The Betrayal

"It isn't working between us. It would be better if we break up."
The words were like a nail placed over the heart and the tone was the hammer. Pawan's heart bled not because of what Seema said but because of the ease with which she did it. She neither had a heavy throat, nor a stammering voice and nor even a lowered eye.
She was the one for whom he had rebelled against his parents, because of which his affluent father, who was the owner of the best photography contract brand of the city, "Lamhe", had thrown him out of the house into abject misery and uncertainty. But Seema was unmoved by all his arguments. She was adamant, she wanted space.
"You better go and search for yourself a living." she wasn't hard in the tone but she did no effort to choose softer words. Now, this was an assault not at Pawan's heart or emotion but self-respect. Pawan loved Seema like a kid loves his dreams, but he did not realize that dreams change and even disappear sometimes. And if dreams hurt his self respect, he would better stay awake all night, forever.
"All the best" he said and left. He left Seema deserted at the restaurant table, paid the bill at the counter to cool his heated ego and without even looking back at Seema, left.
He kick-started the bike, harder than needed, to vent the violence he wanted to show. He twisted the accelerator violently, as if he would break it apart, to express the aggressive noise inside him, zhoooom zhooooom zhooooooooom. He wore his black glasses to hide that tear like thing in his eyes, because from his very childhood he had learnt, "Men don't cry. At least not in public." And he rode away. Reaching home, he stormed straight into his room and called Keshav, the chief cameraperson of Lamhe and his best friend.
"Hello" Keshav said as he picked up the call.
"(Silence)"
"Hello? Pawan?" Keshav was confused.
"Hmm" Pawan just uttered to make sure he doesn't keep the phone down on the doubt of network issue.
"Oh. You left her?" Keshav understood without anything being told.
"Hmm" he uttered with a trace of shaky confidence.
"Or she left you?" Keshav added just to stimulate him to speak up and take out all he had kept compressed inside his heart at very high pressure.
Pawan broke into tears. And he explained everything to Keshav. Little did he know that his father stood at the door listening everything. When he was done his father came in, hugged him, and said, "I will find someone far better than her. You take charge of your cabin from tomorrow dear son."
"I won't." he said, "I have come home just to bid you and Mom a final good bye. I will go wherever life takes me. I will work in factories, fields whatever, but will not return."
His father was stunned and did what he could. And whatever he did, worked. Keshav was successfully convinced by him and Keshav in turn convinced Pawan not to go anywhere.
"I don't want to eat even a grain that is earned by him." Pawan declared.
"Earn it yourself then. Come on. Work in his own photography lab and take salary. Not only will you earn your food yourself , but you will also be able to make him regret seeing you work like an employee." Keshav advised.
Pawan was convinced. And he was ready for a new life.

Seema, on the other hand, too was ready for a new life, a new guy. He was handsome, smart and fairly rich. Sameer was his name. Her family had found in him, a perfect groom for her- taller than her, older than her, earning a little higher than her, from a family much better than hers and so on. Seema too had met him thrice, though not even once had she talked to him in peace, with no one around. However, she had several short conversations with him on whatsapp and she had found that perhaps she can spend her life with him. Pawan was far more rich, and Seema's family was against this extreme financial gap. But leaving Pawan was her own decision, with no influence of her family, really.

