Episode 23
"Leave me, otherwise I will report to the Dean." Rajan screamed as he was forcibly held from behind by Ranjan, while Ranjan's crotch firmly pressed against Rajan's buttocks. Rajan tried his best to wiggle out of the grip, but his short physique was not strong enough to overpower a taller and muscular guy like Ranjan. Ranjan, hailing from West Bengal, was his batch mate, sharing the same room with Rajan. Ranjan was notorious in the campus for having homosexual tendencies, and even at that time when it was considered as crime, he was proud to boast about his sexuality openly.
Rajan was completely opposite: he considered homosexuals as queer animals who needed to be culled to save the world. However, unlike Ranjan, he never expressed his opinion in public, as he was fearful. Rajan was shaken to the core in the third year, when he got Ranjan as his roommate. He hated homosexuals so much that he immediately went to the Dean to change his partner. But, the Dean laughed off his fears telling him to report to him immediately if Ranjan tried anything wrong.
From the very first day, Rajan warned Ranjan that if he tried anything silly, he would immediately report to the Dean. He also made him aware of his conversations with the Dean. Ranjan simply snapped at Rajan saying,
"Don't be afraid my friend. I may be homosexual, but I am not a rapist. You might think that homosexuality is a disease, and homosexuals are the worst people in the world. But, I am afraid my friend, the reality is not like that. Homosexuals are also created by the God, and homosexuality is as old as our civilization. As long as the two partners are willing, you have no right to tell what is right and what is wrong. But yes, homosexuals have no right to force anybody who is unwilling or who is a minor. That's crime, and I will be the first one to flag that."
Ranjan, indeed, kept his promise, and never disturbed Rajan for his entire stay as his roommate. "But, why is he doing this today?" Rajan could not understand this, and as he tried harder to wiggle, the grip became stronger. Rajan fell short of breath, and he was panting. At that moment, his nightmare was broken, and he woke up hurriedly. Indeed, he was sweating in the comfortable temperature and humidity controlled room. Rajan realized that his hands resting on his heart might have been the immediate cause of his uneasiness, but he could not understand why he saw that queer dream! He could not sleep for the rest of time alotted for sleeping.
Rajan started thinking about his predicament. Rajan had cleared his second test of running 4 km distance without stopping in the next attempt. But, for the reason, which was hard for Rajan to comprehend, he had been taken to the same place in the morning for the next 5 days. He was ordered to run fast. The length gradually became shorter, and the target time to complete became steeper. In the last 2 days he was asked to run only 100 meters as fast as possible.
Rajan asked several times why he was doing that. The Bengali remained tight-lipped citing the reason that he was not authorised to speak. During the last run, when Rajan cleared the 16 second barrier for the 100 m run, the guy said, "Congratulations Sweetie! You have got a chance!"
At that moment Rajan was so tired that he could not pay much attention to the cryptic words of the Bengali. But, now when he again thought of the words, suddenly an old incident flashed through his mind. Didn't the Bengali addresses him Sweetie?
"Sweetie? Oh my God!" The words spontaneously came out of his mind, as Rajan remembered vividly that Ranjan used to address him this way during his one year sharing of the room. Did that mean that the ruthless Bengali was Ranjan? Yes, it had to be him. No one else in the entire universe had ever called him like that. Now, everything became clear to Rajan.
Rajan knew very well that Ranjan had every reason to take revenge against him. Though, Ranjan had never touched Rajan, Rajan's hatred towards the homosexuals was so deep that at the end of the third year, he falsely complained against Ranjan. Rajan being the blue-eyed boy in the eyes of the faculty for his merit, the Dean hadn't acted judiciously. As Ranjan had already been infamous for his open boasting in favour of homosexuality, the board of investigation, too, had been biased in its verdict. Ranjan, who, too, was a very good student, was expelled from the IIT because of the false complain of Rajan.
Now, Rajan understood everything. It had to be Ranjan, who was taking revenge against him. Rajan, from the experience of one year of sharing room with Ranjan knew that Ranjan was like a coconut: hard at the exterior, but soft in interior. Rajan got a glimmer of hope. If he admitted his guilt, and prayed for his mercy, he was sure, Ranjan would exonerate him from his sin. Rajan again fell asleep, this time with a hint of relief on his face.
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The skin under the both feet of Archana was so badly burnt that Archana thought that she would never be able to walk on her feet. But, she was amazed to see that she was operated on the same night of that incident. She didn't know what exactly had happened, as she was anesthetized during the operation. But, next morning, she was astonished to the core to note that her feet were absolutely normal. But, the masked doctor told her to take 3 days of rest.
Archana was shocked to the core after 3 days, when she was shifted to her room, to see the disgusting face of Joker appearing on the television monitor in her room. In a condescending voice he said,
"I told you Honey! My doctors are wizards! No less than your God, I vouch! They can revitalise even a dead person. Curing your mildly-burnt skin was a cakewalk for them."
The Joker paused for complete 1 minute. For a brief moment, Archana doubted was it Atal Behari Vajpayee, who used to take a lot of time between his bites! But, Archana knew that the pious soul had left the world long ago. The sense of happiness had vanished from his voice as he continued,
"I am rather sorry to give the information that all the previous participants had passed the first 3 tests. The first 3 tests had been rather easy. These were preparatory tests. You know what? People accuse of me being a very ruthless, cruel man. But, in reality, I am a very kind man. I prepare you, and give you plenty of time to pass all the tests."
To be continued
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