Thriller The Story of Meera

[Priyanka98]

**************
Meera snapped out of the flashback and picked up the man's phone. Its battery was dead. She put the phone in her pocket.
The room was a complete mess and the stink was unbearable. Meera found a broken glass bottle near the corpse with blood stains on it. She looked around and found a kerosene stove. Perhaps it was being used to cook the simple meals that she was given while she was kept there. There was a large can of kerosene nearby.
Meera doused each and every object in the room in kerosene. She found the man's cigarette lighter lying nearby. She set the whole cabin ablaze.
She stood at a distance for some time watching the fire consume the whole cabin. She watched the wooden framework crumble and fall. She didn't know why, but she felt peaceful watching the place burn.
She started walking back towards the spot where Mithila had dropped her. The cabin was quite off the road, it took Meera almost an hour to find Mithila's car. She quickly got into the passenger's seat and said, "Drive, be quick."
Mithila had a lot of questions for Meera. "Thank God you are OK! I was starting to get worried; you've been gone for more than 2 hours. What happened back there?" she asked.
Meera didn't answer her right away. She took the man's phone and connected it to a charging post in Mithila car. The phone began to charge.
"His name was Ajeet Rathod, he was a manager at Queen's Heart Bar," Meera said, handing over the man's ID and to Mithila for her to have a quick look, "I remember having had an argument with him at Queen's heart bar. He had misbehaved with me and Kabir had roughed him up."
Mithila suddenly stopped the car and looked at Meera in horror. "You mean...he's...?"
"He's dead," Meera said.
"Did you kill him?" Mithila asked.
"I don't know," Meera said, "I don't remember...maybe I did, maybe I didn't..."
Mithila could barely process the shock. But she started the car and drove ahead.
"So, what did you find in that cabin?" Mithila asked.
"The man's body, it had started decomposing already. Apart from that some usual things, like the rug on which I was lying, his clothes, some of his other belongings, some used condoms, some needles, some drugs, some food, the usual stuff." Meera said casually, "It doesn't matter though, I burned everything down."
"You did what?" Mithila asked in shock.
"I burned the place down," Meera said calmly, "What else did you expect me to do? My fingerprints and DNA were all over the place. And, I hope you do realize that you need to get your car thoroughly cleaned up."
Mithila could barely speak after that. She just kept driving quietly.
"I understand you are curious Mithila," Meera said serenely, "But now, I am feeling a sense of calm...like I'm not afraid anymore."
Meera then turned on the man's phone that has enough charge now, "Let's see if we find something interesting in the gentleman's phone...hmmm, it's locked!"
Mithila was still in shock. She just kept driving as Meera tried the usual passwords, like the man's name, his date of birth but nothing seemed to work.
Meera examined his wallet carefully with her flashlight. The man had a family photo in his wallet with his wife and a teenage daughter. On looking closely, Meera found an inscription on the wallet, "To the best dad in the world - Love Tara."
Meera typed in "Tara" and the phone unlocked. "The sweet love of a child," she said as she began to access the man's phone.
She found the video she had expected.
"Find a good place to park," Meera said to Mithila, "This is something I think you should see."
Mithila pulled over at a secluded spot and Meera played the video.
***********************************************************