Indecision - A Mystery
September 26, 2023•1,321 words
He pulled the chair to the center of the room. A loop of rope hung from the ceiling fan. The loop passed through his head until it wrapped perfectly around his neck. Then he kicked the chair away. The rope around his neck tightened. His body struggled as his lungs gasped for air. His eyes saw the room becoming darker. He felt like his face was going to explode. As he suffered, all he saw was the living room door. There was no bang on it. Nobody came for him. Until he took the final gasp for air.
The rain was light that night. The tiny drops of water splattering on the nearby vehicles reflected the blue and red lights from the ambulance. The siren was audible till the next three streets. And why wouldn't it be? Sound travels further when it's raining.
Soon, the police arrived. A bunch of people gathered around the apartment. A few cops walked inside and climbed to the third floor. Everyone was evacuated from the floor. The door of room A308 was open, with yellow tape wrapped around the open entrance. There was text on the tape that said, "Crime scene".
It was not much of a 'crime' scene. They were looking at an obvious suicide case.
"Rahul was a good man, he would never do it", one of the residents of the flat said.
"I did see him depressed lately", another said.
"I can guarantee you, he had no haters", said someone from the crowd.
But the investigators did find something that might give a clue. There were many paintings lying around the house. Rahul was a hobby artist. But one painting seemed to not fit with the rest. There were paintings of animals, landscapes, and abstract art. But there was only one portrait. It was the portrait of Rahul's classmate. Her name was Anjali.
"We might be dealing with a failed relationship-related suicide", one cop said.
"Let's meet Anjali", the inspector in charge of the case announced.
"He was my best friend", Anjali said.
"Friend?" The inspector asked.
"Yes. We were three friends. Myself, Rahul, and Suhas. We were always together. Every lunch, every dinner, every movie and every party always had the three of us together. One would never go anywhere without the other two. People in our class called us three idiots", Anjali chuckled, but her smile immediately disappeared. She continued, "We were inseparable. At Least that's what we thought"
"Did something happen?" The inspector asked.
"It happened about a year ago when we were returning from a party. We were drunk. We had lost our minds. We could barely walk. And I had the stupid idea of taking the long way to our homes, which was through a road beside the forest. At night, there are no streetlights and nobody walks there after 8 pm. Rahul agreed to join. After that, Suhas had no option but to do the same.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Suhas collapsed in the middle of the road. We tried to get him back to consciousness, but then I felt a sudden blow on the back of my head, followed by a sharp pain. I could see Rahul fall to the ground before I lost consciousness.
"When I was awake, I found myself tied to a wooden chair inside a dimly lit hall. Suhas was also tied to a chair beside me. But when I looked ahead, I was completely stunned. Rahul stood in front of us with a man behind him pointing a gun to his head. Rahul had a gun in his right hand too.
"I felt there was something else that I didn't notice. And my doubt was confirmed when I looked behind me. Two men were pointing guns at me and Suhas. I was about to collapse again, but then the man behind Rahul started talking. 'There's one bullet in the gun you're holding and you have to choose whom to shoot between the two of your friends. Don't try to be smart. If you point the gun at anyone else, both of your friends will be killed. If you want at least one of them alive then you have to kill the other.'
That's what he said to Rahul. My heartbeat was over 100. I could feel my chest being hit by my heart. Suhas looked ahead without any response. It was as if he knew who Rahul would choose."
Anjali stopped talking. The inspector waited for half a minute before talking.
"What happened next?" He asked Anjali.
"Rahul did what was the best thing to do. Choose one"
The inspector was silent this time. He understood the dilemma Rahul had been through. It was obvious he couldn't live with that guilt and committed suicide.
"So Suhas?" He asked softly.
"We lost Suhas that night", Anjali said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
It was clear to the inspector that Rahul liked Anjali. And it was an obvious decision to choose Suhas.
"Did you know Rahul liked you?" The inspector asked Anjali.
Anjali looked at him with her tear-filled eyes. "Did he?" She whispered.
"Didn't he tell you?" The inspector asked.
"That night, Rahul didn't choose to kill Suhas, inspector. He pointed the gun at me", Anjali said, crying.
The inspector was surprised.
Anjali continued. "He pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger. I could see him crying when he did that. But the gun didn't fire. No bullet came out of it. It was a fake. Suddenly there was a gunshot and I saw blood on Suhas. The man behind him fired his gun. I thought I was about to be shot anytime now. But it didn't happen. We were left there and the killers went away.
"I'm sure if he had the choice, he would choose to kill himself. But Rahul was smart. He knew if he did that all three of us would die. But how can I ever forget that he was pointing the gun at me, inspector? What could I do? I started seeing him as the person who would kill me if he had the choice. He was a killer in my eyes. That night, inspector, all three of us died. Rahul was filled with guilt and his suicide was inevitable. Now I consider myself responsible for his death. I never confronted him since that night. We never spoke again. Maybe I should have told him it was okay to do what he did. But every time I thought of him, I remembered the gun in his hand pointing at me. What could I do? What would you do, inspector? Would you go to the person who tried to kill you and tell him It's okay that you tried to kill me?
"What would you do, inspector? Who would you choose if you were in Rahul's place? In my mind, he still is a killer to me. But I also consider myself responsible for his death."
The inspector didn't say anything. He handed her a napkin to wipe her tears. He waited for her to calm down.
"Thank you, Ms. Anjali", he whispered.
He then stood up and before leaving, pulled out the painting from his bag. He placed it on the table and said, "He really did like you, Ms. Anjali. Maybe that's why he pointed his gun at you"
Anjali looked as the inspector walked away. She then looked at the painting. A beautiful girl on the paper, she could say how much of his heart and time Rahul put into making it. She covered her mouth with her right hand as more tears rolled down from her eyes.