32
Nivan tapped the mute button and asked, ‘What happened?’ He felt Rivanah had perhaps identified the voice. She didn’t react though.
‘Do you know the person?’ he egged on.
Rivanah nodded. She was too shocked to talk. Is Danny the Stranger? Both Nivan’s and mine?
‘Hello?’
Danny was still on line. Nivan, who was still looking at Rivanah, tapped on the red button and the call ended.
‘Is this the same voice who talks to you?’ Nivan asked.
‘No. But then it never was one voice throughout.’
‘Same here. Sometimes it’s a woman, sometimes an old man and sometimes a teenager. This time it’s a man.’
A man who feigned Danny’s voice? Or was it Danny himself? Rivanah said, ‘Precisely. I’ll wait till the Stranger contacts me.’ She didn’t feel comfortable mentioning Danny to Nivan—especially their shared past. The moment she left Nivan’s cabin, she once again dialled all the numbers belonging to the Stranger. They were still not available. Frustrated, she checked her Contacts and realized she’d deleted Danny’s number long back. She checked her Truecaller history and finally got Danny’s number. She saved it under his name. On a hunch, she went back to Nivan’s cabin.
‘Could I please get the number you called for the Stranger? Just in case . . .’
‘Sure.’ Nivan called out the number. As she punched it in her dial pad, she thanked Nivan and stepped out to dial the number. Her phone’s screen soon flashed ‘Calling Danny’. The number which Nivan stored as ‘Stranger’ in his phone was in fact Danny’s number. Going by the record, it could be a duplicate sim and a mimicked voice, but Rivanah knew she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything till she was sure. The phone kept ringing and was finally picked up. Is it because he still has my number and is in two minds seeing my name? Rivanah wondered, and heard him say, ‘Hi.’
‘Hi ba—’ Rivanah was about to say ‘baby’ but paused at the right moment. It was funny how relationships programmed a mind.
‘What happened suddenly?’ Danny said.
I’ll have to meet him, she thought, but said, ‘Congrats on the film thing.’ She was already framing her next sentence in her mind as she heard him say, ‘Thank you. I thought you would never call.’
‘I thought you wouldn’t pick up.’
‘I thought you wouldn’t think about me.’
‘I thought you wouldn’t talk to me.’
There was silence. Did Danny react the way he did because he wanted to leave her alone, because he indeed was the Stranger? Was his entire plan of coming into her life as a sexy neighbour an attempt to be close to her to know her every move? Why would he do that? And why would he behave the same with Nivan? Things might clear up, she thought, if we met once. Rivanah was praying Danny himself would mention the meeting part, as it was becoming tougher for her to say it aloud. Deep down, she knew even this time she didn’t want to meet him because she was missing him, but she wanted to know if his phone really had received a call from Nivan.
‘Listen, I’m shooting for a magazine. I’ll have to go.’
‘Can we meet for some time today?’ Rivanah finally blurted out.
‘Okay. I’ll be with a friend in Boveda later in the evening.’
It was clear he didn’t want to rekindle anything between them, or else he wouldn’t be rude enough to meet her while he was meeting a friend.
‘Sure.’ Rivanah thought she too would make it clear she wasn’t looking to go back into the past.
‘Around eight,’ Danny said.
Rivanah was late by half an hour due to heavy traffic. Before she could guide the cab driver to the place, she received an unexpected call.
‘Is that Rivanah Bannerjee?’
‘Speaking, who is it?’
‘This is Inspector Kamble.’
It took few seconds for Rivanah to recollect who Inspector Kamble was.
‘How are you, sir?’
‘I’m good. How are you doing? Glad you remember.’
‘I’m good too.’
‘Listen, would it possible for you to come down to the Goregaon police station anytime soon.’
‘Now?’
‘Not now. But maybe tomorrow.’
‘Sure, I will. But what happened?’
‘There’s something I want to talk to you about. Will tell you when we meet.’
‘All right, sir.’
