Ten days had passed. A courier arrived for Swapnil Patil.
As soon as he opened the envelope, it felt as if the ground had slipped from beneath his feet. His eyes froze on the document in his hands - a marriage certificate. According to the document, Mr. Swapnil Patil and Miss. Meera Patel were officially married at Shiva Temple a few days ago.
The certificate had witnesses listed: one of them was Sameer Sardesai, along with another young man, the temple priest, and two friends from the bride's side.
Swapnil couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was this a joke? Some kind of sick prank? He immediately picked up his phone and dialed Sameer.
"This is the worst joke I've ever seen. What the hell is this, Sameer?" Swapnil shouted.
"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about," Sameer replied, clearly confused.
"Ten days ago, I told you everything. I said it was all a mistake. And now this? This is too much, Sameer. Who plays such a cruel prank?" Swapnil's anger was evident.
"What prank? What are you even talking about? You better explain quickly. Come to my cabin, right now," Sameer said in a serious tone.
Without another word, Swapnil hung up the phone.
Sameer, equally frustrated now, rushed out of his cabin. "What happened, man? What is this urgent disaster that couldn't wait? I was in a meeting! And you were shouting so loud on the phone that I thought you were about to burst through the receiver and strangle me!"
Swapnil threw the marriage certificate at him. "This is the joke," he said, his voice shaking.
Sameer picked it up and looked at the document. "This is so real that anyone who sees it will believe it. I admit - you're the master of ruining a friend's life. No one does it better."
Sameer looked at him with disbelief. "I swear, this isn't my doing. Why would I do something like this? Why would I ruin Meera's life for the sake of a prank?"
"Oh, I see! So now you're saying Meera's life would be ruined if she married me? Are you her friend or mine? Why do you think I'm so bad that marrying me would destroy her life?" Swapnil was now fuming.
"She's lucky that the certificate says my name. If it was someone else, then her life would be ruined. With me, she'd actually be happy," he declared boldly.
Sameer looked at him steadily. "What's your real problem, Swapnil? That the certificate has your name? That you're supposedly married to Meera? Or that I'm telling you the truth - that maybe you're not the right one for her? First you tell me what's bothering you, then I might actually understand."
"Look, I just…" Swapnil began, but before he could complete his sentence, the cabin door opened, and Meera stepped in.
Swapnil quickly composed himself. "How many times do I have to say it - knock before entering someone's cabin!"
"I did knock, actually!" Meera said, placing her hand on her throat. "I swear I did. But the shouting inside was so loud that maybe you didn't hear me."
Both Swapnil and Sameer stared at her, caught off guard. Meera looked confused, unsure of what she had just walked into.
"Did you need something?" Swapnil asked, trying to sound normal.
"There were some files that needed your signature. But if you're busy, I can come back later." Meera said politely.
"Just leave them on the table. I'll sign them later." Swapnil tried to keep his voice calm. He knew that revealing anything in front of Meera now would be like dropping a bomb - and not just any bomb, but a powerful nuclear one.
Meera nodded and left the cabin.
Swapnil turned to Sameer. "Just say it's a joke. Please. Tell me this is all a bad prank."
"I swear to God, I had nothing to do with this," Sameer said sincerely. "And from what I can tell… this marriage certificate looks very real. Very real. I have to ask - did you, by any chance, marry Meera when you were drunk?"
"What? Do you think I'm insane? And do you think this is some other country? This is India, Sameer. No one performs a marriage ceremony at a temple when the groom is drunk!"
"Okay, fine. Let's just say, for argument's sake, that the wedding did happen in a drunken state. But how would you get a registered marriage certificate? You'd need to go to the registrar's office, have official witnesses, and go through formal documentation! And look - it has my signature on it too! Who could pull such a thing off if not you? No one else is that close to me."
Sameer's mind was racing now. He began to think. He looked at the date on the certificate. Something clicked.
"This... no, this isn't possible," Sameer said aloud.
"What's not possible? What do you mean?" Swapnil asked, now clearly scared.
"This certificate is real. It's not a prank," Sameer said with certainty.
"How can you be so sure?" Swapnil asked nervously.
"Where's that form I gave you? The one for Rajesh's marriage certificate? You told me you lost it, remember?" Sameer asked.
Swapnil closed his eyes tightly, trying to rewind the memory in his head.
"No… no, that's not possible," he whispered.
"What's not possible?" Sameer asked again, now anxious.
Without answering, Swapnil immediately dialed Meera's extension.
"Meera, can you come to my cabin?" he asked. He didn't even wait for a reply.
Meera entered the cabin moments later. "Yes, sir? You called me?"
"Ten days ago, we had sent out several documents to different places. Just tell me one thing - did you read through them before sending?" Swapnil asked, staring at her with desperate hope in his eyes.
Meera looked at both of them. The air was still, heavy with silence. The only sound was the three of them breathing, as if even the walls were holding their breath.
She shook her head slowly. "No."
And in that single word - no - it felt as if time stood still. Swapnil and Sameer both felt the ground shift beneath them again. Everything suddenly made sense… and yet nothing did.