I Love You, Maa

Zohan was an average kid who always maintained a balanced life. He was an above average kid when it came to studies. Also,  he was very good with extra curriculum activities. He played most sports as well; be it cricket, football,  basketball,  tennis or badminton. His teachers never really had any complaints about him apart from the thing that he didn't interact with all the kids and usually kept aloof. His marks always made his teachers speak highly of him that made a lot of students hate him.

His high percentage in SSC boards wasn't a shocker to anyone. He got an enviable 90+ that helped him get admission in a very reputed college quite easily. He changed a bit and managed to make few friends effortlessly. His undergraduate days weren't any different from his school days.  He attended a good number of lectures and bunked when he had to. He was selected in the college football team.  His social life was quite enviable too.  He went for movies every week.  Trips to nearby hill stations became a routine.  Partying scenes never ceased. He did all of that without letting his academic performance dip.

The entrance exam for engineering wasn't a cakewalk, but he managed to clear it with a decent score that helped get admission in one of the top five colleges of his city. The number of trips increased when he got into engineering. His visits to bars and pubs also increased,  but that didn't really affect his marks because he knew where he had to stop. The time he devoted to sports reduced drastically though. The consistent first class that he had been getting over the semesters helped him get admission in a very good MNC, with an above average pay package. He had no intentions of studying any further and this job offer was a major catalyst in that decision. Having a job before completing engineering is something that almost all engineers want and having exactly that kinda changed things slightly. He started drinking more frequently, got into smoking up and occasionally did drugs as well. His final year results weren't something that he could brag about,  but that didn't change the fact that he had a secured job.

His joining date was three months after he got his results so he ended up partying all that while. His corporate life wasn't exactly the way he had thought it would be and he found it a bit difficult to adjust to it. Those hectic working hours,  those long nights,  corporate politics, group-ism, getting bashed for no apparent reason,  not getting the credit he deserved,  etc was something that wasn't quite easy for him to digest. He eventually got a hang of it. He made few friends at the office. Started chilling out with them. His life was back to normal over a period of time. A well balance work and social life.

His life was something that a lot people dreamt of,  but he wasn't completely satisfied with it. There was something that ate him up from within every single night. Seeing his colleague going out with their partners made him realize his loneliness even more. He never had a girlfriend and that thing started affecting him terribly. He started making alcohol his company and turned up to alcohol whenever he felt lonely. He almost became an alcoholic.

He was on the verge of destroying himself,  but he managed to have someone in his life who stopped him from doing that.  She cared for him a lot and did almost everything that was within her reach to make sure he was happy. She used to call him during the day just to make sure he realized that he had someone who cared about him. Someone whom he could turn to when he wanted to talk.

All of that meant nothing because,  one fine day,  in an inebriated state,  he came home and started forcing himself on her. She was very reluctant and tried really hard to get away from him,  but he was physically too strong for her. He stripped her body, but it felt as if he stripped her soul. He preyed on her,  like a lion preys on it's hunt; physically and emotionally hurting her. All she could was weep within those four walls after he was done scarring her.

This started becoming frequent. He used to come home drunk,  forced himself on her and poisoned her soul with his filthy body and soul. She was helpless because she had no one to turn to. This torture had consumed her completely. She had lost her appetite,  became pale with this horrible thing that she had to go through. All that was left of her was a soulless body. She couldn't file a FIR because she loved him way too much to do that. She just couldn't imagine herself being the reason for his imprisonment.

Just another night, being intoxicated beyond limit,  he opened the door to see something that brought him back to his senses.  There she was,  lying on a bed of blood, motionless and lifeless; with a huge cut on her wrist. He had killed a beautiful human just to satisfy his physical needs. He had ruined such a beautiful relationship all thanks to his drinking habits.He couldn't believe what he had done. That loneliness and desperation had turned him into a monster. It brought out a dark side in him that he never knew existed within him.

After hours of silence, wondering what a grave mistake he had done, all he could say was, "But Maa, I loved you"