Chapter 13: COUNTRY ROAD

WARNING: Violent Content read at your own risk and stop reading if it's become unbearable and skip that part to the next paragraph.

Well it's funny I am saying this beforehand as I need to point out my most favorite part too of this chapter, Chavi and Aditya's relationship took a new turn and it somehow made me extremely happy while writing it.

CHAPTER-13:

Country Road( Mimi O Sumaseba) Language: Japanese

Country road
If you follow this road onward
It continues to that town, I think
Country road

By myself, without feat
I dreamed of going
Shutting up my loneliness
Protecting my strong self, I'll go

Getting tired of walking then standing still
Floating closer, my hometown
The uphill road winding around the hill
I'm scolding that me

No matter what discouraging times there are
I'll never show any tears
Without heart, I'll hurry and set myself free
In order to get rid of my memories

Country road
Even though this road continues to my hometown
I just can't go, I can't go
Country road

Country road
Tomorrow, the me I always am
I want to go back, but I can't, farewell
Country road

COUNTRY ROAD

As Aditya knocked on the door of the house, a man came out who was wearing a white vest. He found this address on the employee records of the office.
“Is this Sudheer Jha’s house?”
“Yes”
“Myself Aditya from Bhaskar Times, I have come to ask Mr. Jha about the last project before he took the volunteer retirement”
Aditya saw the man’s eyes go wide open but he immediately got his composure back.
“Oh, please come in, I am Sudheer Jha.”

Aditya went inside the house and sat on a wooden sofa, the ceiling fan was going round and round with its own laziness and the sunlight rays made the dust visible in the air. Sudheer went inside and came back wearing a shirt above his vest, he sat on the chair opposite to him and asked, “Are you here to ask about why I quit Urban tales section? Also my last article was about the white lady on the roof”

The mannerisms and behavior gave two things about the man to Aditya; one he didn’t look like someone left with any hope of life and the second he didn't watch the news. Since yesterday almost everyone knows Aditya’s face.

“I am here to ask about the Pagdandia case actually”
The moment Aditya uttered the name Pagdandia, Sudheer got a panic attack and started shouting, “Don’t take the name of that cursed place, that place is haunted. That place is dangerous”
Aditya went near him and tried to calm him down, he took out his water bottle and made him drink water. After fifteen minutes Sudheer calmed down a little as he broke down in tears. He was crying as if he had lost everything in life.
“Sir, I need to know about Pagdandia’s case that you investigated on the story of Chandra and Shekhar. Please Sir, the office files said ‘nil’ on your findings but I couldn’t believe it. From childhood I read your articles, you were a person who didn’t stop till you found the real cause of every rumor or story. Sir a girl’s life is in danger right now in Pagdandia and only you could help”
Sudheer looked at Aditya who was helpless but eager to save a human life at any cost.
“What’s the name of the girl you want to save?” asked Sudheer after getting control over his tears.
“Chavi Kumari, her father’s name is Dularilal”
“Wait, what did you say?”
“Chavi…”
“No! Her father’s name?”
“Dulari Lal”
“That man, that man is the cause of my misfortune.”
“What?”
“Yes, I was guilty too but that man had ruined me”
“I am not getting you”
“Eighteen years back there was no Chandra and Shekhar”
“What?”
“Yes, Chandra’s real name was Chandrakala Kumari, daughter of Dulari Lal”
“What? He and his wife does seem old though but they had a daughter eighteen years back, this is so confusing”
“Yes, they adopted a girl because they were not having babies, that girl was the fiancé of Chandrashekhar the eldest son of the Sarpanch(Village head). But while my research I found out she was dead two days before Shekhar died of some other reason”
“Do you have any proof?”
Sudheer went inside and was back in a few minutes with an envelope.
“These are my findings” said Sudheer and handed it to Aditya. When Aditya went through the contents of the document where Sudheer wrote the events in chronological order he was finding it hard to believe the trauma the fourteen year old girl went through.
He shouted at Sudheer with disbelief, “If you had this much content why didn’t you write an article on it. The police would have investigated these criminals and Chavi’s life wouldn’t have been in danger today. Chavi might be their biological girl but they seems like people who loves to torture, such kinds don’t spare their own kid too”
“I am sorry, I was stopped. Dulari Lal said he would kill me and my whole team. The whole village seems to own guns. They warned me that if I go back to Delhi and expose them, they would kill my family at any cost. They even gave me a lot of money”
Aditya looked at him with disbelief and asked, “You used that money?”
“I had no choice. Bhaskar Times wanted me out, the former Chief Editor wasn’t a good man. I was forced to hand over my resignation as he gave me two choices mystery behind Pagdandia case or resign”
Aditya was skeptical about what to say. At last he cleared his throat and said ‘Thankyou’ for handing over the documents. As he was about to leave, Sudheer called Aditya again.
“Yes,” Aditya answered.
“You know I was waiting for someone like you who would come and dig up skeletons from the past.”
Aditya looked at Sudheer with questioning eyes.
“Actually the day I used the money Dulari Lal gave me to keep his daughter’s secret, my own ten year old daughter and wife passed away in an accident while returning from her school. I have no more hope to live but I was waiting for a person like you who would ask for this file.”
Aditya’s eyes fell on the frames of the lady and a ten year old girl that was in the showcase of the drawing room.
“I am sorry sir” Aditya tried to comfort Sudheer.
“No please don’t be sorry, this whole Pagdandia project files are like a burden for me.  I wanted to take them to police myself but what will I answer the police when they ask me why I was late to do this or where's the money which was used up on my wife and kid's last treatment, that fear never let me turn up to the police station. At last I could get rid of them like the way that voice assured me I would.”
“Whose voice?”
“A lady’s voice came yesterday while I was sleeping and said, ‘Sudheer now you can escape your pain, the dark pathway’s endpoint has arrived.’ Aditya please don't waste more time, go and save the second daughter of that monster. She should not leave like her sister.”
Aditya nodded his head and left.

