10 years ago

Karan woke up before sunrise and sat on his side of the bed. Opening the shutters from his bedroom window, he saw no one on the road. None of the neighbors had woken up yet. Except for a street light, there wasn't any other light in the area. Karan carefully looked around to see that no one was on the street.

Karan was in his late twenties and worked as a mechanic in a nearby factory. He was tall and thin, slightly malnourished. It was a surprise to him sometimes how he could lift some heavy stuff during work, given his thin body. He had a clean-shaven face, as his daughter hated beards and very short hair.

Looking back at his bed, he saw his one-year-old daughter, Gayatri, sleeping in the middle of the bed. She had tousled the sheets in every direction. It was her birthday the previous night, and she had been very active and fell asleep late. He covered her in the sheets and kissed her gently on the forehead. If things didn't go well today, this might be the last time he would see her.

His pregnant wife, Mohini, was next to his daughter on the other side of the bed. She was unaware of what her husband was going to do. It was necessary, Karan said to himself. He had to do this for his daughter's and unborn son's future.

After silently wearing the jeans and the dark T-shirt, he entered the kitchen. He took a box from the top shelf, careful not to make any noise. He opened it and looked at the gun, which seemed darker than the surrounding darkness, staring back at him. He tucked the gun in the back of his jeans after ensuring the safety was turned on.

As he stood on the doormat, he shivered from the early morning cold winds. He had been careful not to have another look at his wife and daughter as he didn't think he would have the courage to leave after that. He walked out of his house's compound and silently closed the gate.

The car turned on its front lights and came towards him slowly. Karan could see the driver's silhouette as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness of the vehicle. Sitting down in the front passenger seat, Karan looked at his best friend, Arjun.

Arjun was a short and thin man; he was already wearing the monkey cap with three holes, acting like a mask when they would do the deed. Under the monkey cap, he had long dark hair over his shoulders. He had a thin mustache and a goatee. He was a handsome man and famous among the ladies. Even Arjun worked as a mechanic in the same factory as Karan.

Arjun seemed to be ready for the job, he had that determined look.

"The party was good; I got this piggy bank as a gift for your daughter but left it at home yesterday," said Arjun with a smile.

"You already gave one yesterday, Gayatri loved it."

"Yeah, but I wanted to give this too. Let me just place this on the porch and return. I don't want to malign it by carrying it to that place," said Arjun, leaving the car without waiting for Karan's response.

Karan could feel the excitement in Arjun's voice; he adored Gayatri. He only spoke a lot when he was excited; all other times, he was a man of few words.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

His daughter's bright smile flashed in his mind's eyes. She always wanted a piggy bank. When Arjun returned, Karan asked, "I hope Katrina liked my wife's food."

Katrina was Arjun's new girlfriend.

Arjun nodded yes.

"You know the plan. We kill the guy, take his money, keep it in the designated safe place, and dispose of all our clothes and the gun," said Karan as he brought his focus back on the task at hand.

Arjun listened intently, "Yes, I remember."

"And, no, taking away some money to buy costly gifts for Katrina! We cannot raise any alarm among our neighbors with sudden wealth," said Karan. He had probably said this several times already.

Arjun nodded yes.

Arjun, who was the same age as Karan, was still unmarried and didn't seem to hold on to a woman. He was prone to buying costly gifts for his previous girlfriends to woo them, but none stuck for long. Karan had hoped Katrina would stay.

Karan wore his monkey cap mask, and they went to the retired government officer's house at four in the morning.

***

"How much money do you think this is?" Arjun broke the silence.

Karan and Arjun had been creepily looking at the money bag, almost mesmerized by all those rupee notes.

The sun had already risen, and they had done the deed and driven to a storage place in the middle of nowhere. It was a beaten storage shed that Karan owned from his dead aunt. They had dug up a hole to place the money until the police investigations were over. This was a desolate place, and hardly anyone came up here. It was so close to the mountains where tigers were seen regularly.

"I guess about eight crores are in there," replied Karan, still gazing at the money box.

"We are going to be rich!" said Arjun, unable to contain his excitement.

Karan felt a pang, and he couldn't tell why.

Arjun closed the top zipper and placed the bag in the hole. They used the sickles to fill the hole. They sat down tired after leveling the ground. It was around seven in the morning now; Mohini would be awake and would have found the gift-wrapped piggy bank on the porch. They would have to return before she thinks something is odd.

"Did we really have to kill him, though?" asked Arjun; he seemed to be a bit melancholic; the excitement of money seemed to be gone.

Karan was annoyed; he had instructed Arjun not to speak directly about their deed, even when only the two were there.

"He was a corrupt guy, who knows how many innocent people he tortured to get this money. I am sure he had much more black money hidden in different places."

"Yeah, he was a bad guy. But what about us?" asked Arjun.

Karan wasn't ready for this guilt trip now. He knew Arjun was emotional, so Karan had pulled the trigger on the government guy.

"It's for our future. Don't feel bad about what you must do to keep your family happy."

Karan stood up and sighed, it was time for them to leave. The next few days would be tough, so they had to be careful. They would have to pretend that nothing had happened and that they had no idea about it until the police investigation was closed.

Arjun stood up, but suddenly he turned away and puked. Karan is worried about Arjun's plight. If this was day one, he wondered if Arjun could handle the pressure in the coming days.

Before he could think clearly, his hand went for his gun, and it was aimed at Arjun. Arjun had no idea; he was kneeling and wiping his mouth off the puke. Karan hesitated to pull the trigger.

The sight of that money bag came back to him. Karan realized that if the bag was split into two, it wouldn't be so big anymore.

It was as if the trigger pulled itself. Karan could see a red spot on Arjun's back, where his heart was supposed to be. Arjun turned to look at Karan; his face was contorted as if he couldn't believe what had happened. Karan saw that the bullet had pierced through his heart and had come out on the other side.

The shock in Arjun's face disappeared and was replaced with sadness, he fell as his green shirt got drenched in blood. Arjun tried to say something, his lips moved, but no sound came out. Soon, his lips stopped moving, and he took his last breath.

Karan stood, still shocked at what he had done. He had killed his only friend. A wave of sadness passed through him, and he dropped to his knees and cried.

"I am sorry."