A little later I reached Green Park, paid the fare to the Auto driver, and started walking towards my building. I was feeling a little intoxicated. As I walked up the stairs, and reached my room, I found that the room was locked. My mind was filled with anxiety. This was the first time Aarav had left the room. The room keys that Bahadur had given to me were also inside the room. I thought of enquiring in the office – maybe he had left the keys there.

I slowly walked down the stairs and reached office. There, a man with receding hairline, wearing thick Kurta Pajama was sitting on a chair. I sensed that this man must be Mr. Sharma, the owner of this building. I tried to control myself so that he might not sense that I was drunk. This was my first meeting with him and I didn’t want him to see me in a tipsy condition. I nodded my head and greeted him.

I was very surprised at the first sentence he said – “Do you want a room?”

I couldn’t understand why he had asked me this question. I had been staying here for the past one month. I smiled and told him that I had been living in this building for a month.

“Oh, ok. I didn’t know, that’s why I asked if you needed a room. By the way, what’s your name”, he asked.

“Avinash Sharma”, I replied.

“Avinash Sharma? But so far as I know, nobody with this name lives here.” He started looking in the files.

“Son, Your name doesn’t appear in this File.” he said.

When I heard this, I suddenly recalled that Bahadur had not put my Form in any File.

“Sir, Bahadur had not kept my Form in any File. When I had asked him, he had mentioned that he would take the Form to your house and get it signed. Maybe he forgot.” I said.

“He always does stupid things when he is drunk. Anyways, how can I help you?” he said.

“Yes Sir. Actually, it seems my room partner has gone out somewhere. His phone is also coming switched off. Now when I went to the room, I found it locked. I thought maybe he has left the keys here. Or maybe if you have an extra set of keys of the room…” I requested.

“No son. I have been here since morning, but no one has left any keys. By the way, what is your room number?” he tried to be helpful.

“Room number 22” I said.

Hearing the room number, his eyes became wide.

“What? You are staying in room number 22?” he looked surprised.

“Yes”, I said, “But why do you look worried?”

“There is a reason. I have not given that room to anybody in the last seven years. What was the name of your room partner?” he asked.

“Aarav”, I said.

On hearing this name, he immediately got up from the chair. I could not understand why the name had made him so tense.

“What happened, Sir?”

In a heavy voice he said “How is it possible?”

“What is not possible? What can’t happen?” I was confused.

“The boy you are talking about, died seven years back in that very room. And you are saying that he is your room partner.”

I found this very weird. I thought that it was I who had drinks, but this old man is talking as if he was drunk.  

“What are you saying? I have not come here to listen to some horror story. There is a limit to a joke.” I was getting upset.

“I am not joking. I am telling you the truth, son. Do you have his phone number?” he said soberly.

“Yes, I have his number, but it has been coming off since evening.” I said.

He took out a file from a pile of old files, and pulled out a Form, which was of Aarav.

On seeing Aarav’s photo on the Form, I said, “Yes, same person. He is the one who stays with me.”

As I saw the form, my eyes fell on the phone number mentioned on the Form. I checked it with the number in my phone. They were same. Now I was convinced that either this old man was joking with me, or he had actually gone senile.

“See, this Form has the same number, which is also in my phone. Now do you believe that I am not lying? If you have any extra keys of that room, please give it to me, or else I will wait here.” I said irritatingly. “But please stop telling me these nonsense stories. I know you are trying to frighten me.“

“I am not trying to frighten you. What I said is truth. This boy died 7 years back.” he said with a glum face.

Now I was really angry. I lost my temper, “Have you lost your mind? Why are you talking like a mad person? A boy has been living with me for the last one month, and you are telling me that he died 7 years back? Today morning when I left for my office, he was in my room. You should be ashamed of making a joke of this.”

A little shaken, he shouted and called Bahadur, who had returned from his home after a month’s holiday, a couple of day’s back.

As soon as Bahadur saw me and Mr. Sharma together, his face turned white. His facial expressions reflected that his cheating had been exposed. Mr. Sharma walked up to him and giving a tight slap on his face, said “How dare you even think of giving this room on rent without asking me?”

Bahadur just stood with his head bent. Among the three of us, the person who was totally clueless, was me. I wondered what the two of them were up to. I was almost sure that they had both gone mad… or maybe I couldn’t understand anything as I was drunk.

