The Birthday Crime

“Are you coming tonight?” asks Advika. She is a young woman with pale face, rosy lips and black curly hair. Advika enters the living room. Aanan and Advika were married for 3 years now. They didn’t have any kids. But, the colony they lived in knew them as a “true loving couple.” Never did Aanan complain about not having kids. Everyone in their colony praised Aanan for bearing with a woman who hasn’t been pregnant since 3 years. Aanan did ask the people in the colony to not speak in that context because he married Advika out of love and accepts her the way she is. Advika was a decent, quiet girl. She grew up in an orphanage. Hence, she tried her best to keep Aanan happy. Because she felt if it weren’t Aanan, no one would’ve married her because she’s an orphan. It was 21^st July. A Monday morning. For me a Monday morning has always been a nightmare. Wishing the Sunday night to not end and feeling lazy to start with a Monday morning.

But for Advika it was a special morning in fact a “special day.” It was Advika’s birthday. The couple since 3 years used to spend Advika’s birthday in a local restaurant nearby. Aanan wasn’t financially stable. He couldn’t afford a luxurious restaurant for his wife. Advika’s usual birthday meal included paneer tikka, buttered tortillas and dal tadka. At last, the couple used to have chocolate ice cream cone for dessert. Aah! The fun of having chocolate ice cream near the beach was splendid. Who knew this year Advika’s birthday would take a turn? Advika always wished to see her parents. Aanan before marriage promised her that one day he would find her parents. Who could’ve known the curiosity to meet her parents better than Advika? Aanan tells Advika that today he wasn’t going for work and the couple will be meeting Advika’s parents instead of having dinner tonight. What was Advika’s reaction? She was definitely happy and excited but she didn’t feel like meeting her parents. Since, she was getting older and mature Advika realized that her parents left her alone in an orphanage without even bothering once to meet her. Poor girl! But she agreed to what Aanan said and was ready to meet her parents and ask them the reason they left her in an orphanage. Advika’s birthday definitely took a turn… but was it good or bad?

Aanan receives continuous phone calls while the couple was seated in an auto rickshaw. Aanan on call: “Yes! I’ve received the advance payment but I need the rest amount as soon as I give her to you.” Call declines. Advika was so innocent and preoccupied with the thoughts of what she would say when she’d meet her parents that she didn’t even bother to ask what payment has Aanan received and who was it on the other side of the phone call? Advika didn’t knew where she was headed but she believed she was in safe hands i.e. with her husband.

It was a busy Monday morning. Heavy traffic on their way. Advika started feeling sulky. Usually in India, rains occur during July. But due to humidity, the weather was sulky. Advika asks Aanan for water. Aanan asks the driver to stop nearby to purchase a water bottle. Advika drinks water and feels relieved. The ride continues. Advika holds Aanan’s arms and says: “Thank you Aanu. I’m really grateful to God for blessing me with such a wonderful husband. It feels like all my sacrifices have come to a marvellous result i.e. you. I couldn’t have received any better gift from God.” Aanan’s face looked a little guilty. He just nodded and smiled at Advika. People in the colony did praise Aanan for being supportive to his wife and loving her. But never did anyone realize how much Advika loved Aanan and respected him. Her eyes spoke love, content and gratefulness when she addressed her husband as “Aanu.” Did anyone realize how much she managed to take care of the household and taking care of Aanan. She never complained Aanan about her in-laws who used to taunt her for being an orphan and not being pregnant since years. She never told Aanan about the colony people who asked her to get her husband married to another girl so that Aanan could have the pleasure of kids. Because for her all that mattered and if anyone’s opinions mattered were of Aanan. Men do desire of a woman like Advika but do they succeed in providing respect, love and comfort to women like Advika?

Aanan again started receiving continuous missed calls but he didn’t pick up the phone because the couple was close to their destination. Advika’s heart started thumping. She was feeling nervous but equally excited. But for some reason there was fear in her heart. She felt like something unusual is going to happen. But she didn’t express it to Aanan because they finally arrived at the destination. She felt like it’s all her illusion and nervousness which caused her fear. Advika gets out of the rickshaw. Aanan is in the rickshaw paying for the rickshaw ride. Aanan asks Advika to head straight to the front building. Aanan wasn’t finding change to pay the driver. Hence, he sat in the auto rickshaw. Advika goes straight into the building and there indeed something unusual was happening. There were cops arresting some people. There was some heinous crime being committed due to which the cops arrested the people. What crime was being committed? Why were cops there? What was there in that building? There were many young girls coming out of that building crying. Well, that building was a brothel where young girls/ women were being sold without their consent. And, Aanan was about to do the same thing with his wife Advika for some amount of money. He had already received the advance payment and was about to receive the rest after he finally gives Advika to those illegal people heading the brothel.

Advika was shocked! Who wouldn’t be? Her own husband selling her to a brothel to receive some amount of money that too on her birthday. Also, she was traumatized by the fact that he gave her false hopes about meeting her parents and was about to do such brutal thing with her. Aanan stands still on the main road seeing the cops arresting the brothel owners and people associated with it. He’s also guilty of the heinous crime he was about to commit that too with his own wife who loved him and worshipped him like God. Advika wasn’t fully recovered from the brothel incident and she receives the next shock. Aanan gets hit by a drunken truck driver. Advika was now going through two shocks. First – the man she loved the most and believed blindly was about to sell her to a brothel and second – that man was now dead. Advika was innocent and she didn’t have anyone to support her or be a backbone for her but God was watching everything from above and He saved her from the brothel and the man who was about to sell her.

Advika’s birthday did take a turn. But was it good or bad? What do you think?