He Remembered His Baby-Friend Malavika 

Read E's story, please go here

Welcome to Letter F's Story

He looked at Malavika-how would he detect any similarity between the chubby face of a young girl and that of a grown-up woman?  And she was sitting alone on a hospital bench, downcast.  His mind traversed through their meeting scene at the gorge. 


"The media wants to meet you' Dev stepped inside Anand's office. 

"Not again!" Early morning, he had a brief with them.  That was routine.

"A senior reporter from Chanel 36.  You know how the media works."

"You better deal with them," Arjun hates the media involvement for their evocative dialogues and questions to arouse cheap sensation in the viewers.    

"I did my part, told you're busy preparing the FIR.  But you know them.  They insist on meeting you."

"Um, let them in."

Came inside two gentlemen-one 36 TV reporter and a camera operator took seats in Anand's office.

"Sir, who is that woman?" The reporter shot the question after asking preliminary questions about the incident.

"She has been taken to the hospital, the enquiry into the case is just proceeding.   At this time, we cannot divulge her details to the media."

"How did you come to know the women was in danger?"

"She called me."

"At the office."

"No, on my personal phone." 

"So, our, have you known her early, otherwise how she got your number?"

"Friends and families have my personal number, but she doesn't belong to those circles.   But the extent to which any of them had passed my number to, I don't know."

"Have you charged the men you found hiding there?"

"You got it right."

"We hear the car belongs to the law minister's son."

"Told you the inquiry is progressing on such matters."

"Where are the vehicles?"

"At the workshop."

"Can we take a snapshot of the vehicle?"

"No, that is a piece of evidence."

"Sir, we hear this woman is related to your estranged wife," the man asked with the quip as if he pulled out an ace from his pocket.  "Sir, we hear your divorce got finalised."

"The interview is over, gentlemen.  If you excuse, I have things to attend." Arjun said. 

The same reporter had approached him immediately after his divorce was processed at the family court, which he declined.  But the news featured as a hot item in divorce series in a women's magazine, and Silpa got enough publicity.  Is it another ploy of her?  And the scene the woman created when he found her seemed prejudicial to him.  Had Dev witnessed it?  He hadn't mentioned that--a protocol issue between an officer and a subordinate. 

Would the whole matter be a hoax?  The call from the lady, the cars plunged into the gorge!  Were they choreographed set up to trap him?  He felt bashed heavily—why should he be the object of such an intentional manipulation?  Why is Silpa haunting him again? 

Dev entered his office and reported both the vehicles got pulled over and parked in the police yard.  And men were not cooperating with the questioning.  The absence of any CCTV camera along that part of the road makes it a weak case for us."

"Any help from the traffic website."

"Oh yes, the car is registered in an NRI's name from UK." 

"Have you managed to contact him?"

"He declined my calls."

The phone rang.  The receptionist from the hospital informed him the women admitted there the previous night could be discharged in the afternoon.  Wounds got stitched.  She needed only rest at home.   Arjun should sign in the discharging papers, who admitted her there. 

Arjun received a health report in an enclosed envelope and an invitation to sign in the discharge sheets at the hospital.  He pulled the envelope's content and skimmed through the information.   Malavika Aravind, he noticed her name. 

Specific names have the charm to arrest your thoughts.  Malavika was his teacher's daughter, his bosom friend at primary school.

Arjun glanced at Malavika-how would he detect any similarity between the chubby face of a young girl and that of a grown-up woman?  And she was sitting alone on a hospital bench, downcast.  His mind traversed through their meeting scene at the gorge.


"Thank you, sir," a fifty-something male approached him.  "Wish if all officers were dutiful like you." A fondness glimmered out from his eyes.  "I'm her father."

"We have no words to think you, sir," a woman who stood next to him said.  "If you haven't helped her, we would have found her in what condition we have no idea." Malavika's mother, he assumed.

Arjun took note.  Malavika hadn't looked in his direction.  Was she feeling awkward about her outburst in behaviour?  She was in a terrible shock then.  

This post is part of the #BlogchatterA2Z challenge hosted by Blog Chatter

You can read all my posts for Blog Chatter A2Z here.


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