Marry Me, Stranger

by Novoneel Chakraborty

  One day while sitting in the Barista cafe at Band Stand, Prateek asked her, ‘Have you forgotten Ekansh totally?’

  ‘Yes,’ Rivanah replied promptly lest her lie be caught.

  ‘Then is there any place for me now?’

  This was the propose moment which she knew could happen anytime and thus she had her answer ready.

  ‘We should take it slowly, Prateek. I just had a break up. I don’t want you to be my rebound.’

  Prateek sat gloomily for some time and then said, ‘I think you are right, but I’m scared too.’

  ‘Scared of what?’

  ‘What if someone else takes the place before I do? I lost my chance once in school. I don’t want to lose you again.’

  Rivanah sat in silence sipping her coffee and looking at the horizon far across the Bandstand on whose lap the sun was setting. She would have to convince Prateek to give it some more time without being obvious that she didn’t really love him.

  ‘Do you believe in destiny Prateek?’ she asked.

  ‘I do.’

  ‘So do I. And if we are destined to be together, then we will. Let’s not kill our friendship trying to force things upon it.’ She tried to sound as mild as possible. Come what may, she didn’t want to disturb what she had formed with him over the course of a few weeks; a relationship with no stakes from her side.

  ‘Alright,’ Prateek said. ‘By the way, can we please have dinner together? Last week you had a headache so we couldn’t go.’

  ‘Oh dear. I would have love to, but I’m menstruating, and my stomach hurts real bad on the second day. In fact, my abdomen is already aching a bit.’

  ‘Can I do something to ease the pain?’

  ‘No, thanks. Not tonight. Let’s have dinner some other time. Okay?’

  Rivanah had had her periods two weeks ago. The real reason why she avoided going out with Prateek was that she had to accompany Ishita to a private party at one of her friend’s place.

  ‘But what will I do there!’ she had complained to Ishita a few hours ago.

  ‘You will get free ka daaru. Do you need any other reason?’ Ishita had argued. A happy Rivanah gladly nodded.

  The party was in a luxurious flat at a posh apartment in Aarey Milk Colony in Goregaon east. The two stayed there till 2:30 in the morning. Ishita was wrong. The alcohol was actually beer, which was no alcohol for someone who had developed a fetish for whiskey in the weekends. Rivanah was cross with Ishita when they finally left the party.

  They were walking alone, abusing each other on a lonely road looking for an autorickshaw but there was not a single one in sight. They walked ahead a little further till the main road. Ishita felt a strong urge to pee.

  ‘What else will you do if you drink five mugs of beer!’ Rivanah exclaimed. Ishita excused herself and went toward the bushes on the left side of the road. With Ishita gone, the scary silence around suddenly made its presence felt to Rivanah.

  ‘Don’t go far,’ she said. Ishita didn’t reply.

  Rivanah stood alone checking her Whatsapp friend list on her phone. Some muffled noise called for her attention from beyond the dense bushes on the right. With an ominous curiosity that fear sometimes brings forth, she took a few steps toward the bushes. Little away beyond a tiny bush she could now see a guy kneeling down trying to force his mouth on... Rivanah tilted her head a bit and saw a young girl. She was trying to set herself free from the clutches of the boy. Her mouth was tied so all that came out were helpless muffled nothings. There was another guy too, naked from waist down, trying to force himself on the girl. For a moment Rivanah couldn’t move, think, breathe. The power with which they held the girl was frightening.

  ‘Hello?’

  She heard Ishita’s voice. Before it could reach the guys’ ears, Rivanah ran out into the road, took Ishita by her hand, and simply started running toward the main road.

  ‘What’s up girl?’ Ishita said, feeling her friend’s tight grip on her arm.

  ‘Be quiet and keep running,’ was all Rivanah could whisper. Ishita didn’t know why she was looking back from time to time.

