The Rise and the Fall

As the mist began to shroud the

distant peaks, they brought a faint,

hollow effect to the high walls.

Snipers roamed about their

watchtowers and kept a keen eye on

the castle. The moonlight

highlighted the tiniest details from

the wars fought there. Lilies danced

to the wind in the fields outside, like

they enjoyed the eerie, insinuating

atmosphere. This prison was unlike

any other he had seen. Yet, he was

sure he would get his revenge. One

wrong step. One wrong step and a

person could fall into the dark abyss

on the other side of the castle.

Down there flowed a river, which 9

would carry the person away, dead

or alive.

Robert had been framed for

murder. He had taken a wrong step.

"Five years have passed away, and

yet nothing has happened"

murmured Robert, plucking at the

scuffed flooring of his prison cell.

Under the eye of suspicion, the

criminal's shadow would be quite

dark. Who is the criminal? He

questioned his shadow, trying to

remember the events of five years

ago for the hundredth time; still

nothing. He had no evidence. No

records. 10

Five years behind the bars, with

three chapattis as rough as rock,

and sauce with too much salt, he

wondered how his dead family

would pity him from the clouds.

Why did I come to India? He

wondered.

He sat in his cell, disturbed and

disrupted. Nothing was to come of

this now. A loud click was heard in

the hallway. A guard rushed to the

gate. Then they came back and

tapped on Robert's door.

"Someone is here to see you…"

***

5 years ago…

11

"So that's it then, a few selected

people will be travelling to India with

me," said Mr. Mathur, the CEO of

Adobe, in his flat, unappealing voice.

"Sohan, Arvind, Anil, Shanti, Robert,

Kriti and, of course, Ravi, how can I

forget you?" his lips turned

upwards as he grinned.

All eyes in the conference room

turned towards Ravi, and he smiled

one of his convincing smiles.

Later that day…

Robert approached Mr. Mathur's

office with steady hands. He was

turning down his offer to go to India,

because he, in no way could leave 12

the country for 30 days. Plus, he

was just assisting him, and that

made no sense, as his dear Ravi

would already be there. He thought:

Why does Mr. Mathur favor Ravi so

much?

Walking through the glass doors,

Robert realized that he had been

working for this company for 15

years, and hardly anyone

appreciated the effort that he put

into perfecting out any errors. His

job was boring, although the money

was good. Robert was like a robot.

People barked orders and he spit

out the results for them. Travelling

to a different country might sound 13

appealing to you, but for Robert it

was more like a distraction.

Robert entered the CEO's office, and

found the chair empty. Through the

huge glass panels, sunlight filtered

into the room, as diffusing beams of

light. Robert settled down on one of

the other chairs, waiting for Mr.

Mathur. His eyes fell on the strange

looking documents on the table.

"Salary Report", it said.

Since Robert was in the financing

department, he thought it wouldn't

matter if he had a look at the salary

reports, which he would be getting

tomorrow, anyway. Adjusting his

spectacles, he flipped through the 14

pages of the document. Anil…

Arvind…. Sohan….. Shanti…. It

seemed like everyone's salary was

being cut down this month, huh. He

saw his own report, and was

pleased to find out that the cut

wasn't as big as he had thought.

Kriti was also getting the same.

Ravi's was at the last.

Robert was Shocked to see a seven-

digit salary instead of the normal

six-digit that everyone else got. He

tried the check the file for more

details, but unusual was found.

Shocked, Robert checked the

papers again. Scrambling his

pocket, he took out his mobile and 15

dialed the finance department. One

of his friends picked up.

Robert casually asked his about

some salary issues that he made

up, and finally asked him to check

Ravi's salary in the office. The

records showed nothing to be

suspected. Robert's head was

spinning. Was it an error? It

couldn't be.

Now he had to find why Ravi got

almost triple the salary. He also

wondered how the values were

changed when the documents

reached him for analysis. Robert

decided to accompany Mr. Mathur to

India to find out more about this.

16

What about the distraction? Maybe

he really needed a break.

"Alright then, let's find out." Robert

whispered to himself.

He left the documents on the table

and stood up. He turned around to

leave the room.

