Thorns of Beloved

"That's it for today, guys."

Prof. Mathew scribbles down the last points of his lecture on the vast blackboard. The decorum and the silence of the class slowly gets dismantled and grows into an uncanny group murmuring. Prof. Mathew dusts his hands on his jeans which have turned white due to chalk and turns towards the students with a slight smile.

"The year is ending and your exams are nearing. So please go to your hostel rooms and revise. Study hard. Okay, maybe not so much for my subject but still study well for others. If you are merely waiting for luck to turn up, then you have already lost."

It is almost evening and is the last lecture for the class. Orange shades of sun have slid in through the windows and corridor lights are slowly coming up. Mathew wipes his glasses with a little saffron cloth and turns towards the class murmur.

"Right?"

"Yes, sir".

The first benchers say in almost unison while the bunch of the students at the back look with dismay and pass on slow curses. Prof. Mathew realises his glasses have grown old but anyways wears it.

"Early human beings had no exams or assignments to give. Maybe the only major skill required to survive was to hunt. As time passes, I realise so much more is required of us, just to survive. You guys do have now so many career choices like maybe a Youtuber. In my time, if you failed, you would get kicked out of the house with no food for almost a week."

The students gasp with complete unbelievability. Prof. Mathew widens his smile at this slight exaggeration of his.

"What? You don't trust me?"

The students look silently at Mathew.

'Of course not,sir.'

A female first bencher shots up.

"But sir how do we trust you when there is nothing to cross check it with?"

Mathew laughs and tugs at his overgrown moustache.

"Let me tell you a small anecdote. Many years back, in a very cold winter night, I come home. Due to late night, the house gates were closed from inside. I rang the bell and my wife came out and she was behaving in a very strange manner. She gave me the keys and told me to open the gates myself and enter cause she was watching something. I found it rude on her part but then I thought 'if I am the one who wants to enter why someone else has to make all the effort to open?'. But then,my dear students, this is human world. Without mutual compromise and trust, we would probably collapse as a species. So you have to trust and believe me with the things I say. All of you have to 'open' your minds, so that knowledge can 'enter' ".

As the whole class looks in awe towards Prof. Mathew clad with orange sun colour, Mathew catches the glimpse of a student with his head down and typing on his phone.

"You! Yes you typing on the phone. Stand up!"

The student stands up and keeps his phone down in his desk.

"But sir the class is over, right?"

"So, you weren't doing anything wrong by not paying attention!??"

"Sir but this is not part of the lectu…."

"What were you typing?"

"Sir, actually my friend is in the hospital due to family reasons. So I was just…"

"Don't cook up stories on the spot."

"But this is true."

Prof. Mathew suddenly gets pissed from thin air and keeps staring gravely at the student.

"Sit down. And please consider wearing a sweater to avoid catching cold."

"Sorry, sir."

The student sits down and two other students enter the classroom.They hand over a notice to Mathew to read it out to the students. Mathew adjusts his glasses to read and seemingly goes into a bit of shock. He looks towards the students.

"Who is Sayed Ashraf?"

The same guy raises his hand.

"You students- sitting near the boy. Back off. Stay away from the guy. He might be having weapons."

The class goes into a frenzy and the students near Sayed distance themselves. Some of them rush to the front benches.

"Yes sir?", the boy stands up.

"Sunita Nair, mother of Ankita Nair, second year student of Computer Science, has filed a FIR against you."

Sayed drops his jaw and goes into shock as well as the whole other class.

"But sir I don't even know this girl!"

"Is that required to murder someonehi?"

The class goes into pin drop silence and few heads turn back to see and judge him.

"Sir this is utter rubb…"

"Why were you texting your friend in the hospital? The girl is in there,right?"

"Sir, this is all false! Let me see the notice"

"Back off! The police is on campus. Just stay there!! ".

Sayed gets transfixed to his position and stays still whilst breathing heavily.

"And why aren't you wearing a sweater? Blood stains, isn't it?"

"Sir, this was all false. I was just downloading some movies on my phone. I have no friend in the hospital. You can see my phone."

"Your parents need to be called. This two students will take you to the police."

"Sir, this is not true!!!!".

The student breaks down with his hands covering his face. Prof. Mathew looks at him with a grave look. He gives a smile and then laughs out loud.

"This was just a joke. This notice is about blood donation. Anyone up for it?"

The students try to take in what just happened.

"You should have told me the truth, my boy. But your parents are still being called. Give me your phone".

The student rams the phone on the floor. The phone shatters into pieces with a bit of glass falling near the prof. 's feet.

"You only told us to trust you in the beginning, didn't you? Aren't you ashamed to make up such a big lie for such a trivial matter?"

The student has his eyes red from crying and anger. Prof. Mathew maintains the same smiling face towards the bereaved student.

"Sometimes trust is broken. My wife gave me the keys that night because she trusted it was me. But why was she behaving strangely? Because when I entered, I realised she is not my wife."

Prof. Mathew looks up and widens his smile.