As Aditya was riding on the streets of Delhi to reach the national highway he suddenly remembered that Sudheer said he had no will to live. He parked his Royal Enfield near the road and thought of sending some help to the poor man but he was stunned at the news on the television of the shop nearby.

“The man who suicided, his name was Sudheer Jha. He was once a famous journalist who used to write for Bhaskar Times. The ‘Urban Tales’ section was his own creation.” said the anchor of the news channel.

Aditya got frustrated on his own foolishness and punched his fuel tank hard. He could have saved that man. Alas, he wasn’t able to figure it out when he actually had the time. Helpless, frustrated and extremely annoyed, Aditya started his engine and now he would only stop at Pagdandia. Sudheer’s death had taken his appetite away, ‘food’ would be a prohibited word for Aditya today.

Aryan made his way through the park walking path, yesterday he forgot to return Imlie’s earring. As he would be leaving on Sunday he neither wants to exchange numbers nor share addresses, he just plans to leave in a good strangers note. He might have said his goodbyes this evening but Imlie wasn’t there waiting for him like yesterday. He sat on the designated bench which somehow has become their thing, he looked at the bench. He was also sitting here the day Imlie met him for the first time, the rain had blurred his life with the coat of unbearable pain he feels every time he sees his sister weeping for his dead brother in law. Sunday, that day was the day when someone had approached him at his most broken moments and held the umbrella to protect him not only from the rain but the pain too somehow. He was drowning to the dead end of his emotions that day but when she came he forgot about that in-moment pain and got conscious because of the sudden kindness Imlie had shown, compared his face with a puppy and called him handsome. His face indeed deserves some credit, strangers aren't stopping in lending him things. Imlie was actually a mystery for him because he had always been sharp with his judgment in assessment of human beings, but she has been different. How? He couldn’t decipher this question yet. After spending two hours there, he felt like he was wasting time and she wouldn't come. He left the park with his stoic face.

“Amma, I beg you please share the truth”, pleaded Imlie to Meethi.

