?Writer: Jitender Girdhar, Srikaranpur, Rajasthan, India
?As soon as the door opened, the revolver-wielding man pressed the nozzle of his weapon exactly between the groom's eyes—at the very spot known as the Third Eye, the Eye of Knowledge, the Archway, and the Tenth Gate of Wisdom.
?"Where is Vijay?" the gunman asked this question in a tone colder than death itself.
?While the revolver was already setting the stage for the groom's death, this question seemed to have acted as the final nail in the coffin.
?"Which Vijay?" asked the groom, trembling like a dry leaf, posing a reverse question.
?The gunman stared at him for a few moments and then said—"I am here to murder him."
?A scream escaped the groom as well as his friend who was seen standing in the lobby in front. And just like the groom, a profound atmosphere of terror dominated his face.
?He asked the same question to the groom's friend—"Do you know?"
?He didn't open his mouth, but his shaking neck answered in denial.
?As soon as his eyes fell on the groom's bare wrists, the gunman suddenly shouted—"You are Vijay—why did you lie?"
?{1}
"No, I am not Vijay."
"You are lying."
"I am telling the truth." Now the groom actually burst into tears.
" 'Vijay' is tattooed on your right wrist."
?The groom's condition was now such that even if cut, no blood would flow. "Now, what do you have to say?"
?"Yes, I am Vijay," the groom surrendered.
"Is this bungalow yours?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any enmity with me?" asked the gunman.
"Not at all, rather—"
"Have you seen me before?"
"Never."
?Frowns appeared on the gunman's forehead. He appeared to be drowned in some deep thought. Despite the presence of three humans, a death-like silence took over the place. This situation remained for several moments. Still lost in thought, the man asked a question to himself—"Then, why will this man murder me?"
?"What do you mean?" These words came out of the mouths of Vijay and his friend simultaneously.
"I have come here only understand the meaning—by the way, who are you?"
"Vijay's friend."
"Close the door."
?The command was followed in the blink of an eye. The man sat on the sofa in front and, aiming the revolver at them, said—"Look, I am in great trouble—I am passing through a very bizarre situation—it is possible I am having some misunderstanding—but I don't want to take any risk—if you try any smartness, I will fire without hesitation."
?They stood eight feet away from the sofa in an attention pose.
?{2}
The revolver was still aimed at them. But the man was again drowned in some thought. Before the silence could spread its feet, Vijay interrupted him—"Who told you that I will murder you?"
?The question pulled the man out of the well of thoughts. In response, he took out a white plastic ball from his pocket and held it before them.
?When this man had arrived, he seemed only sensational. But now, this character was also becoming amazing and mysterious. But another even bigger possibility made Akash and Vijay suspicious—that perhaps this man is insane. If he is, then a weapon in the hands of an insane man means nothing but danger.
?"Did this ball say so?" Akash asked.
"No, the Eighth Wonder said so." He said this strange-sounding thing in an ordinary manner without any explanation.
"What?" Both were badly startled.
"Yes, the Eighth Wonder said so."
"Where is the Eighth Wonder?" Vijay expressed surprise.
?The man tossed the ball toward Vijay. Vijay caught it.
"In this?"
"Yes."
?Vijay looked closely; the ball was broken. He squeezed it with his right hand. The ball opened its mouth. Inside was a paper, which Vijay took out with his left hand and opened its folds. It read:
?Mr. Sagar Bhardwaj,
Only a few days of your life remain. Because you are going to be murdered. Your murder will happen at the hands of Vijay. Your escape is impossible. Every effort to survive, whether on the strength of your father's wealth or on your own strength, will go in vain. This is my prophecy. People believe there are seven wonders in the world. And I am—The Eighth Wonder.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
?{3}
The letter was in Vijay's hand, but Akash, standing with him, had also read it.
"How did you reach here?"
"Exactly like this, there was another letter in the ball—like this letter, that too was typed—on which your address was written."
"How did this ball reach you?" Akash questioned.
"It fell into my room after breaking the ventilator glass."
"And you took this prank as the truth?"
"Certainly, I too would have considered it a joke if Lame Vijay were not thirsty for my blood."
"Lame Vijay?"
"In this world, there is only one person who wants to murder me—he walks with a limp and his name is Vijay."
"It seems you have murdered a kith or kin of Lame Vijay?"
"Consider it so."
?Vijay put the letter back in the ball and tossed it toward Sagar. Sagar pocketed it and said—"As soon as I read Vijay's name in the letter, I was startled—in reality, he is looking for an opportunity to murder me—so there was no question of considering it a joke—anyway, it was a question of my life—I didn't want to take it lightly—that's why I reached here—he is extremely poor, but coming here I see a magnificent bungalow named 'Vijay Bhavan'—I thought maybe he had won a lottery—his new wealth has gone to his head—I never imagined this address would turn out to belong to some other Vijay—seeing you, I thought you were his relative—but your name is also Vijay—this bungalow too is yours—you have no enmity with me—then what was the thrower thinking when he threw the ball into my room?"
?{4}
"Someone has played a joke with you," Akash tried to explain.
"I think the sender is just insane," Vijay added.
?Hearing Vijay's point, for the first time, a smile appeared on Sagar's lips—exactly like the smile of an elder when an innocent child says something naive. But soon, dismissing the smile and inviting seriousness to his face, he said—"No, you're both wrong—this letter is pointing toward a serious incident—if it's a joke or the sender is insane, how did he know that Vijay is thirsty for my blood? Even if Lame Vijay told someone, he would have told someone who could help him take revenge—remove this misunderstanding that someone played a joke or the thrower is insane—besides this, think of something else, what could be the reason?"
?
"Why should we think?" Vijay said carelessly.
?"We will have to think under every condition Mr. Vijay, because with the person throwing the ball, not only mine but your connection exists as well which we are not able to understand for the time being."
?"What concern could I possibly have?" Vijay became somewhat serious.
Without giving Sagar chance to speak, Akash expressed possibility—'Maybe there is enmity of yours as well with ball-thrower—and he wants to get you killed at hands of Sagar—at same time, for crime of your murder, Sagar would also be hanged.'
"I am not out of my mind that I will kill this Vijay instead of Lame Vijay," Sagar said, wiping sweat from his brow. "We haven't even seen each other before today."
"The ball-thrower is definitely insane," Vijay insisted.
"How so?"
?{5}
"When you yourself are admitting that you are not out of your mind because we have no enmity—we are strangers—but the letter says your murder will happen at my hands—think for yourself, am I out of my mind that I will murder you for no reason?"
"Vijay, whether you believe it or not, this will prove to be very complicated."
"Any basis behind thinking so?"
"Don't you feel that a well-planned strategy has been set in motion against us? I can feel it in my gut—and most felt things cannot be expressed." With that, Sagar walked out the door.
?Vijay immediately locked the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily, as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.
"Here, wipe the sweat," Akash gave his handkerchief.
"Thanks." Vijay wiped his face and handed it back.
"Buddy Vijay, forget whatever happened—just remember that today is your wedding night—well, I'm off."
As soon as Akash left, Vijay locked the door from the inside.
?
