The Longest Night

32 years on planet earth, man. 32 years. I once read on a guy's t-shirt while roaming in a mall "Virginity is not a virtue; just lack of opportunities." Thinks Vishwamitra Subramaniam and wakes up completely wet in the middle of the night. He gets up wiping the sweat off his face and realizes something. He jumps off his bed and walks in to his washroom. He washes himself and then comes back to the bed and lies down there only to keep staring at the swirling fan. The night goes on dry and drab.

Next morning, a doorbell wakes him up at around 7 am. He walks up like a zombie only to see his maid standing at the door. He opens up his door and his maid looks at him standing right in front of her wearing his super-short boxers and his vest. The boxers were super-short for a man of his height. At 6'3", anything you wear which can be called as shorts will seem to be super-short. His maid had made her discomfort at seeing him in such a condition vocal many a times; but these things hardly mattered to Vishwa. After all, how could a maid's perception of him matter to him? Nonetheless, she just quickly disappears from his sight to go into the kitchen and start her daily chores.

While she was busy cleaning up the house, he came back to his bedroom after having taken a shower. The maid was in his bedroom mopping the room and he stood there wrapped in his towel and getting ready to get to his office. Her maid left the room at once when she saw him coming to the bedroom from the bathroom.

Anusuya finished her daily work and she left closing the door behind her. Vishwa got ready and went to the basement parking to go to the office. He starts his car and hits the road. On the road, his movement is halted by a traffic signal. At the red light, he lowers his window to look around and sees another car with a good-looking female. He looks at her and stares at her with those expressions in his eyes and she rolls up her window. Vishwa, disgusted by the woman's reaction, abuses her rather pricey and obnoxious behavior and rolls up his window.

At the office, he goes straight into his cabin and places his laptop on the docking station. He then goes to the cafeteria and gets a coffee for himself only to return and see his laptop now completely booted. He checks his mails and then sits their pondering for some time. His IM comes to life with a ping from Devyani, a close friend of his and also one of those rare females who understands him and his insecurities.

"Coming for a smoke?" asks Devyani.

"I'll join you." Replies Vishwa and locks his laptop. He picks up his coffee mug, fills it with another coffee and steps out with Devyani.

At the smoke zone, "You look worked up, Vish. What's the matter?" asks Devyani whilst lighting her smoke. She offers him one, but he denies.

"Nothing much, ya." Says Vishwa

"See, I know you. You can tell me. You know that."

"It's the same old crap, Devyani. I continue getting haunted by the same kind of dreams, you know. It's frustrating."

"Oh, you mean those dreams?" asks Devyani

"Yeah, those dreams"

"Then go and check with a psychiatrist. Get yourself a session of psychotherapy."

Vishwa sips his coffee while Devyani stubs her cigarette and lights another one.

"What're you doing? You just smoked one. Why on earth are you lighting another one?" asks Vishwa.

"You chuck my cigarette and continue with your topic." Replies Devyani.

"Yeah, so you were saying that I should get myself a psychotherapy session, huh? Does that really help? Particularly when I know that those dreams are a product of what? And also when I know some bloody psychiatrists are obsessed with connecting every single dream to the aspect of sex?" retorts Vishwa.

"So, if you're so smart and clever, Mr. Freud, then why don't you get yourself some action, huh?" asks Devyani.

"You know what, I read a very interesting quote on guy's t-shirt once that said "Virginity is not a virtue; but just a lack of opportunities"

"So, who said that you have dearth of opportunities? You've plenty of those."

"Yeah, as if every woman walks on the road with a signboard that screams "I'm up for grabs. Isn't it?" replies Vishwa.

"Come on, dude. You don't have to degrade women so much. But you need to understand that the carnal requirements of both the sexes are the same. It's just that they behave differently." Replies Devyani.

"Ah, is that so? If that is true at all, then why do women have this fantastic ability to make you feel sick and uncouth if you look at them suggestively? I mean don't mind me asking you this question and I certainly don't want to be perceived as a sexist! But it's a question that's been haunting my mind for some time now."

