By The Bridge
She stood at the end of the bridge, wondering how could life be so cruel. Her tall and slender
body faced the ocean as her hollow grey eyes gazed ahead emptily. The cold breeze toyed with
her sable black hair that drooped till her shoulders. She was not a day over twenty yet she
seemed aged.
‘Excuse me, ma’am.’
She heard a distant voice trying to reach out to her but she did not try to identify the source as
she was too tangled in her own thoughts to pay any heed to her surroundings. The voice
persisted. Finally, she gave in and looked back to find a lean man with a dark-complexion
addressing her in his husky voice.
‘Hi, I am Aarnav. I work at the nearby café.’
‘Hey,’ she replied.
‘The weather’s so pleasant today, isn’t it?’ he said, in an attempt to strike up a conversation.
‘Yeah, it is.’
‘I have been noticing you for quite a while now. You stand on this exact spot every single day
and you don’t leave until the ocean is no longer visible,’ he remarked.
‘That’s right,’ she replied, nonchalantly.
‘And you come here alone, why is that? I mean, usually, people come here with their family,
partner or friends.’
‘Usually’, nothing in her life was ‘usual’.
‘I like spending my time alone,’ she lied. The bitter truth was that she had no one who could
accompany her or no one in her life at all, for that matter.
‘Maybe you can try coming here with other people. It feels great to have someone to talk to,
someone to share our thoughts and emotions with. Even the most boring topics seem fun and
interesting if you are with the right person.’
‘The right person,’ she mumbled to herself. All of this was foreign to her, she couldn’t even
remember the last time she genuinely enjoyed someone’s company.
‘I’ve noticed that your gaze is always intended at the ocean, any reason for that?’ he inquired,
curiously.
‘It reminds me of someone,’ she answered. All the while, her eyes were set intently ahead, upon
the ocean.
‘That someone must be really special, huh? It’s hard to avert your gaze from that ocean.’
This time, she did avert her gaze and looked Aarnav straight in the eyes, with all her attention.
He noticed a peculiar look in her eyes that emerged with the mention of That Someone. It sent a
chill down his spine. This was enough for him to realize that the topic was too sensitive.
She parted her lips and uttered only two syllables, ‘She was.’
Although short in length, her response created a huge impact on Aarnav’s mind. Numerous
questions started racing around his mind like horses on a racetrack. What was that look in her eyes?
Who is this girl? Who was that special someone that roused that strange look in the girl’s eyes?
Was? Why did she use the past tense? the question flashed across Aarnav’s mind but he did not voice
it just yet. Although curious, he was cautious enough to not touch upon such a sensitive topic.
He wanted to ask a hundred questions but the only words that left his mouth were, ‘I see.’
All of a sudden, he felt the air around him go denser, darker. It made him extremely uneasy, as if
he had touched upon something forbidden.
In an attempt to change the topic, he hurriedly uttered, ‘I can accompany you whenever you
want. I work nearby so I am always here and my home isn’t so far away either.’
Aarnav wasn’t the only one who had a hundred questions in mind. The girl was also perplexed.
Who is this guy? Why does he want to accompany me? why me out of all the people that come here? Am I even
worth his time?
She had grown so accustomed to her solitude that she couldn’t muster up a response to such
kindness. All she could say in reply was ‘Thank you.’
‘It’s getting late.’ He observed.
‘The sun is about to set. I should leave now.’
‘Right, see you tomorrow. Take care.’
‘You too.’
And like that, they parted ways. Only after the girl was out of sight, did Aarnav realize that he did
not even know her name. She was a mystery that he wanted to unfold. Her distant aura made
him want to know her more. His head buzzed with a hundred questions as he headed back to his
home.
The next day arrived and this time he got a full introduction… by Dharvi. Each day’s evening
was spent the same way, talking. Although, it was Aarnav that did the talking for most of the
time but with time, Dharvi opened up to him. She stood on the exact spot every single day and
didn’t leave until the ocean was no longer visible but no longer alone.
