Once upon a time there was a girl, named Aarna. She was sweet, polite, decent and belonged to a good family in Kanpur. She shifted to Mumbai for her studies and stayed as paying guest with two other girls Sakshi and Vidya in a 1 BHK house in Bandra.  She was like the girl next door, very relatable at times and very helpful. Sakshi on the other hand was an extrovert, outspoken and bold. Vidya was a bookworm, introvert, shy and kind of a coward. Despite of their different personalities, they got along really well, they became so close to each other that it was like a new family for them.  They all went to the same college and were in the same class. They passed their first year degree with good grades and decided to celebrate.

They went clubbing the next day their results came out. It was only the three of them. While dancing on the loud music one guy approached Sakshi but Sakshi blew him off. So Aarna said, “Common he was so hot why did you have to blow him off”. Sakshi was like he’s not my type. Aarna said, so then go find your type. 

Sakshi – ‘ Now’ , Aarna – ‘ Yes common let’s find a guy of your type ‘

When they were talking to each other,  the guy that approached Sakshi, heard their conversation and bumped into Sakshi and asked, ‘ who’s your type, I bet I can be exactly what you want!’. Sakshi looked at Aarna and Aarna gave her a nod to go talk to him , but Vidya stopped her, she said, ‘ you don’t know him’ . Aarna said, ‘ She will have to talk in order to know him’.  Sakshi went with that guy , his name was Aakash, they enjoyed each other’s company, exchanged numbers then later Aakash with his friend Aman dropped the girls at their home in his car. 

After a few days, Sakshi and Aakash became official. Aarna was the happiest one but Vidya had her doubts, She said, ‘ this guy looks a little off to me’. Aarna was like why ?, he seems fine to me. Vidya asks ‘ do you know where he stays?’ Sakshi replies ‘yes , he stays on rent with his friend Aman just like us in Goregaon.’  Aarna interupts ‘ enough with your doubts, let her live.’ Vidya was like okay fine.

A month later Aarna asked Sakshi to find out of Aman’s single. Sakshi said ‘yes he is’.  Then Aman and Aarna got along really quick and started dating. The four of them started hanging out together, but Vidya felt a little left out. She even tried to talk about it with her friends but they said we’ll find someone for you too. Everything was going really well until one day Aarna came home late, around 1.30 in the morning and she rang the doorbell. Nobody opened the door. She tried to call Sakshi but she didn’t pick up. So she went to their neighbour’s house where they had kept an extra pair of keys. The neighbours were a little pissed for disturbing them so late, she apologized and came to open the door. As soon as she got inside her house, she closed the door, the lights were off, so she went to switch it on. The moment there was light in the room, Aarna saw something that have her shivers. She was shocked, couldn’t move couldn’t speak, she was trembling, tears came falling out of her eyes and then she gathered the courage to scream. Her scream was so loud, she didn’t know when to stop. She fell down on her knees, devastated, disturbed, confused, emotional, too many emotions all together. 

What she saw was her friend Sakshi’s dead body hanging on the ceiling fan. Vidya was not at home, Aarna’s scream woke up a lot of their neighbours and they all came checking at their house. One of them called the police. The police came and took Aarna to the police station as witness. They started questioning her, she said that Sakshi had a little fight with her boyfriend maybe that had led her take this drastic step. Police asked about Sakshi’s boyfriend, Aarna gave them the name and address. When police went to that address, there was nobody there. They again interrogated Aarna , she was surprised then she showed them the photo of Aakash. The police said this is Aakash, he’s the son of former chief minister of Maharashtra. Aarna was shocked, she had no idea about this. The police said don’t try to put this on an innocent boy. She said I had no idea who he is. He used to stay with his friend named Aman . The police said, Aman is his cousin brother. You are fooling us around, where is your other flatmate. Aarna replied ‘she has no idea’. The police sent a force to find Vidya. Until then, Aarna was sent home. The next day, police came and arrested Aarna in the murder of Sakshi. Aarna kept shouting on top of her voice that she has not done anything. The police said they have evidence and witness. She asked who is the witness. The police said they have statement of their neighbours that boys used to come to your house everyday and you all used to party all night with alcohol and drugs. Aarna was shocked, she said this isn’t true. There is other part to this story. The police asked ‘you want us to conduct a blood test for you because you know that you did drugs. Aarna said ‘I’m not denying that I did drugs but I was forced, I didn’t want to do it but they forced us’ . The police asked ‘who’? Aarna said ‘ Aakash and Aman’ , they used to bring drugs and they forced us to join them. The police said, ‘ so tell me when was the last time they came into your house with drug’ Aarna replied ‘ a week ago ‘ . The police said, ‘ then how did we find this packet of cocaine in your house?’ Aarna was shocked, she literally had no idea about this. She had nothing to say, but she gathered some courage to question the officer that how does these thing prove that I killed Sakshi ? The police replied ” we have statement of Aman and Akash and they said you were jealous of Sakshi. Aarna said ‘why would I be jealous of her ?’ The police said because you were in love with Aakash but it was Sakshi whom Aakash loved. Aarna was shocked, she said ‘this is all bizzare, not true at all’ . So this isn’t true that you loved Aakash?  “NO” Aarna replied, he’s the one who got close to me. And what did you do when he got close to you? The police asked. Aarna took a moment to put everything into words, she said ‘it was a trap, they did this to us. They killed her, they killed Sakshi, it was then not me” She kept repeating the same thing. Then they put her in jail.  