She reached home exhausted.
"Get ready Beta. Sameer's family is coming." her mother said.
"Why Mom?" she instantly asked, but suddenly realized that the words were harsher than she intended them to be and so, quickly edited, "Some important purpose?"
"To fix your marriage date. They say not much pomp and show. Just one function, that of marriage. Done" Mom replied.
"Okay" she said in a tone, neither jolly nor gloomy and definitely not shy and went in to get ready. After wearing the lemon yellow- royal blue salwar kurta, she applied some makeup, but every time she looked into the mirror, something was missing in her eyes. Kajal? No. Mascara? No. Eyeshadow? No. Shine. Yes, shine was missing. The shine that didn't leave her eyes even for a second when she was in the company of Pawan. The shine that was hard to hide when the customized whatsapp tone of Pawan's message rung. That shine was hard to be brought back. But the smile came to the rescue and she stretched the corner of her lips when she went to meet Sameer's family.
"How are you Beta?" Her to be mother-in-law was so sweet that for a moment she felt like telling her, "Maaji. I am not fine. If only I could stay with myself for sometime. I want neither Pawan nor Sameer. I want peace, please." But controlling her aspirations she replied, "Fine Aunty. And you?"
"Not well Beta. Impatiently waiting for you to come home. Once you come to me, I will be fine." her tone was as loving as her own mother. Seema just smiled and showed an expected gesture of shyness.
She slowly discovered that the agenda of the meeting was more of the dowry negotiation rather than fixing the date of marriage. She was asked to go in while the elders talked. Sameer hadn't come. Seema was actually not able to figure out if loneliness was giving her relief or pain. Probably, she needed someone at that moment to talk to. Possibly, meeting Sameer could have helped her fight the loneliness. A drop of tear was about to tear her patience when the whatsapp tone rung, the customized one. Not Pawan's. It was Sameer's.
"Feeling lonely?" his message was like a slightly cool palm on her feverish cheek, so relieving that she felt like never letting it go.
"Hmm." she replied.
"Offo, I can't talk to a buffalo. Hmm?" He sent with a rolled up eye emoticon.
She giggled with a jerk and quickly replied, "(a laughing emoji) Btw hw r u?"
"Fine for now." he replied.
"For now? What happened?" she sent, almost knowing what his reply would be.
"Fine for the time I am talking to you. When you go, I will again be lonely and not so fine." he replied, exactly what Seema had expected. As she began to type, her Mom entered.
"Come. They are going. Come touch their feet." she commanded in a low volume.
"Just a second Mom." she said as she kept typing, "I need... "
But just then, her Mom quickly snatched the phone, accidentally touching the send button. Unmindful of what she had done, she quickly kept it on table and took Seema holding her hand, "Beta. You should keep your mobile aside when it is about respecting relations." Mom reprimanded.
"Well, I was respecting a relation itself on my chat screen." she wanted to reply but didn't.
She bid Sameer's family a respectful goodbye and returned to her room to find the screen flooded with Sameer's replies, "You need what? Some money. Tell me dear. Everything that is mine is yours."
Then, another one, "Or you need some space. We can delay the marriage. I can wait. Though it will be hard but I can."
Yet another one, "Or you need to talk to me about something. Please be very frank. You can take me as your pal. Don't worry. Speak up."
Seema was surprised with his concern and overwhelmed as well.
"(Eyes rolled up emoji) I just wanted to say that I need to go because Mom is calling. (Eyes rolled up emoji again)"
"Oh" he instantly replied.
And they chatted for another half an hour. In days to come their bond strengthened so much that Seema told him about Pawan. Sameer wasn't angry, however he wanted to be sure that she is completely out of Pawan's chapter now. And she assuaged him on this. They grew happier as their date of marriage approached.
The arrangements were made- arrangements of rituals, of guests' stay, of refreshments and of dowry.
"What are the arrangements of photo sessions Jijaji? Hihihi" Seema's maasi asked her father, with a fresh teasing smile as if she was all ready for a photoshoot.
But her sentence actually went like a current through Seema's father's body, "Sunder" he shouted to call Seema's cousin, "Arey Sunder. Beta! Leave everything, take these keys and go to give the photography contract to a lab. Quick." and he handed Sunder the bike keys, "And and, wait, take these cards also, give them to Ramdayal Uncle. He will distribute them in office." he added handing him half a dozen cards in a loose carry bag.
Sunder rushed from one photo lab to another but good cameramen were already appointed.
"How could Seema di not remember for her photo-session?" Sunder murmured irritatingly to himself. He stopped at a tea shop and while sipping the warm tea his eyes stuck on the billboard of "Lamhe- moments to cherish". Not that he did not know about it, he actually presumed it to be unaffordable. But now that he had no choice, he thought to take a chance and bargain.
"Yes Sir? How can I help?" The well dressed lady formally asked Sunder as he entered the hotel-like reception of Lamhe.
"Contract..umm.... Photo...umm... Marriage session." He was very nervous. The lady understood and made a call through her intercom.
A well built guy came to the reception area and said, "Yes Sir. Whose marriage?"
"My sister's" he said lost in the interiors of the area.
"I mean the names." He tried to comfort Sunder with a soft voice.
"Oh. S..s...seema... Seema and" Sunder stammered.
"Sameer" the guy completed it before Sunder could.
Now, the guy was lost. Sunder (too overwhelmed by the interiors to be surprised by the fact that the guy knew groom's name) continued, "Yes Sir, Sameer. What charges by the way?"
"Sorry. We can't take this contract." he replied.
"Sir?  But why? I mean is it costly? I mean I just wanted to see if I can afford?" Sunder didn't count the words and frequency as he spoke in surprise.
"We just cannot take the orders. That's it. No cameraperson is free." the guy replied bluntly.
"What happened Keshav?" a voice from behind asked. It was Pawan.
Keshav knew that Pawan was the next in the row to be allotted a contract and he did not want Pawan's wounds to be stabbed again.
"Nothing Pawan. Nothing serious." and then turning towards Sunder he said, "Sorry Sir. You may please go."
Sunder was clueless, and as he took a step, the loose carry bag, he held by his side, fell exposing the cards to the eyes, that would have never wanted to see them.
"Seema Weds Sameer." it was bold enough to be read by the weakest eyesight. Pawan picked up one and with teary eyes looked at Keshav. Keshav did not know what to do. He quickly started gathering the cards to get rid of Sunder.
"We will do it." Pawan said.
"But Pawan?" Keshav tried to convince.
"No Keshav. We will do it." Pawan was firm on his decision.
The confused yet relaxed Sunder asked, "What's the charge Sir?"
"Nothing. It's my fortune I got this chance." Pawan's tone did not match his words.
Before Sunder's confusion could turn into suspicion, Keshav added, "We do free photography for our 50th customer in a wedding season. You are one."
Sunder was very happy and relieved.
At Seema's home, everyone was so busy with their respective duties, that they had no time to bother about who the photographer was. Seema too did not know that Pawan had started working as a photographer. Only on the day of wedding when Pawan and Keshav came with camera in their hands did she get to know that it would be impossible for her to look happy in her photos. Pawan asked Keshav to take Bridal photos and himself managed the rest- the relatives, the decoration, the food etc. Seema's reluctant smile was visible in all her photograph, her eyes seemed to be swollen of weeping, her cheek dry of stress. She was looking beautiful but not as much as a jolly Seema would look. 

