Vidiyum Varai Kaathiru (Wait Until Dawn)

Megha stared at the empty space on the wall where his picture used to be. She'd taken it down a week ago, after the news of Babu's death had spread through the city. The official reports called it a shootout, a necessary use of force against a criminal. Megha knew better. She knew the blood on his shirt was a truth no report could whitewash.

She heard the familiar sound of his jeep pulling up and braced herself. He came in, his face a mask of exhaustion, the same one he'd worn since that night. He saw the empty space on the wall. A flicker of something, maybe pain, maybe frustration, crossed his eyes before the mask settled again. He walked past her without a word and went to Surya's room.

"Daddy, are we playing cricket today?" Surya asked, his voice full of hope.

Bhoomi forced a smile. "Not today, champion. I have some work to do. Soon, I promise."

The lie hung in the air, a familiar ghost. Megha watched from the doorway as Surya's face fell. He was starting to understand that his father's promises were just words, as fleeting as the rain Bhoomi had so desperately wished for that night.

Later, as she sat with her dinner untouched, Bhoomi came and sat opposite her. The silence between them was an ocean.

"I know what you think of me," he said, his voice a low rumble. "But I did what had to be done. That man… he was a monster. He had to be stopped."

"Stopped? Or killed?" Megha's voice was cold, sharp. "What happened to the man who believed in justice, not vengeance? What happened to the man I loved, Bhoomi?"

He flinched at the use of his name, a name he felt he no longer deserved. "That man is gone, Megha. This job...it changes you. It hardens you. You see too much."

"Then quit!" she pleaded, her voice cracking. "Quit and come back to us. Come back to me." Her longing deep eyes. He saw after a long time.

He looked at her, and for a moment, the mask slipped. The raw pain in his eyes was a glimpse of the man she remembered. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away.

"I can't," he whispered, the words heavy with a finality that crushed her. "I have to keep fighting the monsters."

Megha looked at him, truly looked at him, and saw not a hero, but a man haunted by a darkness that was consuming him. She saw a man who had lost himself in his mission, who had become the very thing he fought against.

"And who will fight the monster you've become?" she said, the words a quiet challenge.

The next morning, Surya went to school with a new notebook. He hadn't been able to write a poem about his dad the night before. But he had a new idea.

"My daddy is my hero," he wrote again. But this time, he crumpled the page and threw it in the trash. The words were a lie now, even to him.

Meanwhile, Bhoomi sat in his jeep, watching the rain finally fall. It wasn't the cleansing downpour he had hoped for. It was a cold, heavy rain, a reflection of the unending night that had settled in his heart.

He knew he couldn't go back. The line he had crossed was now a chasm. He had chosen the path of a monster to fight a monster. And now, he was alone, trapped in a relentless cycle of violence and grief. The night would never end for him.

Oru Iravu (AEyed)

 

The Year 1996

Babu was a computer technician. At 23 years of age, he worked at a small store during the day assembling computers for buyers and in the evenings he worked as a keeper for a browsing center. Being a computer technician, manning a net browsing center came easily for him. Browsing centers were a new thing in the country. Many homes did not even have computers. Most people who came during the evenings simply spent time to understand the internet, and for some people, it was their first time using computers. For a school dropout, Babu's knowledge of computers was quite good. That kept the owner unworried and busy with his other businesses.

He usually sat next to people to teach them how to use computers, browse the internet, and so on. One of his customers was a young lady who visited frequently in the evenings.

Babu had a particular delight in sitting next to her during her browsing sessions. His thirst for her was visible in his eyes. Her saree was an ornament on her, making her more voluptuous. Every time, Babu grabbed the opportunity to sit next to her.

Babu did not miss a chance to touch her anywhere. Even in the 10 to 15 minutes he sat next to her, Babu would do a variety of audacious things that outraged her. Babu would press his knees against her legs on the pretext of looking closely at the monitor. He would rub his arm against her shoulders while adjusting the keyboard. Sometimes he placed his hand between her hand and body to get hold of the mouse. Babu became more aggressive as the days passed.