Later that day, Aarna’s parents came to Mumbai and found out that she’s in jail. They came to visit her and after seeing her they could hardly understand anything. They didn’t let her talk until the court hearing. 

Two days later the police caught Vidya, she was in her hometown Nagpur. She was brought into jail for confession. She denied knowing anything. She played safe. According to her she had left in the morning of the day Sakshi died, because her mom was sick. She said Aarna, Aman, Sakshi and Aakash used to hangout together all the time and she was not even in the picture. She also denied knowing anything about the drugs or the guys. Then the police asked Sakshi about Aarna having feelings for Aakash. Vidya said that’s true. She said Aarna was not happy with Sakshi and Aakash’s relationship, she tried her level best to break it. Vidya said that Aarna was involved in drug supply and one day she druged Aakash to make out with her against his will but Sakshi found out about it, maybe that could be the reason why she committed suicide. The police took Vidya’s confessions and sent her home. 

Then came the day of Aarna’s hearing in the court.  Aarna vowed that she will only speak the truth and that is what she did. She said, ” the four of us got along and started hanging out but we had no idea about their identity, we didn’t know who they were and what they are capable of. They are the one’s who are actually involved in drug business. They try to find a safe place to hide their stock. They gained our trust and hid those packets of drugs at our houses. One day Aakash and Aman came into our house for night out and they also brought a few friends of theirs. So it was me and Sakshi and four other guys. They spiked our drink and when me and Sakshi were druged the four of them raped us and also made videos of it. The next day Aakash came and showed me the video where he was kissing me and he accused me to have taken advantage of him when he was drunk. He then showed that video to Sakshi and said I took advantage of him. Sakshi was very upset with m, I tried to explain her that I could never do that to her but she was so angry with me. Then Aman came and broke up with me for what I did with Aakash. But that day I found out that out bathroom ceiling had a hidden closet where I found packets of cocaine. I instantly understood who did this. So I went to Aakash and told him that I’ll go to police and register a complain about him but he blackmailed me the video that they had made of me and Sakshi. I was shattered, I didn’t know what to do so Aakash told me that if I help him sexually he will delete our videos. I couldn’t think of anything, I didn’t understand what to do so I came home and told Vidya about everything. She said that we should immediately get rid of the cocaine at our home. So me and Vidya both took the packets and emptied it in the sea because we were scared and couldn’t think of anything else. While we were out destroying drugs, Aakash came into our home to see Sakshi but there he found out that his drugs are missing. So he immediately called me and I told him that I got rid of it and also I’m not scared of the video. Aakash got so angry that he leaked Sakshi’s video but not mine because I said I’m not afraid of him. He couldn’t think of anything else so he confronted Sakshi. He told her that he had hidden his drugs in our house worth rupees 250 crores and I destroyed it. He asked Sakshi that who will pay his 250 crores. Sakshi couldn’t think of anything, she didn’t understand a word that he said. Then Aakash showed her the video of hers that he leaked and told her this is how you will have to pay me. I’ll send you customers, you will charge them by selling yourself or do whatever you want to do I don’t care I just want my money back. Sakshi could hardly speak knowing that her video is already out, she was shattered and broken. Then Aakash told her, if you and your friend doesn’t pay me back, I’ll go to the police and file a complain against you that you are involved in drug dealing and it will be very easy for me because when you guys will have a medical check up, it will appear in your system, so you only have two choices, either pay me my money back or send a lifetime in jail. 

After that Aakash left. This is when Sakshi committed suicide and I know this because she sent me a suicide note voicemail in my phone before hanging herself, which I heard after reaching home and after seeing Sakshi’s dead body right in front of me. 

I was with Vidya the whole time, but while coming home after Aakash’s phone call, Vidya got another call from an unknown number. I’m assuming that call was from either Aakash or Aman who gave her a chance to save herself from all that had happened only if she helps saving them. When I was taken to police station after Sakshi’s death, I forgot my phone at the house which had Sakshi’s voicemail and then I never found it again. Nobody would have seen Vidya coming back to the house to keep another packet of cocaine as an evidence against me because all our neighbours were in police station and who else had the keys to our home. Then she took my phone and disappeared. I’m assuming they offered her a good amount of money for doing what she did. That’s all I have to say. This is my truth and the rest is fake story that they made up to save themselves”.

The court heard Aarna’s confession and took it into consideration and gave another date of hearing which was next week. But until the next week Aarna had realised what would the decision be, as in two years she has very well understood how the system works, how girls are taken advantage of, how corrupt every officer is, how money can bend morals. She was prepared and when the day of the result came she wasn’t surprised to know that the decision was not in her favour. The court said that they don’t have any evidence of what Aarna said. They couldn’t even find the leaked video of Sakshi. Also Vidya’s mom gave her statement that Vidya was in Nagpur on the day of Sakshi’s death. The court sentenced Aarna lifetime prisonment under the reason behind Sakshi’s death and also for being involved in drug supply. 

THE END.