"Women are a complicated subject to study. And I can say this with a lot of confidence. After all I am also one. So, the point that I just highlighted about the carnal desires of both the sexes being the same and yet the fairer sex giving you those horrendous looks is because you guys tend to make your lust too obvious. You guys tend to give more importance to slam-bang than being emotionally caring and stuff, you know. You got to play it easy and smooth. Lure her in."

"Interesting"

"And how do I lure them in?" asks Vishwa.

"You can do that by softening your approach and by tailoring your public behavior. Did the thought ever occur to you why in spite of having everything going for you; people are actually repelled by you?"

"And why is that?"

"They are repelled by you because of your social conduct. And don't confuse this with social acceptance. This is purely the way you conduct yourself socially. Your public demeanor is the key." Replies Devyani.

"Hmmm. Maybe that's why I keep getting rejected or snubbed. You mean to say women don't appreciate intelligence?"

"No Vish. Women don't appreciate uncouth behavior."

"Alright, that's a fair point. I think I now understand what you're referring to. Because even my maid had told me about this many a times; but I never paid any attention to it."

"What? Don't tell me you're planning to go to bed with your maid?"

"Are you nuts? Certainly not, but it helps you understand a point of view, doesn't it?"

Vishwa looks at his watch and they had spent 45 minutes there talking. He suggests that it is time for them to get back to the office. He thanks her and they walk back to the office while exchanging some more tips.

Later that evening, Vishwa leaves office and heads to a lounge bar. A live jazz performance and dim lights welcome him in. He walks in and runs his eyes around the place and finds it rather crowded. He lands himself by the bar counter and orders for a whisky on the rocks.

A glass is fetched and filled with ice cubes and a serene golden liquid flows from the bottle and settles in the glass. Vish lifts his glass and looks at the whisky and appreciates it before wetting his throat. A nod of approval and admiration finds its way as he shakes his neck to acknowledge the purity of the whisky.

He enjoys the lovely serenade of the saxophone and has a couple more drinks when he sees a young and a beautiful girl dressed in a black off-shoulder gown sitting right next to him at the counter. He looks at her and they exchange a smile. She reciprocates.

After a little while, the girl sensing that Vish is alone, gets up from her stool and walks over to him.

"You seem to be a lonely man."

"Well, up until this very moment, you could call me that, yes!"

"Hmmm, may I have the pleasure of being your company for the rest of the evening?" asks the girl.

"Absolutely, the pleasure will be all mine." Replies Vish and continuing the conversation, he adds "Would you care for a drink?"

"Vodka" she says.

He buys her a drink and they begin conversing.

"You smell elegant" says Vish.

"And I'm quite impressed with your language" replies the girl.

"Shahna" says the girl whilst extending her hands towards Vish.

"Vishwamitra" says he and shakes hands with her.

After talking for some time, Shahna says that the place is too crowded and if they should go some place quiet. Vish agrees to the proposal and he helps the girl get off from her stool and follows her.

Vish looks at the time on his watch and sees its 11.00 pm. "Too late for you to be out?" asks Vish.

"Well, not really. We're anyways going to my place."

"And do you live alone?"

"Well, yes. My folks stay in Assam. Why does that bother you?"

"What?"

"The fact that I stay alone"

"Not really. But I was just a little skeptical since I have never been to a girl's house like this."

"Come on, you will be fine."

They both head out the bar and get into Vish's car. The girl guides him and they soon find themselves on the way to Shahna's flat. The car reaches the basement; they get out of the car and take the lift to the 13th floor of the apartment.

Shahna opens the door to the flat and escorts Vish inside. She closes the door behind him and asks him to feel at home. She goes to her bedroom and changes into night attire. When she comes out, she sees Vish in the kitchen and making a drink for himself. He asks her if he can fix for her as well, and she agrees. She switches on BB King's jazz sessional and lights a smoke for herself. Vish gets both the drinks and they sit on the sofa listening to the smooth serenade of the lovely notes of BB King.

A little later, they keep their drinks aside and they begin to loosen up. In the morning, Vishwa wakes up on the couch in the living room and searches for his clothes. He gets dressed and searches for Shahna. He goes to the bedroom and opens the door and sees her lying there on the bed wrapped in a bedsheet. He walks into the room and goes into the washroom. He washes his face and looks at his face in the mirror with a smile on his face. He splashes some water on his face and wipes it off and then comes back to the living room. He picks up all his belongings and leaves for his house.