"Heck, it wasn't even my fucking house". Mathew picks up his bag and leaves. The semi dark lecture hall gets lightened as the lights kick in and the students catch each other's glimpse in utter silence.

************************

"I think this is the place".

Sasi and Amit take off their bags and keep it on the bench which faces the famous lake of their engineering college. They take in the fresh air and stare at the blue sky. It was a terrible search with Google Maps all day. And being first year students, they had finally covered almost all the prime places of their college campus.

"Worth the search. It's beautiful", says Sasi as he takes out his phone to click a picture of the lake.

"It was exhausting. Why do you have to click a picture of it? You are here for the next four years," says Amit, who, given his obese body, was clearly out of breath and was more relieved than happy to reach the place.

"It's a photo,Amit.It has the ability to capture time, space, emotions in one frame. This photo I am clicking, is not only of the lake, but of the day we have had, the happiness on reaching. It will all stay in one frame. Do you realise? "

Amit nods his head and breathes heavily while sitting on the bench. Amit and Sasi are roommates in the college hostel. They had bonded quite quickly being total strangers in a totally strange place. Since these are their first days, they spend most of the time roaming around the campus. Since the campus is quite huge, it's taking time and their friendship is getting better.

"It's the most peaceful place in the campus. But that's what makes it the least peaceful place. Because the whole fucking college crowd knows that it's the most peaceful place", says Amit.

"So lucky of us to appreciate it's beauty in true silence. It will soon become crowded in few hours when it's evening."

The two sit in silence, in the surrounded music of birds, totally lost in the beauty.

"After some years, you will be here without me, on a date with someone. You can click prettier pictures then. "

Amit smiles and tries to take a dig at Sasi.

"Nah I don't think so. Even if the gender ratio is made 1:1 and everyone is forced to be in a relationship, someone like me would still stay single."

Both laugh at the ridiculous analogy.

"I forgot to buy notebooks for tomorrow's classes. You bought them? "

"Oh I also forgot. Let's buy it from the store outside the campus".

Both pick up their bags and ride out of the place on their bicycles. They could have taken a shorter route to the store beside their hostel but they decide to explore their institution a bit more. Sasi and Amit both are in the engineering branch of 'maths and computing'. Prof.Matthew is the head professor of the particular branch. Although they were to experience his teaching the day after tomorrow, they had already heard things about his unorthodox teaching styles from the seniors.

"Two Ellex long copies. Plain! ".

Both stand at the store while the assistants of the shopkeeper bring the copies.

"Should I have taken Hermit copies rather than Ellex? Maybe the paper quality could have been better."

"It doesn't matter. The worth of the paper depends on what's written on it and not the kind of wood it's made from. My grandpa said so".

Both look at the parantha stall, which was located under a huge banyan tree.

"There's the parantha stall. All the seniors who hate mess food come here. It won't take time for us to be here daily as well", says Amit.

"Mess food is not bad. It's just a bit repetitive."

"Could be."

"One classmate plain", says another boy who just reached the store. Amit suddenly recognises him as he had heard seniors talk about him a bit. He takes Sasi to the side.

"Whoa! What happenened? "

"He is a super senior."

Sasi takes a peek on the boy with a bit of cornering of his iris. His eyes catch the sight of a lanky, hairy boy looking up. He had worn thin glasses and had worn a bag which was seemingly empty, probably to carry the notebook that he is buying.

"What's a super senior?"

"I think someone who lives on the campus even after graduation or maybe they have failed multiple times".

They pick up their copies and the both begin to follow the super senior on their bicycles.

"Why are we following him? I am hungry."

"Sssshhhh!! ", Amit does a generic hissing sound, which is basically a noise to cut out other noise.

"There was something I heard from one of the seniors. They hesitated a bit but they said something about police coming to him".

"But how are you so sure that it is him? "

"They showed me the photo."

The sky is turning dark and the street lights on the campus are just popping up. The roads are almost empty as the super senior and the two boys behind pass through some dark woods. The campus has an amazing amalgamation of environment and infrastructure. The hostels are located in places dense with tress and a bit of wildlife if you are a bit unlucky.

"I think this leads to the senior college".

Sasi whispers. They both quietly follow for a long straight path till the super senior takes a turn about a street light accompanied by a huge banyan tree. The sky grows darker and the path becomes devoid of human voices and the sound of crickets and other insects creep in. The super senior reaches a huge building, seemingly a senior hostel, and goes towards the parking lot to park his bicycle. Sasi and Amit stop at a distance form the building and stare at it for a moment.

"I wonder why the police would come here?"

"Might be about usual drugs or something of that sort."

They park their bicycles just outside the building and slide in slightly. They tiptoe towards the parking lot of the hostel and spot the super senior.

"Are we following him to his hostel room?" Sasi asks.

"Don't you want to know about this police case? "

"But we can enquire about it tomorrow."

"What? Are you mad? It's like going to the stadium to watch live cricket and then you open your phone to check the scores."

