"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you ask questions. You have the right to-"
The TV went off. "Geez, What are you doing? Dude just got busted. This was going really interesting", I said.
"Until when are you gonna watch the same TV show? For god's sake, you've been up all night. Go get some sleep." Suveksha slammed the door on me and went early to work.
What a bizzarre Saturday! As usual, I had my sandwich and banana smoothie. "Perks of having a roommate who's a good cook, heh", I thought.
My head started spinning. What was that? Why am I suddenly remembering all that? All the dizziness took away my senses. "Um, You don't look fine. Let's get you to bed", samriddhi comforted me to my room.
"Please suit yourself. I'm sorry for being so sick all of a sudden", I told her. She was kind enough to prepare soup and porridge for me. In my bed, I laid with my eyes wide open thinking about the same piece of memory over and over again. "Did that actually happen? Maybe it was because of the movies I've watched recently. But that girl felt quite familiar."
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I heard you whispering to yourself. Are you...okay?", she asked.
"Yeah, I'm good."
I remembered what I was asking her. We sat on the couch and enjoyed lemon tea for a while. While I was waiting for a decent time to bring up a topic, we talked for hours. She looked out of the window and praised the pastel sky. Why wouldn't she, after all? The sky is the one thing worth glaring at.
"You said that watch belongs to you, right?"
"That teal pocket watch? Yes, it's been with me since forever. An old man gave it to me when I visited my hometown. He died a week later. I like it's colour, it's pretty so I didn't feel like throwing it away. And I kind of feel like this watch connects me with the other world. Sounds pretty absurd, right? Don't mind me saying all this", she shared.
"Oh I wouldn't. That watch you own was found as an evidence at a local cafe in a recent murder case. Do you know anything about it?", I asked her.
She shivered and replied, "After our conversation, I ran for my interview. It went quite well. But the unusual thing, a pharmaceutical sales rep I've known for years suddenly approached me and took me for coffee catching my hand. From what you've said, I think it's the same cafe we both went to."
"Did your friend do something there?"
She continued, "Everything was going fine at first. It was a pleasure having a warm conversation with an old friend. But then, things got incredibly out of hand. We were in a middle of a conversation where we're sharing about our careers and the next second, she was pointing a gun to my head. My mind went completely blank. All the other customers didn't even bother looking at us, they wouldn't care even if a person gets shot. You know that's how it is. Anyways, she seemed to be in a hurry. Very quickly, she handed me her gun and asked me to hide it safely. I froze right there and I couldn't even utter a single word"
"By any chance, has your friend ever killed someone before?", I asked.
"She's too noble to even hold a gun, let alone killing someone. After handing me her weapon, she left the place and some minutes later a waitress asked me if I'd like to order anything. I started sobbing. She brought me a cup of coffee without me asking for it. She then accompanied me, gave me a consoling hug and brought me to the kitchen area so that I could wash my face. She took my coat off as it was scorching hot even during the evening. Maybe my watch fell from my pocket at that time. I was too freaked out to notice an object missing from my cloth. Then I had no clue what to do. I remembered you. I thought you could help me in some way. So I walked till here, your apartment, where you live."
I paused for a minute and said, "I really appreciate you telling me all this. I think you'll be of great help to my colleagues. They may work on this case. Now we at least have a lead."
"Can you show me the gun she gave to you?"
She pulled the weapon out of her embroidered tote bag. "M18187? This baby here is a rare one"
I sighed.
"Rare huh. It's no wonder. Suveksha sure has her own ways", she grinned.
"Wh...what did you say? Who?" *emphasis on 'who'*
"Suveksha. Why? Oh, Wasn't that the name you were mumbling earlier?"
"Me? I have no idea what you're talking about. Hey, How about some refill?"
I departed to the kitchen.