It became a daily routine for both of them. They would stand there and talk, share their thoughts
and emotions… or so he thought.
It happened so suddenly. Without any noticed.
She disappeared.
He waited for her for days on end but she did not turn up. It made him anxious to the point he
couldn’t sleep. Finally, he decided to take action. He inquired people about her and looked for
her in every other neighbourhood visible.
He scanned every place in an attempt to find clues about the girl. He looked out for even the
slightest of hints, anything would do. He needed to know what had happened to her.
While inquiring people about her whereabouts, he spotted an elderly woman, her back hunched,
gait limped and hair grey. Her face arrayed a multitude of wrinkles which seemed to be an
indication of her longevity.
He walked over to her and in a polite manner said ‘Excuse me, ma’am.’
The woman turned around and looked up at Aarnav. He took her silence as a queue to continue
and asked ‘I am looking for a girl named Dharvi, do you know where I can find her?’
‘May I know who you are?’
‘I am her friend, Aarnav.’
‘Follow me.’
The elderly woman started limping towards an empty alley. Although reluctant, Aarnav followed.
This alley was differentiated from the neighbouring ones. While the other alleys had modern and
vibrantly painted houses, the paint on the houses of this alley had fainted and what remained was
tar-black soot, slowly engulfing the houses. Some of them had been swallowed whole by giant
banyan trees whose twisted branches looked like the tentacles of an octopus ready to devour its
prey.
After a few minutes of walking Aarnav found himself in front of an old-looking house that
looked like it had been abandoned by the residents long ago. The woman led Aarnav up the
dingy staircase to an open hall whose walls were painted white yet they were dull due to the
layers of dust they had on them.
The woman showed him to the couch, which made a creaking noise as he sat down. Just as he
was about to voice the tons of questions that had risen in his mind during the seemingly short
journey, the woman disappeared into a small room in the corner of the hall.
Aarnav’s curiosity was slowly eating him away from the inside. ‘How much more will I have to
wait?’ he thought, broodingly. Not much. Right after, the lady appeared from that room which,
apparently, was the kitchen. She carried a shiny steel plate filled with biscuits in one hand and a
cup of chai in the other. After laying them on the table, she sat on the couch opposite to
Aarnav’s. ‘Thank you,’ he said with a warm smile.
‘About Dharvi, can you lead me to her?’ he asked inquisitively, eager to get the answer out as
soon as possible.
‘No.’
What!? Is she out of her mind? I’ve been polite with her all this while only to get this in turn?
What was even the point of bringing me all the way here, then? Aarnav was a raging bull. He
couldn’t believe what he just heard.
‘Because she is dead.’
Aarnav dropped the cup from his hold and its content emptied on his khaki shorts.
‘You’re playing a joke on me, lady. It’s enough now. Enough of you and your bullshit,’ the words
were spat out from his mouth like fire from a dragon’s as he got up on his feet to leave.
‘Stop. Once you leave this room, there is no coming back cause no one else knows what
happened to her,’ the lady shot back.
Although furious, Aarnav tried to think calmly. He took a deep breath in order to calm his
nerves and said ‘How can I trust you?’
‘You have been trusting me up until now. You wouldn’t have followed me all the way here if you
didn’t.’
‘She does have a point,’ he thought but didn’t admit it and hence, remained silent.
‘Sit.’
He did.
When Aarnav came down a notch and was ready to listen, they lady started her tale.
‘Dharvi was a single child, in a family of three. Dharvi, her mother and her father. Remember the
neighbouring alley? They lived in one of those houses. Mr and Mrs Kapoor first met when they
were eighteen, in college. From there, they slowly started to fall for each other, harder and
harder, with each passing day. By the time they were twenty-two, they decided to marry each
other, they wanted to announce it to the world that they were one. Nothing could tear them
apart… or so they thought. That was the peak of their time together.’