Mr. Sharma again shouted at him “Why did you give the room keys to him without asking me?”

With folded hands, Bahadur said “Forgive me Sir. Because of my habit of alcohol, I am under a lot of debt. Since you never ask me about that room, I thought I will give this room on rent, and with that money I will repay my loan. I never thought that one day my lies would get caught.”

“Do you know what this boy is telling me? That Aarav is also living with him in that room. The person who had died 7 years ago.” Mr. Sharma said.

Hearing this, Bahadur said “How is this possible Sir? He died many years ago.”

Now this was crossing all limits of my patience. I could not see myself being treated like a fool, and shouted “Stop making me an ass by telling me these ghost stories. Do you think I am mad? If you don’t believe me, come to my room. But stop this drama now. Enough of it.”

For a while, both of them kept looking at each other. Then all three of us started walking towards my room. I lead with Mr. Sharma and Bahadur following me. On reaching the room, Mr. Sharma asked Bahadur to break the lock, but he was too frightened. His cowardice further angered me. Pushing him aside, I said “Your drinking habit has made you lose your senses. Get aside, I will break it myself.”

I looked around, and found an old iron rod lying in a corner. I picked the rod and broke the lock in one stroke. As soon as I opened the door, my eyes widened. The room was full of cobwebs and there was dust everywhere in the room. The only things lying in the room were my two bags, fully packed, and a cup in a corner, with a red mark on it. On the wall, at several places, “I love you Aarav” was written in red color. The room appeared as if it had actually been closed for 7 years. I couldn’t believe if what I was seeing was a dream, or reality. For the past one month I had been living in this room, and when I had left in the morning, everything was ok. Aarav was also there. Suddenly everything looked like a fantasy.

Sharma ji put his hand on my shoulder and said “Son, pick up your bags and come to my office. “ As he left, Bahadur also rushed with him, out of fear.

I was still standing there, looking at the room. I could not understand anything. I slowly picked my bags and came down to office. Sharma ji was still sitting tense. On seeing me, he folded his hands and said “Son, I have a request to make. Whatever has happened with you, please don’t tell anything to anyone outside. Else all other occupants will also leave out of fear. This building is my sole source of income. If you want, I will give you another room. You can stay here as long as you want. I won’t charge you anything. But, please don’t tell these things to anyone.”

Sharma ji was offering me a free stay. It was not a bad offer at all. But I had decided to leave the city. Only I knew how badly I was shaken from inside. I shivered at the thought that I had been living with a ghost for the past one month.

I told Sharma ji, “Do you think that any person who has had the experience that I had, would ever stay in this building? I am leaving this city today itself. My body has become numb. And you are asking me to stay in this building? But, you please don’t take any tension. I won’t tell anyone anything about this event, because it is not your fault. But before leaving, I want to know one thing. It is very difficult for me to believe that Aarav died 7 years ago. And the person who had been living with me for the last one month was his soul. Whoever he was, he became my good friend. I want to know everything that you know about Aarav. I want to know how he died.”

“Son, if you really want to know everything, you should read the Novel written by him, the one he wrote immediately before dying. You will know everything about him.”

Sharma ji’s statement further increased my curiosity. Without a second’s delay, I asked “What is the name of the Novel?”

“The beginning of my end”, he said.

Hearing the name of the Novel, I almost lost my senses. This was the same Novel about which some boys were talking about in a hotel, the other day. At that time I didn’t know that I was living with the ghost of the writer of that Novel. It seemed that Aarav was trying to communicate something to me. Or he wanted that I should read that Novel. After all that had happened, even if he had not wanted me to read the Novel, I would still have read it.

Sharma ji once again offered me to stay in the building. But I didn’t have the courage. So I refused the offer and decided to return to my home town. Sharma ji returned to me the rent I had paid, and said “Keep it son. All this has happened because of Bahadur. I will deduct this money from his salary. You please don’t tell anyone about all this.”

I smiled and said “I wont take this money. And you also don’t deduct any money from Bahadur’s salary. I don’t know why Aarav’s spirit had called me here. Maybe I will get the answer after I have read his Novel. And, you don’t worry at all. I will not tell anyone anything. And I also won’t ever return to this place. I will take your leave now.”

