A close shave

A close shave

         

Shruthi came out of the court heaving a sigh of relief. She was acquitted from the court for murder. She had just hit him on the top of his head with the help of an iron bar and he collapsed. She never even turned back after hitting him. She ran and ran as fast as her legs could take her away from the madman. She was  free from this nightmare, which engulfed her and tore her to pieces. She was safe.  She had nothing to fear now from that madman, that lunatic, that self confessed lover. She thought about how appearances are sometimes deceptive.

But still the nightmares persisted  in haunting her. She perspired rather heavily, water trickled at her face and she shivered. Her hair in her back seems to be standing at one end. She shuddered at that thought, as to how close she had come to the jaws of death but escaped narrowly from it.

What type of love had he for me? I can't understand. I am an ardent fan of romantic books, but I have never read about such a violent love; that I had witnessed in my real life. She thought to herself.

  Shruthi belonged to a family who believed in giving gave independence to their children. All  her relatives did not want her to be an actor .Her grandparents from both her parents were opposed to it. They did not want their blood, to don the grease paint, but still her parents allowed her to indulge in her passion.  From childhood she had the passion to be an actor. Her screen Goddess was Madhuri Dixit a  versatile Hindi Actor . She wanted to emulate her in every way, so she maintained a photo album of her from her heydays and used to religiously read her interviews.

Madhuri is a damn lucky woman who not only won hearts in the tinsel world but also has a successful marriage. I wish I would be as lucky as her, thought Shruthi.

  Shruthi prepared her portfolios from Chennai Modeling Diary a modeling agency in Chennai located in Southern India. She was a tall striking girl. She was not beautiful in the conventional sense , but  she had an alluring smile and a pleasing demeanor.              Chennai Modeling Diary managed to get her a contract from a prestigious production company. She got the role of a heroine for a Television mega serial

    She threw a party at Hotel Palmgrove when the TRP for her serial was the highest.  She invited the press, her producers and her friends She was clad in a beautiful light pink kurti with a magenta top designed by a Chennai designer, especially for the occasion. She was looking very striking and poised.

It is here she first met Sharan. He was quite smart and seemed to roll in money. She learnt that Sharan was doing some export business. She got attracted to him and started talking to him.

    Later  Sharan invited Shruthi for a date and she agreed to meet him for dinner at Hotel Chola. She dressed in blue jeans and arrived in matching top with a smiling face to meet Sharan. He frowned and looked quite preoccupied

"What is the matter Sharan? I find that you are not quite happy "

"I don't like the dress you turned up. I am thinking of marrying you and look here you are clad in a jeans "

Shruthi walked out with a huff 

Sharan followed her

"Why are you leaving”? he cried

"How dare you, how dare you insult me even my parents has not spoken in this manner" she shouted angrily 

"I want to marry you "

"Marry you fool you are not even fit to be a friend. From now on just don't meet me "

    Next day while she returned from shooting she received a call. Thinking it was some friend she took the phone

“I am sharan I want to talk to you”

Shruthi put down the phone with a bang



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    Sharan could not understand why shruthi was so rude to him. What has he done to deserve it? His parents had lined a lot of girls from good families for him to choose

and marry, but like a fool he was besotted with Shruthi (heroine  in TV serial). The day he saw her in the serial he decided to marry her.

  He followed her at a distance and studied her movements. He bribed the watchman from her flat and came to know whom she is meeting. What is she doing?

He also bribed her maidservant so as to know her tastes, her dislikes and likes.

After bribing about the watchman he came to know about the party and went to meet her. Sharan was so impressed by her; he fell in love with her. Her looks, her charms and everything about her mesmerized him 

He was in his seventh heaven when she agreed to meet him but now after the date he became very miserable. He wanted to forget her but her smile seems to intoxicate him. It drowned him of his senses. All he could do was think about her, only! Her.

He could not eat nor sleep. He became obsesses by her. He wanted to posses her and make her his.

  He tried to win her heart. . He decided to change his tactics. He engaged a detective to work for him. He asked the detective to track Shruthi as he was fond of her and loved her. From him he came to know that she was fond of roses so he bought a lorry load of roses and surrounded her house with roses. And also declared his love in roses. She was but impressed by this gesture and when next time he rang she thanked him.

