Stories Varied - A book of short stories

That’s the bed side of the story, a prelude to the impending political drama, she thought turning in the bed.

She could see Shilpa wasting her godsend by merely playing the dalit card but she won’t fail to make good the media attention to gain public approval, not merely the sympathy of the dalits. But given her late entry into his party, it would be well nigh impossible even for Kanwal to earn a reserved seat for her, at least not at this juncture. But it won’t be so, if she opts to take on Saran in his bastion. The party is bound to welcome that move and may even strain its every nerve for an upset victory. Besides, Rohan’s suicide note that squarely blamed his unknown dad for his end would come in handy for an insidious campaign against Saran. Moreover, even as Saran would be hard up to fund his electioneering, she could bribe the vulnerable voters with his money! What an irony and it won’t get better for any black comedy.

Should she win, and if the pollsters are proved right, won’t Kanwal make her the ‘giant killer’ minister? Won’t he know that would afford him enough excuses to keep her near him without raising eyebrows?

As she was about to pick up her iPhone to contact Kanwal, he called her to tell her that he was nearing her place to condole her.

“What if he’s imagining the same possibilities?” she thought with a sense of anticipation. ”If not, can’t I take his courtesy call to a mutually beneficial ground? Is life as simple as that and would crime pay such dividends? Is it not said that criminals invariably leave behind the tracks of their crime for the police to follow them? How am I to know whether I had left any, in spite of it all? I’ve to wait till the police come knocking at the door to know that, isn’t it?”

Thereafter, at the sound of the buzzer, Rasika walked upto the door, wondering whether it was Kanwal or a police on the other side.

“If its Kanwal, he would lead me onto the gaddi and if it were a police then it’s to the gallows. Let me see what life has in store for me.”