Sam Mehta turned off the television at 2 a.m. and went to bed. He tossed and turned for a while but was unable to get a wink of sleep. Finally, he got up, put on his house-slippers and slowly made his way to the kitchen. He boiled a cup of water, dipped an Earl Grey tea bag into it and picked up the half-read book lying on the kitchen table. Then he went out to the patio, switched on the lights and sat down to read.
It was a quiet, moonless night; a large mass of clouds formed a blanket above, but a gentle breeze blew in from the sea. Sam felt himself relaxing. As he took the first sip from his cup, he heard the scream.
‘Tanvi!’
It was Rohit’s voice. Sam got up and hurried to the wall separating the two houses. At five feet six inches, he had to stand on his toes to look over the wall. He saw Tanvi walking slowly in the overgrown grass, in her white gown. Rohit was right next to her, calling out and waving his hands in front of her, but she did not seem to notice. Both of them had their backs to Sam.
Sam looked for a foothold in the wall, but there were none. He lowered himself and relaxed his legs for a few seconds before stretching up again. Rohit was now in front of Tanvi, facing his neighbour’s wall, but too far for Sam to see him clearly.
Suddenly, Tanvi raised her hand. That was when Sam realised she was holding a knife. She brought it down as if to stab Rohit, who screamed and staggered backwards.
‘Stop!’ Sam shouted and ran out of his compound. He pushed open the iron grille of Paradise and ran along the driveway towards them. ‘Rohit,’ he yelled, as he saw Tanvi run back to the entrance. She pushed the front door open and disappeared into the house.
‘Help,’ he heard Rohit’s faint voice. He was lying on his back, next to the tree. ‘Are you all right?’ Sam asked as he knelt down next to him. He was filled with relief when he saw that the knife had been thrust into the trunk of the tree. Sam helped Rohit get up, both of them out of breath. Rohit’s face was white with fear.
‘Thanks,’ Rohit gasped, placing his hand on Sam’s shoulder.
Both men stood in silence for the next few minutes, not knowing what to say or do. Then Rohit turned and started walking slowly back towards the house.
‘Are you sure it is safe to go in now?’ Sam asked.
‘What choice do I have?’
‘Should I call for help? Inspector Aditya, maybe?’ Sam asked.
‘How do you know him?’ Rohit asked suddenly, and then said, ‘Doesn’t matter ... yes, please call him.’
Sam rushed back to his house. Rohit opened the door and stepped in.