Imlie had pulled Meethi to a secluded place from the meeting taking place on the village square and was asking the truth behind Chandra-Shekhar story, she had just realized today the way Chandra-Shekhar story is narrated to every kid of the village it feels forced. They ought to know it at any cost but Imlie remembered how the timeline changed, the oldest narration of this story she remembers was from the time when she was five years old. When Meethi used to narrate the story she used to tell five years back and when she became six the timeline changed to six, now she is eighteen hence the story is also eighteen years old. There must be truths tangled with the events, Chandra and Shekhar whose kids were they?
“Amma please tell me the truth” Imlie pleaded again.
“Gudia(Doll) I am only allowed to tell the story, not just me but everyone in this village. Because this may celebrate love but it’s a tragedy for the families of these two individuals”
“Amma, I will keep it a secret but it’s important for me to know”
“Gudia…but”
“Amma I don’t want to force you by swearing it in my name and making it hard for you. Please understand my haste to know”
Imlie didn’t wanted to bind her mother with a ‘Kasam(A vow or oath if one swears in someone’s name and don’t complete them it’s said that a big harm happens to the person on whose name the swearing was done)’ just like her mother did with her to marry Aryan in her last life. Aryan was indeed a perfect partner but the timing was wrong and it became a wrong step in the long run. This kind of vows are normalized in India for parents to force their kids, for partners to blackmail in a toxic relationship and also become a part of useless conversations which it should not be. People should refrain from using such forcing tactics to the maximum they can because it’s a powerful weapon as it has faith and belief related to it. Imlie neither wants to force people nor wants to be forced herself associating with the term ‘Kasam’.

“Gudia, okay. Chandra is the common name of Shekhar and Kala” said Meethi.
“Who were they?”
“Chandrashekhar was the eldest son of the Sarpanch(Village head) and Chandrakala was the older sister of Chavi”
“What? But Chavi never had an elder sister”
“Because she died when Chavi’s mother was pregnant with Chavi. And Chandrakala was their first adopted daughter when they couldn’t have kids after trying hard for two years”

‘Only two years? Is that even a trying period people try for four to five years before having the assumptions that they can’t have kids’ thought Imlie but suddenly remembered Narmada’s accusations in the very first year of marriage of being someone not able to have kids. She herself tried a lot for the first three years but then Narmada had gone to such lengths with her remarks as the miscarriage happened that she had herself decided to not try for kids. She didn’t want to be in a vulnerable state in such a toxic situation with Rathore relatives around her while trying to give birth a second time, Narmada never believed she wasn’t the reason for that misfortune but the negative people around her. How many years a child would have entertained Narmada? She was just in her late fifties at that time. The moment the child would leave for school she would return back to her grumpy state with those everlasting manipulative relatives around, with this very thought Imlie decided to not have kids at any cost till the time Narmada change herself which never happened in the past timelie; also Aryan didn’t knew the real reason but he thought Imlie’s rest was more important as her body was showing signs of bad mental health hence supported not to have kids. This was how the whole situation was perceived from Imlie’s side.
‘Yeah, two years are a big deal when I was criticized in the first year of my marriage. Why was I so bent on taking so much stress in my twenties? Imlie in this life I hope you have a tension free and a happy twenties doing things you like and love.’ thought Imlie.

“And what happened?” asked Imlie.
“I was in the childbirth house that time as I was in my eighth month hence I couldn’t witness things. But the Dai Maa(Wet nurse) said that the villagers saw Chandra and Shekhar going to the temple of Sita Maiyya. They informed the Sarpanch's family and Dulari Lal who went to the temple and saw they had already married. Since it was related to the Sarpanch family, the villagers didn’t want to get involved much, hence only a few people accompanied both the families. After that both of them vanished from the cliff. Their body was also not found”
Imlie was having it hard to digest and asked, “Amma, though it’s kind of futile to ask you but can you tell me the name of the people who accompanied them?”
“Gudia I don’t know about that”
“Okay, at least could you tell me about the villagers who spotted them going to the temple?”
“Yes, your grandmother is one of them who informed their families”
“What? That’s so cool. Where is she sitting here among the audience of the meeting?”
“That corner, there she is,” said Meethi pointing far left.
“Amma, thank you so much” Imlie left to talk with Dulari Devi who was sitting with other old ladies.

