The Silent Oath

By
The night seems to have covered up all the follies of mankind. Officer Arun Singh's footsteps echoed through the deserted streets of downtown Delhi. The air was thick with silence, punctuated only by distant honks and the occasional bark of a stray dog. His eyes scanned the shadows, each step a reminder of the city's hidden dangers.

Fatigue weighed heavily on him. "Just one quiet night," he murmured, longing for a reprieve from the relentless grind. "No incidents, no action. Is that too much to ask?"

As he turned a corner, a dark shape on the pavement caught his attention. "Please, not tonight," he muttered, his heart sinking. Drawing closer, the lifeless body of a man came into view, face pale under the flickering streetlight. Arun's pulse quickened, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Why now? Why me?" he whispered, kneeling beside the body. The man had been stabbed, a dark pool spreading beneath him. Panic surged, but duty held him in place. "You can't just walk away, Arun. Think. What would they say? What would you say?"

He reached for his radio, hands trembling. "Control, this is Officer Singh. I've found a body in Chandni Chowk, near the back alley of the Metro Station. Requesting backup." His voice wavered, but he maintained his composure.

As he waited, he examined the scene, forcing himself to stay alert. In the victim's hand, a crumpled note caught his eye. Unfolding it, his breath caught: "Arun, I trusted you."

The twist hit him hard. The victim was his informant, feeding him crucial tips about the criminal underworld. Guilt gnawed at him, but there was no time for remorse. "I’ll find who did this," he vowed, the weight of the night pressing down on his shoulders.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Lunchbox

By
Image
Ashwin looked at the clock hanging on the wall of his classroom. "Five more minutes to lunch" he thought even as Ranjan Sir who was wrapping up his class called out to him, "Ashwin, can you please do me a small favour? Can you please take these notebooks and keep them in the staff-room? You can then come and have your lunch. It will take you only five minutes." Ashwin readily agreed and collecting the notebooks from the desk proceeded towards the staff-room. Unlike other children, Ashwin didn't wait for the lunch break eagerly. He knew his lunch would be the staple combination of four pieces of plain bread with some sugar sprinkled over them. He didn't like eating the same and simple lunch everyday but he knew that this was the best his parents could manage. They were anyways going out of their way to get him educated in an English medium school. Ashwin was very well aware of their financial constraints. He never made a fuss or complained about this to hi
Read more

Life's Lesson

By
Image
7th July 2005 Rohan was very excited. The long summer holidays were ending and school would be reopening the next day. He never liked these summer holidays and always wondered why these needed to be so long. He just couldn't wait for the school to reopen so that he could meet all his friends again. But this year there was one more reason for his excitement. Rohan never liked the fact that they were made to stand height-wise during the school morning assembly with the shortest student taking up the first spot in the line. And as luck would have it, Rohan had to occupy that much hated position! He despised the fact that even his friends would make fun of him for his short height. But Rohan knew that this year it was going to different. He had miraculously gained height during the two month long summer break and he just couldn't wait to see how far back in the line he would be standing now. 8th July 2005 It was the first day of the school after the summer holidays and R
Read more

Footsteps

By
Image
I was literally running to keep pace with Dada. Dada was how I addressed my grandfather. This was the most precious part of my day. I had Dada all for myself this time of the day. It was a daily ritual for him to go out for a morning walk at the break of dawn with me clutching his dhoti tight and trying to keep pace with him. “Why are you so slow Nandu?”, he asked out loud. Slow? This was the fastest I could walk. I was sure that if I participated in the Walking race at school and could maintain this speed, no one could even come close to me!  “Dada, I am literally running! Can’t move faster”, I blurted out, completely short of breath.  “Alright, let’s take a ten minute break then”, he said smilingly.  As I sat down on the park bench with him, I could not help but admire him, my idol. He was close to seventy five, but had the energy and vigour that would put young lads to shame. All of ten years, I was completely in awe of his personality. His towering physique, the respect he go
Read more