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General

Convalescing from stomach flu, professional game designer Abhay Kulkarni is confined to his room in his apartment on the 4th floor in Powai, Mumbai. His rear window looks out onto a busy running road and several other apartments right across his society. During an intense heatwave, he gazes out of his window at his neighbours, who keep their windows open to stay cool.

He observes a flamboyant dancer he nicknames "Miss Rosy"; a single woman he calls "Miss Flapper"; a composer-guitarist; one of the newlyweds; a middle-aged couple with a dog who is either digging and destroying the flower garden or otherwise barking most of the time for no reason which the neighbours find most irritating; a female sculptor; and Mansukh Bhai Bapat, a sleazy, rich diamond merchandiser suspected of buying stolen stuff and his young and most attractive and seductive wife Hetal.

Abhay's classy, attractive cosmopolitan sweetheart, Ria John, visits him regularly, as so does the insurance company representative, Vrinda. Vrinda thinks Abhay should settle down and tie the knot with Ria, but Abhay is hesitant due to their divergent lifestyles and somewhere deep down his heart he could sense the animal instinct within him, the simple undifferentiated desire to pursue his lust for Hetal.

The following night as accustomed Abhay is sitting near his apartment window lost in his erotic thoughts as he visualizes Hetal bare-skinned with her voluminous black ringlets cascading down her sexy dusky back, wafting an elusive fragrance of sweet-smelling flowers into the bedroom as she moves in his direction.

Early next morning as he stretches his arms wide in the open air, he gets to see Hetal in a seductive transparent nightgown where there was nothing left for imagination, looking at him flirtatiously. The very same afternoon he finds Hetal in his room while Mansukh Bhai is away on an official trip which ends up romantically. This is the beginning of something new for him.

The next evening as Abhay stands near his window wishing a glance of Hetal he observes some strange happenings at Mansukh Bhai’s apartment. But it is not so clear because of the well-draped curtains in there. He could make out from the gesticulating shadows and also from the distant high pitched voices that a heated argument is taking place between the couple. He could hear Mansukh Bhai using very derogatory words like a whore, bitch, betray, etc...for Hetal and the shrill voice of Hetal accusing him of being a rogue and a thief. By the time he reaches their apartment, the situation seems calm and he is asked to leave with caution to stay out of their matters. He sees Hetal running her hand through her unruly shock of black ringlets while glancing at the bruises on her neck and face that she tries to conceal.

Later in the week, one night during a thunderstorm, Abhay hears a woman scream, "Don't! Please Don’t!" and then the sound of breaking glass. He observes Mansukh Bhai leaving his apartment, carrying a travel case in the pouring rain. Mansukh Bhai makes frequent late-night trips carrying the case.

The next morning, Abhay notices from his window the absence of Hetal, and Mansukh Bhai having movers hauling away a bulky chest tied up with a rope. Abhay rings up his friend, Inspector Ramakant Patil of Mumbai Police and says he fears that Hetal has been murdered by her husband as she has been missing for a while. He requests his police friend to investigate the matter.

Abhay then discusses all this with Ria and Vrinda as well, who comments that he has a highly fertile imagination. But knowing Abhay they realise that it is not his imagination as they watch Mansukh Bhai behaving very suspiciously.

Ramakant confronts and asks Mansukh Bhai where Hetal is. Mansukh Bhai informs the Inspector that she is visiting her parents in Pune and will be back in a few days.

The very next day, the neighbour's dog is found dead in the garden with its neck broken. The hysterical owner yells across the driveway, accusing the heartless neighbours of this crime. Everyone runs to their windows to see what is happening, except for Mansukh Bhai, who is busy smoking his cigar.

Certainly, Mansukh Bhai has killed the dog; Abhay has Ria slip an accusatory note under his door so he can analyze Mansukh Bhai's reaction to it. To get Mansukh Bhai out of his apartment, Abhay in a disguised tone calls him to a bar on the pretext of his evaluating some ancestral diamonds. He is sure Mansukh Bhai buried something incriminating in the garden flower bed and killed the dog to stop it digging there. When Mansukh Bhai leaves, Ria and Vrinda dig up the flowers but find nothing.

Much to Abhay's astonishment and admiration, Ria climbs up the ladder to Mansukh Bhai's apartment and clambers in through an open window. While she is searching for any incriminating evidence, Mansukh Bhai enters and confronts Ria. Before Abhay could contact his police friend Ramakant, Mansukh Bhai has already summoned the police. While being arrested Ria tells the police that she was searching for evidence against this man for having murdered his wife. The police arrest Ria for housebreaking.

