A Story.

Can I write a story?Here goes-

The Boy Who Cried Wolf.


She hated hospitals, always had ,always would. She was repelled by its distinctive smell, a mix of disinfectant, urine ,bile and blood. ‘Eau de hospital’, nauseous, pervading ,invasive. She blocked the smell. She had a job to do, and she ,being she, would do it. She was alone. She wanted it that way. She refused a partner ,another officer ,this was her problem, her responsibility ,she had to handle it. And she would. She was in mufti, jeans, white shirt ,sneakers, no uniform. She reached the ward, she saw her lying there ,bandaged , wounded, a drip on her fragile wrist. She saw the parents sitting, soundless, eyes filled with pain, shock an almost disbelief. She saw her.

A thin pale girl, eyes dazed ,in shock, staring at the walls, the dirty yellow ,paint peeling walls. A wave of sympathy caught her in its grip. She came to the bed ‘Hi Sonu, how are you ?’ The girls eyes focused ,they stared at her ,they brightened ‘Annu Tai, I am so glad you came.’ She pulled a chair, sat down ‘How are you? I need to talk to you” She added ‘Alone’. The girl nodded ,motioned to her parents to leave, it was just them and the bloodied bandages. She wasted no time, time was paramount ‘What happened Sonu ?’ The ravaged body on the bed tried to compose her thoughts ,she failed ,she cried ‘A monster attacked me .’ She looked kindly ,but skeptically ‘A monster? Did a man do this ,and if so why ?I need all details.’ The girl on the bed said ‘It was not a man. It was a monster’ ‘I need details, just talk’. The girl stumbled through words ‘I work in a call centre. Our boss is a young and good looking man. All the girls had a crush on him….’She added unhappily ‘Including me’


Aruna waited, she wanted details, she sat patiently while the girl gathered her scattered wits. ‘ Rahul, that’s his name, started wooing me, I was thrilled. All the girls were so jealous. We started dating about a month ago….’Sonu paused ,Aruna didn’t allow her to ‘Go ahead’ ‘Three nights ago, after work he asked me to join for a coffee. He suggested his house. And I went’ ‘You went to his house at two p.m. ‘’she verified. Color stained Sonu’s cheeks ,but she defended her actions ‘ Yes, I trusted him ,loved him, believed in him….’ She started to cry. Aruna waited. She resumed through a bout of hiccupping ‘ We had coffee ,we heard music, he went inside ,and this huge ferocious dog or wolf attacked me. I was so frightened, I tried to fight the animal off, I called for Rahul, he never came. Some of my friends had been following me, they heard my cries, rushed in, and the wolf dog disappeared. But not before wounding and biting me…’She dissolved in tears ‘Rahul is not connected to this. He is innocent. He had to leave suddenly that night ,his mother was very sick, he had no time to tell me, he just drove off, and forgot that I was there ‘’she added defiantly. Aruna got up ,she soothed the girl, she left.

All she knew this was the third case of mangling, killing by a wolf….one had died ,two were in hospital. She walked away ,her mind in a turmoil. She had to speak to someone, and who better than her friend Jeroo, psychologist, the voice of sanity, reason … She dialed her cell, no reply. Aruna decided to visit her…. She rang her doorbell, no reply ,the lights were on ,the music was playing, puzzling. She debated. She decided ,and broke the lock, walked in and saw Jeroo lying on the floor, bleeding ,dying. She tried to pick her up , her almost ravaged ,dead form was trying to say something .Aruna held her close , hugged her.. she heard her whisper ‘Werewolf….that man ,R…..’.Jeroo, her dearest friend was dead. Aruna held her ,cried ,called her nephew ,the doctors . And left.

A dark ,bitter rage coursed through her veins, tears blurred her vision, frustration sneered her brain. She gritted her teeth…..
She had to find the man, the wolf, or bizarrely the ‘werewolf ‘’. Fear was unknown to her. She drove to Rahul Sharma’s house. She rang the bell, she waited ,she wasn’t going to leave without answers. The door opened ,He stood there ,tall ,dark, handsome. She strode in ,flashing her ID , ‘Aruna Gokhale, police.’ He smiled ‘Please come in .’She was defensive ,she was angry, she wasn’t going to be deceived by a handsome face, she meant business. ‘Mr.Sharma, two persons are dead, one is dying, the only link is you…and a dog. I want explanations and fast.’ Rahul smiled ,he looked happy, he came up to her ,she moved away. His smile broadened ‘ Have you forgotten me ? The boy, the wolf ,the disappearance?’ She stood shocked. Words left her. She remembered oh-so- clearly.

Rahul ‘Roro’, her kid brother, ‘Wolf’ their dog. Both had disappeared, her parents had searched for years, neither were found. She looked at him, questions in her eyes. He said very softly ‘He was a werewolf, he died after biting me, so I became one. It wasn’t my fault. Will you still arrest me? ‘’She faltered, she remembered her little brother with love. A mistake. The werewolf sprang…..and she battled with the monster. She had her gun ,he had his fangs, teeth, claws, but he was not human, she was…..she couldn’t fire the gun, but he could kill her……he did. The werewolf howled victoriously, the man cried , sobbed …….