Rivanah remembered how worried Inspector Kamble used to be for his daughter, though the last time she met him, he had told her she had got a job in Mumbai itself. Rivanah guided the cab driver and reached Boveda soon. She entered to realize a karaoke night was in full swing. A guy and a girl were singing an Enrique song. It wasn’t long before Rivanah’s eyes located Danny. He was looking happier than ever before, talking to a girl. Danny’s eyes spotted Rivanah as he stood up. She understood he didn’t want her to come up to him. The girl with whom Danny was sitting had her back to Rivanah. She turned to flash a smile at her. It was Nitya. The sight of her was like a bullet through her heart. Did Danny intentionally call her there because he was meeting Nitya? Or did he meet Nitya because Rivanah wanted to meet him? Were Danny and Nitya in a relationship?
‘Let’s go outside. I need to smoke,’ Danny said as he walked past Rivanah. He didn’t even appreciate the fact that they were meeting after a long time. She was ready for a hug even if it was going to be awkward. She turned to follow Danny outside. He lit a cigarette.
‘When did this happen?’ Rivanah said. Seeing her glance at Nitya, Danny knew what she was talking about.
‘Never you mind,’ he said, looking around constantly, as if he thought someone was filming him.
For Rivanah, those three words were loaded enough to answer her query regarding Nitya’s presence. They were seeing each other. A casual glance at Nitya told her she was smirking at her. I-finally-won-bitch kind of smirk. A slight anger nudged her, but Rivanah knew she didn’t have the right to express it.
‘What’s up?’ Danny said.
If he wants to keep it to the point, I shall keep it to the point, Rivanah decided and said, ‘I want to see your phone’s call list once.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me.’
‘What for? And what makes you think you still have the right to check my phone?’
‘I know I don’t. That’s why I am asking you. It’s related to the Stranger,’ she said and noticed Danny pause in between a puff, and then release the smoke at one go.
‘I’m sorry, but I don’t want to show you my phone.’
‘Why not?’
Danny’s hesitation persuaded Rivanah to believe her suspicions: Danny perhaps was the Stranger.
‘A phone is a personal belonging.’
‘I am not interested in your chats or pictures. All I want you to do is open your call history and show it to me. You don’t have to give the phone to me.’
‘Call history?’
‘What’s happening, baby?’ It was Nitya.
‘Nothing. She wants to see my call history.’
‘You sure you haven’t lost it, Rivanah?’ Nitya said. It was quite insulting, but Rivanah didn’t react.
‘One glimpse, Danny, and I shall be forever gone.’
Danny and Nitya exchanged a glance. Nitya took Danny’s phone and unlocked it. The fact that Rivanah never knew Danny’s password made her feel inferior. But it was momentary. Nitya held the phone flashing the call history in front of Rivanah. The latter read on quickly. Nitya, Nitya, Nitya . . . some other names . . . couple of random numbers . . . not Nivan’s.
‘How much longer?’ Nitya asked.
‘Did you delete any number, Danny?’ Rivanah asked.
‘I really think you should visit a shrink, girl,’ Nitya said.
‘Excuse me, but I’m not talking to you,’ Rivanah said, looking from Nitya to Danny.
‘I too think you need to visit a shrink,’ Danny said. Nitya almost pulled him inside. Did he delet
e the number or did he really not have any idea why she wanted to check his phone? A frustrated Rivanah left Boveda.
