Baskadia

The curtains open to the scene of Rose Garden. The sun hasn’t risen yet and the birds can be heard chirping in the background. Mrs. Kalyani is seen sitting at a bench in a secluded area and facing the sun, sobbing quietly.

(Mr. Balbir enters and calls out Mrs. Kalyani)

Mr. Balbir: Mrs. Kalyani?

Mrs. Kalyani (startled and wiping off her tears): How…How on earth did you find me?

Mr. Balbir: My brother used to be quite fond of this place, probably because it was where he had first met the love of his life.

Mrs. Kalyani: I was feeling suffocated, so I had to relive his memories.

(She begins to cry even more)

Mr. Balbir (while controlling his own emotions): Here, try them.

(He offers her a small box of toffees)

Mrs. Kalyani (flabbergasted): Menthol Toffees? These were Vinay's favorite!

Mr. Balbir: Yes, I am well aware of that. He used to love them so much that before going to our home from school, we would first go to Ramji Departmental Stores which was close to our school, and relish a few of them every day.

Mrs. Kalyani (astonished): Really? He never told me!

(Saying so, she takes one toffee, and the darker-than-usual color catches her attention)

Mrs. Kalyani: Why are these darker than the ones we usually find in supermarkets?

Mr. Balbir: Do you remember the time I visited Helsinki? I brought them from there.

Mrs. Kalyani (nodding in acknowledgment): Oh, okay!

(She gulps it down, takes another, and gulps it down as well)

Mrs. Kalyani (immediately coming to her senses about basic manners): Won’t you have?

Mr. Balbir: Nah, I have already had 3, I won’t have anymore.

(They notice that the sun had begun to rise and watch it quietly for a short period)

(Their silence is suddenly broken by the cough of Mrs. Kalyani…)

Mrs. Kalyani (holding her neck): I…I can’t breathe!

Mr. Balbir (completely ignoring her cries): Since the time we were children, I was forever the less-loved brother. I am not saying that Vinay wasn’t good to me. He was the best elder brother I could ever have had. But our family ridiculed me all the time, just because I was an underachiever compared to him. Even now, people never call me by my name, they call me Vinay Sharma’s brother. Vinay was the reason I could never enjoy the feeling of self-identity.

Mr. Balbir (continuing without noticing that Mrs. Kalyani had turned on her voice recorder): I researched up a flower with the name Borassica Indica which is commonly found in Northern India. It is usually used as an ornamental plant due to its dark-orange flowers, and its seeds are used in various medicines. But there is a lesser-known fact about this plant. If the nectar of its flowers is mixed in the right concentration with menthol, it can easily, very easily induce cardiac arrhythmia and eventually a heart attack, and you know what's even stranger? It is tasteless and it mixes in the bloodstream so well that it is untraceable. The only reason why it still isn't the perfect poison is because of its characteristic dark color, which leaves an imprint wherever it is poured.

(Mrs. Kalyani is dismayed beyond imagination and is slowly losing consciousness)

Mr. Balbir: Before coming back to your house, Vinay had visited my house. He told me about the success of his venture, and I was filled with jealousy. I had been saving these laced menthol toffees for a long time, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to execute my grand plan, so I offered them to him after we had had champagne in celebration. He was so happy seeing my love towards him that he hugged me and gulped down 4 or 5. Unlike you, he didn't even notice the color of the toffees.

Mr. Balbir (with a characteristic "maniacal" laughter): I might've been caught, but then two coincidences saved me. The first one is that the symptoms of the poisoning vary from a few minutes to a few hours. He was so healthy that it took the poison a lot of time to act on his body and by the time it did, he had reached your house and was lying in bed. What's funnier is that you scolded Ram Dayal and prepared and went to give that stupid sharbat to Vinay all by yourself, just because you wanted to spend some private time with your hubby, which of course was suspicious.

(Mr. Balbir glances down and sees that Mrs. Kalyani, although half unconscious and shaking, has been recording his voice. He snatches her phone, smashes it on the park bench, and throws it in the drain. Since it is a secluded area, there aren't any passers-by to save Mrs. Kalyani)

Mr. Balbir: Now I will keep this empty box in your right hand so that if the police come to know about this incident, which they will sooner or later, they will think that you killed your husband by mixing some poison in his sharbat for whatsoever a reason but then you felt so guilty that you committed suicide. That way, neither will there exist any situation where I will be suspected because all the people who know about us anyway believe that I loved my brother more than anyone in this world, nor will my fingerprints be present on that box. Not only that, since following you, I was the only family he had, so whatever property he owned, after your death, will automatically become mine. That is the only reason why I had to poison you as well. Nothing personal, just business.

Mr. Balbir (smirking): Give my regards to Vinay in hell.

(Mrs. Kalyani looks towards Mr. Balbir with disgust for the last time and then collapses and loses consciousness completely)

(Mr. Balbir then gets up and first dials 102 and then Ram Dayal)

Mr. Balbir (in a horrified tone): I found her in Rose Garden and she is lying motionless without a pulse. I am really scared. Come quickly.

Mr. Balbir (to the audience): You see what I did there? I just committed the perfect crime, and nobody except me knows about this. Well, you all do. You know I am the murderer. This is why I have an open challenge for you. Try ranting me out to the police. You see, I am a novelist. I consider even the worst possible scenario which the readers might think of, and my grand plan has a solution to all kinds of problems, even problems like you all. Hyvästi!

(Mr. Balbir puts on a gas mask and then opens a vial containing unfiltered hydrogen cyanide)

                                                                                                                                     (Curtains fall)