  They finally got an autorickshaw. Once the vehicle was at a safe distance, Rivanah heaved a sigh of relief. Ishita looked at her inquiringly but Rivanah didn’t share what she had witnessed a minute back. Reaching home, sheupdated her status on Facebook: Every rapist’s balls should be chopped off!

  Plugging her ears with her headphones and playing a Taylor Swift number, she forgot about the matter in no time.

  13

  Every day after getting upin the morning, Rivanah would first check her Facebook profile from her phone. The morning after she posted her opinion on rapists on Facebook, Rivanah saw the post had received over one hundred likes and several comments echoing her sentiments. She felt happy to have updated her status, for the first time, with a cocky message.

  Rivanah was reminded of the dastardly incident when her mother mentioned it to her on the phone after she reached office. She was surprised the incident had been reported in a national newspaper. Rivanah took a copy of the newspaper from one of her colleagues and found the article on the second page.

  TEENAGER GANGRAPED

  Mumbai: A 15-year-old girl was gangraped last night in the Aarey Milk Colony area in Goregaon east. She was found by a sweeper in the morning who informed the authorities. The girl was admitted to a municipal hospital in Borivali in a comatose state.

  The hunt for the rapists is on. Police is waiting for the girl to regain her senses.

  The girl’s mother works as a maid in one of the nearby residential colonies.

  Rivanah had a sinking feeling as she finished reading the article. She had witnessed the beastility. She didn’t remember their faces clearly, but she was confident of identifying them if someone brought them in front of her; both the rapists as well as the girl.

  The memory of the incident didn’t let her focus on her work. At lunch, Prateek came to her looking rather excited.

  ‘Joyita and Dilip are getting married.’

  Joyita was from the HR department whereas Dilip was from one of the software developing teams. Rivanah didn’t know Joyita, but she had met Dilip a couple of times.

  ‘That’s great!’ she said.

  ‘What is even greater is that they are throwing a pre-wedding party for all of us tonight.’

  ‘Us? They don’t even know me that well.’

  ‘Joyita knows me and I know you. I told her you’ll join me.’

  Rivanah’s instinct didn’t want her to go.

  ‘Where is the party?’ she asked.

  ‘Trilogy, Juhu.’

  Trilogy was one of her favourite places.

  ‘Okay,’ she said. Prateek could have jumped with joy.

  ‘I’ll pick you up around nine from your place,’ he said and left.

  Prateek arrived a little after nine and waited on his bike outside Rivanah’s building. When she came out, he almost fainted. She looked ravishing.

  ‘At least shut your mouth, for God’s sake!’ Rivanah said and climbed on his pillion.

  ‘Why do I have to drive the bike? Why can’t I just admire you?’

  ‘Ho gaya? Now please drive.’ It was one of the few times Rivanah would allow Prateek to flirt with her mildly when she was in a good mood.

  There were a total of ten people from the office at Trilogy. Rivanah knew none of them personally, except for Prateek. A cake was brought out for Joyita and Dilip and after the cake cutting session, Rivanah, along with some others, ordered their favourite poison. She gulped hers in one go. Then she ordered another. And another. Totally inebriated, she hit the dance floor grabbing Prateek by the hand. Dancing beside her, Prateek sensed alcohol was slowly taking control of her. She smiled at him, then casually put her hands around his neck, and turned to gyrate her hips against his groin. It aroused him. As she turned once again to face him, he gave her a sly smile, placed his hands around her waist, and brought her close to him. Looking into his eyes, Rivanah suddenly f
elt the DJ had lowered the volume even though she could see everyone dancing around her. With every second, she seemed to be getting closer to Prateek. Or was it he who was getting close to her? Prateek tilted his face and leaned forward. She knew what was going to happen but the alcohol’s spell was so strong that it didn’t let her pull away. Prateek’s lips soon pursed hers and for the next two minutes, they smooched each other hungrily. When the music stopped, Rivanah pushed Prateek away and went towards one of the couches. The music changed as Prateek followed her out.

  ‘Drop me home, Prateek.’ Rivanah suddenly sounded rude. She knew something wrong had happened, but her mind was too numb to know what.