{Interval}

Marriage was successfully completed and Seema went to her in-laws. Pawan and Keshav were there always. Moreover, Pawan, owing to the extra liberty of the miscellaneous photographer, even got access to Seema's decorated bedroom to take pictures of her well decorated heaven- a chandelier, large and beautiful, just above her queen size bed, the large scenery on the adjacent wall and the flowers all over in the room. Here he executed his plans. He secretly put a camera with the bed in frame. He planned to shame and blackmail Seema for the video that would be shot on it.
Pawan and Keshav left that evening and went next morning to fetch the camera that they would say was left by mistake. But the smell of unfortune was storming near the gate. The hue and cry could be heard till the road. In the drawing room, Seema's mother was restlessly crying and then fainting and waking and again crying by the side of a body which was red in cloth and colour, because of blood all over. It was Seema. She seems to have been crushed under something, something heavy and pointed, possibly made of glass.
Pawan was shattered. He stood there stunned, not knowing what to do. Keshav went forward to ask one of the persons, "How?" That was all he could speak.
"They were in their room last night. Almost all of us were in the community park when we heard the sound of some heavy thing falling and crashing but could not figure out that it was from our own house. When we returned, we could smell blood. We called out Sameer from his room but there was no reply. Out of worry we broke the door and found Seema and Sameer under the powdered chandelier, both unconscious. Seema couldn't survive. She was completely under the glass giant." he explained.
"And Sameer?" Keshav asked.
"He too sustained injuries, they took him to the hospital. He will hopefully be fine soon." the man answered.
"Can we please take our camera that we forgot in your home?" Pawan asked as if he was asking to take Seema's body back, so hopeless and so lifeless.
"Hmm" he replied and they took the camera and went.
Pawan had never wanted that to happen. He felt like taking the chandelier up again and standing below it to be eaten by the giant that ate his only love. He turned again and again to see Seema's body, completely unrecognizable. He knelt down before his car and cried like a baby, loud and open. Keshav quickly took him in the car and drove away. He did not want the issue to magnify and come under the eyes of Sameer's family.

Keshav provided Pawan support of his shoulder to reach to his room and after getting him seated on the bed, sat beside him. He patted on Pawan's shoulder in consolation and was about to speak, just when,

"Please leave me alone for sometime." Pawan said.

Keshav did not utter the unuttered and went away from the room completely understanding the genuine-ness of his demand. Pawan just lied down on the bed and looked up. He could see the chandelier. Beside him sat Seema, he could feel her. He saw the chandelier come down and jumped to save Seema shouting, "Seema" but realized that he was all alone in the room- no chandelier, no Seema. He kept lying for half an hour, half conscious. He was awaken by the sound of the door when Keshav came back to keep the camera he had taken away with him mistakingly. Keshav kept the camera on the table, looked at Pawan and quietly went out of the room. Pawan raised his lifeless head to look at the sinner camera with his red teary eyes. He wanted to smash it on to the wall but somehow gathered the strength to open it and play the video.

