It was going to rain as I came out of the Metro Railway Station at dusk. The wind had already started off the block and was racing ahead. The dust was rising up from the ground and with each gust blowing into the faces of pedestrians returning from work, slithering into the strands of their hair, and pricking the eyelids between narrowing eyelids. Now a piece of newsprint flew up, twisted itself, and� then the wind suddenly died down, and the paper gently floated towards the ground. But before touching earth it caught another gust of air and was carried past the tramlines until it was killed under the wheels of a speeding bus. A dog moaned its death from under the hatch of a �pan� shop, whereas the �panwallah� was busy shutting shop for the day. A tramp came out of a lane happily in expectation of the destined shower to get wet in his dirty tatters. I passed him as I crossed the road opposite The News House.
The lightning above the lightning conductor encompassed the whole breadth of the sky and then a pause. It took uncannily long for the advent of the sound of thunder. and when it came the lone bulb at the gate flickered. The mammoth revolving door at the entrance of The News House seemed to be in perpetual motion, engineered by the sweeping winds. I just walked in without having to push the door as the wind breezed past me, turning over the hairs on my body in reflex. It was perhaps an indication but I was soon engrossed in filling my name in the register at the front desk. I had to meet the review editor and give him my latest book to review. Unfortunately the lift was not working and so I had to take the stairs. The grand staircase under the dome of the building had been its showcase for a long time. But now it seemed as if a hundred labourers, with sand and cement, have been trotting up and down the stairs the whole day. And it may be true, for the building was under renovation. The ground floor gave enough proof of work in progress and I was instructed at the front desk to go straight to the third floor where all the offices had been shifted.
As I took the first step, the glass panes of a window banged on the wooden frame in some deep corner of the building, forced by the mindless wind. And I could smell the wetness in the air for it must have started raining outside. I had to climb the dimly lit stairs past two empty floors. Outside, it must have darkened heavily for the darkness had crept onto the staircase too. As I climbed up I could hear the grazing of my footsteps on the sand on the stairs despite the rumbling of the clouds. When I reached the first floor, except for the dimly lit staircase, all else was totally dark. But then lightning flashed and in that fraction of a second I could discern that all the doorframes have been removed and some partitions of the rooms had been demolished. Many new walls were also under construction. The floor showed ample signs of the refuse of masonry work. Strangely, I could also notice some masonry implements behind a couple of walls, perhaps left behind by the workers. As it darkened again, I felt the darkness so thick that I involuntarily raised one of my hands to touch its palpable texture. I heard a swishing sound as if a gust of wind had got trapped in a room and was struggling to find a route of escape.
I turned away from the darkness and started climbing the stairs again. At the turning of the staircase there was an open window through which a drizzle of rain was sprinkling inside the corridor whenever the wind blew in that direction. I looked out at the dark expanse of the city and down at the muddy vacant ground where some cars were parked. But I could not stand there for long because of the intermittent sprinkling shower. I climbed up to the second floor, which in the darkness looked like the replica of the first floor. I looked up and saw a stream of light jutting on to the balustrade coming from the third floor where people were busy at work. I again looked back at the darkness, barely expecting lightning to flash, but it did. This time I could not discern much except that at the other extremity of the floor was a wide half-open window. Suddenly I was caught in an irrational and uncontrollable desire to look out of that window. It was childish, and yet I was waiting there to adjust my eyes to the darkness. Irresistibly, I put one foot forward into the darkness. And all of a sudden I felt my other foot forcibly pushed inside too. I became alarmed and tried to step back but was prevented as if by a wall. I turned around and moved forward but banged my head on what seemed like a glass barrier. I felt trapped and fear rose up my spine in shivers.
I did not know what to do, and again the lightning flashed, but this time producing a psychedelic effect. A crackle of thunder followed. I felt as if my escape lay at that half-open window and I should run towards it. But my feet were either stuck in clay or had become heavy. Yet I tried. And as I was gaining in speed I found a wooden bench pushed in my track all of a sudden. I crashed at the hurdle painfully. I lay on the floor trying to catch my breath and recover from the shock. It was then I noticed that from behind a couple of walls certain figures carrying edged masonry equipment were coming towards me. They were coming to get me. To kill me. And my only possible escape route was the half-open window. I got up as fast as I could and started scampering towards the window. I could feel the figures gaining ground on me. Yet I tried. But the passage seemed endless. The lightning flashed again and this time I found emaciated bodies covering my tracks. I hopped and skirted them. But invariably my feet were getting entangled with the hands of the dead bodies. Now I had almost reached the window. And I realised that I just cannot jump out of it because I was on the second floor. I turned around to look and I saw a towering figure rise above me with a spade to strike at me. Before I could feel the strike I passed out.
When I regained consciousness I found myself in a hospital. One of my hands was handcuffed to the rail of the steel bed. I was informed that I was found on the ledge of the second floor window of The News House, unconscious. A case of attempted suicide has been initiated against me. And I also heard later that my book sales have shot up.