Back home, he gives Devyani a call. She answers the call and he says with a victorious tone "Hey, guess what?"

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah I am."

"You sound…"

"Excited, I'm pretty damn excited. I finally managed to do what kept haunting me all these days."

"You mean you nailed it?"

"Absolutely"

"Congratulations, my boy!"

He hangs up the phone and goes to take a shower. He comes back and relaxes on his lounge sofa. He switches his TV and closes his eyes. The memory of the previous night brings a smile on his face. Right at the moment, he hears a faint phone ring. He gets up and goes to his room and sees his BlackBerry ringing. It's a call from an unknown number.

"Hello" he answers the call.

"Hello, Mr. Subramaniam. Hope you're doing good." Says a husky voice at the other end of the phone

"Do I know you?" asks Vishwamitra

"Not at all"

"Then how did you get my number?"

"Not too tough to track down big shots, is it?"

"Who are you and what do you want out of me?"

"Just wanted to break news to you"

"Which is?"

"We have you"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I really can see that the last night was tremendous for you. Did you get a good release?"

"What the hell are you talking about, huh?"

"May I know who are you?"

"You seem to have a habit of asking irrelevant questions. You waste a lot of time doing this. Instead why don't you ask a relevant question, for once?"

"Which will be?"

"Ok, let's get the mystery out of the way, shall we? The girl you banged last night is a minor."

"What? Are you serious? I mean what is this all about?"

"This is not too serious, at least not yet. Let's pray that this not reach the cops, shall we? Otherwise, it can be quite serious"

The guy says this and hangs up the phone. Vishwa just keeps hanging on to the phone. He taps himself to check if it is real or just a dream. He looks at the phone receiver and he turns cold. He goes to the bathroom and looks at himself in the mirror. His face is now perplexed and tense. He has sweat on his face. He opens the tap to wash his face when he hears another ring. He goes thinking the call to be from the same number; but it's not. He answers the call. The voice sounds familiar to him.

"Hey?"

"Hey, it's so good to receive a call from you. I just got a bizarre call and I was like…"

"Hey, here is what you need to do."

"What? First things first, I have a few questions for you…"

"Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"What business?"

"Here, take this address and the phone number. Read the number, memorize it and tear it apart. You're to give this number a call and go wherever they call you. You need to collect a parcel from them and deliver it at the address I just gave you."

"Wait, what the hell is this?" just as he finishes the sentence the call is disconnected. He replays the entire conversation in his mind trying to recollect the key points and he then gets a call again. Again the call is from the girl. She says you need to make a move.

He gets dressed and gets ready to leave for the address and right then he gets a call. This time it's again from Shahna. She asks "You didn't yet call the number, did you?"

He is shocked and tensed. He just hangs up the call after telling her that he will call the number. After hanging up the call, he calls up the number and asks for the address where he needs to go. He steps out of his flat and he sees his neighbor running behind a mouse with a sandal in her hand. The mouse to escape and come out clean with its life sneaks through the shithole. He looks at the mouse and the lady.

"See this damn creature." Says the lady running behind the mouse and the moment she sees it entering the pipeline, she gives up the chase. Vishwa keeps looking at the mouse tumbling down the pipeline and he starts walking.

He goes down, starts the car and heads to the address that was given to him. The flat is in a dilapidated neighborhood. He confirms with a passerby if he is indeed at the correct flat and starts climbing the spiral staircase. The stairs are really narrow. He climbs his way up and then finds his way into a flat. He sees a couple of lowly guys (perhaps henchmen) with a big suitcase. They see him and ask for the code. He shows them a text on his phone and they hand over the suitcase and also give him the address.

"What is in the suitcase?" he asks.

"Ah, this has some fruits. You'd need to deliver these to the address texted by Shahna. He is stunned beyond belief. He takes the suitcase and leaves. He starts his car and heads to the place directed by Shahna. He reaches there and sees a huge mansion. The gate keeper allows his car inside after examining the vehicle number. He goes inside, and is asked to wait in the living room. He sits there and is served a glass of chilled water. He reaches out to the glass of water and looks around with suspicion while sipping water. While sipping water, he sees a man dressed in khaddar white kurta and pajama walking down the stairs. He sees him and he sees the security guards emerging out of the other rooms as the man dressed in the white kurta and pajama approaches the living room.