For some reason, she never complained, despite the anger she controlled. Babu seemed to understand this as her visits to the center were becoming less frequent. Babu started imagining her in every picture he saw on the internet. His obsession was growing like a fire inside him. He saw her in all the pictures he had downloaded from the internet. It had been two weeks now, and she had not shown up at the center.

That evening his boss had a computer repair to be attended to. He gave Babu the address and asked him to attend to it on his way back.

It was 7 PM when Babu pressed the doorbell at the house. An old lady opened the door, and Babu informed her about the computer repair. As she was walking away, the lady shouted into the house that the repairman had arrived. Babu saw the lady walk away and waited by the door for someone to come. Another lady in her mid-50s came out and showed Babu the computer room. The room had an A/C and it was running. Babu recognized the computer that he had assembled a few days ago. He took a screwdriver from his pocket and opened the computer to check the problem.

He heard the lady say to someone that she was going to the market. Babu finished working on the computer and set it up on the worktable. He pocketed the screwdriver, turned on the computer, and waited for the Windows start button to appear. Once it came up, he decided to leave. But in the past hour, he realized that no one had come to check on him.

He walked out of the room and called out to see if someone was around. She came out of her room. His heart started pounding. It was her house. And they were alone. His eyes gleamed with desire, and it showed in his smile. He greeted her, but she did not really reciprocate. The computer had come home only to avoid going to the center. He asked her to check on the computer and if it was working to her satisfaction. His eyes were glued to her.

He wanted to rekindle those browsing center moments in this house. He thought the moment was opportune, with his desire flaring up. She sat down to check the computer and while she was at it, he gently touched her shoulder.

She started and moved to the side. He bent close to the monitor and pretended it was an accident. But inside, he was shaken. She appeared confused to him, but her lack of protest gave him extra courage.

He went closer to her, with his heart racing like a bullet. He grabbed her hand and asked her, "Why are you not coming to the center? Don't you like me?"

She pushed him away and shouted at him to leave.

As she raised her voice, Babu said, "Please don't shout. Someone might hear us."

But she shouted more ferociously, screaming at him to leave.

Babu suddenly pulled her by her dress and shut her mouth with his hand. She could feel his heart vibrating against her back. She was looking for a chance to stop him, but his arms were crushing her like iron bars.

Babu whispered in her ears, "Didn't I say shut up?"

"How much lower do I have to stoop?" he said as he cupped her. "You arrogant lady."

She violently kicked her legs. Babu tore her shirt, causing his nails to tear into her skin. At that moment she sprang out from his clutches and ran for the door. She looked back at the evil face of the browsing center guy. His eyes were red, but a smile was at the corner of his lips, smiling at her helplessness.

The large, lonely home handicapped her. Her heart was racing faster than her. Breathing heavily, she was forgetting that she was not shouting.

Babu's sublime urge fueled this brutal hunt. He imagined most of what he saw on the internet. He took a leap and grabbed her already torn shirt. That made her slip and fall. Babu grabbed the opportunity and sprang on her. He used his right hand to shut her mouth as he sat on her stomach. One of her hands was pushing him from his chest and the other was looking for something to hold on to. His weight made her totally defenseless.

He took his screwdriver out. Waving it across her face, he said, "I will kill you if you shout."

Her eyes were wide. Her legs were still kicking in the air. He could feel hot air gushing out of her nose. He nodded at her, and kept the screwdriver on his lips, signaling her to be quiet. He rested on his knees and she coughed under his hand when the weight was relieved off her stomach.

Tears were constantly rolling. Her eyes begged him to let go. As he loosened his hand, with all the strength she could gather, she bit him. He slammed her head with his hand. Her head hit the floor, and she cried in pain. And she kept crying at her helplessness, and she cried more realizing what was happening to her. She tried not to feel anything.

When her other hand got free, it continued to search in the dark for something to hold on to. Her left hand got hold of something, she dragged it and hit his head. Instantly she could feel a cold object piercing her. Babu pulled the screwdriver out of her stomach, and she could feel her cold blood on her fingers.

Babu stood up, looking at the woman who lay like a flower crushed under a foot. Her fingers were not moving. Without wasting a moment, he ran out of the door into the dark street. That night never ended for both of them.

(AEyed) = Story grammar checked and corrected with the help of Google Gemini.