Abhay phones Ramakant and leaves an urgent message while Vrinda goes to bail Ria out of jail. When his phone rings, Abhay assuming it is Ramakant, blurts out that the suspect has left the apartment. When no one answers, Abhay realizes that Mansukh Bhai himself called and is coming to confront him. When the doorbell rings Abhay sees an enraged Mansukh Bhai rushing towards him, ready to battle. In the heat of the moment, Mansukh Bhai knocks him out of the open window, as Abhay, hanging on, yells for help. Police enter the apartment as Abhay falls; officers on the ground run over and break his fall. Mansukh Bhai tries to convince the police that he is not the culprit but is handcuffed and taken into custody thereafter as he was involved in many misdemeanours’ involving buying stolen jewellery.

A few days later, when the excitement of the crime has settled down, Abhay moves into a new and more upscale apartment. Abhay and Hetal recline satiated from a long and passionate interlude in his new apartment enjoying the intimacy as his erotic dream about Hetal had come true.

Just then the doorbell rings and Abhay receives a small parcel in Hetal’s name. He opens the parcel wondering what it is and finds a small pouch which he opens and pours the content into his palm. As he is looking at the glittering diamonds in his palm disbelievingly and wondering why Hetal did not mention the diamonds; from the corner of his eye, he suddenly became aware of Hetal holding a dagger threateningly. Before he could move, Hetal’s dagger sliced his neck. The last words his numbed brain heard were SHHH...CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

August 21, 2020 05:59

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50 comments

Arnav Narula
14:08 Aug 22, 2020

Amazing story writing, very engrossing. Perfect for a great novel.

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06:52 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you so much.

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Tito Jose
08:31 Aug 21, 2020

well the climax was good. but yeah short story i understand the pace...but good one.

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06:52 Aug 27, 2020

Thanks Sammy.

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Kavita Aggarwal
01:22 Sep 16, 2020

Excellent! Keep it coming..

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03:42 Sep 17, 2020

Thanks Kavita

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Neha Bhatnagar
16:34 Aug 29, 2020

Interesting very much

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18:26 Aug 29, 2020

Thank you Neha

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Vinayak Mishra
05:57 Aug 28, 2020

Awesome

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06:25 Aug 28, 2020

Thank you so much Vinayak

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Bikku Singh
05:56 Aug 28, 2020

Amazing story

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06:25 Aug 28, 2020

Thank you so much Bikku

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Puja Narula
17:00 Aug 27, 2020

What a cliffhanger. Good job Richa. Keep writing. So proud of you!

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18:11 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you so much Di. Means a lot coming from you.

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Vijay Chauhan
07:12 Aug 27, 2020

Simply Put... Amazing....Must Read

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08:54 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you so much Vijay for motivating me and appreciating my work and effort...

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Keerththan 😀
04:33 Aug 27, 2020

Great first story. Loved it. Would you mind reading my new story "The adventurous tragedy?"

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05:36 Aug 27, 2020

I am at the moment... It was indeed a pleasure reading the story. Very gripping and excellent insight... Just loved it.

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03:08 Aug 27, 2020

Reading it again..this is a good one ..superlike 😀👍

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06:53 Aug 27, 2020

Thanks dear 💕

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Arvind Kashyap
03:08 Aug 27, 2020

Very nice. Was it really your first story? Must be writing earlier.

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06:52 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you so much Arvind. Yes my first story here.

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Anamika Chopra
20:25 Aug 26, 2020

Best Seller 😊

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06:52 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you so much dear💕

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Atul Sharma
20:13 Aug 26, 2020

Very well written...

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06:53 Aug 27, 2020

Thanks Atul

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Diya Dhir
05:00 Aug 26, 2020

Excellent .. so griping .. loved the way the mystery unfolded. Would love to get more stories from the writer.

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06:54 Aug 27, 2020

Thanks Aachal. Certainly my next attempt on its way.

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Kapil Bhalla
05:54 Aug 25, 2020

Good story

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06:54 Aug 27, 2020

Thanks Kapil

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Jatin Bhatnagar
05:27 Aug 25, 2020

Amazing , Thrilling . Really good one

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06:54 Aug 27, 2020

Thanks JB

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Amit Oberoi
05:17 Aug 25, 2020

Well written .. grt work

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06:54 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you so much

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Surabhi Mehta
13:41 Aug 24, 2020

A great piece of writing! Thrilling and a treat to read.....keep going!

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06:55 Aug 27, 2020

Thank you for appreciating my work. Means a lot...

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Divya Suri
08:33 Aug 24, 2020

Such a thriller story. You should go for a novel. Great job.

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06:55 Aug 27, 2020

Thsnks dear 💕

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08:19 Aug 24, 2020

The story plot is engrossing. It has the right hooks that keeps the audience engaged and they want to read it until the end. The writer has a strong potential for fictional writing. She should pursue her creative skills. I wish her luck.

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06:56 Aug 27, 2020

I certainly will. Thank you Gunjan

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