Haunted Lies part 3

CHAPTER 2- CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Early morning the clock stuck 4, it was a new day but none of us had slept the last night.  All our eyes were full of hopes, prayers and tears.  The letter of capital punishment was on my study table.  It hurt my eyes.

“after my death, I wish that my body to be handed over to my family in India, without any damage to my body.  Towards the end I still plead that I am innocent and after my death even if my last wish is fulfilled, the guilty will be punished”

My eyes were full of tears, I dint know where I went wrong!! Just as the clock stuck 4:30 the telephone rang. I came to the living room and saw my father motionless holding the telephone and my mom covering her mouth with her saree and crying inside, my wife was confronting my sister in law who was as still as a log.  My father put the phone down and said- “we lost him”

I just said- “I will go the airport!!” and I came out of the room. My eyes wanted to cry, but I took a deep breath and put all the tears inside.

At 5 I came out of my house, media personells surrounded me, but I chose not to comment, I went to the airport, waiting for my brother, with an ambulance outside. I had never imagined that major, Aman will pay this heavy price of being a true nationalist.

Around 5 years before Aman was serving country at border, around mid summer during raan utsav, people were drunk and trying to cross the border, Aman tried to save them but the foreign army caught him and prosecuted him as an Indian spy!!  These 5 years he was tortured more than a hell, so much that he was pleading death to  the authority.  The foreigners are not to be blamed, the most sad part is that my own government declared him as a foolish army man.  I was so distressed, hurt and sad, I was helpless and angry, angry that I could not save my brother, I could not rectify his image!

Finally the airforce authority arraived, with honours he was brought in front of me, I saw his face, pale, white but as usual smiling, I remembered his smiling face, when he used to wave his hand over my head and say- “your country expects a lot from you chotu…..never let it down!!”

After death also his face was the same, same as that of a strugging army man. I saluted him, as tears rolled out of my eyes, I took the coffin and sat in the ambulance, I gave driver car keys and asked to leave towards home.

The white coffin lay in front of me and I just closed my eyes, not to face his body!!

As I sat my eyes closed, a small string of air passed into my ear and I heard- “chotu!!” with a spank , I opened my eyes and saw everywhere, I did not find anyone, nearby. I closed my eyes again, and I heard it again-  “the guilty will be punished”

I saw again but could not find anyone, it could have been my hallucination, but I was really stressed out so I stopped thinking about all these!! I reached home, and as usual media personnels were surrounding the door, irritated I pushed few and took the coffin inside, the whole family was waiting.  First time I saw my sister in law in white saree without bangles, hair untied, eyes swollen, and mind dull. She was surrounded by a group of ladies and being consoled for no reason.

I entered inside to remove the coffin lid but!!  Aman`s body was missing!! My face went white, how was this possible all together? Throughout the route, there was no missing body, I was in a fix, I had seen his pale face. That visual was still before my eyes, I rushed out but outside, there was absolute silence, the media personels were also not there.  It was the same again like before.  It was as if suddenly everyone went into a black hole.

I came back and everyone looked at me with a surprise!! I looked at the coffin and the body was there, everyone was traumatised with what just had happened!! I looked at my sister in law and she was smiling at the body.

She muttered- “the guilty will be punished!!”

That day the last rites were done properly, the smoke in the sky apperead as if Aman was smiling at all of us!!

But now the horror was that the next day newspaper contained headlines-

“the judge of the Aman case killed by a neck throttle”

“police inspector MD. Salim killed a road accident”

“epidemic in Lahore jail”

Now was all this coincidence or Aman`s revenge?