While on a business trip to US he manages to get an autograph of Madhuri Dixit. He knew when Shruthi's birthday was and on the wee hours he made a beehive to her house. He then wished her and presented her with the autograph of Maduri Dixit. He then asked shruthi to forgive him and once again have friendship with him. She got impressed with his gesture and agreed to be friends with him.

    She invited him to a function, when she was awarded the best actor in the small screen. All of them appreciated her effort but Sharan  just kept silent. Shruthi felt a bit disappointment that Sharan has not wished her but she then resolved in keeping quite in this matter.

    Shruti received a phone call from a production company in Bombay to act in their film, as the heroine’s friend .Her happiness knew no bound. Sharan did not want her to act in films. He contacted the producer and told him that shruthi will not act as she is marrying him.

    The next day when Shruthi went to the sets she found that another actress took her place. She was shell-shocked and asked why the producer has changed her without notice or any information.

The producer told her that Sharan phoned to him that he was marrying Shruthi and so she was opting out of the show, as he was not interested in his wife working in films.

It was Shruthi's turn to get shocked. 

How dare he! How dare he do it to me? I have not even told him that I love him but this guy has the guts to tell everyone I am going to be his wife. Who is he to give me orders? I will definitely have a press conference and clear this matter. 

She called a press meeting and she invited Sharan to the meet

“I am not interested in marrying Sharan at all or anybody in the near future “and facing Sharan she said

“As for you Sharan you are the most bigoted and chauvinistic person I have seen and you will be the last person I will marry”

Sharan left the press meet in the huff .He now wanted to take revenge on her.

    I will make the chit of the girl realize who I am, he thought to himself

The next night was sheer torture for him. He put on a Bollywood hit CD on his VCP and while he was pondering what his next step will be, he glanced to see a movie where the hero kidnaps the heroine and make her surrender to him.

    He started liking the idea. He decided this time he will do things by himself. One day while he was traveling in his car he saw a small house, which was in the outskirts in the city and it was quite a lonely house 

Ah this very house this is the very place where I can execute my idea"

He thought to himself.

He managed to meet the landowner and the landowner was very please to lease the house to him. As the place was faraway from the city, nobody was interested in the house. He than started stalking Shruthi without her knowledge. He bribed the watchman to give him information.  From the watchman he came to know, that Shruti was alone in the house, as her parents has gone out to her uncle's place.

    Shruthi was alone in her house and suddenly she found that the whole house was dark. As she was about to get up to get the emergency light, she found that somebody was pinning her down and closed her mouth with chloroform.  She felt dizzy and she could not stir. She could not shout she felt some one carrying in a car and carrying her somewhere.

      At last they came to a house she was laid on the bed. Shruthi gained her consciousness and found that it was Sharan.

"You! Are you mad? Have you taken leave of your senses?

Sharan gave a low laugh full of mockery 

"How I loved you? See this blow up of yourself in my room. See how many letters I have written to you? He then overturns a box of letters at her feet. But what did you do? Made a mockery of me, insulted my feelings now you should face the consequences I will make you as mine, then you will have no other course but marry me Shruthi “

"You men are all apes even if you rape me I will not marry you "she screamed

    Sharan got very wild and his eyes turned red and the look frightened Shruthi

He removed his belt and started hitting her; Shruthi could not control the pain 

She also felt ashamed for being beaten, she was about to fall in a heap than sharan stopped the beating 

"Now I think you would have learnt a lesson which you will never forget”

He gave another demonical laugh 

"You will not marry me but you will die with me "He tried to pour some petrol from a can on both of them.

Shruthi decided that it was time to do something.

She began to think. Faster, faster she said to herself otherwise this creep would do something. He is so mad and he will surely kill me. See his look. He is looking so maniacal. I never thought I will die so fast and that to being burned by this madman. I should do something before it is too late. Ah …I got it I should act. Give my best performance. My  very life is depended on it

She suddenly gave a sexy laugh and started touching Sharan very lovingly and tried to excite his senses and started saying

" Sorry Sharan I never realized that you love me so much I am so impressed by it. I have also started loving you. Which girl will not be impressed, by all this? I will marry you sweetie. I will not work in movies, as you  hate if I work in movies. I will do as you say”

Sharan slowly started relaxing. She could sense that he believed her. His grip on her got loosened. He started kissing her and when she felt that he was relaxed she hit him on the back of his head. He fell down with a thud .She never looked back, but started running away.

  She ran as fast as she could. While the Judge read the sentence Shruthi shuddered thinking 

“What a close shave it was”