As I left the office, I found Bahadur standing outside with folded hands. Perhaps he had heard our talk. He took both the bags from my hands and came out to see me off in the Auto. As I sat in the Auto, he said, “Please forgive me”.

I smiled and said, “It’s ok.”

For one last time, I looked at the Sharma Building. I would never want to come back here - ever. I asked the Auto-driver to take me to the New Delhi Railway Station.

On the way to the station, I kept thinking why had Aarav called me, what was he trying to tell me? My interactions with him over the past one month were playing over and over in my mind. There were hints which I had been repeatedly ignoring. For instance, he had called me by my name in our first meeting. Or, how he had referred to himself as a ghost who never slept. Whenever I had asked him to come out with me, he had always made some excuse or the other. Everything was becoming clear to me. Now I was more eager than ever to know about Aarav and how he had died.

The auto had reached the Station, but I was still lost in my thoughts. The auto driver shook my shoulder and said “The station has come. Where are you lost?”

True, I was totally lost in some other world. I pulled out my Bags and asked him “What is the fare?”

“One hundred and sixty rupees,” he said.

I gave him 2 hundred rupees.

“Don’t you have change?”

“Keep all the money, uncle” I said and started walking towards the Station. There was a huge queue at the ticket window. I also stood in the queue, and looked at the electronic display board which shows trains arrival / departure information. My train to Faizabad would arrive in exact 30 minutes, at 10.20 pm. I bought the ticket and proceeded towards the platform.

But my eyes were searching for some book store, and I did locate one. The book seller was a seventy year old man, wearing glasses with very thick rims. He had thick white hair, but hardly any teeth remained in his mouth. He was wearing a black color muffler on a blue sweater. I put my bags down and frantically started looking around in the shop. Needless to say what I was looking for.

The book seller asked in a trembling voice “What book are you looking for, son?”

“Uncle, do you have the Novel - The Beginning of my End?”

“Son, this Novel has been the best seller for the past seven years.”

I had realized by now that this must be a special Novel, to remain a best seller for so many years. My curiosity was now hitting the roof. I again asked him “Uncle, if you have it, please give me one.”

“Oh yes, wait for a second,” the old man looked around through his heavy lenses, and finally found the book, and gave it to me.

The front page of the Novel had Aarav’s picture with a girl. In the middle of the page was the book’s title in blood, “The Beginning of my End”. I was sure the girl must have been Aarav’s girl friend. But what really caught my attention was the image of a cup, with blood flowing out. I remembered having seen a similar cup in Aarav’s room as well. I was hopeful of finding the secret of this cup also in the Novel.

The platform was pretty crowded. Perhaps the people were waiting for the same train which I had to board. I was a bit tense as I was carrying two heavy bags, and it would be difficult to manage without a seat. I didn’t have a reserved berth, and the crowd made me even more tense. As soon as the lights of the incoming train flashed, the crowd became restless. I initially thought of talking to the TTE (Train Ticket Examiner) to see if I could get a berth, but looking at the crowd, it looked fairly impossible.

Shortly, the trained arrived. People rushed to enter the train. I also tried my best, but couldn’t even board the unreserved compartment. Now, I had two choices – to drop the idea of this train, or try to talk to the TTE for a berth. I looked around, and found the TTE surrounded by a few passengers. Seeing the rush for seats, I was almost convinced that I stood no chance whatsoever to get a seat. But before I could muster enough courage to try to meet TTE, I saw him approaching me. I knew it was futile to ask him for a berth, yet I asked him “Sir, can I get a seat? I have to go very far”.

TTE looked at me and asked – “Where are you going?”

“Faizabad, Sir…. The last station”, I said.

“Ok, I can give you one seat, but you have to pay me 100 rupees extra.”

I couldn’t believe what I had heard. My bad luck had suddenly turned around. I told the TTE to prepare a ticket for me.

I was still confused, why he had offered me a seat, when he had refused so many people.

“Sir, why did you say no to so many people, but gave me a ticket?”

“They wanted seats for short distance stations. I only had one berth available, and thought I will give it to the first person who was going to the last station, Faizabad.”

I was very happy that now I would get a seat and would be able to comfortably read the Novel.

“Take this ticket… 250 for the ticket, and 100 rupees extra.”

I gladly handed him the amount, and asked him about the seat number.

