“Are you sure there is no weapon at the crime scene?” Officer Landon paced back and forth with his mobile phone in hand. The case was getting way too dragged now, he needed to solve the felony.
“Yes, we have checked everywhere, basically torn this place apart,” came his partner, Officer Smith’s, voice from the other end.
“And nothing?”
“Nothing. At least nothing that could have killed like that.”
“Keep looking. There must be something we are missing here.”
“I will sur-” Smith’s voice cut off mid-sentence, “Landon?”
“I’m here.”
“I think you need to see this.”
________________________________
Rose took a deep breath and put her hand on the door. This was it, this was the day she was going to tell Ed what she felt. It was all going to be fine, wasn’t it? Either he would reciprocate her feelings or he won’t, as easy as that. She has known him for so long, surely he would have some idea about how she felt about him? She had no idea how and when she started feeling so much for him.
That’s the thing about love; it doesn’t knock on your door while you are sitting around waiting for it. It knocks when you are dancing all by yourself with your headphones on and your favourite song blasting in your ear. It comes to you when you are very likely to miss it and many people do. Does it knock again? One can only hope that it does, though we can never be sure. She wasn’t sure that what she felt was love. All she knew was that his presence made breathing easier for her, his smile brought the kind of peace that people scrouge the whole world for. She read about so many theories on soulmates, the red string theory, and they all led her back to him.
“Eddie! Eddie!” She shouted as she opened the door to his room, only to find him lying on the bed.
“Eddie wake up! This is not the time to be sleeping. We have to hurry or we’ll miss the movie,” she started shaking his shoulders.
“We are going to be late because of you now. Cmon! Wake up!”
__________________________________
“How is she a doctor?” Dia’s worry was apparent in her tone. Her nails were halfway bitten off and she was still in yesterday’s clothes. How could she rest when her daughter was fighting for life just two doors down?
“Rose is a strong girl. The shock left her with a lot of trauma, both mental and physical but I can assure you that she will recover from this,” the doctor replied.
“I hope so.”
___________________________________
“Do you remember the time you pretended to be dead and almost gave me a heart attack? I know you have always been the prankster but that was a bit extreme Eddie,” Rose laughed. She was sitting on the kitchen counter while her mom was cooking breakfast for her and Ed.
“Don’t you agree Mom?” She turned towards her mom. Her mom gave her a pained smile in return.
“Right, right. No joking about the time Rose almost died because she has such a weak heart and loved Eddie way too much.” Laughing again, Rose raised her hands in surrender.
She hopped down from the counter and kissed her mom on the cheek.
“Let’s go, Ed. On today’s menu, we have my mom’s special pancakes. I hope you made enough because he inhales them every time.”
“Don’t worry. I have made enough for everyone,” Dia smiled.
______________________________________
“Is it possible to die from a broken heart?” Officer Smith paced around the room with her notepad in hand. They might have solved the case but it wasn’t looking good for anyone.
“Apparently yes. I consulted a medical professional and they said that while it might sound like fiction; in extreme cases, one can die from a broken heart,” Officer Landon rubbed his temples. In his 15 years of service, he had never seen anything like this. It was easier when they were running after suspects of violence and brutal murder; easier to keep his feelings aside and catch the criminal. In his line of work, getting emotionally involved in a case never brought anyone any good.
“Can young love be that extreme?” Officer Smith asked.
“I think extreme is the only thing young love knows to be. It is untouched by the statistics and pragmatism of the real world. I think it is the only form of true love; everything that comes later is a facade. Too bad that the people we love can very easily be turned and used as weapons against us.” Officer Landon said. He had thought long and hard about this case and came to this conclusion. It wasn’t easy for him, seeing such young people destroy their lives for love but he had no choice.
“Officers?” Someone knocked on the door.
“Mrs. Dia is here.”
Officer Landon and Smith looked at each other. “Send her in,” Smith said.
__________________________________________
“Mom!” Rose barged down the stairs of her house and ran straight to the living room where Dia was sitting.
“Yes?” Dia looked up from her book.
“I am going to the town carnival with Ed. He said he would drop me back safely so don’t stay up waiting for me. You should get some sleep. Your dark circles tell me that you are again staying up for long hours at night.” Rose said.
“Why are you going with Ed? I told you that I’ll take you.”
“But me and Ed always go there together. Every year. What’s different this year?”
The words broke something in Dia and before she could stop herself, she shouted “What’s different is that Ed is dead. He died the day you were going to tell him that you loved him. Wake up, Rose. Please wake up and stop imagining him. He is no more. Ed died. Your best friend who you were in love with died 2 months ago.”
“Wh- what?” Rose found herself unable to form coherent sentences. “What are you talking about, Mom? You think this is funny?”
“I don’t Rose, not anymore. For two months I have sat by and seen you hallucinate a person who died. I know you are grieving, we all are. But we knew he was going to leave us. His heart condition made it very obvious. And while I know you are in a state of shock, I want my daughter back. He was like a son to me too, I can’t lose you both like this.” Dia grabbed Rose by the shoulders. By now, tears were streaming down her face and her voice had a pleading quality.
“No no no no no. Where is Ed? Where is he?” Rose shouted. “He thinks this is funny? First the heart attack prank two months ago and now this?”
“It wasn’t a prank. Can’t you see? Ed died due to a heart attack two months ago. You found him in his bed and when you came to call me, you fell down the stairs. You went into extreme shock because of the trauma.”
Rose was shivering now. She couldn’t believe her ears and eyes. What and who could she trust now? She tried to call Ed but he wasn’t picking up. That was strange, he always picked up her calls.
“Why isn’t Ed picking up my call?” she cried.
“Because there is no Ed anymore Rose. Please wake up.”
Rose looked at Dia through tear-stained eyes and ran to her room.
______________________________________
Dia entered the interrogation room of the police station.
“How could you do that to her? To your daughter?” Two hands grabbed her collar, choking the air out of her.
“I loved her too Ed. You think it was easy for me?” Dia screamed.
“You made her believe I died? You made her think that she was schizophrenic when you are the one who is being treated for hallucinations and schizophrenia?”
“Ed, I would advise that you leave Miss Dia. We will take it from here.” Officer Landon grabbed him and said “Officer Smith, please escort Mr. Ed out of the room. He needs time to process everything that has happened.”
“I hope you rot in hell and I hope she never forgives you.” Ed could not stop his voice from shaking.
Dia sank to her knees on the floor, “I just wanted her to stop loving you. I did not think she would die from a broken heart. Please I don’t want to go back to that asylum again.”
“You had us all fooled ma’am. We thought your condition was better now,” two paramedics entered the room while Officer Smith handcuffed Dia. Her screams echoed across the hall as they dragged her away.
“You were right,” Officer Smith said as she approached Officer Landon.
“About what?”
“The people we love the most can easily be used as weapons against us.”
Writer: Ratnanshi; Editor: Vaibhav
Spilled Ink 