A room large enough to seat ten people, courteously and comfortably away from each other, looks
clean. The fragrance of jasmine lingers in the air. The wooden floor is naked; the carpet that covered
the floor is rolled to a side. The lights are not on. Thick drapes cover the tightly-shut opaque
windows, not letting natural daylight come into the room. There is no sound, not even of anything
electronic. Anyone walking on the wooden floor would hear their heels clacking. The only person in
the house is standing still in the middle of this room, his phone pressed to his ear, waiting for his call
to be answered. His heavy breathing is all the sound in the house.
When the call is finally answered, he doesn’t greet the person on the other side.
“It is done.” That is all he says.
In the silence of the room, the person at the other end can be heard; however, not clearly.
“This time the robbery has to be in broad daylight. Will you be ready at the exact time? We cannot
afford to delay now, toward the end, after doing everything right since the beginning,” says the man in
the dark room.
After a pause, he disconnects the call. He walks out of the room, locks it, and puts the key in a
discreet pouch hanging behind a large bookshelf.
***
The doorbell rings and Shivali opens the door immediately, giving away her ordeal of waiting.
“You are late,” she tells Sumukh who is at the door.
“I am not late. I am on time.”
“But you are always early. According to your standards, therefore, you are late to pick me up.” She
pouts at him.
“Okay. Then I am sorry for setting such a high benchmark for myself.”
“You know what? With a name that means an auspicious face, you do have an innocent face, if not
auspicious. You take advantage of your innocent face.”
Sumukh playfully grins at Shivali. That grin is enough to melt her heart.
“All right! Let’s go. If you come in now, we will be late for our lunch reservation at Floresant. You
booked a table for two there a month ago, remember?”
Shivali talks as she locks the door to her house and hooks her right arm in Sumukh’s left to subtly drag
him to his car.
***
Floresant is a boutique restaurant with an ambiance that is a mixture of coziness and titillating music.
It isn’t ever crowded because tables are available only on reservation. But if you don’t turn up at your
reserved time, the receptionist will not let you in even if the table is available. Their policy is not to
let a late customer delay the next reservation. Though lunch at Floresant is Sumukh’s idea, Shivali
knows their policy and rushes him to reach the restaurant on time. The greeter at the entrance opens
the door to let Shivali and Sumukh in and directs them to their table.
The interiors of the restaurant are all white and black, but the red cylindrical lamps hanging from the
ceiling defy the general dullness and create the perfect ambience for couples.
“This is wonderful. I had only heard of the decor of this restaurant and seen its pictures online. But
pictures are so different from the firsthand experiences. Thank you so much, Sumukh, for bringing me
here for lunch today. This is my best birthday so far.”
“It is my pleasure, my lady. By the way, there is more for you today than just lunch!” Sumukh winks at
Shivali.
“Ooo… Can you tell me what awaits me? Or is it meant to be a surprise?”
“Of course, it is a surprise!”
“All right. I shall wait until you reveal it then,” said Shivali, blowing a kiss at Sumukh.
The couple reads the menu to order food. Sumukh signals a waiter that they are ready to order. After
the waiter comes over, takes their order, and turns around to go back, Shivali gets busy looking
around. The kitchen’s door is behind her. She does not notice a face peeping through the looking
window at them. She does not even notice Sumukh drop his left hand beside the table to give a goahead
signal to the face at the kitchen door.
Sumukh and Shivali wait for twenty minutes for their food to arrive. Sumukh inhales the aroma of his
penne with creamy pesto and cherry tomatoes while Shivali savors her warm Thai noodles and
papaya salad.
“How’s your food?” Sumukh asks Shivali.
“It’s yummy. Or the ambiance is making it yummy.” She giggles with a string of noodle dangling from
the corner of her mouth.
Sumukh too laughs with her.
“But does it really taste good? Nothing odd?”
“Not at all. It’s good enough to eat.”
Shivali bends her head down to take another mouthful of the Thai noodles. The same face is back at
the kitchen looking window. Sumukh gives it a thumbs up. The face vanishes from the door.
***
“Thank you for taking me out for lunch. The food was delicious, but nothing extraordinary except the
presentation. I think they get marks for that. Nevertheless, thank you so much!” Shivali pecks on
Sumukh’s cheek as he drives his car. “I love you.”
“You are welcome, Your Highness. And I love you too. But you have a surprise waiting for you.
Remember?”
“Oh, yes. I forgot you mentioned it.”
“Come on. A woman never forgets about a surprise that is waiting for her!” Sumukh teases her.
Shivali punches his shoulder and turns to look at the road ahead.
A van overtakes Sumukh’s car and plants itself right in front of them in the moving lane. Sumukh
doesn’t complain because at least it is moving faster.