“Seat number 42, in coach S5. It’s also mentioned on the ticket.”

The train had whistled. I rushed towards my compartment and was able find my seat, which was a lower, side berth. I took out a blanket, and the book and shoved the bags under my berth. Before I could properly settle down, I saw a hawker selling food packets and water bottles. I was very hungry, so bought a food packet and two water bottles.

In my front seat, a muslim family, who had a beautiful daughter, were seated. The girl was wearing a burqa (veil), but had beautiful eyes. She must have been around 21 years of age. I was hooked to those beautiful eyes, and couldn’t take my eyes off her face. On the berth opposite her, were two boys, who must have been my age. They were also staring at her. I couldn’t blame them for the girl was really very pretty. Anyone who saw her seductive eyes, would not have been able to take their eyes off.  If it was possible, I would have spent the entire night looking at those mesmerizing eyes. But my mind was still a bit scared due to the events earlier in the day, and wanted to know about Aarav at the earliest. I opened a water bottle, washed my hands and started eating food.

The girl was trying to avoid the stares of the boys, but they were shameless. I am sure they were imagining all sorts of creepy things. This is the weakness or truth of this age. Young boys start fantasizing about every good looking girl they see. Even I was fighting a temptation to look at her. But I was careful enough to ensure that her father did not catch me looking at her. But the boys seemed least bothered. They kept staring at her. When it became too much for the father to tolerate, he said “She is my daughter, not Taj Mahal. Stop staring at her.”

I couldn’t control my laughter, and in the process threw the food from my mouth. The girl also smiled. I wasn’t sure she had smiled at my reaction, or at what her father had said. I couldn’t imagine a father could speak in this tone. True, she was not Taj Mahal, but wasn’t less beautiful than the legendary queen Mumtaz. For a while, the boys tried to look away. But the lure of those beautiful eyes was too much, and they again started looking at her. The girl also seemed to respond to them, as if she wanted them to get beaten by her father.

But this time the father’s anger had crossed all limits. He got up from his seat, and slapped both the boys.

“Mother fuckers, do you stare at your mother and sisters also like this? Can’t you understand once? Rascals…”

The girl sat motionless as if it was none of her business.

The girl’s mother intervened “Leave them. Why are you raising your BP for these ruffians?”

“No, you don’t know these bastards. Just look at their guts…. Shameless dogs…idiots”, he shouted.

“Please sit down”, she pulled him away.

“Leave me. If you ever look at my daughter again, I will take out your eyes.” The father continued.

The daughter kept looking down, as if she was a saint. But I knew she had also played a role in instigating them.

The father was a tall, well-built man, and looked like a goon himself. Having taken a beating from him, the boys didn’t have courage to utter a single word.

The mother asked her daughter to go to the upper berth, and sleep. The embarrassed boys also left their seat and stood near the toilet. The whole episode had happened so suddenly, that people around barely realized what had happened. Only I knew what had happened. I was glad that I was not caught. I finished my food and threw the leftover food packet outside the window. In a way, I was feeling pity for the boys. But, since they had chosen not to react, I thought it was wiser to stay silent.

I went towards the toilet to wash my hands. Seeing the boys, I empathized “He did very wrong to you”

“Sister-fucker, he saw us staring at her daughter, but didn’t see how she was also looking at us…”

“Mother-fucker has hit me so hard on the ear, it is still numb”, the other boy was rubbing his ear.

I tried to pacify them, “Leave it now. No point in dragging the matter. He is with ladies, if something happens, you will end up as a loser as public will take his side only”

“You think we are fucking assholes that someone will hit us, and we will remain silent? We have called our friends at Lucknow station, just see how we fuck the shit out of him. He will repent having taken on us.”

“And what if he gets down at a station before Lucknow?” I said.

This angered him, “Bloody, you are finding it funny? You were also staring at her, but we got caught. Now you are acting smart with us.”

While we were talking, the TTE came and asked for our tickets, which all of us showed. I thought this was an opportunity to check where the girl’s family was going. All three of us went back to our seats.

The TTE asked the girl’s father about their destination. He said “Bareli”.

I could see disappointment on the boys face, because the family was going to get down four hours before Lucknow. Means they would not be able to avenge their humiliation. They looked at my face, as if saying, “God has saved this bastard today”.

I smiled and picked up my Novel and started reading.