A black figure was standing at the

door. Robert couldn't move.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck

outside, illuminating the figure's

face. Then came thunder, which

shook Robert from the inside. A

heavy cloud emptied its insides as it

started to rain. "How could the 17

weather change so fast?" thought

Robert.

"What are you doing here?" Ravi

asked in a satisfied tone. "Uhh...

Nothing, just some paperwork. Now,

if you'll excuse me," Robert was

calm when he talked. Ravi gave way

and Robert left for his house right

then. His flight was scheduled for

the day after, at 10 am, and they

would reach India six hours later.

It's just 30 days.

***

In the airplane, Robert was getting

bored. He looked out the window

just to find white-grey clouds and the clear blue sky. The sun was

setting. His father was Indian, and a

lawyer, so Robert knew a bit about

how the Indian law and politics

worked. He looked around the plane,

and found Ravi, sitting right next to

Mr. Mathur, as always. Suddenly, He

looked up and found Robert glancing

at him. Robert was petrified. Ravi

gave him a hard look and continued

to talk to the CEO.

After a few hours, the plane landed

in India. Robert was told that he and

the CEO had the same hotel and the

others had a different hotel.

Robert's hotel was called "The Taj".

Robert wasn't tired, but he 19

immediately fell asleep atop the soft

mattress.

The sun shone brightly through the

window, sending specks of light on

Robert's sleepy face. Suddenly,

someone started banging the door.

"Come out, Mr. Robert! Open the

door!"

Robert was surprised as to why

someone would disturb him so early

in the morning. He also noticed that

the window was open. Robert

remembered that he had closed it.

Anyway, he opened the door. A

policeman stood at the opening.

Behind him stood a constable, with a

plastic bag in hand. Robert's jaw 20

dropped when he saw a pistol in the

bag.

"Mr. Robert, I believe you arrived at

Taj, yesterday, at dusk?"

"Yes, Officer."

"You came here for business,

accompanying someone?"

"Yes, I came here with my

colleagues and the CEO of my

Company, Adobe."

"Hmm… Do you know he has been

murdered?"

A shock ran down Robert's spine.

Murdered? He couldn't speak for a

moment. He glanced at the door 21

next to his. Mr. Mathur had taken

the room beside his. "Murdered?

When? How? Mr. Mathur?"

"Yes, the CEO of your company. He

was found dead this morning. The

hotel authorities told us, around 6

am." This made Robert look at his

wristwatch, which he was still

wearing. 8 am.

"Please follow me. Meanwhile,

Choudhary will inspect your room…"

The constable went inside and

started checking. Robert had no

choice but to follow the officer. They

reached the reception and sat down

on the couch. Then the officer 22

started asking questions about why

he had come to India, and who else

accompanied him. When officer

Anubhav was told that six more

people had joined him, but were

staying at a different place, he

immediately made some calls, and

left Robert with another constable.

Officer Anubhav returned after

sometime, and behind him were

Sohan, Arvind, Anil, Shanti, Kriti and

Ravi, who, strangely enough, smiled

a ghastly smile at Robert.

They all had some basic

conversations. They were in the

middle of discussing what they

would do now, when suddenly, 23

constable Choudhary came running

down the stairs. Sir! Sir! I found

something in Robert's room!

All the heads turned towards the

man. He caught his breath for a

moment. He said "Robert's shoes

have blood stains in their soles." He

flung the shoes towards Anubhav.

"He also had a verbal fight with him

last evening!!!" exclaimed Ravi

"The blood on these shoes matches

with Mr. Mathur's blood, sir." Eyes

full of disgust glanced at Robert. He

didn't even have a chance to say

something.

Mr. Mathur's family filed a case

against Robert. Robert also hired a

renowned lawyer, Mr. Avinash

Shinde.

***

3 days later…

12 pm. The High Court.

Murmurs and whispers filled the

High Court. The court jury was

present to analyze the decisions

and to point out anything unusual.

Reporters from various media

houses were present with hi-tech

cameras and news equipment.

Ding! Ding!

Sub-inspector Sushil entered the

witness box and repeated what

Robert had heard almost a

thousand times. He still couldn't

understand anything.

