Farewell, my love.

"Did you pack your migraine medication?" asked Arjun.

Sandhya, his wife, thought for a while and said, "No. I guess they are still in the draw. Could you fetch me those?"

Arjun handed her the medicines and also gave her the ear-plugs. "Keep these too. I don't want the noise and the cabin pressure to trigger an episode of migraines on your flight."

"What would have I done without you!" said Sandhya and hugged Arjun.

"I will miss you when you're gone", said Arjun.

"I will too. I feel guilty for leaving you alone. I tried so hard to avoid this travel. But they wanted someone with good knowledge about the project to go. I will come back as soon as possible. And we will Skype everyday."

"Every night you mean?" Arjun said and winked.

Sandhya smiled and mock punched Arjun and said, "Naughty boy."

"Do we still have some time? You know, for a quickie?" Arjun asked.

"Aww! My poor darling. Karan will be here anytime now. But don't you worry, when I come back I will make it up to you. For every single day I have been away from you." Sandhya said and planted a kiss on Arjun's lips.

"You could have atleast let me drop you to the airport."

"You'd have to drive for 40kms and drive back again. Also you have to go early to the office tomorrow, remember? Anyway, someone is picking up Karan's car after we reach the airport. So we felt it's much better option than hiring a cab or you dropping us. Now, stop worrying about me. When I'm away you take better care of yourself. No junk food, no binge drinking, no staying awake till late night and most importantly, don't bring your friends and create a mess out of this place. Ok?" said Sandhya.

"Yes, madam!" Arjun said and smiled, when they heard a car honk.

"Looks like Karan's here. Come, let me help you with your luggage." Arjun said and picked up her bags.

They walked to the car. Arjun put Sandhya's bags in the trunk. Sandhya sat in the car and lowered the windows. Arjun came to her and said, "Have a safe and happy journey." He then looked towards Karan and said, "Hey, Karan! Good seeing you. Take good care of her."

"I sure will", Karan said.

They waved each other good bye and the car drove away.

"So, did you kiss your husband goodbye?" Karan asked.

"Aww! My poor baby. Are you jealous? The unfortunate guy is going to die soon. The least I could do is to bid him farewell with a kiss. Now, come here." Sandhya said and pulled Karan close and gave him a long passionate kiss.

Karan looked at her and smiled. It was as if Sandhya had cast an enchanting charm on him.

"Eyes on the road, mister. Don't get us killed." Sandhya said pointing to the road.



Few days ago...

Sandhya called the contract killer from a second cell phone, one that was not on her name.

"Hello. Is this 14482?" Sandhya asked.

"Yes", said the voice from the other end.

"I heard that you offer very special kind of services for the right price."

"What kind of service are we talking about here?"

"The one that results in dead people."

"Who is the target?"

"My husband."

"Hmm. I only accept cash. 15 lakhs. Single payment. I will let you know about the place where you can make the payment. Also put all the details about the target in an envelope and place it along with the cash. After the payment there will be no further communication between us. You will know when the work is complete. Is it clear?"

"Yes. And there's another thing. It has to look like an accident."

"It will cost you another 30% extra."

"How about some discount?" asked Sandhya

"How about I kill another person for you for a 20% discount?"

Sandhya cut the call.



45 minutes after Sandhya left for airport...

Arjun's cellphone rang. The sound of the ringtone reverberated around the entire house. The call was missed. An eerie silence filled the house. Few seconds later the phone began to ring again. As it was going to be missed again, Arjun picked up the call.

"Hello!"

"Hello. Is this Mr. Arjun?"

"Yes, speaking."

"This is Vikram. The expressway patrol officer. Is Sandhya your wife?"

"Yes. What is this about?"

"The car your wife was driving in met with an accident. The male passenger accompanying your wife died on the spot."

"What about my wife?" asked Arjun, worried.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Arjun. She passed away while we were transporting her to the hospital."

Arjun slumped to the bed. And his head hanged low.

"I'm deeply sorry for delivering this terrible news. I know this must be very difficult for you. Is there anything we can do? Do you want us to send someone to come pick you up?" said Vikram, with a very sympathetic voice.

"Hello? Mr. Arjun? Are you there? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm here. It's ok. I will come down there." said Arjun, sniffling.

Arjun cut the call. He slowly sat straight from his crouched position. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and let out a wry smile.



Few days ago...

Arjun called the contract killer's number, from a payphone.

"Is this 14482?"

"Yes."

"I'm your next target. My wife paid you to get me killed, remember?"

There was a silence from the other end.

"Don't worry. I'm not calling to bust you. I called you to make you an offer. An offer better than that of my wife's."

"I'm listening", said the voice from the other end.

"I will pay you double than what my wife has offered you. And you can keep the money my wife has already paid you. You let me go and kill her instead."

"What made you think I will accept your offer? I have already committed to her's."

"Well, you kill people for money. I didn't think you were big on professional ethics. I'm trying to get a person killed who is trying to get me killed. It shouldn't be a moral issue. I'm offering you more than her. It is good business. Also if you accept my offer she is not going to come question you for not keeping your part of the deal. She will be dead anyway. It's a win-win for all."

"I will have ask you one thing, just out of curiosity. Why are you both trying to get each other killed?"

"Do you ask these kinda questions to all your clients?"

"No. Only to the husband and wife who want each other dead."

"Well, I guess there's no harm in telling you. It's not like you are going to go tell someone else. Also it may feel better to shed some load off my heart, you know. Ours was a marriage of convenience. Both of us didn't want to get married, but had to due to our parents' pressure. We didn't get along well after our marriage. We even slept in separate bedrooms. And frankly, I didn't mind it either. But all of a sudden she becomes this mushy, overtly loving wife, smothering me with love and affection. And I thought, may be this worked out for good. Marriage is not that bad after all. And I reciprocated to her love. We were happy. But it was too good to believe. So I stalked her. Found out she was having an affair. Not just that, but the bitch was trying to get me killed. And here we are now."

"Couldn't she just leave you and go with him?", asked the voice on the other end.

"Ah! That is where her brilliance lies. You see, if she were to divorce me, she would be the bad person. She would be the one who broke our marriage. Everyone would blame her. So she wouldn't divorce me. And I wouldn't divorce her either. But if I were to die somehow suddenly, accidentally, then she would be a widow. She would act like she is mourning, for a few days. Few months later she would find a man who loves her. The same asshole who is secretly fucking her now. They will declare their love to the world and get married. Not only will she get the sympathy of the people, but also their blessing. Imagine that, a young woman, who is a widow, heart broken and sad, when a prince charming comes around and picks her up and loves her with all his heart. A fairy tale built on lies that every fucking moron would believe. He gets to be a hero and she gets to be guilt free. Bloody brilliant, isn't it? I would have let her go happily if she wanted to leave me. But when she decided to get me killed, that is when I decided to get her killed. Survival instincts, you see. So what do you say?"

"Well, you make a strong argument. I will let you know when and where you need to make the payment. It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Arjun", said the voice and the call got cut.



A week after the accident...

Arjun stood in front of Sandhya's tomb. He placed a bunch of flowers on it. He stood there, looking at the tomb, blankly. He felt nothing. Just like when they got married, when he found out she had an affair, when he found out she was trying to get him killed, when he decided to get her killed and when he got the news that she was dead.

"If only things had worked out well. Sigh! Farewell, my love, farewell", Arjun said, turned back and walked away.