

Bipul felt his heart was still pounding heavily. He heard his mother’s shuffling steps in the kitchen as she cooked rice and pulses. He felt unseen shackles fettered around his body. He was suffocating. But he had to break free. He picked up his cell phone and dialled to one of his friends, working as a reporter of a TV news channel.

“Hello Bipul, I’m in your village. There is a dead body lying in the field. I’m scrutinizing the scene before reporting. The police are also here. I’ll call you back later,’’ Bipul heard the excited voice of his friend at the other end in the background of a commotion.

Bipul cleared his throat, so that his friend could hear his voice clear. He went on, ‘’ Hello Satyam, please don’t cut the line. I know who the murderer is. Yesterday, when I was returning home from the pharmacy at night, I saw…….’’