| serendipity |
Posted
on 23-Mar-03 12:25 PM
Reject the other one, I have edited this one.
Insuranburn! That was his only savior, he reckoned. Although Naipaul's novel, "A House for Mr. Biswas" used the term for comical effects--Mr. Biswas was in a financial crisis, and his only hope of getting some money back was by burning his house--Rakesh figured he could take it much further. All evidences pointed to his wife cheating on him: a distinct odor of cologne greeting him when he entered the bedroom, the untucked bed sheets dragging on the floor, his wifes lack of sexual energy, and most importantly, a tall broad-shouldered man leaving his house a while back as he was about to enter. He had tried to control Prerana; women should always be kept on check, he had always believed. To Rakesh, letting a woman meander freely, without any checks, meant spoiling her, meant promiscuous sex with strangers. He always thought that a woman's duty was in the house, to cook and clean, and take care of the children. They were not supposed to indulge in pointless chatter with strangers, or for that matter even with Rakesh's male friends. Thus, in order to prevent his wife from coming in contact with what he considered to be unwanted circumstances, he had laid down all the rules she was supposed to follow the very first day they got married--an arranged marriage, which they both had thought would work.
Rakesh was a personal trainer by profession. While hanging out in the gym with his friends, he many times had opportunities to pick up women for one-night stands. A monogamous man that he was, however, he had always eschewed premarital sex, because to him, a man who could not control his sexual appetite could never be a good husband. He was a virgin when he got married, as was Prerana.
To his family and friends, it looked like the marriage was a happy one, but things couldn't have been any more wrong. Rakesh was content indeed, but Prerana felt isolated and abandoned, since she didn't have any friends--not even female friends. Rakesh's controlling nature was like a disease, for Prerana wasn't even supposed to take a shower, throw away the garbage or turn on the computer till he came home from work. Although he never hurt her, he was always able to inflict psychological damage to her whenever he got riled up.
When Rakesh saw what he thought were proofs of his wife's betrayal, he didn't confront her. The instant he noticed all these things, he felt disenchanted and disgusted, disgusted by women's propensity for unscrupulous behavior. And so, during his paroxysm of rage, he contrived a plan to kill her and also the child they bore(more than likely he wasn't the father, he surmised) burn the house down, and escape interrogation by the police altogether. The house was already insured, so he had nothing to lose.
It was almost 9:00 pm. He told Prerana that he left his wallet at the gym, and that he needed to get it, or else it might get lost. Making this pretext, he went straight to his parents' house, where he gossiped for about an hour. Then he excused himself giving the same reason, that he had to get his wallet from the gym. After that, he want back to his house, doused the building with kerosene, and lit a match. As soon as the deed was done, he quickly ran straight to the gym.
After a thorough investigation by the cops, Rakesh was found to be innocent. He had alibis that were able to confirm where he had gone. The police also weren't able to find anything that would incriminate him, no witnesses, no history of wrongdoings, and no DNA evidence to put him at the site of conflagration. His wife and child were found completely charred. The community forgot the whole incident in only a few months. And Rakesh didn't lose anything save for his lecherous wife and the bastard child. He got the money back for the house. His scheme worked perfectly.
Six months later, when Rakesh was out jogging, he spotted the man, who he had suspected was the guy his wife was cheating with. Rakesh followed the lanky man, and after a while, saw him enter a premise that belonged to his ex-neighbor. The man knocked on the door, and his neighbor opened the door. Rakesh went closer to hear what they were talking about.
"Hello, I am a plumber. I am here to..." Rakesh didn't catch the rest. He had heard enough.
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