65. Ghosts Of Seven Years #4
I remember sitting on a hard wooden bench while officers kept asking the same questions again and again as if my answer would magically change.
Then they took the numbers of every teenager and called their parents.
I shifted closer to Yugant unconsciously as the memories resurfaced.
"I gave them Dad's number first because I knew Mumma wasn't home." My fingers tightened around his shirt. "They called him many times, but his phone was out of reach. Then I gave them Mumma's number."
"What did she say?" Yugant asked softly.
I looked up at him.
"She said she was coming. She wasn't exactly in Mumbai at that time, so she needed one or two hours."
A weak smile touched my lips. "I remember waiting for her like my life depended on it."
Because it did.
I swallowed before continuing.
"I sat in a corner and cried. That's all I did. I wasn't thinking about the drugs, the police, the media, nothing. I just wanted my parents. One by one everyone's parents started arriving. Some were shouting at the police, some at their children. The police had already registered reports,
so nobody was allowed to leave."
I paused.
"Exactly two hours later Mumma arrived."
My eyes burned. "She didn't look fine either. At that time I thought it was because of me."
Yugant's hand moved into my hair while I continued staring ahead.
"The police asked her a lot of questions. They told her drugs had been found in my bag. They asked about my school, my friends, my habits. She answered everything confidently but..." I hesitated.
"But?"
"The moment she found out I went to the party without telling her, she went silent. They even told her I supplied drugs but she didn't believe. She asked me, but I was so so scared I lied."
The room stayed quiet.
"The entire night passed in that police station. Medical tests were conducted on everyone. Some students got relief after no drugs were found in their system. My friends stayed because they were intoxicated and some of them had consumed a huge amount."
I laughed bitterly.
"They didn't find anything in my body either. Not a single trace."
"Because you never took anything."
I nodded.
"Yeah. But it didn't matter because the drugs were found in my bag."
My voice lowered. "Then things became worse. CCTV footage started coming out. Videos where I was handing packets to people. Of course I was." I closed my eyes briefly. "Those were the same packets my friends used to ask me to deliver. At that time I thought I was helping them."
The bitterness in my voice surprised even me.
"The police built a case around that. Statements were recorded. Evidence was collected. The matter reached juvenile court. My mumma was so disappointed because I lied, but I was afraid, so afraid I didn't know what I was saying at that time, and that was my biggest mistake."
I fell silent for a few seconds.
"Mumma fought like crazy." A tear escaped the corner of my eye. "She started an investigation, she spoke to everyone. She kept asking me the same thing over and over. 'Dhwani, are you hiding something from me?';and every single time I gave her the same answer. No."
I looked down.
"I told her about the packets. The envelopes. Everything. I told her how my friends used me. But the more evidence appeared, the harder it became to prove I was innocent."
The memories felt suffocating even now.
"The first hearing happened. The main girl involved got bail because her family had connections with minister. Meanwhile most of the blame shifted towards me because the cops wanted someone to put the whole blame, and I became that sacrificing goat."
I laughed without humor.
"They sent me to a juvenile observation home until the next hearing."
Even after all these years, saying those words hurt.
"Mumma came to meet me whenever she could. This time Dad came too."
I blinked rapidly.
"The moment I saw him, I cried. I told him I was innocent. I told him again and again."
"And?"
"He believed me."
The answer came immediately. "He didn't ask a single question. Not one."
I looked away.
"But Mumma kept asking questions. Again and again. If I was hiding something. If I remembered something. If there was anything I hadn't told her."
I exhaled shakily.
"I understand she was trying to save me. She was trying to find something, anything, that could help my case."
My throat tightened. "But at sixteen..."
I closed my eyes.
"At sixteen I was tired, frustrated, scared and angry. I knew she was trying her best, but all I could think was that I wanted to get out of there. At any cost."
My voice faded at the end and the room fell silent except for the steady sound of Yugant's breathing beside me.
"What happened next?" Yugant asked.
I took a deep breath. "I trusted her. I really trusted that she would save me." My fingers twisted the bedsheet. "Until one day Dad told her that she had to save me at any cost, even if I was at fault."
I swallowed. "And Mumma said she would definitely save me if I was innocent. But if I wasn't, then I would have to bear the punishment."
Even after all these years, those words hurt.
"At that time, I didn't understand what she meant. All I heard was that my own mother wasn't standing by my side completely. Because even if I was innocent the proof was against me."
"They had an argument right in front of me. A big one. Dad kept saying I was innocent, and Mumma kept saying that innocence had to be proved, not assumed. Looking back now, maybe something was already wrong between them. Maybe they were carrying problems much bigger than me."
My voice grew quieter.
"The second hearing came, and that day Mumma didn't show up. I remember sitting there and staring at the courtroom entrance the entire time. Every time the door opened, I thought it would be her. Every single time."
My eyes burned.
"Dad was there too, but even he looked helpless. He kept calling her again and again, but she never answered. I don't know where she was, what happened to her, or why she didn't come. All I knew was that I was standing there alone."
I paused before continuing. "Because my lawyer, who was also my own mother, failed to appear before the court, the hearing went against me. The prosecution already had the drugs recovered from my possession, CCTV footage showing me delivering packets,
and statements from my friends accusing me of supplying them."
My throat tightened.
"So the court refused to release me and ordered that I remain in the juvenile observation home until further hearings and investigation along with my other friends."
I closed my eyes. "And that was the day something broke inside me. Not because I was sent back there." I looked at Yugant."But because for the first time, I felt like Mumma had chosen not to come."