The super senior talks a bit on his phone and starts walking towards the lift.

"Excellent. Now how are we gonna know his floor number? We can't go in the lift with him. He will of course recognize our unfamiliar faces".

Amit ignores it. They both keep following him towards the lift. As both of them are following him, two unknown guys jump on Sasi and Amit and hold them tight with their faces on the ground.

"Hold these fuckers", the super senior turns back, "Thank god you people were there with your phones."

Sasi and Amit grasp for breath while also revolting against sniffing the sand and the dirt.

"I love it when people follow me, but only on social media. Let's teach these wannabe Sherlocks a lesson".

****************************************

It was about forty five minutes in sheer heat and on top of that in the heavy traffic jam. Yet the police officers were quite calm sitting in their jeep. One of the officers, Srikant, smiles a bit, looking at the array of motorcycles lined up in the parking of a park.

"What happened, Srikant?", asks his senior,Inspector Govind,"Is this a new way to show frustration in traffic jams? "

"No, sir. Just was thinking about my late father. One day he buys a scooter and takes me to the city. He promises me that if I count all the bicycles parked outside the building he would buy me an ice cream. But when we approach the bunch of bicycles, he would always speed up his scooter".

"No wonder you always were a dimwit."

The other bunch of policemen break into laughter.

Few minutes later, they reach the engineering college -- the same as of Sasi, Amit and Matthew -- and go to the lake which is the murder site. The locals have surrounded and the scene is locked with plastic tapes to prevent people from entering the murder site and tampering with the evidence.

"She's been sent to the hospital", policeman Atrekar, who reached the site first to photograph the site and collect evidence, reported to inspector Govind.

"But you said on the phone that she is dead."

"Anyways you send it to the hospital."

White chalk is used to outline the position in which the girl was found unconscious in.

"Seems like the same murderer", asks Govind.

"Yes, sir. Looked like the same sharp object was used to kill."

"What's her name? "

"Avantika Sawant. Second year computer science student."

"Are her parents informed? "

"They are already at the hospital,sir."

Govind takes a sigh. The past few months were all spent in investigating the murders of a serial killer who killed college students each time of different gender. But Govind was more heartbroken at the crying and sometime totally numb faces of parents.

"Have you sent the evidence to the forensic lab? "

"Yes, sir."

Govind then quizzes the students who found her unconscious and all the other people around.

"Four murders. We have to be cautious now", says Srikant. Govind nods his head.

"Seal this lake area since its the hub of the murders. No student or individual should be allowed."

The policemen sit in the jeep and go towards the girl's hostel. The atmosphere in the jeep has now turned into a dead silent zone.

"Do these four have anything in common except the fact they are students? "

"Doesn't seem like that, sir. All of them are of different years and branches. There seems to be no possible connection."

"So it's a classic psychopathic killer."

"Could be, sir".

The jeep reaches the girls hostel. The girls hostel is well surrounded with trees. The policemen enter the building and the students and the staff come to a still.

"Call the warden."

The receptionist signals the peon to call the warden. The students begin to murmur. The news of the murder was spread across the campus like wild fire.

"Sir, Mr. Prakash will be here. Let's go to the office that side."

"Hmm".

The policemen follow the receptionist to the office.

"Don't let the students out of the hostel after ten or eleven. Stick a notice. It's now not a case that should be taken lightly."

"Yes sir," the receptionist replies with his head bowed down.

"What yes? It's now four murders. You should have taken this seriously a long time ago."

"Sir we had said to the students to be careful. But these students don't listen to..... "

"Take some strict action against those who are not following. It's for their own good. We,all policemen, stood there at the lake for about the tenth time in this month alone. I said to them, but more to myself, that we should be careful. We?! You morons and the students should be the ones who should be careful."

"Yes sir", the receptionist bowed his head down even more.

The receptionist gets a call from the warden. The receptionist goes outside the room to attend the call. Atrekar goes and sits near Govind.

"Sir, cigarette?"

Govind declines silently.

"Don't smoke here." Govind turns towards Atrekar with stern eyes. Atrekar pushes the half pulled out cigarette into the packet. Srikant stares at the cigarette packet. He stares into the blackened lungs made on it. Smoking or murder. Which death is more painful?

"Why should anyone kill someone? It's not going to end nicely anyway", Atrekar says it to Govind but it attracts the attention of all the police officers towards them.

"Atrekar! In my ten years of service, I have learnt that your actions themselves don't matter. The reasons behind them do. Tell me will you arrest anyone who has killed someone? A soldier kills on the border, we encounter the thugs with bullets."

Atrekar nods his head. Govind smiles and proceeds to speak.

"The funny thing is that today any bad action isn't bad anymore. Because the fucking reason justifies it".

The receptionist comes into the room and breaks the silence. All the policemen who were deeply moved by Govind's words now looked at the receptionist.

"Sir the warden is busy with some work today."

The policemen look towards each other. Suspicion builds in everyone's eyes. Then they look towards Govind.

"Let's help the warden with his work".