  ‘Let’s stay for sometime more,’ Prateek pleaded.

  ‘No!’ she said trying to stabilize herself.

  Joyita came to Prateek and said, ‘I think you should take her home. She seems wasted.’

  ‘I have a bike. And she does look sloshed. Won’t it be risky?’ Prateek argued.

  Dilip joined them and suggested Joyita and he would drop her in his car on their way back.

  The next day, Rivanah came late to office. She had a vague remembrance of what had happened between Prateek and her in Trilogy. She found a few men looking at her in an amused manner during lunch hour, laughing in hushed tones. When Prateek didn’t join her for lunch, she called him to ask him to join her. By the time he reached, her lunch was over.

  ‘What happened?’ he said without caring to sit down. She could sense a change in his overall demeanour.

  ‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked.

  Prateek kept a straight face for some time and then broke into a chuckle.

  ‘What is it Prateek?’ Rivanah asked in a stern voice.

  ‘Say, “What is it Prateek, sir”.’

  ‘Are you out of your mind?’

  Prateek handed her his phone. She took it and pressed on the play button of the video on the screen. She stopped it mid-way even before she could see the details of her smooch with him. Whoever had recorded it had used the zoom-in and out option to a vulgar perfection.

  ‘I waited for this moment for a long time,’ Prateek said. ‘Remember how you made a mockery of me when I proposed to you in school? “Rejected piece”—that was my nickname for the rest of my school life. If you wanted to, you could have said no in a sober way but you didn’t. You had to make a scene out of it. Now the same Rivanah Bannerjee who turned me into a rejected piece in school will be my bitch.’ He scoffed in a way that scared Rivanah.

  ‘I have already apologized for that Prateek. I...’

  ‘Are you going to fall on my feet now, Rivanah?’ Prateek’s voice had a loathsome condescension.

  ‘I’ll complain about it to the higher authority. You can’t record me without my permission.’

  ‘Sure, do complain. The clip doesn’t show me raping you. And my colleagues have seen you getting close to me. So yes, go ahead complain and meanwhile I shall waste no time in circulating this clip on the internet and telling people how much you wanted to record our private moment. And you know what happens when this kind of thing hits the virtual world? The girl’s real world gets fucked.’ He chuckled and left whistling a raunchy Bollywood item number.

  Rivanah sat down on the chair with a thud, holding her head which was reeling. How could she have not seen it coming? How could she trust Prateek so much? How could she be such a fool?

  At night, a sobbing Rivanah shared the incident with Ishita.

  ‘If it was not for the clip, I would have squashed his balls tonight itself,’ Ishita said clenching her jaws.

  ‘I think I should go back home.’ Rivanah said wondering how she had cried more than smiled in the last two-three months.

  ‘Stop talking like a retard! I’m sure there’s some way out. Nobody can blackmail a girl like that.’ Ishita was pacing up and down the room.

  ‘Why don’t you ask the stranger to help you?’ It was Asha who surprised both Ishita and Rivanah with her appearance.

  A glimmer of hope shone on Ishita’s face. ‘That’s a good idea!’ she chirped. ‘But how do you know about him?’

  ‘I know about my roomies more than they know about me,’Asha said and went inside the washroom. Ishita and Rivanah exchanged a blank look.

  ‘She must have overheard us discussing the stranger,’ Ishita said.

  ‘Should I?’ Rivanah asked a pause later.

  ‘Well, we don’t have much option. We can go to the police and I’m sure they will burst Prateek’s ass but what if he circulates the MMS before that...’

  Before Ishita could finish, Rivanah sent a message to the stranger.

  Hi! Are you there? Rivanah could have spoken it aloud, but she did not want to disclose every little thing to Ishita. It was something between the stranger and her. The stranger and her, that sounded so much like a relationship with no name. A minute later a reply came:

  Always.

  I need some help, Rivanah messaged back.

  I can get you the clip, the stranger replied. Rivanah read the message aloud.