Aparna was extremely upset with herself as she sighed twice looking out of the window. The moonlight peeked in her bedroom more brightly as she was sitting in complete darkness. The thing was that she had been upset with herself when realization hit her at bay. Her husband entered the room and switched on the lights. He was shocked for a second but got a hold of himself and asked, “Aparna ji why are you sitting in the dark?”
“Tripathi ji, please switch off the lights; I can’t see myself in the mirror”
“Why?”, he asked softly as he made his way to her and sat beside her on the bed.
“How could I; an educated lady have so many prejudices?”
“What made you think that way?”
“That girl Chavi, I haven’t thought about it when she was here but now that she is gone; I feel like the time she was here she had shown a new side of me. And that side is absolutely terrible to look at.” said Aparna with a muffled voice.
Her husband held her hands in support so that she could speak with a little confidence.
“Tripathi ji, it was not about my love for Malini at all. I loved her as Adi’s girlfriend and always thought she would be my daughter in law but my aggression towards Chavi became more due to the fact that she belongs from a village and is poor. It was also technically wrong as Adi clarified she is rich but she doesn’t belong to our society, which I think is true in regards to Malini too. But I was okay with Adi having a rich girlfriend and was against her mother’s ideals of being a classist but look at me, even I'm like Anu Chaturvedi. She said my son captured her daughter and I said Chavi captured my son. What difference do I have with her? And I had high regards for myself that anything I would be but not like her...”
“Aparna ji, everyone in this world makes mistakes. We are just human beings, some learn from their mistakes and some don’t. I hope since you made the mistake and realized it; you won’t repeat it again”
“My son is out to bring her back, he said that the girl's life is at risk from her own parents. I hope Adi saves her soon, I want to ask for her forgiveness. I got too much influenced by Bhabi(elder sister in law) at that time as I couldn’t think much”
“Bhabi is actually a little like that only, she was born and brought up in a small town hence is more sensitive to the surroundings”
Aparna looked at Mr. Tripathi with disbelief. She had forgotten the fact that the lady who thrashed Chavi the most was also not familiar with city lifestyles once upon a time. Aparna was born and brought up in Delhi hence she was not much familiar with small town and village lifestyles, she was taught to be liberal and welcoming to other thoughts but for the first time in her life she trembled and found herself in an unwanted situation with the arrival of Chavi. She forgot to apply her own teachings in her judgements and that led to such a situation that now she couldn’t tolerate her own self.

Imlie went and sat on the ground near her grandmother. Dulari ji made a little space for her to sit, in such gatherings plastic sheets are spread on the ground so that people could sit.
“Naani” Imlie whispered in Dulari’s ears.
“Yes beta”
“I have some questions about Chandra-Shekhar story”
Dulari Devi looked at her grand-daughter’s face and told her to go on.
“Did you see them yourself going to the temple eighteen years back?”
Dulari was baffled that Imlie knew the reality of the story though the village head said only to celebrate the death of his and Dulari Lal’s kids as an immortal love for the miracle that happened but refrained to say the exact people involved hence Chandrashekhar and Chandrakala’s names were reduced to Chandra and Shekhar. Once again after eighteen years something was happening that too with the same families, Chavi’s engagement with the fifth son who was the youngest of his children was the result of the incomplete love story of his first son with the eldest daughter of Dulari Lal. But now look at this situation, they are again in a mess. Even Dulari Devi was remembering the events of the past but hearing this question from her granddaughter was something unexpected.

“Yes, I saw them and informed their families”
“You saw their faces perfectly”
“I saw Shekhar’s face but Chandra’s face was covered with a red veil”
“Then how did you understand it was Chandra only?”
“Her height and figure”
“Oh” Imlie was lost in her thoughts once again.