He could see Seema sitting in her bed like a beautiful innocent bride, unaware of what was going to happen later. After a long time their was giggling sound of ladies while Sameer was send in. He went to sit in front of Seema, held her hand and said, "Thank you so much for coming into my life." and with the other hand touched her cheek in affection. Then it seemed that he found the weight of his wrist watch unnecessary. He put it off and got up to keep it on the table. With the sound of him keeping the watch on the table came down the chandelier bringing the demon of death with it, swallowing Seema, who got no time to react.  Sameer seemed to be thrown away striking the table on which the camera was kept. The camera with so many flowers and sweets above it, came down and was shut because of the abrupt jerk.

Even after it was shut, the scene of the chandelier falling brutally over Seema flashed before Pawan's eyes again and again. But suddenly something else also struck him. Sameer. Sameer was thrown away and did not come under the chandelier. Pawan played the video again. No he did not come under it, for sure. "How did then people find him under the chandelier, unconscious?" Pawan thought. Before he could derive any unfortunate conclusion from this observation, he stopped himself to call Sameer.

Some relative picked up the phone, "Hello. Who is it?"

"I am Sameer's friend. Heard about the unfortunate accident. How is he now?" Pawan asked in a slightly changed voice. 

"He is much better. Here he is. You can talk." the person replied. Well, Pawan was waiting for this only.

"Hello." Sameer's voice was strained because of pain and sorrow.

"Hi Sameer. This is Rajeev, Seema's college colleague. How did this apocalyse occur?" asked Pawan in an extremely sad voice.

Sameer out of formal gesture, explained everything and within the explanation said in full consciousness that the chandelier fell over Seema and him injuring both badly.

"But you were thrown away. I saw in the video." Pawan wanted to confront but he did not because then Sameer's question would be, "Which video? How come a video?" 

"Oh that was so sad. I am so sorry for you. I understand the loss is irreparable but try to hold yourself and feel free to call me for help." he replied in a consoling voice.

"Sure." Sameer said and kept the phone.

Pawan was in absolute dilemma- beating the table, pulling his hair in frustration. He had a very strong feeling that it wasn't an accident, rather a planned murder. But how could he expose Sameer. He started keeping track of events happening in Seema's family. Her father had humbly refused to take back things given in dowry. He had said that he will assume that it went away with his daughter and that he will feel happy that it will give Sameer a sense of Seema's presence.

"Oh no. He should not have done this. This was what that murderer wanted." Pawan was shouting only to himself as he got to know this. His mother had just entered.

"Beta I heard that Seema..." she uttered in a shocked low voice.

"Yes Maa. She was killed." Pawan replied.

"Killed?" the shock was a degree higher.

"Yes Maa. See." and Pawan showed her the video and narrated what contrary sequence of events Sameer had told.

"Yes. It is definitely a murder." his mother, a lawyer, said, "But this video?"

Pawan was silent.

"Who made this video Pawan?" she asked in a rough loud voice because she could understand the purpose of this camera-frame with the bed.

Pawan started weeping and explained the whole story- how Seema rudely asked him to leave her, how she humiliated him and how she showed no sign of pain and apology for what she did.

"Pawan you are a demon. I literally feel so cursed to have a son like you. You are sinner and a criminal as much as Sameer is, if not more." his mother was weeping badly as she continued, " an evening before she left you, your Dad had called her and left her with a choice between 'Pawan for Seema' or 'a comfortable life for Pawan'. He asked her to leave you if she wanted him to take you back to home and provide you with the life you were deprived of when he had thrown you out. I hate you because you could not see the tears in her eyes. I was silent because when you joined the lab and I heard Seema's marriage news, I thought that life had moved on. But you... What do I say? You did not deserve a girl like her. You..... Youuuup...." she felt like cursing and abusing her own and only child. Pawan was speechless and the thorn of regret was continuously piercing the wall of his heart.

His mother went out of the room with utter disappointment only to return in the evening to see if Pawan is fine. After all, he was her own and only son. Pawan was asleep after getting tired of several bouts of weeping. His mother touched his forehead affectionately which woke him up.

He sat down with a jerk as if he had done a crime by sleeping. His mom said, "I will fight for Seema and get the culprit punished. Will you help me?"

He nodded in a yes and hugged his mother like a kid hugs his mom when he finally finds her after losing her for sometime in an unknown place. His otherwise cruel Dad also extended support.

"But how will we do it?" Pawan asked. His mom called Keshav to bring his camera and videos recorded in Seema's wedding.