"Mr. Robert arrived here from

America… Mr. Mathur was found

dead… had a verbal fight with

Mathur… Shoes had blood on them."

After hearing to Sushil, Advocate

Ray called Robert in the witness

box. Mathur's family had hired Mr.

Ritesh, a well-known lawyer, who

lived in America. Ritesh stood in

front of Mathur as confidently as

ever.

26

"Why did you kill Mr. Mathur?

Couldn't you see that he had a

family to support?"

"Leading question, my lord,"

Objected Mr. Shinde.

"Mr. Ritesh, Don't be so

straightforward. On the other hand,

he is convicted of murder. He

should be allowed to present his

evidence." Said Ray.

"Yes, my lord," resorted Ritesh. He

then glanced at Robert. "My lord, I

would like to call Mr. Robert's

colleagues."

"Granted"

Sohan, Arvind, Anil, Shanti, Kriti and

Ravi came forward. They all told the

court their relations with Mr.

Mathur. Of course, they all worked

in the company. But, Robert knew

their real faces, of course.

"Sohan was the personal

assistant of Mr. Mathur.

Arvind was jealous of Mr. Mathur.

Anil was one of his favorite

employees.

Shanti was a very good friend of

Robert.

Kriti hated Mr. Mathur.

And Ravi… Ravi got triple the

salary."

After they all had spoken Robert

was allowed to speak.

"Sir, this… Ravi gets almost triple

the salary that we get. Check the

papers in the headquarters."

"What's that now? Really? Don't try

to fool us, Robert!" said Ritesh.

"Mr. Ritesh, how do you know what

is true or not? First we'll have to

check the papers." Mr. Shinde

objected.

29

Calls were made to the adobe office,

and a lot of checking was done. No

such papers were found.

Mr. Shinde then tried to explain to

the court how this could be a trap

and he needed more time to analyze

this case. The court went to discuss

this matter for 15 minutes before

declining his request. The court

decision was to jail Robert for 3

years, after the last court session

the next day.

***

Later that day…

30

Mr. Shinde had come to meet

Robert. "Anything else you would

like to tell me, Robert?"

"I did not kill him."

"I know… I'll think about it. And what

about Ravi's salary? Were you

lying?"

"No, I wasn't lying… I saw the

papers in Mr. Mathur's office. The

value was in crores, Indian

currency…"

"I'll check once again." He left.

***

The next day…

Ding! Ding!

31

The Mathur family wears red bands

on their wrists. A sign of unity.

"My lord, my client is innocent! He

didn't murder anyone. Don't you

think we should not depend on just

one evidence? I think we should

investigate further. The hotel CCTV

records don't show anyone entering

Mr. Mathur's room. How do you

think he was killed?" Mr. Shinde

pleaded.

"So can you provide us an

explanation? Robert was the only

one on Mr. Mathur's floor. And the

hotel security systems report says

that the CCTV cameras were taken

offline for 1 hour. Form 12 am to 1

32

am. Don't you think Mr. Robert could

have done this? Yesterday, he even

gave the court false information

regarding the case… also, there are

two evidences. The pistol found in

Mr. Mathur's room also has

Robert's fingerprints all over it. My

lord, I think this case is finalized,"

spoke Mr. Ritesh.

"Mr. Shinde, anything in your

defense?" asked Ray.

Shinde fell silent. Nothing was left to

speak of. Robert hadn't told him

about any pistol.

33

"The court will follow tomorrow with

its decision. Till then, the court is

adjourned." Thump! Thump!

***

The following day…

The court possessed an alien feeling

today. All the people were awaiting

the court's sentence.

"The court along with its jury

members has taken its decision and

has found Robert guilty for the

murder of Mr. Mathur. Robert is

hereby jailed for 3 years."

Ravi then stood up and began

clapping. He told everyone that this

34

was the best case he had seen. He

mentioned that the criminal always

loses in front of the court, and went

on the praise the court on and on.

Robert's head went off. He had

never been so angry at someone

before. He picked up a metal pen

and threw it straight at the back of

Ravi's head. Ravi fainted on the

spot. The police came rushing in and

caught him. The court extended the

jail period by 2 years. Now he had to

spend 5 years in prison. What had

he done wrong?