Arpita was trying to do embroidery looking at a video when her eyes went towards her peaceful mother who was watching television sitting on the same sofa as her. She remembered some moments with Arvind during her College days. They were on a date in a new restaurant which opened at that time.

“Arvind do you know I came across a movie yesterday”
“Movie?”
“Yes”
“Then what was the story about?”
“The story was about a girl, but something different caught my eye”
“And what is that my love? I hope it’s not the hero else I will feel jealous”
Arpita blushed and said, “Nope, it’s not the hero. But the lady who started the story. She was a lady who was in search of a bride for her son”
“What was interesting about her?”
“She had only one demand”
“What’s that?”
“The daughter in law should know how to make sweaters like her”
“Wow, that’s unfair. Cooking, cleaning and so much comes free with arranged marriages now she has demands for handmade sweaters too?”
“Actually that’s not the reason”
“Then?”
“She was someone who shared interests in making sweaters and she wanted to connect with her daughter in law in that factor. She wanted a personal ground for their relationship to bloom”
“So did she find that girl?”
“She found the heroine of the movie but there’s a twist”
“What’s that now?”
“The heroine rejected to be her daughter in law”
“What the…”
“But she found herself in that girl”
“I can’t sum up the story”
“It’s rather simple, the heroine was a girl who suffered from an inferiority complex as she didn’t know how to cook and had darker skin color than her younger sister. She faced many rejections and couldn’t convince her boyfriend to marry her hence couldn’t tell her parents that she has a boyfriend. This woman comes with a single demand, she would cook for her daughter in law and feed her too if she manages to knit sweaters like her. Her family lied and sent her to her aunt’s(father’s sister) house who was famous for knitting sweaters and had a business of sweaters. There she spent her days with other people who were learning sweater knitting skills and she went through a self growth journey herself. She made better sweaters than the lady who demanded a sweater from her in six months before fixing the marriage and she herself said she would sell the sweater to her because now she is capable of making decisions for herself. This lady was happy when she rejected because she saw herself in her and the heroine got the same confidence she got herself from knitting”
“That’s a beautiful story indeed but there must be a reason why my intellectual girlfriend told about this story to me”
Arpita smiled and said, “I also want you to find your own mutual ground with my mother.”
“Ah, as the lady who tried to find with her daughter in law”
“Yes, it may sound cliché but in the long run if you have your own mutual ground you will find your own set of happiness with my mother which would not need my involvement in bonding both of you”
“I promise Arpi, I will find such mutual ground not only with your mother but with your cute brother too” said Arvind smiling and held her hand.
Arpita smiled at him.

Her trance was broken on Aryan’s arrival. He greeted both of them in the drawing room and went to his room. Suddenly the thought about Khatti came to her mind and she looked at her mother once again. Flashbacks went through her head when she was fourteen years old. It was the day when her grandmother left this world and Narmada was broken. She went to her house and looked at her younger brother with disbelief. Her mother died with the sufferings of the distance created after her brother married. Though it was an arranged marriage, the wife separated her brother and her mother. She cried and held her brother and his wife responsible. From that day she never saw her mother contact her brother ever. Arpita doesn’t want such situations to repeat when Aryan marries. The way she put her conditions to Arvind to know the treatment he should give to her mother, she wants Aryan to do the similar things too. She doesn’t want her mother to suffer that same way her grandmother did at any cost. Setting boundaries is a must sometimes though she doesn’t know it in a guaranteed way she feels like some trauma had definitely left its impact in her mother’s life.

