Pain and alcohol took over his senses and he passed out.

7

Madhav woke up from a dream where he was struggling to breathe underwater, to find his nose blocked with dried blood from when he fell to the floor the previous night. He was still in Meera’s apartment. He didn’t remember most of the night, as always, but he could tell something horrific had happened. There was a strange silence in the apartment as though it had been quarantined. Beer bottles, half-smoked cigarettes and joints were strewn across the room.

‘Meera,’ he whispered, as he stood up, body and head aching badly. He was tired of waking up like this every morning. He went to the bathroom, peeked in all the bedrooms and the kitchen but couldn’t find anyone.

He had flashbacks of mistreating Meera, but couldn’t remember what he’d done to her. He remembered her calling Radhika a bitch and then his memory failed him. He could only remember anger and darkness.

Madhav sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He had an absurd feeling—as though he were impersonating himself or living in a vicious loop of his own making. He tried to jog his memory, nearly hitting himself in frustration. Images of Meera screaming and trying to push him away flashed in his mind.

He looked around for his phone and finally found it under one of the couch cushions. There were no messages or calls. As he was about to dial Meera’s number, there was a loud thump against the door. The pounding continued as he hid his stash of hash under the couch and walked to the door. He took one deep breath and opened it. There were two men in police uniforms, glowering at him. Before he could comprehend the situation, one of the men who had a grand moustache asked, ‘Madhav Mehra?’

Madhav nodded, petrified, thousands of possibilities buzzing in his aching head.

‘But this is not my home,’ he murmured.

‘We know, young man. The problem is that this is not your home,’ he said, gruffly.

‘Problem? But this is my friend’s home,’ Madhav said, trying to regain some semblance of confidence.

‘This “friend” has filed a sexual harassment and attempt to rape complaint against you,’ the man said.

‘Sir . . . listen to me. It’s not like that. I mean, I don’t remember.’ He pleaded as both the policemen gripped him firmly by the shoulders and warned him, ‘If you resist, we will drag you to the car.’

Shocked by this turn of events, he went and sat quietly in the car. He again racked his brain, trying to recollect the night’s events but he couldn’t remember a thing. He thought of calling Radhika, and even though he was terrified of what she would think once she heard about his state, he didn’t want to talk to anyone else. When she picked up, he told her about his rage blackout and the sexual assault charges Meera had pressed. He remembered mistreating her but he had no memory of sexual harassment or rape. He told Radhika that Meera’s charges were false. But before he could give her any other details, the head constable took away his phone. The policemen got into the car and drove towards the police station.