Apulki Chapter 5 – Officially Complicated
- Hansa
- Oct 21
- 4 min read
Recap Chapter 4: Isha and Neerav’s playful evening turns tense when his proposal resurfaces, the burnt pan causes chaos, Yamini fumes over Bejal meeting her idol, and the girls sneak out of the flat at 3 a.m.
Midnight Mission
The road was deserted, the night silent except for the occasional whir of Isha’s bike. She rode with her usual steady focus, Yamini clinging behind, hair flying, backpack thudding against her back.
“How long have we been driving?” Isha finally asked.
Yamini squinted at her watch. “About half an hour.”
“This is it then.”
Isha slowed down and pulled over where the streetlight had given up long ago. Pitch darkness. Perfect crime scene conditions.
Yamini climbed off, opened her backpack – and gagged.
The burnt black pan still looked like something straight out of a horror movie. She pulled out a polybag, dumped the pan in, and tied it tight. Then, for good measure, she wrapped it again. And again. And again. Five layers later, it looked like a mummified saucepan.
“Hurry up, Yammu,” Isha hissed. “We don’t want to be seen.”
“Who’s going to see us at this ungodly hour?” Yamini looked around – no soul, no sound, just the hum of a distant transformer. She darted across the road, tossed the bagged-up pan into a bin, and sprinted back.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Isha kick-started the bike, and they sped away into the night, giggling like schoolgirls who had just pulled off a prank.
A man in tatters emerged from the shadows. He frowned, bent over, and read the number plate as the tail-light disappeared. Then, curiosity piqued, he rummaged through the bin – and pulled out the multi-layered bundle. It was heavy. His eyes lit up. It looked like treasure.
Operation Recovery
Morning came with a rush of traffic and sunlight. Neerav, walking down a busy street, punched numbers into his phone.
Meanwhile, Isha was already on her bike again, zipping towards Andheri. Her phone rang, and she answered on speaker.
“Yeah, what do you want?” she said, dodging a pothole.
“I need a reason to talk to my girlfriend?” came Neerav’s voice, smooth and teasing.
“Listen, your girlfriend’s on the road, and if you don’t hang up soon, the police will be after her.”
“Where are you going?”
“Andheri West—to collect some material for an order.”
“That’s where my doctor’s clinic is. Please collect my report? I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay, will do. Bye.”
Neerav smiled at his phone, staring at the wallpaper – her picture, of course.
At the clinic, Isha tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter while the receptionist clacked at her keyboard.
“What did you say his name was?” the woman asked.
“Neerav Kumar Banerjee.”
More typing. A scroll. A nod. “Found him.”
The printer whirred. The receptionist pointed to a register.“Sign here, please.”
Isha signed, took the paper, shoved it into her bag, and left.
Minutes later, she was speeding again – until a sharp whistle made her jump.
“Damn.”
She slowed, pulled over, and waited as a policeman approached.
“Sir, I… I wasn’t speeding,” she began defensively.
He raised an eyebrow.
“And I wasn’t on the phone either,” she added, indignant now. “See? Helmet and all.”
The policeman checked her number plate against a scribbled note in his pad.“Is this your bike?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then please come with me to the station.”
Isha frowned. “Station? Why? I didn't do anything!”
“You’ll see.”
Fifteen minutes later, she stood in front of a dusty desk at the local police station, bewildered. The officer behind it rummaged through a pile of bags and evidence packets. Finally, he lifted a bulky plastic bag with great ceremony, and placed it in front of her.
“This is yours.”
Isha blinked.
The officer continued matter-of-factly, “A kind gentleman saw it fall from your bike, noted your number, and brought it to the station. Please take better care of your belongings.”
He smiled politely, turning his attention to the files on his desk.
Isha stepped outside. She looked at the bag. Then at the sky. Then smacked her head with it. That pan had more homing instincts than a pigeon.
That night, Yamini sat cross-legged on the bed, mending a costume. Isha walked in, tossed her backpack onto the bed and said, “Got something for you.”
“Ooh, what is it?” Yamini asked, bright-eyed.
Isha pointed at the bag. Yamini unzipped it – and screamed. She jumped back like she’d just touched a corpse.The pan. The same damned burnt black pan.
“How?” she gasped.
“The police. Long story.”
Holding her nose and the pan simultaneously, Yamini marched to the kitchen to dispose of it – again.
Matters of the Heart
Isha, meanwhile, sat at her desk and began leafing through the papers she’d picked up from the clinic.
Yamini came back, flopped onto the bed, and switched on her phone.
“Yammu,” Isha said slowly, “what is cardiomyopathy?”
“What what what what what?”
“Suspected cardiomyopathy.” Isha looked up from the report, her voice low. “Looks like Neerav’s got it.”
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Waiting for chapter 6 please post it soon :)
That’s a sign… meant to be theirs.
Googled cardiomyopathy.
Good question Sainath. I guess that guy was annoyed when he realised it wasn't the treasure he was hoping for and decided to teach them a lesson... weird thinking, I know, but then there are people like that 🤣
Isha and yamu giggling after successfully chucking pan, 🤣🤣🤣.
Mummified pan🤣🤣
Hilarious 😂.
I hope this disease isnt any serious
Edit: I hope that they get in to trouble then somehow that pan helps them to escape or culminate the whole issue. Just like happens in movies. Hehe 😁❤️
Now that's weird this newsletter update did not come in mail. Sainath told me update is there so ran to see. Err u know quickly came to read 😂😂😂
The saga of burnt pan or the return of mummified burnt pan,😂😂😂
Ok what now neerav got cardio thing
I will see what it means.
Interesting though
Aiyoo neerav has heart problem. Uff what next