The Untold Misery Of A School Boy-Part Three

                       "Man was made for joy and woe;
                        And when this we rightly know,
                        Thro' the world we safely go"
                                                -William Blake


Rahul's father Shekhar normally comes at 4.45pm everyday to pick up Rahul.But on that fateful day he was late by twenty minutes due to unforeseen diversion in traffic on the way.

By the time Shekhar walked into the premises the whole school was empty.

Looking into all directions he hurriedly rushed into the school and saw the watchman coming out..

Shekhar halted the watchman and asked him,”..watchman,where is my son Rahul..Did you see him..”

“..No sir..I didn’t see him..he must have gone long ago..there is no one in the school.”Replied the watchman..

“..Did anyone come to pick him up..”Asked Shekhar anxiously

“..That I don’t know sir,I have just checked every room and locked the whole building..All the children were in a holiday mood..Rahul must have gone to some nearby friend’s house..”concluded the watchman..

That looked like a convincing conclusion for Shekhar..

Bidding goodbye the watchman who was in a hurry excused himself from the place...

And Shekhar too moved.. 

The third and another big blunder that finally led to the great tragedy…

Shekhar should not have trusted the watchman..

Because Rahul never went to any of his friends’ house in the past without informing his father..Even in the past too Shekhar came late many times..

But Rahul used to wait for his father under a big tree in the school premises and never ventured to move out of the school any time..

The watchman who was in a hurry wanted to move quickly and to avoid Shekhar he told something that worked on Shekhar’s psyche..

So Shekhar too moved..

And by moving so he committed the biggest mistake ever committed by any father in this world..

And that mistake he will regret for a life beyond life..

It was 5.15 P M

Rahul was unmoved and still sleeping in the class..

In complete loneliness..

And..

In gradually growing darkness….

The first thing that Shekhar did after coming out of the school was to go to the nearby friend’s house..

”No..Rahul didn’t come..”came the reply..

He received similar replies from three more houses..

Though not very sure Shekhar called his home to find out if Rahul had come..

“..No..”replied Rahul’s grand parents in an anxious voice..

Shekhar was not listening what they were saying later..

He disconnected the phone..

“Where..Where..W…h…e…r….e…???????????????????????

His head was full of questions and questions..

Slowly and very slowly sweat started accumulating on Shekhar’s fore head…

The first sign of anxiety and panic disorder.

He hesitated for a while and then called his wife Supriya on her mobile.She was still in her office at that time.

Trying to control himself Shekhar very slowly told her..”..Supriya,..be normal and listen to me.Rahul is missing..”

Which mother in this world shall remain normal when she hears some thing like,”..our son is missing…”

“Whaaaattttttt……….????????????”

Supriya screamed loudly to the utter shock of her colleagues..

One after the other Shekhar explained everything to her..

All the colleagues gathered around Supriya to know what was wrong with her..

They were shocked to hear that her son went missing….

Supriya has the telephone numbers of all Rahul’s close friends..

She called everyone one by one and everyone one by one and one after the other doubled her anxiety with their negative replies first and anxious questions next..

She is neither in a mood to reply to their questions nor she has the patience to stay composed..

She immediately rushed out of the office along with some of her colleagues and friends and reached home as quickly as possible..

Shekhar was already waiting there with his friends and relatives.The word spread around and almost all the friends gathered at Shekhar’s home.

It was 6.45 P M..

Surprisingly so..

Rahul was still..

S..l..e..e..p..i..n..g....

Still unmoved..

Still in the same posture..

There is a thick darkness gradually growing all around him in the room..

A sort of a blinding pitch darkness with a typical and terrifying sound of absolute silence that is dangerously getting ready to create terror in the tiny and tender mind of Rahul..

And there was still a mild breeze blowing through the window combined with a haunting sound.. 

7.15 P M..

Shekhar,Supriya and friends are in the area police station giving as many details as possible to the police.The officer in charge was also very sympathetic towards them and was noting down every small detail..

Immediately a note was sent to all the police stations and local television channels along with the photograph of Rahul..

And immediately all the TV channels started flashing the photo of Rahul with relevant details..…

8.00 P M

Along with a few friends and police Shekahar and Supriya reached the school to search every bit of the surroundings…

With huge Torch lights they went around the whole place and covered every bit…

Without much use..
As they were so searching..

Rahul was  s.t.i.l.l. .s.l.e.e.e.e.e.e.p.i.n.g…..

Still in more loneliness..

And still in more and more dangerously growing 
D..a..r..k..n..e..s..s…s..s..s...s..

Continued in The Untold Misery Of A School Boy-Part-Four