"So, here you are, huh?" asks the man dressed in white.

"Who're you and what is this?" asks Vishwa while keeping the down the glass of water on the table. A maid comes and takes the glass of water away.

"Please sit, relax" says the man in white. "You must have seen me" he further adds.

"Well, not really" replies Vishwa.

"Alright, that's not an issue at all" and he adds "My name is certainly not important; but what we have gotten down to do is what counts"

He further continues… "Ok, now that you've delivered the powder here, would you please be so kind as to take this suitcase and deliver this to Shahna when you meet her tonight?" asks the man in white.

"What? What are you guys doing with me? And why am I stuck here?"

"Well, do you really have a choice over the situations that you find yourself in during the course of your life? I don't really think there is an answer to your question. If you want to stay afloat, then you better go on doing what is asked of you."

Shahna calls Vishwa and asks him to come over to her flat later that night. And asks him to get the suitcase that was given to him by the MP he had gone to meet today.

Later that night, at Shahna's place, he rings the door bell and sees a guy open the door. He seems like a stranger. He is asked to come inside and Shahna hugs him and gives him a kiss. She hands over a drink to him and asks him to sit.

"Who are these guys?" asks Vishwa.

"Well, they are my friends from Nepal. Why? Do you have any problems?"

"No problems at all as long as you guys tell me what the hell are you doing with me? Why didn't you tell me that you were a minor?"

"Did my being a minor make any difference to how I was in the bed? Did I not fuck your brains out?" asks Shahna

She switches on the TV and it opens to Cartoon Network and showing Tom and Jerry. Vishwa sees the TV and sees the mouse being chased by the cat. He looks at it and then turns over to Shahna. He sees her snorting some coke along with the Nepali guys. "They are the ones who got the powder you delivered to the minister today. Now, come on, why don't you be a sweetheart and hand over the suitcase to me?"

"What is in the suitcase?"

"Open it and see it for yourself" says Shahna

The suitcase opens and he is shocked. "What the hell is this?" asks Vishwa.

"Guys" she calls the Nepali guys over and "Why don't you take this suitcase"

"What's gonna happen to all of this?" asks Vishwa

"This is gonna be delivered to my parents back in Assam"

"Who are you?"

"Who am I is not important. But the values and beliefs that I stand for are what count" says Shahna.

The Nepali guys are stoned and Shahna asks Vishwa to join her in her bedroom. He refuses and right then she says "You really think you're in the position to refuse?"

They go into the bedroom and the next morning Vishwa gets up and goes to his house. He gets ready and goes to office and sits in his cabin checking his mails. Devyani pings him and he ignores it. He cuts her calls. He keeps staring at the clock and he keeps staring at the aquarium in his cabin. He fidgets. He looks at his wrist watch and he gets up to go to the loo and washes his face off.

He goes to the parking lot, starts his car and hits the road. He doesn't even lower his window now. He reaches home and locks himself in his room. He locks his door and windows. He darkens his entire house and pulls out the wire of the landline. He removes the battery of his BlackBerry and keeps it; but then suddenly out of some paranoia, he fits the battery of the phone back and switches it on.

He switches the ceiling fan on and keeps staring at it. He can't even sleep. He gets up and pops a few sleeping pills and drinks some water and gets back to bed; but he still can't sleep. 6 hours of constant fidgeting and he gets up in sheer anger and stands in front of the dressing table mirror. He looks at his reflection and bangs his hand on it breaking it into two. His reflection is now shattered.

He starts taking off from work and starts being more and more of a recluse. Every now and then he visits only Shahna when she calls him home. One night when he is in the bed with Shahna, he sees a projection of himself on Shahna's dressing table mirror. The projection has him getting sucked into a quicksand. He withdraws right then and he goes to the balcony.

Next morning, he wakes up in Shahna's flat and switches on the TV. He switches on the news and he drops his coffee mug.

The headlines say "Truck full of CRPF soldiers blown up in Assam. Inquiry begins"

He gets ready and leaves.

------------------------The End--------------------------