Chapter 11

The voice sounded rather lazy and distort as if woken up from sleep. Asben looked at the watch it was only 10.30pm, what kinda guy goes to sleep at this hour he thought but he carried on with his conversation. "Hello there" "this is Asben, a friend of Ashmi" he introduced himself, and suddenly as if someone had poured some chilling water to his face Sammy came to his full senses " Yes, Hello there, so nice of you to call me" " Your friend saw my message?" Asben replied positive, to which Sammy asked "Is she around, can i talk to her?" Asben was a bit apprehensive about it and lied to him about her presence.

Sammy was awestruck to recieve this call. He never had expected it, though he gave his best shot. But now this was it, if today he didnt get to talk to her, he thought he never will. So he requested Asben to connect him to her and said he didnt have any dirty cards up his sleeve to play with her. Somehow Asben believed him and passed the phone to Ashmi.

Ashmi wasnt ready for it. She kept staring at the phone and didnt know what to say. She gathered her distraught nerves and managed a "Hello". And the magic started from there. The voice she heard was something she would remember her whole life. Sammy said " Hello, Ashmi!" His voice mixed with love, gratitude & passion just kept on ringing in her ears.

To Be Continued........

Chapter 10

Ashmi was getting ready for her day to which she follows a routine. She felt rather uneasy if she didnt stick to it, always thinking that she missed something, and wasting her time trying to recollect the missing link. So as she was going through her days routine, one being reading the paper, she came across in the "Personal Message" section a message. Now she never missed that section since cute love messages were always posted on it by some overtly expressive husband or boyfriend for his love or vice versa. And usually the message use to be a cryptic one. So it made an interesting read and a good start for the day.

But this message was different and to top it all, it was addressed to someone of her name, it read " To Ashmi, My Angel in disguise, I dont know if you would ever read this message but if my luck is still shining and you happened to read, then please contact me. I may sound like a desperate guy but believe me seeing you once is all I have in my mind, rest is upto you. Sammy."

Ashmi was shaken a bit by the last word she had read..did it say Sammy? Now why would this guy do this for me? What was his motive? Nah! she thought this must be for someone else, am just mistaken. Who would bother about such a thing? And she had heard he was a big executive in some multinational bank and loaded with money so why would he bother with a person like me? She must have definitely mistaken. She wanted to let the matter go but her mind was still occupied with the message.

She latter decided to show the message to Asben and ask him what he could make out of this. So that night when Asben was back home she showed him the paper. His jaw dropped and he muttered something like "Call him" . She asked him was it a wise choice, what if this was some kind of joke or may be a trap, considering what that guy had gone through a month back. Asben understood her anxiety. He offered to make that call for her. She somehow agreed since Asben was always pushy about things that had him exicted and had his ways to get it done.

She now was rummaging through the loads of paper in her drawer to get that letter out that Sammy had sent her, She found it and gave it Asben who dialled the number. It was ringing for a while. And just as Asben was about to hang up and there was a click and a "Hello" at the other end.

Chapter 9

Sammy had an early recovery in the hospital and after a whole 3 weeks he was out of the hospital, hail and hearty. How glad he was to see the day light and all the beautiful flowers around him. He stopped to soak in the beauty of nature.

Things had changed for him in the past 3 weeks when he was all alone in the hospital. He had lot of free time to retrospect about everything he had done so far to his life. He knew that whatever he make of his life was his doing and he would have undo a lot to change it for the better.

He didnt want to be left alone. He wanted friends too. He wanted his family to show some love. But these things he realised were possible only if he took the first step . Maybe he should approach his new life differently. With a more positive approach to it all. He thought of looking at the bright side of every person and socialise more. The loneliness slowly encroaching his life was scary.

When he reached home he had a whole pile of junk mail to go through and couple of messages in his answering machine. He appreciated the junk mail today, he thought it was better than to have no mail at all.The answering machine was filled with office messages and just one other recent message with a big pause and no voice. He wondered about its origin. It didnt show up a number either.