"I don't have the camera of that day Aunty. Seema had asked for the camera which she couldn't return that very day and then we went the next day to bring it back. From that day onwards both the cameras are with Pawan." Keshav replied.

Pawan was confused. He looked at his Mom. Keshav's blunt statement also made them doubt Keshav for involvement in the conspiracy. But then with further inquiry and conversation they found that another camera was still at Seema's in-laws home.

How would they proceed? The maid was contacted and convinced to search Seema's room for the camera and bring it. They had to wait for one complete week for the camera. Each day felt like a year of panic and fear. An endless year. Then, after a week came the relief and all the conspiracy unfolded. The camera had a video of Seema.

She recorded it secretly for Pawan, "Pawan. I had thought never to contact you again. May you live your life happily dear. But I just want a help from you. Pawan, I have the fear, that....that... I will be killed. I don't know how, but I will be. Sameer will kill me so that all the properties in my name become his. (A pause and a sigh) I have planned to run away from this house and I will keep this camera on so that whatever happens next could be recorded and act as a proof in my favour. You will have to fetch this camera and give it to me when I ask for it." she remained silent for a long interval and then breaking into tears said, "I love you Pawan. I had always loved you. I am sorry for everything I said that hurt you. Please do me this last favour and I won't come into your life ever again for anything. I am sorry for everything." Those were her last words. She wiped her tears looked into the camera closer to see if the teary eyes are concealed properly and then waved a bye and closed the recording. That was heartbreaking. Pawan felt like bringing her out of the camera, hugging her and asking her not to leave. But that was impossible now. It was possibly possible if he would have turned back once before leaving her deserted in the restaurant that day, if he could have just tried to hear her loud cry that was suppressed under his zhooom zhooom. But he didn't. 

Another video auto-played. The camera was placed at the higher place such that the record seemed to be a cctv footage with proper audio. For a long time there was nothing noticeable, Seema was walking in the room, in frame and out of frame, doing something or the other, then talking with someone off frame, probably on phone, in an extremely low voice barely audible and understandable. Then the death story came but what happened next shocked everyone. Sameer was thrown away and he stood, went close to Seema, looked at her closely not in a gesture of surprise and shock but in a gesture of inspection and confirmation. Then he called someone to inform, "She seems dead..... Yes, sure..... No there is no sign of life.... Arey she won't survive even if she is taken to the hospital. Sufficient blood has been lost. Okay, I need to get below it before someone comes." and he kept the phone, quickly scratched some glass pieces on his cheeks, forehead and clothes, and slipped under the chandelier to pretend to be unconscious because of the accident. Everything was as clear as a glass now and thus, Pawan's Mom fought the case and got the justice done. Sameer and his mother, the very person whom he had called to inform the success of Seema's death plot, were arrested and punished under law. But the story doesn't end here. Pawan too was punished for the video plot and the advocate who made the complaint against him was his own mother. And the Pawan that returned after completing his punishment was not the one who had conspired for the blackmailing video. He definitely couldn't bring Seema back but tried his best to remove the feeling of her absence in her family. A package of  wedding photography for elites at high price was launched under the name, "Seema: The pinnacle of Lamhe." The revenue from this went to Seema's family. Moreover, Pawan opened a secret contact base under his mother for women who wanted to report dowry and violence cases freely and find a feasible solution. Many more Seemas were prevented from coming under the chandelier of greed and abuse. Many more Seemas were protected from crimes that hurt their privacy. 

But questions still remained.

Seema said she would run away, why did she not? How could she surrender beneath that chandelier? Whom was she talking to in inaudible voice? Did that have an impact over her plan to escape? 

The volume of these questions lessened with every passing day till a time when they withered away. Still they survived much longer than the answer. The answer that was deleted by Keshav, the day he saw it. Yes, it's true that Keshav took the camera with him mistakingly after taking Pawan to his room, but he didn't return it un-inspected. He watched both the videos and then deleted one, permanently. He deleted the first one in which Seema noticed the hidden camera, went behind to see the frame probably and then picked it up to add her voice to it. She said, "Didn't expect this from you Pawan (sobbing). I thought you may never love me anymore but you will never hate me too. But you do. (Sobbing harder) I trusted you. But now I have no choice. I don't know who hurt me more, Sameer or you. (Then wiping her tears with courage) Well, you have really done a hard work planting the camera here. Don't worry, I shall give you a video worth it. I will not disappoint you anymore Pawan. Just make sure, I am the first and the last one you are doing this to. Goodbye Pawan. Goodbye."

Keshav didn't know if it was morally right to delete that video or not. What he knew was that Pawan was his friend, as dear as his life. And Seema? Just someone.