The Missing Wife

A Story by Kriish Gulati

This was my first short story. I certainly hope that you'll like it. There's a lot you might learn from it.

THE MISSING WIFE.

“PAPA, WHERE’S MOM??” WAS THE MOST OFTEN ASKED QUESTION BY THE TWINS. JOHN, AS USUAL AVERTED THE QUESTION. HE WAS QUITE TIRED OF LISTENING THESE QUERIES FROM HIS KIDS. BUT, HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT WERE THEY GOING THROUGH AS THEY DIDN’T SEE THEIR MOTHER FOR WEEKS.

JOHN WAS AN UNDERSTANDABLE DAD. HE ALMOST GAVE THEM EVERYTHING, FROM FAMILY PICNICS TO TOYS OF THEIR CHOICE. HE USED TO TELL THE KIDS THAT MOM WOULD COME VERY SOON BUT TRULY NEVER CAME. JOHN HAD A STRANGE HABIT OF THROWING A SMALL BLACK PLASTIC BAG FILLED WITH SOMETHING EVERYDAY ON HIS WAY BACK HOME FROM WORK ON RANDOM PLACES! HE DID THIS SINCE HER WIFE WENT MISSING.

DAYS PASSED BY…

ONE AFTERNOON, "ring ring" PHONE BELL RANG AND IT WAS JOHN’S IN-LAWS. THEY WANTED TO TALK TO ‘MARY’, THAT’S HIS WIFE… AS THEY DIDN’T HAVE A WORD SINCE LONG.

HE REPLIED, “ACTUALLY MARY AND I HAD A SMALL FIGHT SO SHE LEFT AND MIGHT BE PROBABLY IN HER FRIEND’S HOUSE”. THIS WAS THE ONLY REPLY WHEN SOMEONE ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS WIFE. ONCE MARY’S FATHER CARL SUDDENLY PAID A VISIT TO JOHN. HE WANTED TO ASK ABOUT MARY AS THEY DIDN’T MEET HER FOR A QUITE LONG. CARL THOUGHT THAT MARY WOULD HAVE COME BACK SOON AFTER THE COUPLE FOUGHT. CARL STILL COULD NOT SEE HER. HE FOUND THIS VERY BENT. CARL IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE COPS AND COMPLAINED ABOUT HER MISSING DAUGHTER.

COPS RAIDED JOHN’S HOUSE. THEY WERE INVESTIGATING THIS QUITE GRAVELY. AFTER QUESTIONING TO JOHN, HE WAS SPEECHLESS AND ALWAYS TURNED OFF THE QUESTIONS. COPS FOUND THIS STRANGE. IT WAS PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT JOHN WAS HIDING SOMETHING. AND IF HE WAS NOT THEN WHY WOULD A HUSBAND BE SO LINEANT IN HIS WIFE’S MISSING CASE.

COPS DECIDED TO SEARCH MARY AND LOOK FOR CLUES. AFTER SOMETIME, THEY WERE STILL LACKING LEADS. SO THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A LOOK IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

AS THEY WERE READY TO LEAVE, ONE OF THE SMART COPS GOT A STRANGE GUT FEELING ABOUT AN UNKNOWN ICE DEEP FREEZER NEXT TO A STANDARD REFRIGERATOR. THIS WAS QUITE UNEXPECTED. WHY WOULD A MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY WITH NO BUSINESS RELATED TO FREEZING HAVE A DEEP FREEZER IN THEIR HOUSE. THEN IMMEDIATELY THAT COP HEADED TOWARDS IT. HE TRIED TO OPEN IT BUT EVIDENTLY WAS LOCKED. HE ASKED JOHN ABOUT IT. JOHN’S FACE SUDDENLY TURNED RED AND HE STARTED TO SWEAT. THIS MADE CLEAR TO THE COPS THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG ABOUT IT. JOHN RESPONDED THAT IT WAS BOUGHT BY HIS WIFE AND HE HAS NO IDEA ABOUT IT. ONE COP WENT AND BROUGHT A CROWBAR FOR OPENING IT. THIS MADE JOHN VERY NERVOUS AND UNCOMFORTABLE. HE TRIED TO STOP THE OFFICER REGARDING IT. COPS SIDED HIM. THE LOCK WAS OPENED. AS THE COP TRIED TO OPEN THE LIT, JOHN RAN AND MERELY HUGGED IT. HE CRIED AND SAID,”SORRY MARY, I HAD NO CHOICE!”. COPS TURNED HIM AWAY TO THE OTHER SIDE. AS THEY OPENED THE FREEZER THEY FOUND SEVERAL SMALL VAGUE BLACK POLY BAGS WHICH WERE FILLED WITH SOME UNKNOWN STUFF. AS ONE OF THE COPS TRIED TO OPEN IT, “NO”, CRIED JOHN. THEY FOUND SOME FLESH PIECES IN IT. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE COPS TO FIND OUT WHICH TISSUE OR RATHER BODY PART IS IT. THEY OPENED AN OTHER POLYBAG AND FOUND A FINGER WITH A CLASPED GOLD RING. NOW, THERE WAS A SUDDEN SILENCE IN THE HOUSE. ‘CARL’ MARY’S FATHER SCREAMED AND STARTED SOBBING AND TOLD THE COPS THAT IT WAS THE SAME RING THAT HE GAVE IT TO MARY ON HER WEDDING DAY. THIS SHOCKED THE OFFICERS.

COPS ONCE AGAIN ASKED JOHN. THIS TIME THE INTERROGATION WAS QUITE ROUGH.

HE EXPLAINED IN GRIEF. HE SAID THAT A FEW MONTHS AGO HE WENT TO LONDON FOR HIS WORK. THERE HE FOUND A GIRL ‘LARA’ WHO HE STARTED LIKING. THEY BOTH WERE GOING TO MARRY. MARY GOT AWARE ABOUT THIS NEW LIKING OF JOHN. AFTER THAT, MARY USED TO FIGHT WITH HIM LIKE HELL. SO, CARING ABOUT HER KIDS AND WIFE JOHN BROKE UP WITH LARA. BUT STILL MARY USED TO BARB HIM ABOUT HER. SHE ASSUMED THAT THEY WERE DATING AGAIN WHICH THEY WERE REALLY NOT. THIS MADE JOHN VERY ANGRY.

ONCE, THIS LED TO RUDE DOMESTIC FIGHT BETWEEN THEM. MARY PUSHED JOHN. IN RETURN HE PUSHED MARY AND SHE BANGED AGAINST THE BED’S CORNER. HE THOUGHT SHE DIED THERE AND THEN AND HE WENT TO CHECK HER PULSES BUT LUCKILY THEY WERE BEATING. MARY WAS UNCONCIOUS. HE WAS SURE THAT AFTER SHE WAKES UP SHE WILL COMPLAIN TO THE COPS. HE DECIDED TO CHOP HER DOWN INTO SMALL PIECES AND FILL THEM INTO SMALL OPAQUE BLACK CARRY BAGS. HE THREW THEM IN DIFFERENT PLACES SO THAT NO ONE WILL FIGURE IT OUT.

NOW JOHN IS SENTENCED TO LIFE PRISONMENT. THE TWINS WERE VERY SMALL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED. NOW THEY ARE LIVING WITH JOHN’S INLAWS. MISSING BOTH THEIR PARENTS

FROM THIS INCIDENT, WE UNDERSTAND THAT SMALL QUARRELS BETWEEN PARTNERS CAN LEAD TO SAD ENDINGS. UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER IS THE ONLY RIGHT SOLUTION HERE.

BASED ON A TRUE EVENT.

KRIISH GULATI.