Half an hour later, she was in her flat in the Residency Enclave. Sitting on her bed, she had no clue what she should do next. Was it really supposed to end this way? The Stranger withdrawing without any notice after revealing what a bitch she had been to Hiya? The Stranger was still in touch with Nivan, then why not her? Why did the Stranger choose to talk in Danny’s voice? Was Danny even speaking the truth? If he had deleted the number, she would never know. And she couldn’t approach him again. Especially after the way both he and Nitya had treated her some time back. Rivanah lifted her head up and her eyes fell on the sketch stand. Hiya’s face was half covered with something. She frowned. It was an A4 sheet. In fact, there were two sheets stapled together and taped to one edge of the sketch. Rivanah took it out. It read like a chat transcript between two people: the Stranger and Hiya. Before she could begin reading, something occurred to her and she rushed to the main gate. In two minutes, she reached the security guard’s room. She checked the visitors’ book but there was no entry mentioning a visitor to her flat. She asked the guard to show her the CCTV footage of her floor. Every corner of the Residency Enclave was under CCTV surveillance 24/7. As the guard played the footage for the day, Rivanah sat still beside him, staring unblinkingly at the screen. She could see the newspaper man, the sweepers and some residents coming into view and moving out. She saw Nivan leaving for work. She saw herself as well. She slowly started forwarding the footage until she stopped at a particular segment. Time 14.06. Someone had entered her flat through the front door and a minute later had stepped out. The person was wearing a cap, shades, jeans and a tight-fitting tee. Rivanah had made love to this man several times. How could she mistake him for anyone else? She paused the frame just before the person was about to enter the elevator.
‘Do you know the person, madam?’ the security guard asked, as Rivanah stared at the frozen image of Danny speechlessly.
33
It was late. Rivanah walked to Nivan’s door but wasn’t sure if she should ring the doorbell this late in the night. She decided against it and settled on her couch, clutching the chat transcript in her hand. Finally, she knew who the Stranger was. She read through the transcript in her hand.
Hiya: I know you did something so I couldn’t go to the college on time. Tell me, what did you do?
Stranger: I didn’t do anything.
Hiya: Wrong. You did. I don’t know why you are after my life.
Stranger: I only want you to know your worth, Hiya.
Hiya: Cut the bullshit. You want to kill me. You knew how badly I wanted this job. My family is looking up to me to secure the job and then sponsor my little brother’s dialysis. You knew it, damn it, and still you didn’t let me have it.
Stranger: As I said, I wasn’t the one who stalled you from going to college today.
Hiya: What’s the use of lying to me now? Whoever you are, just know that you’ve left me with no option other than the one I’m opting for now.
Stranger: Hold on, Hiya. Don’t be presumptuous.
Hiya: I did whatever you asked me to. I thought you were a friend.
Stranger: Hiya, you won’t do anything which upsets me.
Hiya: Go to hell.
Stranger: Let me come to you.
Hiya: I don’t care any more.
Stranger: Hiya.
Stranger: Hiya?
Rivanah knew why Hiya didn’t respond—the date and time of the message was printed in a corner. It was the same night that Hiya was found hanging in her room. Hiya died without knowing it was Rivanah who had mixed the sleeping pills in her coffee which made her wake up late. Too late. Why does the Stranger—or Danny—want me to read this? Rivanah tried to guess the answer. Was it because he didn’t want her to feel guilty about the fact that she thought she led Hiya to kill herself? Had Hiya known it was Rivanah who mixed those sleeping pills, she would have been upset but probably not killed herself? She probably wrongly assumed the Stranger would lead her to her doom, and thus, burdened with the brother’s medical condition, hanged herself? It could be true as much as it could be false. Whatever she guessed would only be an inference of the truth but not the truth itself. And the one who could tell her the truth was the Stranger—Danny—whom she couldn’t contact. He had—cleverly—made sure of that by bringing Nitya into the picture earlier in the evening. But she could make sure he came to her. If he was the Stranger then Danny would definitely come to her. She eyed the last words of the Stranger to Hiya in the transcript: Let me come to you. And that sort of desperation happened because the Stranger was convinced Hiya would kill herself. Rivanah knew what she had to do to summon Danny to her on his own will. She had tried to do it once before too. But that was pretence. This time it won’t be pretence.
The next day Rivanah was quiet in the office. Nivan asked her if she managed to get through to the Stranger, but she was cold about it. She did dial the stored phone numbers again but they were still suspended. After lunch, she got a phone call from Kamble saying he was busy that day and asked if she could meet up the next day. Rivanah confirmed she would.
