A Different Neeraja

Life till then was going well - considering... that - a few years back when her children were still young her husband had passed away. He was a brilliant scientist who was working in one of the top projects of the country. As a young man who had joined the government research lab , his genius was spotted very early. Things started moving fast . He was soon offered and - subsequently accepted the job at the secret facility. She was a starry eyed young girl who considered herself lucky to net such a brilliant person. Like all geniuses he was an impatient and sensitive person and easily frustrated when things did not go his way. In the process to deaden his feelings he started drinking heavily. The consumption of alcohol gave him a feeling of invincibility and creativity. according to him some of his best work happened when his senses were heightened with alcohol . Often in moments of sobriety he used to marvel at his own creations when he reviewed them. Soon whenever he felt that he was caught up in a problem he started drinking to find the solution.
As was inevitable he began to start his day with alcohol. He found that partly it reduced the hangover from the previous evening and this in turn helped him face the day with renewed vigor. Along the way he did not notice the unhappiness that his drinking was causing his wife and child. During one of his drunken gropings his son was born - an autistic child. The wife brought up the children single handedly with little or no help from her husband. There were fights - with the wife insisting that he desist from drinking and he trying to reassure her that it was a pastime which he could give up anytime that he felt like... She had no one to turn to. Her mother passed away at an early stage due to cancer. After her marriage, she had in her arrogance belittled her father and her brothers. Now when she could have done with help and support of her relatives, no one was willing to support her nor help her. Her life had become a living hell. Even in such circumstances she was too proud to seek assistance from them.
And then the expected happened. Her husband, while at work - one day suddenly collapsed. He was immediately removed to the hospital. where it was diagnosed that he had suffered from a severe heart attack. While immediate life saving measures were instituted, the effects of prolonged alcohol abuse started manifesting themselves and from there it was totally downhill with him dying due to multi organ failure.
Were it not for her close school friend Ramona, she would have given up a long time before. Her friend helped her to overcome this personal tragedy. With the money from her husbands office she relocated to her home town of Hyderabad . She invested wisely and bought a flat close to her parents' residence. Not that it made any difference to her relations with them. The bitterness and alienation was complete. In small ways she tried to make amends. Her father came round after a few years. The lure of the grand children was too strong for the old man to resist. She started teaching in the school her father had set up. However the funds did not last long. She was forced to take up a job at a reputed semi government institution.People were nice and considering her plight, they were sympathetic and patient with her.
It was a difficult task of juggling her job,and bringing up her children alongside. But somehow she managed to do it.The years passed. Ramona her best friend settled abroad. The children stopped depending upon her for everything. At least the daughter.She grew into a comely young women who had inherited her mother's looks and her father's brains. The son was a different story altogether. From thee childhood he was slow on the uptake and was diagnosed with autism. With his mother's patience and extra attention,he, however managed to scrape through the classes and had reached his senior secondary class.
All through this period the only person she was in touch with was her friend Ramona. Whenever Ramona was in India she always made it a point to visit her friend. As a  result of these visits,a warm friendship developed between Ramona and her friend's daughter. She always made it a point to guide the child and at the same time enjoin upon her to look after her mother and brother. One day in a year and conversation over the phone was how Ramona kept in touch with Neeraja. But that one morning brought back so many memories. It was the same every year.
Until that fateful day in 2010. As was her wont Ramona went to meet her friend Neeraja that morning. That day was different. The moment she entered Neeraja's home she knew that something was different. Her friend did not greet her with the usual effusiveness. In fact she seemed withdrawn and distant. "Probably work pressure" thought Ramona. But then the visit went from bad to worse. When Ramona in her forthright manner inquired what was wrong, she was in for a shock. Neeraja accused her of  coming there to rob her jewelry and went on further to say that she was encouraging Neeraja's daughter to consort with unsavory elements, To say that Ramona was shocked was putting it mildly. Somehow she managed to keep her counsel to herself and escaped from her friend at the earliest.
That day she was very restless and kept wondering as to what had happened to her friend and why she was behaving in the manner that she did; Whatever the cause she resolved to get to the heart of the matter . The only drawback was that she did not have the time to do so.  She was scheduled to leave the country soon....