Sunlight streamed through the windowpane, scattering across the room and falling onto the bedsheet, as if washing away every shadow of the previous night.
Sleep shattered abruptly.
Anurag Sir opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The intensity of the light stung them. His entire body felt heavy; the bruises from the police beating still throbbed. His mouth was parched like dry wood. Inside his head, a sharp, pounding ache hammered away—like someone was striking his brain with an iron mallet.
A faint burning sensation lingered in his throat, and his stomach churned now and then. He hadn't eaten anything the entire previous day except alcohol. A heavy poison seemed to have spread through his system—the aftereffects of the whisky.
A strong, mingled scent clung to his nostrils: whisky and the chaotic, intimate odor of the night.
Fragments of memory flickered faintly in his mind.
A girl… no—Sneha!!
He remembered her looking at him with sorrowful eyes. Right in front of him. So close!
Slowly he sat up. His eyes narrowed. A thin beam of sunlight slipped through the window and fell across the bed. In that light, he saw the side table: an overturned glass, an empty whisky bottle, the rumpled bedsheet… and… a pink bra!
His heartbeat surged violently.
"No… this… what is this…?" he whispered, lips parting in shock.
A sudden jolt rose from deep in his chest. In the haze of memory, he recalled telling Sneha to unbutton her shirt. His head spun dizzily.
He thought,
"Last night… here… Sneha was here?"
He scrambled off the bed quickly—his knees trembled, his legs wobbled. He tripped over the sheet and fell. His lip split open. He tasted blood.
Just then, there was a sound at the door.
The door pushed open, and Anirban Sir stepped inside.
Anirban looked down at Anurag sprawled on the floor. He hurried forward, pulled him up. Worry flooded his face.
Then his gaze landed on the bra lying on the bed, and a flicker of embarrassment crossed his features.
Seeing Anirban's discomfort, Anurag asked in a trembling voice,
"La—last night… was Sneha…?"
Anirban Sir:
"Yes. Last night Sneha came here. When I wasn't home. You were alone in the house."
Anurag's heartbeat raced even faster.
Anurag Sir (throat dry):
"Sneha… she came? Did I… did I do something to her? To her…?"
Anirban remained silent. He himself didn't know what to say.
Anurag (voice shaking):
"I'm fine… I mean… my head hurts so much…"
Anirban avoided Anurag's eyes.
Suddenly a terrifying fear gripped Anurag. Had he done something terrible to Sneha? Had Anirban caught him in the act? Had Anirban seen Sneha in… that state?
Anurag (breath catching):
"You… you saw Sneha?"
Anirban (eyes narrowing):
"Yes."
Anurag (almost in tears):
"You… you didn't see her… in any bad condition, did you? Tell me! Please tell me!"
His voice was no longer coming from his throat—it tore from deep inside his chest.
His knees threatened to buckle.
He stood clutching the wall with trembling hands.
Anirban Sir:
"Hey, wait! Calm down! Why are you so scared? I didn't see anything! When I arrived, she was wrapped in your coat, completely silent. She just kept her eyes down."
Anurag (gasping for breath):
"Thank God… I… I thought I had… I had crossed every limit…"
Anirban stayed quiet.
Anurag (in a broken voice):
"But… did I… did I do something to her? Force anything…?"
Anirban (slowly):
"When I arrived, Sneha opened the door. She was standing there in your coat. She didn't say anything to me."
Anurag Sir (clutching his head in agony):
"Anirban, I… I can't remember what I did with her…"
Anirban (in a hard voice):
"You don't know what you did, and she didn't say anything either. Last night I followed Sneha all the way to your bedroom. I saw you lying on the bed completely drunk… and her… bra was in your hand. I… I got terrified thinking about it."
Anurag fell silent. A heavy, suffocating emptiness seemed to settle in the room, thicker than the air itself.
Anurag:
"She didn't say anything… that makes it even more terrifying. I never knew I could lose control like this. I… I truly loved her. I never wanted to harm her in any way…"
Anurag Sir fell quiet for a while, sinking deep into thought.
Anurag Sir (anxiously):
"But if I did something wrong… then it could become a huge disaster…"
Anirban (placing a hand on his shoulder):
"Don't accuse yourself yet. First find out what actually happened."
Anurag (in a hollow voice):
"But how do I ask her? What do I say? 'Can you remind me what I did to you?' How can I possibly ask her that?"
Anirban remained silent.
Anurag Sir (in despair):
"How disgusted she must feel toward me!"
Anirban:
"If you don't ask, you'll never know the truth. Though looking at your state…"
Anirban glanced toward the bra and fell quiet.
Anurag (softly):
"So does she… hate me now?"
He couldn't finish the sentence. Pain choked his throat.
After a long pause, Anirban said,
"Rest first. Then prepare yourself and talk to her."
Later in the afternoon.
After resting all morning, Anurag Sir's physical condition had improved somewhat. But the anxiety still gnawed at his mind.
Who knew what had really happened last night?
Anurag sat quietly eating, trying to recall fragments of the previous night.
At one point he thought, "Maybe nothing serious happened. I'm probably overthinking it."
But the moment the bra came to mind, a flood of other thoughts rushed in.
He wondered, "What if I really did those things with Sneha!"
The very idea sent a shiver through his body! An unbelievable terror took root in his mind—yet, despite all the dreadful possibilities, there was also a strange, shameless thrill! That forbidden pleasure that felt so intoxicating just to imagine!
But in the very next instant, he snapped back to reality. He wanted to slap himself.
Then, suddenly, a horrifying thought struck him:
If he had gone that far with her… then Sneha's womb might now carry his… s p e r m.
Anurag Sir began to cough violently.
Anirban Sir immediately entered the room.
"Hey! What happened? Are you okay?"
Anurag shook his head to indicate yes.
Anirban Sir:
"Eat slowly. Don't think too much."
Anirban sat beside him and began eating too.
In his mind, Anurag thought: School reopens tomorrow. He resolved that, no matter what, he would speak to Sneha at school—if she came.
Because he didn't want any trouble or pain to come to her because of him.
He would beg for forgiveness, of course.
If Sneha hated him, he wouldn't be able to go on living.
But along with asking for forgiveness, he was prepared to face any consequence—any punishment!
Even losing his teaching job!
All he wanted was for Sneha to be happy and never suffer because of him.
But just then, Anurag Sir froze as he saw an unknown number calling on his phone.
He answered—and heard Priya's voice.
Priya:
"Anurag, how are you?"
Anurag Sir immediately cut the call.
Anirban Sir:
"What happened? Who was it?"
To be continued...