VIOLA

Prologue

It was almost midnight, the room was completely taken over by the darkness making the ambience sinister and heavy. Piercing this thick darkness the mobile on the bedside table started ringing and moving frantically due to vibration. Juhi woke up all startled, massaged her eyes to get adjusted with the darkness her bed room was covered with, and looked around as if trying to search something in the room. Her eyes caught the vibrating, screaming and bright cellphone on the side table, she quickly picked up the phone answered, wondering who could be calling her at this hour of time?

She said in lousy voice, "Yes hello?"

Nobody spoke but distinctly she heard someone sob. She looked at the mobile and saw Mrs. Paul's name that she had saved on her mobile, her friend Sharon’s mother who was sobbing therefore, was unable to communicate.

“What is wrong auntie?” Juhi asked in a worried voice as nobody calls at such hours if not for emergency. Is something wrong with Sharon?

Mrs. Paul still could not utter a word, that gave Juhi a chill on her spine thinking for sure something is wrong with Sharon. She asked again in loud voice and insisting,

“Auntie is Sharon okay? Or is something wrong with uncle? Please auntie you are giving me chills by not speaking.”

After few seconds of silence Mrs. Paul replied in her shaky voice from sobbing,

“Darling, Sharon’s husband Dan met up with an accident while coming back from work. He was rushed to the hospital but doctors could not save him no matter how much they tried. Dan is no more.”

then she started howling bitterly. Juhi could not speak for a while and she could not believe what she just heard she heard it correctly, felt as if a knot like something came in her throat and blocked her voice. After a while she cleared her throat and said,

“Auntie, you mean to say that Dan met up with an accident? Did I hear it right?"

"Yes Juhi, and he is no more. You heard it right."

"Well I....am...I....um I am so sorry to hear that. Where is Sharon?” Juhi said in disbelieving voice.

Mrs. Paul had calmed down a bit by now said,

“She is in the hospital waiting for Dan’s body. We all are here with her. I am sorry to disturb you at this time but I know that my daughter needs you. And if I am not asking too much, could you please come to the hospital? It would be great support to Sharon. she is in physical pain and great shock.”

Juhi abruptly said,

"Yes auntie, don't you worry I will be there within twenty minutes."

She disconnected the phone and sat on the bed for a while not understanding how such thing can happen so out of the blue? He was such a healthy man always keeping himself fit and healthy. life is so unpredictable. No matter how much you keep yourself fit and fine, when time comes it does not matter, death will find a way to take you away from this world in anyways. Her mother must have heard her talk on the phone, so came out of her bedroom and asked,

"Juhi, what is the matter? Who called? Is everything alright?"

Juhi went downstairs when she heard her mother and told her about Dan. Her mother too could not believe and was in a shock to hear that.

Sharon and Juhi were friends since kindergarten. They finished school together and went to the same college to do their Bachelors. After Bachelors Sharon started working as an air hostage while Juhi continued her studies and went for MBA degree. They were best friends and shared everything that was happening in their lives. They were seen together almost everywhere. Movies, theaters, shopping and in restaurants. It did not stop after Sharon got married.

Dan was a pilot of the same airlines where Sharon worked as an air-hostess. They met in one of their flights and fell in love at the first sight. Since that day they started courting and after being in a relationship for nearly four years they had just gotten married, three months back. They had not yet fully lived their marriage life together, had not yet tasted the dessert the married life could bring and this gosh-darn storm came out of nowhere and swept away Dan from Sharon's life, leaving her in deep disbelief and shock, it was like losing a part of herself.

Juhi reached the hospital and was a great support to her best friend, who was experiencing profound trauma, was numb from enormous shock, and was in deep, overwhelming grief. For Juhi it was rather difficult to make her best friend understand as why the universe has done this cruelty to her but she was able to give her a shoulder to cry on, arms to hold her tight to make her feel secure and say silently, 'I am there for you'.

A week after Dan’s funeral, Juhi was on her way home, back from work, she was driving but her mind rummaging through the memories she had with Sharon and Dan. They had some good memories together as Dan too had become good friend with her. She had to stop by the red light. She was waiting impatiently for the light to go green as she was late at work that evening. She was looking around, suddenly her eyes went to the bus that was in the next lane. She could not believe her eyes, what she saw inside the bus. She saw Dan in the last window of the bus. She blinked her eyes several times to make sure what she is seeing is real, then looked again. Dan was staring at her. Just then the light went green. Juhi was still looking at Dan with her mouth wide open, heart racing and trying to burst out from her chest. Just then the bus moved ahead. Dan smiled and waved at her. She got goose bump all over her body and she froze. The honking from the traffic behind her brought her back to her senses and made her realize she is not dreaming. She quickly changed the gear and drove ahead towards her house.

This was the third time she had seen dead a person. First time when she saw her dead neighbor about a year ago, she went and told the incident at home but her parents and her brother made fun of her and told her she was seeing things as she was overworked and tired. When she persisted that she really saw the person, they told her she was going crazy. If she tells them about seeing Dan they will think she is insane. Therefore, she decided she is not going to share this owith anybody.

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