He called his office and told them he was out on vacation and that he wasnt around town to take their calls. They said that they would appreciate if he could make it to office by Monday, to which he agreed.

His mind was still lingering about the blank message on his machine. Could it be her, he wondered! He was speculating if he should take the first step in his new life towards the one person he so wished to see. Meanwhile, the door bell rang and he opens it eagerly only to find the paper guy wanting to collect his dues for the month.

He wished his life to change, he was ready for his first step.

Chapter 8

Ashmi got the courier and wondered the origin of it since there was no name of the person who sent it on the reverse of the envelope. She was surprised to see a letter inside. She opened it in a great hurry since she always liked to recieve personal letters in this day and age of stupid junk mails, emails and faxes.

It was a letter from that victim whom she really didnt wish to know. But she was happy to recieve the letter anyways. She read the letter thrice just to sink in the words . She has never recieved a letter talking all nice things about her ever in her life. She felt happy and glad that her good deed was appreciated. She felt a some kinda feeling for him but she didnt exactly know what. But she let that be and didnt really want to do anything about it. She kept the letter in the drawer and forgot all about it as she went through her chores for the day.

Chapter 7

Sammy was grateful to the nice soul who took the trouble of calling the ambulance and getting him where he was. He wanted to let the person know of his appreciation. But nobody in the hospital had any clue about the person he wanted to know so much about.

Cops arrived and was asking him the general routine questions to make a statement about the men who shot him. How he met them? What instigated them to take this step? What was his car number? Model? etc....after getting their replies they told him they would let him know if there was any progress in his case and took his number. Cops asked him if he was visited by anyone so far and then enquired about his immediate family and if he wish to convey to them anything , for all of which he replied in negative. They left him with their station number and address incase he had get some threatening calls from the men. He appreciated their concern.

While they were about to leave, Sammy remembered that he wanted to know about the person who had been his saviour. So he asked them about her. He was glad to get the details from them.

He requested the nurse to provide him with paper and pen. Thus he sat down to write a letter to Ashmi.

Dear Ashmi,

I have heard for every person on this earth god has created a gaurdian angel. For me it was you!

I appreciate what you have done for me and without you I would'nt be here to see the light of this beautiful day. Am well now and recovering from my wounds. I wish to thank you personally only if you wish to meet me.

I am enclosing my phone number just incase you would want to contact me ever in life. Am indebted to you and would always be forever in my life.

Warm Regards

Sammy (97653 44374)

He handed the letter to the nurse for it to be couriered to Ashmi. He was happy today, very happy indeed to have known the name of the person who saved his existence.

Chapter 6

Ashmi was tensed about the interrogation and didnt know what to expect . This was her first time in a police station and Asben couldnt come along since he had his night shift. She wished so much he was there for moral support. She looked around the station and every corner was filled with iron cupboards and files piling on top of them catching dust. She heaved a big sigh of relief and took a deep breath at the same time when her name was called .

The Inspector was a pleasant faced man so that helped calm Ashmi's nerves a little . After all the intial exchange of courtesies, he got down to business.Asked about how she happened to be at the crime scene and if she saw any one suspicious around, any car, any weapon? She was asked more questions for most of it all she did was answer negative. They also enquired about Asben not being present with her in the station, to which she replied and was later relieved from the station.

Immediately after getting out, she called Asben and spoke to him about the conversation and he equired about the victim. If he was still alive. Which hospital is he in? Ashmi made it clear to him that, she wasnt even interested in knowing any of the victim's details. Also that she wouldnt in half her mind think about going back to the station to enquire about him. So, Asben let the topic go!

Chapter 5

Sammy was the eldest of the 3 siblings in the family. He was born in a rich family so he didnt have to worry too much about his needs. They were always taken care off. But the family lacked heavily on love and caring. He had a brother 3yrs younger to him and a sister 10yrs too young. Unlike the usual family they never had dinner together & never spoke about their day , every individual just kept to themselves.

