The Cup of Woes: Part 2

After much thought and dilemma, here is the second part of the story. Earlier, I had planned to end it in 2 parts. But as it turned out, I could not help dragging it into the third. The first part can be read here.

His mobile rang loudly, bringing him back to this world. He had been thinking about his future while idly turning the cup in his hands. About his daughter and his wife and all the wonderful things that they would do together. He picked up the mobile. It was from Sudheer. It has been half an hour already and he had finished two rounds of examining the cup drowning 2 large mugs of coffee in the process.

"Where the hell are you, Sudh..."

"Hello?"

"Hello? Is that you Sudheer?"

"Am I speaking to Mr. Srikar?"

"Yes. Who are you? Where is Sudheer?"

"Sir, I am inspector Ramesh. Your friend had an accident. We took him to a hospital but he was declared dead upon reaching there. I am very sorry. I found your number in his mobile. It was near..."

The world around Sri seemed to be spinning. This had to be a bad dream. How could this happen to him? An hour ago, he thought he was the happiest man on the earth. Surely this has to be a bad joke. Like the cup. He sank back into the couch and stared absently at the window. He never felt so helpless, miserable and desperate in his life. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He did not know how long he sat there. After what seemed to be a really long time, he got up, put his things in his bag and walked out of the cafe, all blurring in the background. Unknown to him, a few tears had slipped silently and fell in the cup.

It has been 4 days since the accident. Probably the longest ones in his entire life. Swetha and the baby had come home that day giving him something to feel cheerful about. He went to his daughter's room where she lay in her craddle, oblivious to his misery. She looked at him, with her big brown eyes filled with wonder. Being with her calmed him a little and he couldn't help smiling. Suddenly, he remembered the frock he had bought for her and went to get it. He had not opened the bag ever since he came home that night and had totally forgotten about it. He opened the bag and fished out the frock when he noticed a faint sound. Like coins in a piggy bank. It seemed to be coming from his bag and he emptied all its contents on the table. Out came the cup and 3 white pearls.

He could not believe what he saw. He must be missing something. He definitely did not put the pearls in his bag. Swetha came home just that day. His house has been pretty much locked for the past 4 days as he was at Sudheer's place all the time. This left him with only one possible conclusion. He did not want to believe it but the pearls seemed to have come from the cup. The cup of woes.

"Sri?", called Swetha entering the room where Sri was standing rooted, still unable to comprehend what he had just concluded. Should he tell Swetha about the cup? No. Not yet. At least, not until he was sure.

"Are you okay, Sri? You look pale."

"Yeah. I am fine. I came in to get this frock. I had bought it for the baby."

"Its beautiful. Come, I want to see her in it."

They dressed their little daughter in the frock and stood back and took a long look at her. She looked like an angel. Swetha slipped her hand into Sri's. They stood there for a while holding each other and letting the weariness they had experienced over the past few days drain a little. Sri's mind, however, would not stop thinking about the cup. He had to make sure. He would test it. Tonight, he thought.

That night, after Swetha had slept, he slipped out of his bed quietly. He fetched the cup and put it on the table in the drawing room and sat on the couch facing it. How was he going to test it? Apparently, he needs to cry.  He thought of Sudheer and all the good times they had shared. He thought of their childhood, of the days they had spent flying kites on his terrace, of the days when they skipped school and watched movies, of the days nights they had spent together studying, of the day when they went on their first double date, of the enthusiasm and delight in his voice the day he told him about the baby. Before he knew, tears trickled down his face. He missed Sudheer. His absence pained him a lot. Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings and his eyes fell on the cup. He leaned forward, closed his eyes and let the tears fall in the cup. He heard the dull thud of his tears meeting the ceramic. He was scared to open his eyes. He felt foolish for even trying this out. After a long time he wiped the remaining tears off his face, composed himself and slowly opened his eyes.

In the cup, he saw a handful of shining white pearls.

[To be continued..]

Update: Part 3 can be found here