  ‘So he already knows about it,’ Ishita said in wonder.

  By when can you get it for me? Rivanah asked.

  For now you do yourself a little favour. What favour? she asked.

  The stranger’s reply turned Rivanah’s face pale.

  14

  Rivanah sat at her office desk the following morning, staring miserably at her computer screen. Her colleagues were discussing something with the team lead but she wasn’t interested. She felt devoid of any motivation to work but she had to. For a 22-year-old like her, working away from home in a big city, life behaved like a spoilt brat. In the few months that she had been in Mumbai, she understood that nothing came for free.

  Rivanah had not shared with Ishita what favour the stranger had asked of her.

  ‘He didn’t respond,’ she told her. But a message in fact did come and in the message, the stranger had asked her to do an impossible task. A message popped on her office messenger from Prateek interrupting her thoughts.

  ‘I want to see you in the no-smoking zone in a minute.’

  The message turned her livid enough to want to smash Prateek’s skull into pieces. But all she did was take a deep breath and diffuse the anger within her. She was a fool for having trusted him. Ishita had told her once: people judge the unknown from the known. Rivanah was fooled by Prateek because he looked like a lalloo and she believed he was one. The same mistake that she committed with Ekansh; she thought because Ekansh loved her, he would be loyal to her. When she couldn’t catch him even after knowing him so well, how could she have known Prateek’s intention? Ekansh and now Prateek had taught her well that the known and the unknown are two different things. Rivanah didn’t know whether to feel miserable, laugh, or cry because of the mess she had got herself in.

  Waiting.

  Prateek whatsapped her this time. Rivanah stood up, turned the desk computer on sleep mode, and went out into the no-smoking zone.

  Rivanah could see Prateek standing alone, smoking a cigarette. This was the first time she was seeing him smoke, but she didn’t care to inquire about it. Prateek flashed his Samsung tablet when she approached him.

  ‘Red or black?’ he said.

  Rivanah couldn’t believe her eyes. On the tablet’s screen was a page from a popular online lingerie store website displaying a particular brain both red and black colour.

  ‘I’m buying this for you,’ Prateek said pointing to the red bra. He looked pleased to see Rivanah’s bewildered face. ‘I want you to wear it this weekend when you come to my place.’

  Should I admire his audacity or slap the indecency out of his system? she wondered but she was too shell-shocked to do either. A moment later, she found her voice.

  ‘I told you Prateek, I’m sorry for rejecting your proposal in school, then why…’

  ‘Red or black?’ He meant business.

  ‘Prateek, please don’t do this to me. I’m your friend now and...’

 
‘Red. OR. Black?’

  Rivanah went quiet.

  ‘Prateek!’ one of Prateek’s colleagues called out to him.

  ‘Okay. I’ll order both,’ he said. ‘We will have lots of time for you to wear both as well as not wear any,’ he said winking at Rivanah.

  ‘And by the way just in case you are still considering your option of complaining about me then let me tell you that I have located all your cousins on Facebook. I don’t think they will like it seeing you smooch in a video, will they?’

  Rivanah swallowed a lump. Prateek turned and went away.

  Rivanah went back to her desk feeling disoriented. Reaching her desk, she unlocked her phone and opened the message inbox. The stranger’s message was still in her phone. What he was asking her to do was impossible! She checked his message again:

  Be the eyewitness in the gangrape case.

  He had asked a simple favour of her in return for the clip that had stolen her sleep. She read the message for the umpteenth time. A night before, she considered telling her father everything by sending him a message because she knew she would never be able to confess it verbally: ‘Baba, I was drunk when I became intimate with Prateek in the disc but I didn’t know that he would record it. I don’t know what to do now. Please help me.’ Reading the message, she thought of the number of questions that would be hurled at her by her father:

  ‘What were you doing in a disc Mini?’

  ‘Haven’t we asked you to get back home every day by nine at night?’

  ‘Did you say you were drunk? Since when have you started consuming alcohol? Even I haven’t done that in my whole life.’