Sudden drops

Rain drops

Sulochana strongly believed that whenever it rained in Shantipur—regardless if it was a light drizzle or if it was pouring cats and dogs— something unfortunate was bound to happen.

It had rained on her eighth birthday when she burnt her left hand while cooking, leaving an ugly scar on her fair skin. Her mother had died in a house fire on a rainy day. It had been raining the day her father’s car crashed leaving him crippled for life.  She has never liked rain, it was an ill omen.

It was raining and was at home enjoying its cold embrace, alone. Her husband, Navin was away on a business trip to Paris. “Take me with you,” she had said, but he declined.

He wasn’t the only one that had gone missing either. The beautiful jewelled poncho that was supposed to be in his work drawer was gone. He never gave it to her before he left; he never even mentioned that he had gotten something for her in the first place. Maybe he was planning to give it to her when he got back. Perhaps the poncho wasn’t for her in the first place. Maybe it was for another woman, possibly Ritu. “That would never happen,” thought Sulochana. Navin would never even think about cheating on her, even with his strange attraction to younger woman.

She moved away from the window and headed into the bedroom to get her mind off the rumours that she continually heard from the town folk. Although the rain still bothered her, she drifted off into a peaceful slumber. The last thing on her mind before she fell asleep was what kind of omen the future was waiting to let loose.

Tear drops

As Navin walked right past her, a light winter night breeze slipped into the house, chilling Sulochana to the bone. Navin stopped shortly at the door, turning to give his wife a simple nod of farewell and left without a word. “Goodbye love,” she whispered right as the door closed.

Her husband seemed distant ever since he’d gotten back from Paris. No charming smiles to brighten her day, no whispers of love to comfort her. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She had welcomed him warmly when he came back home, she hadn’t even mentioned the poncho that had gone missing. Yet why was she all upset about him not talking to her? “I should upset at him after what I saw earlier today,” she thought. She had seen Ritu talking to a clerk at a clothing store showing off a new poncho. It was the same black velvet poncho with an emerald encrusted gem in the centre, the same poncho that had gone missing after Navin left for Paris. Sulochana knew it was.

“No,” she was going to stop thinking about the poncho now; she was going to fall asleep. She rubbed as she walked past the nightstand next to their bed. She stopped a few feet away from the nightstand and stepped back to look at what she was hoping she didn’t see. It couldn’t be, yet it was.  She picked up the ring;, it was Navin’s wedding ring.

All the rumours had been true. Navin was cheating on her. She felt as if her heart was ripped out of her chest, torn to pieces and given back to her as a cruel gift. Navin didn’t return that night...

Life drops

It was the only way to make things go back to normal. Sulochana didn’t want to lose Navin; she didn’t even know what she would do with herself if he left her for Ritu. The very thought made her want to go crazy. This was going to be the only way to make things go back to normal. “Ritu and Navin are here,” she said to herself. Her grip tightened on the kitchen knife as she paced back and forth in the kitchen, muttering things to herself as she thought about how she was going to get rid of Ritu. Sulochana stopped pacing, hiding the knife behind her back when she heard footsteps in the hallway.

Ritu walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face. That smile soon changed into something sinister as she pulled a revolver from behind her back. “There isn’t enough room for Navin to love two.” Her voice was soft but coated with noticeable hatred as she pulled the trigger.

It all happened too fast; Sulochana remembered dropping the knife as she felt a painful force go through her body. The next thing she remembered was Ritu entwining the revolver in her hand. Sulochana understood what Ritu intended to do. She was trying to make murder look like suicide. Her plan was going to work too; no one would think about her actually being murdered, everyone would think she had finally gone crazy.

Her vision was beginning to blur but she could hear footsteps rush into the kitchen. Navin had come into the kitchen. Sulochana couldn’t make out what Ritu was saying to him. She only smiled shortly as she watched Ritu being pushed aside by her husband. Navin rushed to her, his usually bright grey eyes filled with tears. He was whispering for her to stay strong, to stay with him until the doctors came over to the house. “How ironic,” she thought. She was dying, he wanted her to stay with him, but when she was perfectly fine that he was off with a younger woman.

Her eyes were feeling heavy, all the energy in her was disappearing. Leaning her head against the wall behind her, she shut her eyes and the last sound she heard was a very familiar one.

It was raining again.

- Punam Ghimire