Shut The Door,Please!

By Nivedita R

“You are late, again”, she sighed and opened the door. “You will not believe what happened today”, he started as he removed his shoes and started telling her why he was late. There was not anything unusual about him being late, but his reasons were always amusing. One day, maybe one day, she will figure out if they are actually true. “…and the drunk guy came in front of my car, I could hardly leave him there but then his wife came, and I really picked up new curses today. Been a police officer for so long and I still learn something new every day”, he smiled. “Did you learn why your wife isn’t home yet?” she asked. “Mom she’s not home yet? I’m totally going to surprise her today”, he got excited.

He walked out to buy her roses. He decided he would remind her today why she loved him so much. He walked to the end of the street, and he heard a very loud noise. He turned to see the house burning. He could hear his mother screaming. He couldn’t hear his own scream as he ran towards his house. But then, he was too late.

“You are late, again”, she signed and opened the door. “You will not believe what happened today”, she started. He kissed her and entered the house. He thought about the day she said yest to him and the all the yes he had heard from her since then. I’m one lucky person, he thought. “…and the monkey came inside the college campus. The girls were just screaming, and the boys pretended to catch them”, she continued, entering the kitchen. “Oh no, I was just stepping out to get coriander, then I saw you and forgot all about it!”, she laughed. “Ahh yes, girls usually have that reaction when they see me. You should’ve seen me in college. There was this girl from my school who had come there one day and..”, he laughed as his wife made funny faces and shooed him out. “Okay fine. I’ll get the coriander”, he said.

“Saab, you are early today. No criminals to catch in Chennai?”, the shopkeeper laughed. “Oh, you don’t understand. He came to spend the evening with his wife”, winked the uncle in line at the counter. He laughed along with them until they all heard a loud explosion. It was coming from his house. In his head, he could hear his wife scream. He couldn’t hear his own scream as he ran towards his house. But then, he was too late.

He woke up with a jerk and stared at the white wall. The doctor who walked in saw the vacant eyes, ruffled hair, him clasping the bedsheets, all the sweat on his face and his veins popping. “Another day, another nightmare”, she thought sadly.

She had known him since childhood. She had been there the day he won his first marathon, the day he got sent to the Principal’s room for the prank in the store room, the day he had met his now deceased wife, the day he had proposed with two hundred roses in front of everyone at the campus. She thought of the first day he wore police uniform and how proud of him all of them were feeling that day, his wedding where all friends had danced all night long, his mother’s tears of joy as he tied the knot. Maybe she had fancied him a little when they were kids. But the day his wife walked into their school campus; it was like everyone else faded into the background for him.

She had seen him earn his awards, seen his pictures on the newspaper. In fact, she had also helped him with some cases. Everything was splendid until one fated day when he had stepped out to get chocolate ice cream because his daughter did not like the cake they had already gotten for her birthday. Maybe few thugs entered their house, seizing the opportunity and killed his entire family and friends alike. No one was sure because they had set the house on fire and escaped and till today the case remains unsolved.

It could be your last moment with your family, and you’d never know, she thought and texted her husband and daughter to find out when they would be home today.

“So Raghav, who opened the door today?”, she asked. She was really hoping that it wasn’t his son or daughter because those days were brutal, and no medicine could keep him from screaming all night. Yesterday, it was his junior and his junior’s wife.

“No one, doctor. No one”, he mumbled sadly. He barely recognised her these days. But then, she barely recognised the man he’d become. His blank looks would sometimes haunt her at night. Maybe heroes go back for revenge in movies and in real life it just breaks a person and leaves him dead inside.

She turned to his desk to see that he hadn’t taken his medicines yet. She pointed to them and said “You are late. Again”, she sighed and opened the door.

By Nivedita R