Sunset Limited

The office looked cheerful, if places could be said to have an expression - not what Hari was expecting at all. He expected a clinical looking place with serious or angry looking people. This one could have been a set for a painting ad on TV. As he was entering the door of the inner office - painted a bright orange - he saw the gorgeous long legged woman in a red dress step out from an office room nearby. She looked and walked like a model. If he could whistle, he would have done so that moment. She had her sun-glasses on, which would have seemed funny on a few vain women he knew, but seemed perfect on her. How he wished he could have seen the colour of her eyes! As he watched, she walked away without even barely glancing at him.

He was dragged out of his thoughts when the voice inside the room he was supposed to enter, said a little more loudly, "I said, please come in!",

"Please take your seat - Mr. Hari Subramanian?", said the pleasant looking lady inside, turning the statement into a question.

"Yes, thank you."

"I trust your journey was comfortable. I am sorry that you had to go through the trouble, but we are a secure facility. We need to take certain precautions. I trust you understand that!" she said, in a tone that meant she wasn't expecting an answer.

"Err.. yeah, I do. So, am I eligible? Did I pass the test?" said Hari.

"Eager, aren't we? I can understand that!" she said, gleefully. "I would have liked to make a more formal and sombre announcement, but what the heck! Yooohooo! You are in!!"

"Wow!! Thank you!! I can finally sleep tonight! Thank you so much!" said Hari, with his eyes glistening.

He had been waiting for these words for almost three months now. His friends had told him that it was not an easy process and that the rejection rates were high.

'Sunset Limited' took its business and clientele seriously. The background check done on prospective clients was more thorough than that of the world's topmost intelligence agency. The rates they charged were very high, but the results were guaranteed.

"You do realize that getting accepted as a client is only the first step? We may still reject your service request.", she said, trying to be gentle and failing.

"But why would you do such a thing? I mean, under what circumstances, would you reject a 'service request'?", asked Hari, sounding perplexed.

"Well, conflict of interest is often a reason. Also the risk-perception associated with the service request." said the woman, still looking composed.

"What risk perception are you talking about? You have already done a detailed background check on me. What more do you need?", said Hari, secretly wondering if he should have just done it himself or gone with that 'Feelings Gaja' - that guy one of his friends had mentioned.

"Sir, the background check helped us confirm if it was safe to deal with you and also to check your financial stability. We need to be paid in advance, as you are probably aware, irrespective of whether or not we accept your request. The service requests will be assessed by our team of experts that includes law-enforcement personnel and legal experts. You will be given a service request number for your request and will receive an SMS on the acceptance status on the day of service fulfillment".

"So you may reject my request, but still need the money in advance?" asked Hari.

"In the rare case of a rejection, you will receive a full refund minus operating expenses via bank transfer to an unnamed offshore account" said the lady. "One more thing, you will not speak of us or try to contact us once you leave the premises".

"Can I ask you one thing? How do you recruit your employees? How do I know I can trust you?" asked Hari.

"We have a vigorous screening process for our employees. We call them artists here. None of them are here for the money. Most of them would do it for free. We believe that when an employee enjoys what he or she does, the results are better. Our employees are carefully picked for their interest in this job. The clients need discretion and a clean way to deal with their problems, our artists need a safe outlet for their creativity. All we do is provide a solution for both of them", she said.

"And get paid a bomb", he said. "Oops!! My bad!"

"Yeah, it is a win-win-win, as they say these days", she said. "And about the question of trust, what choice do you have Mr. Subramaniam?"

Hari silently handed over the folder to the lady, who keyed in something on her MacBook.

After a minute, she turned to him and said, "Your service request number is S023. Memorize it, because you won't get a paper or electronic copy of anything. You will receive a text from an unknown number between the 12th and 20th of this month confirming the acceptance status of your request. If accepted, the request will be fulfilled the same day. No confirmation will be sent to you. If rejected, the balance, after operating expenses, will be refunded to you. We have a 99% success rate. No refund will be provided for failed services when the reason for failure is beyond our control or is an act of God. Partial refunds may be provided for failed services based on Sunset Limited's discretion".

"Whew!! Is that the speech version of the fine print on agreements? Impressive!", said Hari.

On his way out, once again, he was blindfolded and taken into an aircraft.

"How was your trip? Did your meeting with your board go well?", asked Priya, as soon as Hari entered his house.