Aarnav summoned all his attention and focused on the lady’s words.
‘How do you know that?’
‘I used to work at their house as a house maid. At the time they employed me, they were a newly
wed couple. That was also when they moved to that alley,’ she answered.
‘From what you mentioned, they seem like a happy, young couple. How could their relationship
degrade like you say? What went wrong and where are they now?
‘Patience kid, patience. I understand that you are eager to get your answers, I’m getting there.’
And so, Aarnav let the lady continue with her tale. He sat still, unconscious of his tight grip on
the edge of the couch.
The lady cleared her throat and began once again.
‘After about a year or two of them being together, they planned to welcome a third member. A
little one. A baby. Dharvi. The couple was ecstatic. Their love for each other grew more and
more when Mrs. Kapoor got pregnant. Mr. Kapoor was the most caring husband while she was
pregnant. He took care of her medicines, meals, doctor’s appointments and everything she
needed. After nine months of carrying Dharvi in her belly, she finally came out. An adorable
little angel, loved by everyone. They were happy couple with a little angel, a gift from God. Mr.
Kapoor’s business was also booming. He made profits like never before. Everything was
perfect… until it wasn’t.’
‘Why? What happened?’
‘Mr. Kapoor’s alcohol addiction got out of hand. He started to come home late at night, drunk.
Once, Mrs. Kapoor, in a frenzy, slammed his bottle of whiskey on the ground. He shot up from
the bed and smacked her across the face… for his bottle. All of this for a bottle of whiskey.
From then on, it worsened. Everything went downhill.
The alcohol was getting to his brain. The addiction took a toll on his business as well. All of his
profits turned to losses. His company went bankrupt, the employees left due to the low wages
and so did the investors.’
‘What about Dharvi? What happened to her?’
‘From her very childhood, she did not have anyone whom she could call friend, let alone family.
And the very rare ones whom she could call family, all left, one after the other, shattering her
sense of reality.
Oh, the poor girl, she grew up watching her father beat her mum. She used to stand there,
helpless. Tears trickling down her cheek, each time his father raised his hand to lay it on her
mum. Who could she even go to? She had no one.
With time, she became very reserved… quiet. She rarely ever uttered even a syllable as if
someone would beat her too, if she spoke.’
‘Did you not try to help?’
‘If only I could. I still hold a deep regret in my heart about that. Maybe, things would be different
now, if I had meddled. I think about the girl every day.’
‘Then came a point when Mrs. Kapoor just couldn’t take it anymore, she gave up. The abuse was
both mental and physical. It was too much.
She went to the bridge by the ocean… and jumped. She drowned herself to death. Days later, a
fisherman found her body and reported it to the police.’
Aarnav had a moment of epiphany. It all made sense now. Dharvi’s words started flashing in his
mind like thunder on a dark, rainy day.
It reminds me of someone.
She was.
That someone.
It felt like the puzzle was finally coming together.
He was turning red with rage for that cruel wife-beater.
‘Why did no one try to report that bastard?’
‘Because no one knew. In these cities, people don’t care for their neighbours. They rarely ever
greet each other. Too much occupied with their own lives to care. How could they possibly help
if they didn’t even know the problem?’
‘Fuck.’
‘After her mother’s death, the girl’s only source of love, care and affection was lost. She was
shattered. I don’t know much about what happened afterwards as I no longer worked there but I
know for a fact that this trauma scarred the girl for her lifetime. She was so little, so young and
vulnerable.’
‘Where’s the bastard now?’
‘Dead.’
‘Good riddance.’ He was ready to kill him, if he hadn’t already died.
‘He died very recently of a heart stroke. No surprise, it was bound to happen.’
‘He deserved a more cruel death. This was mercy,’ he growled, bitterly.
‘Now finally, where is Dharvi?’
This was all that he cared for now. Dharvi.
‘In a better place, hopefully. With her mother. She hung herself from a ceiling fan.
She too gave up.’