When he was 23 he finally figured out, why? With a lot of money things could spin all around for teenagers and his brother, Grant, was'nt too good enough for studies so he had got into company of bunch of loosers as Sammy called them. He used to do drugs and was into his own lifestyle with fast cars and even faster girls. He was a strong bi-sexual and did enjoy the pleasures of both worlds. That really disgusted Sammy and so he distant himself from Grant. Grant careless attitude was also encouraging.

And when his sister, Carren, grew up he wasnt much at home to bond with her since he was out station most of the time of her growing up. So whenever he was around, he was treated more like a hindrance than anything else. He knew she was good with studies and didnt mess around much in college. He had hoped to get along with her someday in life since their taste for things and their hobbies where so alike .They listenend to the same kinda music and liked to read almost the same kinda books. She was academically strong as he was but gained a dominating presence in the house especially with his parents.

While his parents believed that providing a good education and other materialistic stuff was all that was needed to highlite them as good parents. But they lacked to give them love & time. Grant was never bothered about that but for Sammy it was what he yearned for all his adolescent life. There were times when he would scream out for attention, at times negative too, but all he got in return was some money to spend or some vague promises about looking at the problem later. In short, they wanted to live their lives while the kids just lived theirs peacefully, without rocking the boat, or expecting too much from them other than what they provided.

Hence , Sammy found solace in his books and just wanted to finish graduation and get out of this suffocating environment.He never wanted to come back to this house ever again. He did his majors in Economics . He chose the toughest of subjects where he would have to read a lot and thus pay less attention to exasperating things around him.

So when a multinational bank offered him a back bending job with a lot of travelling he immediately took the job. He never was too much worried about money but he very badly wanted to get out of his home and stay out as much as possible, since there wasn't anything to return to!

Chapter 4

Sammy woke up in the hospital bed with dressing all over his chest going down to his stomach. There was dressing done on his left thigh. He was dazzed by all the medicines he was given and didnt feel much pain anywhere.

So he was alive. He was glad but didnt know how and when he reached this place.But he was glad none the less. He saw the nurse walk upto him and he wanted to ask so many questions to her but all he could manage was "Water". The nurse offered him some and asked him to rest. He had tubes going out of his body and as he was resting he wondered about the plight he is in. There was no one out there who would be worried about him. He had no friends too. His folks passed away when he was too young and his siblings...well thats another story. So even if anyone was worried about him not being around it would only be his boss and that would purely be for professional reasons. He remembered that he was to make a presentation to a foreign delegate today and that presentation was as important to the firm as it was for his career. How his life changed all of a sudden!!

He had never been on a bed for this long and he was already tired with the long wait. He worried about his life more now that he was alive. Will those guys come back for him, now that he was still alive with his memory intact to trace them back? He wanted to run from the hospital and wanted to get back his life, or whatever little he had.

The nurse came back, this time with a syringe in her hand and a ball of cotton in the other. He wondered was it a sedative becasue his body was already so full with it. She put the stuff into the bottle of liquid that was floating into his body and within minutes he was back to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was dark and the night brought back a lot of memories of last nite and the scene kept playing again and again in his mind like crazy. He worried about his safety but this time he felt mentally prepared to face the unimaginable.

When the nurse visited him, he got his words out. "When do you think i can get a discharge from here?" he asked her. "It would take the wounds to cure a while, you were lucky that the bullet didnt get your heart" She replied " I cant give you an exact date yet, i guess you should speak to the doctor". He thanked the nurse and went back to his slumber. Days just passed him by and he now wondered about his job and the whether it would still be there when he got back. Oh! how he wished he had someone to talk to right now. He was alone and hurt .

Chapter 3

She was thinking hard, there was something she was forgetting in her list, was it to buy something or paying some urgent bills...she was raking her brains to find it and just then she bumped into something....she looked down to find a man lying in a pool of blood and then her mind suddenly went thinking into different tangents. Was she imagining this? Or is it real? Should she touch him? Is he dead? Which number to dial for the cops? Should she even get into this? Should she ignore and walk off like other chickens do? What??!!!

