All that glitters… (unedited)

Out of a beautiful dream, I am plunged into a nightmare.

“Where’s the booty?” A tall lanky man asks. He is hiding behind a veil. I see around. There are three of them all with their faces hidden. None of them is particularly well built unlike me. I can take them on. After all, I wouldn’t part with the booty so easily.

I can feel my racing pulse, my pumping heart, my throbbing veins. I can feel the sweat on my forehead. I can also feel something else. The cool metal. My heart stops racing. The gun has a calming effect on me.

“Where’s the booty?” the tall lanky man asks again shoving the gun against my forehead as if he wouldn’t need to fire a bullet to kill me but would rather pierce me with the gun.

I point towards the sky. One of them hauls himself on the bed and in one jerk severs the fan from the roof. And there it is. Wrapped in a paper four gleaming white gems inside the canopy.

It has been six months since I saw them. No, I couldn’t part with them so easily. I got a bullet pumped inside my belly for them. The bullet was removed but the pain was still there. The sight of them sets my heart racing. I will make mincemeat of these three. One smart scoop and the gun would fall off from the tall lanky man’s hand. The hero inside me is about to wake up. But then I realize I am not the hero of the situation. It’s the .32 bore pistol. He is the one holding me down and giving the tall lanky man the strength. Without him, we are all equal and the diamonds could have belonged to anyone. But now, he who has the gun has the diamonds. (highly repetitive lines).

The house is empty. The fan is lying besides my bed. Who did this to me? My beautiful dream has ended. My stomach starts hurting. So much pain for a broken fan. Was it Salim? My only friend; someone I could have trusted. We were partners in crime since childhood. Three years ago, he went to his village to look after his ailing mother. I stayed in my profession. It was routine business before I fell upon these gems. Salim returned two months ago after his mother’s death. Being unable to sell those gems, I decided to ask him for his help in finding me a buyer. I was also ready to give him a third of my fortunes for his services. Bastard, he wanted the whole. Three years is a long time for people to change.

Seething with anger, I decided to pay him a visit. I climbed the wall and jumped into the verandah. I went inside through the back door. The door leading to the bedroom was slightly ajar. I looked inside. A bald fat man was sitting on the bed along with Salim. I recognized him as Brijesh, a diamond merchant. We had sold some of our steal to him in the past. He handed Salim a bag.

“I hope the diamonds are real”, said Brijesh.

“As real as my words”, Salim replied smiling.

“You will be rich in no time. What will you do with all that money?” Brijesh asked.

Salim chuckled and then clutching the bag replied, “The same. What you will be doing with the diamonds.”

I felt like bringing the whole house down. To make a bonfire out of it and wait till it is impossible to distinguish between the remains of the stashed notes or Salim. How can he do this after so many years? I didn’t go to see him off while he was leaving for his village. I was afraid I might cry.

Brijesh decided to leave. I tiptoed further towards the kitchen concealed in the darkness. As soon as Brijesh was outside the house, I returned to my position besides the bedroom door. There he was. My friend for last twenty years was sitting on the bed whistling away counting his fortunes. No, this was all mine. It’s time for him to meet his mother.

Motherfuckerrrrrrrrrrrr!!! I picked up the metal stool lying near me, shoved open the door and in one fine movement landed the stool on Salim’s head. It landed hard and Salim went down on the ground. I could smell his blood lying in a pool. He was unable to move except that his eyes were blinking. I was sure he would not survive the ordeal. I wanted to spit on him but decided against it. It was a grotesque sight without my tainting it further. I picked up the bag and moved out.

“Brother, the bag contains the advance for your booty. Go to Brijesh’s house with the diamonds and he will hand you the rest.”

I took out the bundles from the bag and threw them in the pool of blood. Salim’s eyes were blinking rapidly. Life was seeping out of them. I was doing no better. The nightmare continued.