And after that I fell asleep. Too deep sleep was that! In fact I was experiencing such a sleep for the first time in my life.
All my worries, tensions and stress were gone as if nothing happened on the bridge. No Shirish. No money. No fight.
And I suddenly woke up with strange sounds coming from the prohibited room. The person at the counter had warned me not to open the door of that room.
That room is shut for years and now sounds coming from it?
How is it possible?
The sound was like few people were speaking. But the words were not clear. The door didn't have a lock. Only a bolt.
I looked at the wall clock.
It was 3:15 am. Thank God these voices woke me up otherwise I would have missed my train. The station was very near to the lodge. Even if I start from this lodge at 3:50 I will reach there by 3:55 am. I switched on my mobile phone to check train progress.
But the voices became louder. Out of curiosity, I took a chair and moved it towards the door. I sat on it and put my ear on the door.
Now I could hear the discussions and conversations very clearly.
"Which crime did he commit?", someone was saying.
"Crime? He pushed a man to railway tracks from a foot over bridge of a railway station. The man's body was cut by the speedy train entering the station!", another one answered him.
"Is it?"
"Yes, and the person whom he pushed down was his friend whom he owed huge amount! and he killed that person. Scoundrel. And he got in the same train which killed that person Shirish. Then he went to a lodge for hiding. I got all these details from the jailer. He is my friend."
What is this going on? Who are these people? How do they know all this? Why they are talking about me?
The person inside the room continued.
"But police found his locket near the dead body. The cards found from dead body's wallet confirmed the dead person was Shirish. Then Police read name on the locket and got record of the mobile number owned by the name from mobile company. Then they tracked and traced the location of the mobile phone by contacting head quarters of IT cell. Police reached to a lodge near the station. Police captured him at 3:45 am in the morning on the same lodge. His was convicted by court and got life imprisonment!"
What?? My hand went to my neck. The locket was not there. That means while I was scuffling with masked Shirish, the locket fell down on the railway track along with Shirish?
I looked at the wall clock. It was 3:30 am.
Is this hallucination or a dream? My heart started beating faster.
What to do now? Are all these people telling the truth? If yes, then police will come to this lodge within 15 minutes to arrest me. Shall I run away! No. Police must be nearby. They will definitely catch me.
Wait! Are these voices planning some conspiracy against me?
Voices now became more louder.
"Whoever comes with us in this prison for the first time, we welcome him by breaking few of his bones!"
Oh. That means I am a new entry in the prison and other prisoners are planning to beat me up? Am I hearing future events?
"Please, please! Don't beat me. I am not born criminal. Circumstances made me commit crime. Already police have beated me up much in the lock up and now you all will beat me? No. I can't bear more beating now!"
All they started laughing loudly and disgustingly.
"Oh oh! You are not born criminal? And all of us. Are we criminal since our childhood? Is there a stamp of criminal on our forehead on birth?"
"No, I don't mean to say like that but.."
"Your pleading won't help. Four of us will hold you tight and then remaining four will beat you badly like we knead dough! Its a tradition here!"
And I heard from the room my own voice which was crying and shouting due to being beaten up.
The clock was ticking.
Then I heard the another me in that room escaped from the hands of the fellow prisoners and my ears got vibrations because the another me was knocking on the door from inside the room. He was pleading, "Please save me. I know you are sitting on the chair listening to all this. Please open the door and save me from all these goons. Then we both will become one and you will be saved from police. Hurry up!"
What shall I do? Shall I open the door? Shall I believe the voice of another me? My mind stopped working.
I remembered warning of the person on the lodge counter not to open the door at any cost.
Loud laughing voices were saying, "Let us see if that another version of you opens the door for you? He will not open. He will not save you. Because he is coward!"
The knock became more louder!
And suddenly I heard knocks at the main door also.
I looked at the clock.
It was 3:45 am.
Police?
Now I couldn't bear the mixed sound of knocks at both the doors with additional voices of laughing goons.
The voice at the main door said: "We are police. Open the door. We know you are inside. Open the door till we count 5 or we will break the door!"
The voice at the another door said: "Please don't open the lodge main door. Otherwise police will get you and you will be put in prison. Instead, open this door and save me from these goons!"
That means the voices in the room were telling the truth? I should not open the lodge main door. Instead, I must open the room door inside which another me from future was pleading.
It was already 3:45 am.
I had to act fast...
And finally I opened the room door and suddenly the knocking sounds by the police on the main door stopped....