In the evening, while going back to her flat, time and again she kept stretching her hand out of the cab and clicking random photographs of the traffic behind her using her phone—a total of five clicks. And as she kept checking the photographs, she broke into a smile. One biker was common in all the photographs. She was right. She was still being followed. It wasn’t over yet. Rivanah intentionally got down in front of the Residency Enclave and walked inside. She sipped her tea by the huge French windows in the drawing room overlooking the sea in the distance. Then she asked one of the security guards to come up with the terrace keys. The moment the guard came, she told him she had to check her dish antenna and so wanted the door to the terrace to be unlocked. The guard unlocked the terrace for her and waited. She asked him to leave and said that she would call him when she is done. The Stranger wouldn’t appear if the guard was there with her. As the guard left reluctantly, Rivanah went to the edge of the terrace. A fierce sea breeze hit her hard. She felt at peace. She was almost lost at the sight of the sea ahead when she heard the sound of the elevator coming from the main control room atop the terrace. Her hunch told her the elevator would stop at the sixteenth floor—it did. The same hunch told her the one inside would take the steps to the terrace and would stop by the main door. Rivanah didn’t turn around but could feel a presence. Something hit her. She bent down and picked it up. There was a pebble in the piece of paper crumpled into a ball. She dropped the pebble and read the words on the paper:
You don’t have to do it, Mini.
Finally, for once, she was ahead of the Stranger. Of Danny. She turned around but saw only darkness by the terrace door.
‘Why don’t you show yourself, Danny? I know it’s you,’ she said aloud.
Seconds later, another paper ball with a pebble in it reached her.
Everything has consequences, Mini. Revealing who I am will have its own share of consequences.
‘Why are you still so cryptic? I thank you for making me realize what my blunder was. How I lead Hiya to kill herself, but I also want to thank you for helping me learn to live with my blunders.’
Hiya didn’t get the job because of you. But she died because of me.
Rivanah had understood it while reading the chat transcript.
‘But what is it all about? Who are you really? What did you gain by being Hiya’s Stranger, then mine and Nivan’s too? Why did you keep reminding Hiya and me to know our worth?’
Can’t we end this without questions?
‘No, we can’t. This isn’t the time to play games, Danny. I know you still love me. Whatever you did in the ATM at Kalyan or at Boveda was all an act. Wasn’t it?’
A paper ball reached her after a while.
Yes, I love you, Mini.
Rivanah could have cried reading it. Finally, there was some hope
in her life. The line reminded her of what Nivan had told her once about standing by your choices. Another paper ball hit her.
I shall ask you one more time. Think and answer, because this choice of yours and mine will affect lives. It will be a lot of responsibility for you if I show myself. Are you sure you can handle it?
‘I’m dead sure I can handle whatever it is. Especially after whatever you have been helping me learn.’
I’m happy, Mini, that it was all worth it.
‘I want to hug you, Danny. Right now.’
Not now. We are being watched. We meet tomorrow, 8 a.m. sharp, at the edge of Nariman Point.
Rivanah heard the terrace door close. Danny was gone. What made him say they were being watched? Why was he so secretive even when she knew his identity? Most importantly, why did Danny have to play the role of Stranger in her life?
One more night—she checked the time on her phone—ten hours to be precise. And things shall become clear once and for all. Sleep was a distant cry for her. She was awake till six in the morning. Then she took a bath, got ready and took a cab to Nariman Point—the tip of Marine Drive in South Mumbai. She reached at the spot ten minutes before time. There were a few people sitting at some distance on the cemented barricade of Marine Drive and some others walking and jogging on the sidetrack. She was the only one standing at the edge. The morning breeze strengthened the hope she felt when she had read that Danny still loved her. Rivanah felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around in a flash.
‘Hello, Mini, I’m your Stranger.’
34
Rivanah’s jaw slowly fell open.
‘What the—’ she just began but was stopped by a finger on her lips.
‘You don’t get to talk today. Only I do,’ the person said. Rivanah kept staring at him as if she was looking at him for the first time.
‘This is more complex, sinister and pertinent than you can even imagine, Mini. And it has rules. None of this is random. None of this can be proved.’
Forget Me Not, Stranger Page 19