"It was good! It was great!! Hey, let me take a shower. Let's go for a movie", he said.

"Why, what's special? My birthday is on 15th, not today", said Priya.

"Sorry dear. I have to be in Mumbai on 12th and will be back by 21st. The customer is coming down from the States", he said.

"But that is tomorrow! And you just came home! I had plans for us on 15th. Not fair!", she said in a hurt voice.

"I will make it up to you! I promise. Now, let me just take a shower. Let's have dinner and then a movie. Deal?", said Hari. He was whistling on his way to the bathroom. The meeting had gone better than he expected.

He couldn't stop grinning on the flight to Mumbai. It was finally going to happen!

"Goodbye Priya. It was nice knowing you!", he said to himself.

Any day now, he was going to get a confirmation from Sunset Limited. That message was going to be the first chapter of his new life - a life he intended to spend with Rachel, the love of his life. He had considered divorce first. But Priya's father and her brothers were policemen. "And in this country, if there is someone you fear as much or sometimes more than a thug, it is a policeman", reasoned Hari.

And thus started his search for a way out. Local contract killers weren't professional enough. Help finally came from the underground internet, which he had taken to frequent in the last few years.

"There are organizations, that help people such as you. It may cost you serious money. But these guys are very good. They are discreet. I heard from someone that they recruit only people who are genuinely interested in killing - those who think of it as an art. Their after-service is to die-for, pardon the pun. It is the best you can do for the ones you love to hate!", said one guy on an online forum.

It took Hari a few months to zero-in on Sunset Limited. It took them longer to accept him as a client. And then the interview happened, and here he was close to the D-day.

It was going to be on 15th - he could feel it in his gut. He had to act normal till then - go to work, meet with his clients, call Priya every day at 7 pm, to say good night. He had ceased all contact with Rachel ever since he got this idea. He could always pick up where he left off, after a year or two after Priya's untimely demise, he thought.

"For now, a drink at the bar. Who knows! I may get lucky tonight", he thought to himself. The only customer other than him was a lone woman who seemed vaguely familiar.

"Buy you a drink?", said Hari, as he slid into the bar-stool next to her.

"What's your room number?" she asked.

"Wow! That was direct!! Have we met before?" asked Hari, completely taken aback.

"Save the pickup lines for someone else. It is getting late. I have to be out of here early in the morning. Are you going to give me your room number?" she said, looking at him directly with her large eyes.

"Hmm.. 502.. Didn't I see you the other day at.." he stuttered.

"Let me change into something more comfortable. I will see you in 5?" she said as she slid out of her chair.

It was more like 10 minutes, when the knock on the door finally came.  Hari didn't want to seem too eager and got up from his seat trying to look cool and went towards the door.

"Hey, come on in! What do you have in that?" he said as he opened the door to find the gorgeous woman tugging a large suitcase behind her.

Lonely.. I am so lonely.. I have nobody... wailed the phone.

"One sec, I need to check this message", he said. "Service Request S023 rejected. Reason - Conflict of Interest".

"Hey honey! Priya says Hi!" said the gorgeous woman, as she stabbed him once with a fine knife that went through him like he was made of butter.

"What the..!! It's you.. you.. Your eyes are grayish blue!", he said as he fell.

The Misunderstood

It was love at first sight - for both of us.

People may say a lot of things now - don't believe them. It was love and it was mutual - no matter what others tell you.

I think it is sheer cruelty to treat people who aren't demonstrative insensitively - like they don't have feelings at all. Some of us are expressive, some aren't. And just because someone does not show his/ her feelings, doesn't mean he/ she does not have them? Wouldn't you agree?

When Kiran walked in that day - my heart stopped beating for a minute. I knew it then, that I had fallen head-over-heels in love. I felt everything around me vividly - the colours around me seemed more pronounced, my sense of hearing had sharpened. I remember the smell of cookies on the table, the perfume I had worn and the indescribable fragrance that wafted from Kiran.

I tried hard to ignore my feelings, but then, when has love ever been rational? Kiran did not look up once, but I knew. I just did! I knew that Kiran had fallen for me too, but would not be the first person to admit it. When have the meek ones ever done so? It fell upon me then - this pleasurable step of the mating dance.

Did I never feel any guilt? Of course! I was married - with two children and that complicated things a little. I was a loyal husband, well mostly. More importantly I was a loving father. If this came out, my family would be shattered. I knew it was dangerous. But Kiran's pull was too strong. I had given strict instructions to others on workplace romance. I had had minor dalliances before - but this, I knew, was the real deal.

