Akash and friends reached their apartment in the evening. They all set speechless at their table. They had managed to get the most important part done but there were more loose ends. They had to ensure the CCTV footages of their apartment complex was wiped out. They had to get rid of all the clothes and times used for the crime. Wash car from inside.
"Yaar, we did a big mistake. We should not have done any of this at all". said Happy Singh.
"It happens, guys. We can't live a straight life always. We have to learn to deal with these troubles." Akash said.
"This is all my fault. I convinced you, folks, to go for this adventure and it all got ruined' said Punit. He was genuinely remorseful. It was as if he was working under extreme pressure and like how a pressure cooker loses it eventually though a loud whistle, he seemed to be letting it go.
"It ended better than I thought. It is now past. We need to focus on the future. I hope the ghost of this girl does not haunt our future." Rajat expressed himself.
Finally, after a long time, they turned their phone on and the WhatsApp, Facebook messages started chiming in all together. Every message they read their felt it might be something to do with this incidence. But it was not. They felt their parents would call them up saying police were looking for them. Every call that arrived they felt it was from cops.
For many days as they stepped out of their home, they felt the security guards were staring at them suspiciously, the neighbors seemed all nosy and perceptible towards them. Every normal activity turned out to be more taxing, mostly because of their own internalized fear.
They scanned news every single day. They started buying newspapers from Pune and nearby areas looking for a news item of a barrel discovered by cops. But no such news arrived. No one ever called them up about this incidence and the horrible act they had done was a distant memory.
They had entirely given up on alcohol because they were scared they might get drunk and talk about this shit. The rat race from which they were trying to escape for a moment seemed the best activity to live in. Months passed by. The pandemic of coronavirus had hit India and the nation wen into lockdown. Travel was reduced to zero. They felt they had escaped the ghost of that day. They had escaped Simran's death and the cover-up. That they were finally free from the burden.
Happy moved to Delhi, Rajat purchased his own flat. Punit went to do his Phd and Akash got a better offer in Australia. The death of Simran was now a forgotten episode. They had moved on.
Authors note:
Is this story truly complete? No. Part 2 is going to come but it won't be able to the ghost of Simran coming back. It is going to be another thrill ride.
