Tears welled up in the son's eyes. For the first time, he wanted to tell his mother everything, but she gently patted his shoulder and silenced him."You don't need to tell me the truth. I only want your peace."She knew he had gone to help someone. And she understood that something inside her son had broken.
Comforted by his mother's words, Arjun rested his head in her lap and began to sob softly. She ran her fingers slowly through his hair, soothing him, while he drifted into his thoughts.
In a trembling voice, Arjun began telling his mother the love story of Shreya and Raghav: -
Shreya was the girl Senior Captain Raghav had fallen in love with. The two had met on a dating app, and their online romance had blossomed over nearly two full years. It was Raghav who had first sent her a message. Shreya replied, and gradually their friendship deepened into something profound. They could talk for hours without ever growing tired. They became each other's necessity; neither could go a day without speaking to the other.
In hindsight, it seemed like an addiction born of loneliness—one that so often ensnares both the young and the middle-aged, wrapping them in the sweet habit of longing.
Raghav had introduced himself to Shreya as an Assistant Police Commissioner. As their conversations grew, he told her he was an encounter specialist—someone who had carried out more than sixty encounters in his police career.
Shreya had responded with gentle scepticism: "How can you boast of so many? Even Daya Nayak, the famous encounter specialist on whom a Hindi film was made, didn't have that many in his entire career. And you claim to have done sixty in just five years? It seems you watch too many police web series. If you had said two or four, I might have believed you. But sixty? I had to Google it. And what a filmy name you've chosen for yourself!"She knew well that Indian law nowhere explicitly justifies encounters, yet there were certain provisions that allowed the police to use force against criminals, and in some cases, the resulting deaths could be legally defended.
Raghav realised that the girl from the small town was not as naïve as she first appeared. Shreya asked him, "After killing so many people, do you still sleep peacefully at night?"
Raghav replied, "Sleep has abandoned me these days. I wake up startled in the middle of the night, restless and anxious. I haven't slept properly for a long time. My health deteriorated so badly that I was forced to take leave and return home."
Shreya said with concern, "Where are you from? If you're unwell, you should get yourself properly checked by a doctor."
Raghav faltered for a moment—his lie had been caught—but he quickly recovered and said, "I've come home to Banaras for a month's leave. I was working more than twenty hours a day and fell seriously ill. Now I'm just resting. Being at home with family, I'll recover soon.
These days I mostly lie around reading stories. I read some of your writings recently—they were beautiful. That's why I thought of talking to you. Who knows, one day I might become a character in one of your stories."
Shreya replied with a smile in her words, "It seems you've already gathered enough information about me. Do I still need to tell you anything about myself?"
Raghav answered, "Yes—everything that isn't written on your profile."
He added playfully, "You've turned into a lady encounter specialist and finished me off completely.
Apart from writing, what else do you do?"
Shreya said, "I treat the sick. And I write their stories too. I'm a physiotherapist, and also something of a healer. I listen to people's life stories and help heal them."
Raghav burst into laughter. "Then we'll get along perfectly. The criminals whose bones I break in police encounters will definitely need a good physiotherapist."
This time, even Shreya could not hold back her laughter.Soon, the two became deeply comfortable with each other. Bound by the thin thread of the internet, their relationship quietly transformed into unspoken emotions.
On Shreya's birthday, Raghav finally revealed his true identity—he was an Army Captain—and shared some of his photographs on WhatsApp. Their bond deepened gradually: from online chats to video calls, and then to long, letter-like messages.
It was a long-distance love, where the distance between their hands was vast, yet the screen was enough to bind their hearts. An irresistible attraction had drawn them together.
What began as light, playful flirting slowly blossomed into a relationship serious enough to speak of marriage.The last time Raghav came home on leave, he met Shreya in person. He was enchanted by her smile. Because of their busy lives, they had managed to meet only once. That meeting, though brief and somewhat formal, was enough for them to decide they wanted to marry soon.
To strengthen the relationship, Raghav spoke to his family. When both families met, however, a clash of egos erupted. Neither side was willing to yield even an inch. Small misunderstandings snowballed, and the once-promising alliance teetered on the edge of collapse.
When no reconciliation seemed possible, Shreya, hurt and exhausted, blocked Raghav's number. The decision pained her too, but she felt it was better to end the relationship than remain in endless uncertainty.
Raghav was deeply wounded by Shreya's coldness. When he learned that Arjun was travelling to Kolkata, he earnestly requested him to help patch things up. Unable to refuse his senior officer, Arjun had reluctantly agreed.
© Copyright Pushpa Chaturvedi
All rights reserved