Episode 3
The last time Archana was intimate with Rajan on bed was more than 2 years back. Whatever maybe the reason, excessive work pressure leading to fatigue or the mid-life crisis, she didn't know, Rajan had lost interest in Archana long time back. While Archana was 38, Rajan was 10 years older than her.Siddharth was a junior colleague in Rajan's team in the company. As he hailed from the same state of Andhra Pradesh, they had formed a cordial bonding among themselves. Siddharth being a bachelor and sharing an apartment with 5 of his colleagues hailing from different states in India, Rajan had often called him for dinner to be prepared by his wife Archana.
Initially, Archana was not that enthusiast about preparing dishes for another man. But, very soon, Siddharth's charming personality, and his sugary praises about her cooking, which Archana knew was not that great, softened her stance. It didn't take much longer for them to share their phone numbers and email ids. Siddharth gave Archana which she had been desperately searching for years: attention. Despite his busy schedule, he always picked her calls, chatted with her over WhatsApp, and emails.
Very soon they began to meet outside in shopping malls, movie theatres and music programmes. Their emotional bonding was complete.
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Rajan had never played any game since he was 10 years old. His father was a clerk at a private company. He drew a salary that was too meager for his family of 6: he and his spouse and 4 children of whom Rajan was the eldest. He had seen prospect in Rajan, and encouraged him to study hard. Rajan had seen proverty, he knew he had to succeed in life to get rid of it, and he had to take care of his younger siblings. So, he relinquished all the worldly pleasures to concentrate whole-heartedly on studies. His father could not afford private tutors, but that didn't deter Rajan form progressing with the help of his dogged tenacity. His school teachers helped him generously. His was the case of hard work paying off. After class XII, his was the case of grand success. He got chance in the IIT Chennai, and never looked back.
Sometimes, the smell of success acts as an intoxicant, and people deviate from the right path. Marriage, also, can make a man to change his course of action. But, Rajan was the one, and he was very proud of it, who never forgot his obligations. From the very beginning of his career, he had been sending 50% of his earnings to his family in Andhra Pradesh.
As he never played games after he was 10 years old, when someone tripped him on the road, he fell like a felled tree. He didn't know how to use his hands to lessen the impact of the fall. Thus, his face got a huge thump, and he became senseless immediately.
When he gained his consciousness, he could not see anything. He blinked his eyes on numerous times without any success in watching light. He wanted to pinch himself to check his consciousness. But, he found something was obstructing him in reaching his left forearm. Rajan tried harder only to get the feeling of some sharp metal biting his wrist. Soon, he realized that he had been handcuffed, and the steel was so tightly held to his wrist that if he tried to remove it, it made an incision.
Rajan had never been in such a precariously helpless situation. He cried for help, " Is there anyone here? Please help me."
No one responded. Rajan shouted harder again and again. But, no one came. After 30 minutes of continuous shouting, Rajan realized that no one was listening to him. "How come?" He wondered. At last, he resigned. He tried hard to remember what happened last when he had consciousness.
To be continued
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