“What is that written on the van?” Shivali asks Sumukh, trying to read the text on the back doors of the
van in front of them.
“Oh, that! I don’t know. But it is funny to read it. I don’t know what language it is but it’s written with
English letters. I see it often on other vehicles too in the mornings when the company cab picks me
and my colleagues up. We try to read it out loud and whoever reads the whole sentence without any
apparent mistakes and without stopping wins. He gets his choice of drink that evening for free. Do
you want to play that game? A good way to pass the time until we reach where your surprise is.”
“Sure! Why not?”
“You go first. Just read it as it is spelled. You practice the words first. I can help you out with how my
colleagues and I pronounce the words. Later you read it as one complete sentence altogether. Then it
will be my turn. But let me warn you. I will win this game for I have practiced more.”
“Ha ha! I will beat you and your friends at your own game. Watch me.”
Shivali reads each word and confirms with Sumukh to match his pronunciation. When she is done
practicing, she announces that she is ready to rap.
“Wow! That was quick. Okay. You start when I say. One, two, three, start.”
“Va zar vef libhe rofufuraper gung vi unir pobuyayarepi goruq sebaz guvef jibeyoq naqabuj
vanezerinoqul gab fenipevosuvaper zil fobuhay geb nicocorunafelebih.”
As soon as Shivali says the last word, she is stunned into a paralytic shock. Sumukh sees her and
parks his car at the side of the road, and so does the van in front of them. He checks whether she is
still breathing. He takes out his phone to make a call.
“She ate the food mixed with the cursed blood and chanted the exact words. She is unable to move
now. Tell me, is it time yet?” Sumukh asks over the phone. “Okay. I will do it now.”
He disconnects the call, moves closer to Shivali’s ear, and says, “Libhe fenipevosuvaper vef
napepericoguraq.”
Shivali collapses where she sits.
“Happy birthday, Shivali! This was your surprise. Alas, you won’t know what it is.” Sumukh sniggers
at the dead body.
Two people get down from the van and walk to the car. They have a stretcher. They lift Shivali’s body
and transfer it into their van. Sumukh drives straight ahead and the van makes a U-turn.
He makes a call again.
“We robbed her of her soul. The last sacrifice of a girl on her birthday is done. All went well.
Prepare for the last ritual. I will be there for the awakening of our Lord,” he says and disconnects the
call.
clean. The fragrance of jasmine lingers in the air. The wooden floor is naked; the carpet that covered
the floor is rolled to a side. The lights are not on. Thick drapes cover the tightly-shut opaque
windows, not letting natural daylight come into the room. There is no sound, not even of anything
electronic. Anyone walking on the wooden floor would hear their heels clacking. The only person in
the house is standing still in the middle of this room, his phone pressed to his ear, waiting for his call
to be answered. His heavy breathing is all the sound in the house.
When the call is finally answered, he doesn’t greet the person on the other side.
“It is done.” That is all he says.
In the silence of the room, the person at the other end can be heard; however, not clearly.
“This time the robbery has to be in broad daylight. Will you be ready at the exact time? We cannot
afford to delay now, toward the end, after doing everything right since the beginning,” says the man in
the dark room.
After a pause, he disconnects the call. He walks out of the room, locks it, and puts the key in a
discreet pouch hanging behind a large bookshelf.
***
The doorbell rings and Shivali opens the door immediately, giving away her ordeal of waiting.
“You are late,” she tells Sumukh who is at the door.
“I am not late. I am on time.”
“But you are always early. According to your standards, therefore, you are late to pick me up.” She
pouts at him.
“Okay. Then I am sorry for setting such a high benchmark for myself.”
“You know what? With a name that means an auspicious face, you do have an innocent face, if not
auspicious. You take advantage of your innocent face.”
Sumukh playfully grins at Shivali. That grin is enough to melt her heart.
“All right! Let’s go. If you come in now, we will be late for our lunch reservation at Floresant. You
booked a table for two there a month ago, remember?”
Shivali talks as she locks the door to her house and hooks her right arm in Sumukh’s left to subtly drag
him to his car.
***
Floresant is a boutique restaurant with an ambiance that is a mixture of coziness and titillating music.
It isn’t ever crowded because tables are available only on reservation. But if you don’t turn up at your
reserved time, the receptionist will not let you in even if the table is available. Their policy is not to
let a late customer delay the next reservation. Though lunch at Floresant is Sumukh’s idea, Shivali
knows their policy and rushes him to reach the restaurant on time. The greeter at the entrance opens
the door to let Shivali and Sumukh in and directs them to their table.
The interiors of the restaurant are all white and black, but the red cylindrical lamps hanging from the
ceiling defy the general dullness and create the perfect ambience for couples.