Kiran was hesitant at first. This was a place of work for me, but it was Kiran's home in every sense of the word. We had to be careful about others finding out, otherwise it would end everything - not just our romance - maybe even our lives.

Those were wonderful times. Covert meetings in deserted rooms, stolen kisses, with us getting to know everything, and I mean everything, about each other - thinking of them makes me yearn for those days even now. Kiran wasn't much of a talker. After every such rendezvous, I would be in tears, thanking Kiran for everything. I only got silence as as a response. If Kiran had refused strongly, I would have stopped. It would have hurt, but I would have tried. You have to believe me on that one!

I had imagined many different ways that this would end - I thought we would eventually tire of each other or that Kiran would find someone else after a few years or that Kiran would be moved to a different place. Every scenario I had imagined, had us parting in tears - sad, but not bitter - because Kiran was too gentle for that.

What I had not imagined, was betrayal! If Raja had asked me, had confronted me, I would have explained. He, of all people, would have understood. He knows me more than anybody else. I had loved him more than anyone. I still loved him, but he decided to turn turncoat.

And that traitor, that turncoat! He could made an internal complaint - I would have lost my job and lost my face in front of the smug pot-bellied Mr. Kurien and Mrs. Das! But he had to go to the police! My own son, complained to the police! That made even Mr.Kurien and Mrs.Das angry! Our home's reputation was at stake and before you could say 'What!', they disowned me! Said I was a black sheep, an aberration, nothing more! I, Jayakumar - the most loved man at the 'Pure Hearts Orphanage' - the man who coaxed millions of dollars from white donors! I was apparently an aberration!

My family looked at me like I was something they stepped on, by mistake, on the road. My wife, refused to let me in the house and forbid me from seeing Renu and Raja. That young traitor, hid behind his mother, refusing to show his spineless self! It was good that he didn't though. I could have killed him with my bare hands!

But you know when my heart truly broke? When Kiran took the stand and said I had been abusing him for the last 2 years. He was in tears - his lovely big eyes filling with tears and filling me with yearning to reach out and caress his satin-soft cheeks - and the people in the court looked at me with so much hatred! Who made Kiran lie? What did they threaten him with? That word 'abuse'!! Surely he didn't mean that! Someone must have put him up to it! Was it Raja, who felt I had betrayed him? But I still love him - he is my son after all. Maybe not like I used to, till a couple of years ago, but I do love him!

Your Honour, I know this may not seem true to you. But surely, you have heard of May-December romances? What is age, if not just a number? Oh, I know what you will say - that Kiran was just a hapless child - all of seven years old. But you have not seen him the way I have seen him sir. Children aren't all innocent. At least this one wasn't. He knew the power he had over me! You should have seen him claim benefits that the other children in the orphanage did not get - like extra sweets, an additional pair of clothing etc. What haven't I done for him? I don't blame Kiran, your honour. He is a sweet little thing, easily led and corrupted.

I heard the lawyer here use the term 'abuse of trust and position'. He is wrong, your honour. I never abused my position. Ask the other kids in the home. Ask them if I have treated them with anything other than kindness. I know what some of the older ones like Daniel said. But it is not completely true your honour.

I am a broken man, your honour. My heart has been broken into a million pieces. My own true love testified against me. I don't ask to be acquitted your honour. I only wish to be understood. Everything I have done, I have done for love. And if I am going to be punished for it, then I am happy to accept it. But please your honour, do not put me in the prison along with murderers and rapists. They may not understand me,your honour. I don't want to live in fear for my life, your honour.

All I ask for, is a little understanding, your honour. Please!

Silence

“The only way to reach the temple on the hill is by a cable car”, said the guide. “The expenses have been included in your overall price”.

The crowd looked thrilled. They were a motley bunch of tourists of varying age-groups and backgrounds. For most of them, this was their first such trip. Most had researched the route and the places to be visited on the internet before setting off. Now all they needed was someone to listen to their exposition.

The Home-Maker-from-Chennai (HMC), thought the Office-Goer-Woman (OGW) looked too full of herself. Wearing jeans and leaving her hair loose, did not make her smarter, she thought. She had to put her in her place by telling her stuff that the latter had no idea about. A few lines of poetry, maybe?

