THAT EVENING - #WRITEAPAGEADAY #BLOGCHATTER

 
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He glanced at Swati’s perfect face – a face that he had memorised every detail of. The large lustrous eyes, the aquiline nose, the high cheek bones and the delightful dimples that appeared when she smiled, making her appear younger than she was.

She looked at him enquiringly.

“What’s the matter, Akshay? You are looking at me as if you have never seen me before?”

“I have never seen this side of you before!” The thought struck him like lightning. However, he merely shook his head.

“No, love, I love looking at you. You know that, don’t you?”

Her smile was dazzling, and his mind went back to those days when he would have died for a smile of hers, when he was head over heels in love with her. For a moment, he was distracted, and his eyes lost their focus. She frowned in bewilderment as she placed a slender hand over his.

“Akshay… Akshay, you are in a strange mood today. I have never seen you like this.”

He pressed her hand as he tried to get his chaotic thoughts together. He needed to mask his actual feelings…

Swati was left with a feeling of unease. She wondered what Akshay had in his mind. He had always been malleable, and she could twist him around her little finger. Maybe, that was why things happened as they did…

“Tapan, Akshay has been acting awfully strange over the past two days.” Swati’s voice held a note of trepidation. “Do you think he suspects anything?”

“No way… Akshay has never been able to see anything beyond his own nose. I should know. He is my best friend, after all!” Tapan’s guffaw made her wince. She had always felt that he was a trifle crude, but then, he was everything that Akshay was not – well built, confident and good looking, which is what had attracted her in the first place. She had resisted his advances because she had scruples. However, one fine day, she had succumbed and the two had hidden their affair from the world, and especially from Akshay.

That evening, Akshay had invited them over to his bachelor pad.

“Come over for a drink, guys,” he had said. “What are best friends for after all?”

Swati and Tapan were in Tapan’s flat when he had called. Swati shushed Tapan, gesturing to him. “Sure, I will be over at around seven. See you, then!”

“I will call Swati right away,” continued Akshay. “I hope she will be free as well.”

Tapan smiled across at Swati who struggled to stop a giggle.

“Fine! That will be great. Bye for now!”

Tapan cut the call with a flourish and threw his mobile on the couch next to Swati.

“Poor guy! My heart aches for him,” he said with a snigger.

Swati looked at him, irritated. She hated his attitude at times. She wondered why she had got involved with him, especially when Akshay was such a decent man.

“Come in, come in!” Akshay let Swati in. Tapan was already there and was sipping on his first drink. He smiled at Swati and rose to give her a bear hug. Swati held back slightly. She was not comfortable with the gesture because she was truly fond of Akshay.

There was a bottle of wine on the table. Akshay went to the bar and picked up three long-stemmed wine glasses. He brought them to the table and poured wine into all three.

“Cheers to us!” he said, lifting his glass.

The other two responded to his toast as they took a sip together. Akshay watched them even as he held his glass aloft. He had not tasted his wine yet. As he continued to gaze at them, Swati suddenly noticed that his glass was untouched.

“Come on, Akshay, join us!” she said, taking another sip of her wine.

Akshay smiled at them both. He shook his head, and deliberately placed his glass on the table, and walked out of the room, locking the front door behind him.

Two hours later, he strolled back into the room where Swati and Tapan lolled on the couch, their breaths stilled forever. Akshay still had his gloves on, the gloves that both the others had failed to notice. He had been confident that they would not notice, just as they had not realised that he had not taken a single sip of wine. The poison had worked and now he set out to get rid of the bodies. They would not be missed for the next two days as it was the weekend.

After he had stashed the bodies away, Akshay made his way back home. Everything was in order for he was a meticulous young man. He washed the glasses and poured the wine down the kitchen sink. He thought of Tapan and Swati in the river where he had thrown their bodies into the deepest part, inundated with seaweed and clinging roots. It was possible that they would not be found for many days.

Akshay took a shower and changed his clothes. He glanced at himself in the mirror and smiled grimly. It was time to play the part of the grieving friend who would report that his best friends had gone missing.

I am participating in the February #Blogchatter #WriteAPageADay Challenge

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