“This is wonderful. I had only heard of the decor of this restaurant and seen its pictures online. But
pictures are so different from the firsthand experiences. Thank you so much, Sumukh, for bringing me
here for lunch today. This is my best birthday so far.”
“It is my pleasure, my lady. By the way, there is more for you today than just lunch!” Sumukh winks at
Shivali.
“Ooo… Can you tell me what awaits me? Or is it meant to be a surprise?”
“Of course, it is a surprise!”
“All right. I shall wait until you reveal it then,” said Shivali, blowing a kiss at Sumukh.
The couple reads the menu to order food. Sumukh signals a waiter that they are ready to order. After
the waiter comes over, takes their order, and turns around to go back, Shivali gets busy looking
around. The kitchen’s door is behind her. She does not notice a face peeping through the looking
window at them. She does not even notice Sumukh drop his left hand beside the table to give a goahead
signal to the face at the kitchen door.
Sumukh and Shivali wait for twenty minutes for their food to arrive. Sumukh inhales the aroma of his
penne with creamy pesto and cherry tomatoes while Shivali savors her warm Thai noodles and
papaya salad.
“How’s your food?” Sumukh asks Shivali.
“It’s yummy. Or the ambiance is making it yummy.” She giggles with a string of noodle dangling from
the corner of her mouth.
Sumukh too laughs with her.
“But does it really taste good? Nothing odd?”
“Not at all. It’s good enough to eat.”
Shivali bends her head down to take another mouthful of the Thai noodles. The same face is back at
the kitchen looking window. Sumukh gives it a thumbs up. The face vanishes from the door.
***
“Thank you for taking me out for lunch. The food was delicious, but nothing extraordinary except the
presentation. I think they get marks for that. Nevertheless, thank you so much!” Shivali pecks on
Sumukh’s cheek as he drives his car. “I love you.”
“You are welcome, Your Highness. And I love you too. But you have a surprise waiting for you.
Remember?”
“Oh, yes. I forgot you mentioned it.”
“Come on. A woman never forgets about a surprise that is waiting for her!” Sumukh teases her.
Shivali punches his shoulder and turns to look at the road ahead.
A van overtakes Sumukh’s car and plants itself right in front of them in the moving lane. Sumukh
doesn’t complain because at least it is moving faster.
“What is that written on the van?” Shivali asks Sumukh, trying to read the text on the back doors of the
van in front of them.
“Oh, that! I don’t know. But it is funny to read it. I don’t know what language it is but it’s written with
English letters. I see it often on other vehicles too in the mornings when the company cab picks me
and my colleagues up. We try to read it out loud and whoever reads the whole sentence without any
apparent mistakes and without stopping wins. He gets his choice of drink that evening for free. Do
you want to play that game? A good way to pass the time until we reach where your surprise is.”
“Sure! Why not?”
“You go first. Just read it as it is spelled. You practice the words first. I can help you out with how my
colleagues and I pronounce the words. Later you read it as one complete sentence altogether. Then it
will be my turn. But let me warn you. I will win this game for I have practiced more.”
“Ha ha! I will beat you and your friends at your own game. Watch me.”
Shivali reads each word and confirms with Sumukh to match his pronunciation. When she is done
practicing, she announces that she is ready to rap.
“Wow! That was quick. Okay. You start when I say. One, two, three, start.”
“Va zar vef libhe rofufuraper gung vi unir pobuyayarepi goruq sebaz guvef jibeyoq naqabuj
vanezerinoqul gab fenipevosuvaper zil fobuhay geb nicocorunafelebih.”
As soon as Shivali says the last word, she is stunned into a paralytic shock. Sumukh sees her and
parks his car at the side of the road, and so does the van in front of them. He checks whether she is
still breathing. He takes out his phone to make a call.
“She ate the food mixed with the cursed blood and chanted the exact words. She is unable to move
now. Tell me, is it time yet?” Sumukh asks over the phone. “Okay. I will do it now.”
He disconnects the call, moves closer to Shivali’s ear, and says, “Libhe fenipevosuvaper vef
napepericoguraq.”
Shivali collapses where she sits.
“Happy birthday, Shivali! This was your surprise. Alas, you won’t know what it is.” Sumukh sniggers
at the dead body.
Two people get down from the van and walk to the car. They have a stretcher. They lift Shivali’s body
and transfer it into their van. Sumukh drives straight ahead and the van makes a U-turn.
He makes a call again.
“We robbed her of her soul. The last sacrifice of a girl on her birthday is done. All went well.
Prepare for the last ritual. I will be there for the awakening of our Lord,” he says and disconnects the
call.
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