She gradually calmed herself down. She gave a second hard look at this guy. He was dressed well. He was wearing a coat and the white shirt he wore was soaked in his blood and the black pants thought didnt show the blood loudly enough still was soaked in glistening blood. There was blood everywhere on the road. She bent down to touch him. He didnt seem to move and didnt make any noise either. She checked for a pulse, and yes she found it bleak. She dialled the 101 first for the ambulance and then dialled the cops. They requested her to be with the person till they arrived and keep talking to him.

Wait with a strange person lying in blood and not know if his killers are gonna come back for reassurance. She looked around, she didnt see a single soul in the neighbourhood. She called home and told her live-in friend, Asben about her situation. He offered to come down to the place immediately. So she waited for him to arrive and till then she kept asking questions to the person who she was sure was dazzed by now. There was no reply from him for any of the questions she asked. Why is the ambulance taking so long? and where are the cops?, she wondered. Are they planning to be there after he is dead, just like in the movies?.....Just then her friend arrives.

Asben was her friend from office and they shared a room for economical reasons. They got along well with each other and neither of them had any wierd or strange habits to handle so it was a peaceful existence for both of them and it taxed their purse even lesser.

Asben was apprehensive of waiting at the scene of the crime till the cops arrive and tried to talk her out of it. He was more worried about the way the cops treat witnesses as criminals. And he hated the long interrogations they carried on with. So as he was trying his best to get her out of there, the ambulance arrived and the personnels took a look at him and thought he had a chance to live. But they wanted his FIR to be filed first for them to take him to the hospital and for that they had to wait for the cops to accompany them to the hospital. So they all waited this time for the cops, Ashmi was hungry now more because of all the actions happening around her. The cops arrived 15mins after the call, so much for their immediate help, she thought.

They asked her a couple of questions and asked her about Asben. And they left with the ambulance but with a note to her that she would be needed tomorrow at the station at 11am for interrogation in this case. They assured her that it would be done fast and they would releive her within 15mins.

Chapter 2

Sammy never knew them well enough and he found it even stranger that he had offered them a drink at his cost at the pub, he usually visited everyday for a quick drink after work. And to top this he found it the strangest that he offered them, complete strangers, a lift home after the drinks. It was completely unlike him he thought lying there in a pool of blood with the gun wound in his chest and left thigh.He was so used to being an over cautious person and this one slip he had given to his persistent habit, just to have some fun, ultimately paid him ugly.

These guys were young , lively and seems to be having a lot of fun. And that made him to ask them to join him so that he could make some friends in his dull boring life. He had no friends and his stern features kept woman at bay too. Now he couldn't do anything about his looks, so he had just hoped that someone would look beyond it one day. These guys where sounding fun and after a couple of drinks when they asked him for a drop he was more than willing to drop them and this way he thought he could also show off his brand new SUV, which he had recently purchased. It the most expensive vehicle he had ever owned and he loved it for all the latest high tech features it came with. It gave him a big ego boost to see his colleagues talk about it in the sly during lunch breaks and hushed themselves when he was around. They are so jealous, he thought.

These guys hopped in to his SUV praising it and telling how grand it was. And that, that was exactly what they wanted to own when they have the money....so he bragged to them more about the features of his new possession, as he drove...and then someone from them shot him right as they approached a corner of a dark lonely street..and before he knew wat hit him he was pushed out of the moving SUV on to the road.

Chapter 1

It was 15mins past 11pm as Ashmi walked in a lonely street towards home. She was used to taking this street at this hour of night everyday due to her late working hours. Hence, the quietness and darkness didnt bother her so much. The drop she got this time was a little more closer to her home and she was anxious to get back home for her hot meal and a nice hot cup of coffee. Her mind was occupied with all the To-Do list she has to finish by the end of her day, which started at 6am in the morning. So as she gradually kept on adding jobs to her list she was totally unprepared for what was in store for her at the bent of the road...