A Close Friend (Part 1)

Mr Rastogi stepped out with a watering pipe and began watering the plants. It was Sunday evening, Mr Rastogi had a good afternoon nap, something the rest of the week was devoid of.



As he watered the plants, he thought of his son who had lost a considerable amount of Mr Rastogi’s money in a poor investment choice. Mr Rastogi felt anger rising up more towards himself than his son, he could have simply refused to give it in the first place.



Just then the gate of the neighbour’s house opened abruptly and out stepped a 15 years old boy whose expression told that his mind was quite unsettled. He looked around and found Mr Rastogi looking at him and Mr Rastogi still had his angry expression and it seemed to add to the boy’s unease as he hurriedly walked away.



A puzzled Mr Rastogi recognised him as Ayansh, Mr Tibrewal’s son. Mr Rastogi looked at his neighbour’s house, it had been almost a year since the Virmani’s had shifted here.



Ayansh got to his house and sat quietly in his room quieter than usual. Trying to think of the past months.



Ayansh was at that age where one began sharing and exchanging things with their close friends. Console games, action figures, a cool superhero t-shirt. But Ayansh had no such close friends. His family moved around from state to state several times before settling down in this particular neighbourhood. That was five years ago.



Mukul arrived in the neighbourhood when his family moved in the house next to Mr Rastogi’s. Ayansh met Mukul at a birthday party and that’s where they became friends and Ayansh found a good friend in Mukul.



When Ayansh went to Mukul’s house the first time it seemed as if Mukul’s family had spared no expense to his demands. He had almost everything. Mukul had no sibling as he had told Ayansh and Ayansh never asked about the tall boy next to Mukul in the family portrait.



Ayansh felt like a lifetime would pass seeing everything that Mukul had. They always met at Mukul’s house; it was as if Mukul preferred not to go outside unless required. He had not been to Ayansh’s house the five months they had known each other but Ayansh didn’t mind.



They would meet almost every day in the evenings on weekdays and sometimes during the day, with the exception of examinations and Ayansh going out with family, but Mukul always had time for Ayansh.



A problem presented itself when Ayansh noticed the noises he heard one day at Mukul’s house even though nobody else was there in the house that evening except Ayansh and Mukul. He had heard them before one day and ignored them, but this time they had become a noticeable question.



“Is there someone in the house?” asked Ayansh



“No, it’s just us,” said Mukul



“I heard a door being closed, maybe some footsteps after. I have heard them before, it’s from the floor above,” said Ayansh trying to look outside the door of Mukul’s room



“I didn’t hear anything,” said Mukul, but Ayansh caught a last second tense expression on Mukul’s face before it disappeared.



The main door of the house faced the stairs that went to the floor above. Mukul and his parents lived on the ground floor. While Ayansh left for his house that day, he felt someone watching him, standing on the stairs, he looked back to see no one.



“I think you need rest,” said Mukul, bringing Ayansh’s attention to him.



Ayansh did not respond to that and said, “I will see you later”, and he walked away. He thought about it, and something within told him things were not right. The house all of a sudden began to feel a place of unease.



Ayansh did not go to meet Mukul for the next few days. Ignoring the calls he made on the landline, until on a Friday Ayansh’s sister came to his room and informed him that Mukul had come to meet him.



Ayansh found Mukul sitting in the drawing room, Ayansh’s mother was talking to him, the usual talk a parent has with a child. Later Ayansh and Mukul talked about their favourite ongoing shows and happenings at school. No reference was made to Ayansh not coming by the last few days.



“You should come by the house on Sunday evening. I will ask mom to order some burgers; I would like for you to meet someone. It will make you feel better,” said Mukul before leaving



Ayansh stood by the door as Mukul walked away, unsure of whether he would go or unsure of what would happen.



The story will continue…

Written by Anuran Chatterji

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