The student thought the guide looked cute and was wondering if he would be accompanying them on the trip. The adolescent boy looked at the guide with envy. “Why does he have to come with us everywhere we go?”, he thought. If only he could get the student alone, he could impress her with his knowledge of Hindi film songs.

“Only 6 people per car” said the guide. The student tried to look nonchalent and asked “Aap aa rahe ho?” (“Are you coming with us?”). She thought her diction sounded perfect. Surely the guide was going to ask her about it! The guide didn’t seem to have noticed. He hesitated for a moment and said “Chalo” (“Let’s go”). The student quickly tousled her hair a little to get that perfect unkempt look and got on. “Never sit too close and make your interest obvious”, she told herself.

“This woman looks like the talkative kind. And she has been giving me strange looks. Must be one of those bored housewife-types, who watches afternoon soaps”, thought the OGW. “I should just take my smartphone out and check my emails to avoid any conversation. She looks like the perfect Maami, with readymade advice on everything”.

“One more person will fit here. Arrey Uncle, please get in”. The 65+ year old man, who had gone to great lengths to appear younger, looked crestfallen as he got in. He looked around the cabin, found at least two promising candidates who could maybe be impressed with his knowledge of old romantic songs and cool demeanor.

“Chunnu, wear this monkey-cap” said the OGW to the adolescent boy.

“It’s a balaclava, mom! And I am not cold!”, he said, his face burning with shame.

“Shut up and do what I say!” said the OGW.

“And call me Shravan in public, not Chunnu”, he muttered under his breath.

“How cute you look when angry!” said the OGW, planting a large wet kiss on his cheek.

From the corner of his eye, he checked to see if the student noticed it. She was busy trying to appear cool, but not cold.

“The trip will last about 10 minutes”, said the guide.

As the cable car started, there was some shuffling as people settled down.

“If you don’t have space to sit, you can sit on Reshmi’s lap”, said the HMC, feeling noble for making such a suggestion.

“Go on Chunnu, sit on Akka’s lap”, added OGW.

“I am fine. Will you just stop it?”, he answered angrily. Akka, indeed!!.

“Look at all the green cover. It is like seeing the Goddess Parvathi!”, said HMC, feeling pious and at the same time proud for feeling that way.

“And the serenity! So quiet! You can never experience such quietude in the city”, said OGW, with an exaggerated sigh.

Finding an opening finally, the student started humming a popular Hindi song. She tried to hide the tremor in her voice. “Damn, it is difficult to be fashionable on a hilltop!”, she thought. The guide seemed to be lost in thought.

“Look down, there are two people walking in the valley”, said the student, hoping the guide would look up and give her some explanation.

“They must be locals”, said OGW.

“They must be leading healthy lives – what with all the pure water, the walks and the herbs-infused air they breathe in everyday”, said HMC, in the tone of one delivering an important life lesson to those around her.

“I go on walks everyday on Marina Beach and have wheatgrass juice. You are right, these things do help in staying youthful”, said Uncle, tired of waiting for the women to tell him about his youthful looks.

The adolescent meanwhile, had been thinking of face-saving measures. “You could just close your eyes, and feel the breeze on your face and experience the silence”, he said. It definitely sounded poetic to him.

“He is so right! We can never get kind of silence anywhere else. We should just cherish it!”, said HMC. She could talk about the beauty of silence too!

Uncle seemed desperate to be noticed and started singing an old song.

“I wonder what the locals eat and where they shop for food”, said the student, looking at the guide.

“I am sure they eat the tubers available in the forest. And fresh herbs!”, said HMC, with a confidence she did not feel.

“There are groceries in the valley. People eat regular food here, just like you do”, said the guide.

OGW meanwhile was attempting to meditate. She tried the lotus pose. The bloody tummy was in the way, so she sat in half-lotus, and kept her eyes closed. She could feel HMC’s eyes on her. “That should teach the arrogant bitch – trying to act all pious and holy!”, she thought.

She had to open her eyes a little on hearing some kind of buzzing. HMC had her prayer beads out and was chanting “Om”.

There was a screeching noise as the cable car came to a slow and grinding halt. The others from the group, who had reached before them, came to receive them.

“Didi, please come back soon after darshan. My son is sick and I need to take him to the doctor. I can do it only after I take you all back down”, said the guide, looking at the student, who gave him a look of pure disgust.

“It was a sublime experience”, said Uncle to another equally old man. “You could almost feel the silence like a living thing”.