The meeting ended at ten o’clock. At first the village head didn’t want to spare Chavi but after having a talk with Dulari Lal alone he decided to support Chavi’s studies of the future. He said she should leave by tomorrow morning's bus and never come back to this village again.
Imlie heard this strange decision and saw Dulari Lal and his smiling wife. As the crowd dispersed back to their homes, all looking happy with the decision there were some doubts that poked Imlie’s mind. The first doubt was that she would leave at tomorrow’s dawn and people would never see her face. Then who would inherit Dulari Lal’s properties? Then the second doubt is how are they so sure that she would immediately get College there and she won’t need to return ever. Everything left Imlie with one possibility because the decision was something hard to fulfill: that they would kill Chavi by tonight and would lie to the village about her being in the city. Imlie held her grandmother’s hand again and asked, “Naani in this last week did Chavi’s father decided who would inherit their property?”
“Property? Yes I heard they would adopt a relative’s son soon as now Chavi is married to a city man. Also though by law the marriage is nullified as she did it before eighteen but they didn’t utter for once Chavi as kumari(unmarried). I have seen that Sarpanch from ages no one is more twisted than that guy. Since he didn’t explicitly mention that Chavi’s marriage has been nullified that means he would still take her as married with that Sehri babu(city man)”
As Dulari Devi left Imlie stroked her head confused. Was this seriously the set of parents who were said to be law-abiding people in Chandra Shekhar’s story. Nope, the suspicions of Imlie on them were rising at an alarming rate.
“Hope, Harshit is coming here. Niti messaged she had already sent the email” muttered Imlie lost in her thoughts.

Harshit made his way to his car after dialing the number of Chautaalgrah’s Police station. He was making his way to Pagdandia for a second time this week. He started his car when the officer picked up his call. He said to get ready with a team of police in five hours, they need to leave with him to Pagdandia to catch people who broke laws. He won’t spare any law breakers, the FIR on them was launched already with the email Niti sent him on behalf of Imlie’s instructions.

As Chavi was returning with her parents on an empty road, none talked with her even for once. She heard some noise at the back and turned around. Her parents also stopped, looked at her and said her to follow them fast. But something felt off, her guts were telling her to not be near her parents. They were giving her red-alert vibes and the subconscious mind was telling her to run far away from them. They supported her for her studies in the meeting but from yesterday night she was suspicious of them so much that for the first time in her life she slept locking her door. Chavi slows down her steps slowly, she needs to run back to Imlie and tell her about these strange intuitions; only when Imlie is around her she feels safe also Aditya because in Delhi when she was in a new place she didn’t feel this way with Aditya. Maybe because she guided him in this village but he was familiar enough with her and the Tripathi family also didn’t give such shivers down her spine. What was even happening with her? This was something Chavi couldn’t comprehend. As she slowed down someone came from behind masked her mouth and pulled her into a nearby bush. She struggled but her guts were not giving her red alerts anymore like it was giving when she was near her own parents.
She turned around and saw it was Imlie who dragged her in the bush.
“Chavi, listen to what I am saying. You need to stay at my place tonight else your life is in danger”
“What?”
“Yes, it seems unbelievable but I will tell you later what caused my suspicions. Right now you need to come with me to my place”
“Okay, even I wasn’t feeling well. I will follow you”
“Cover your face with your dupatta(extra piece of cloth with salwar). We will enter my home from the groves side rather than the main gate”
“Is the situation that worse?”
“Worse than you possibly could imagine”
Chavi sighed and followed Imlie to her home.

Aryan had finished his dinner already and was working sitting in his library. Suddenly he remembered about Khatti, how she triggered his sister. He couldn’t find why a person who had a love marriage talked about forbidden love. He stopped working and went near the window of that room and looked at the moon. The moonlight was strong tonight enough to work as the personal spot light. He couldn’t figure out why he was invested in both Khatti and Imlie. Khatti is such a strong personality that she would leave her imprints in the mind of any stranger but what about Imlie? She was just like a teenager who loves to flirt and talk. Was it just that she was like him or there is more to it? The way she gave her insight on the matter of Khatti shows that she is beyond her age, in this matter she wasn’t like the Aryan of the past but a rational Aryan like now. Where will his such interests towards them lead him to? This thought made Aryan restless but excited too for the future.

Imlie explained her mother and grandmother that there was a high possibility that Chavi’s life is in danger but they couldn’t believe it at all. But when Chavi said about her intuitions, Meethi tried to explain that no mother could harm her daughter. But Imlie had seen more to the belief that 'every mother is a good mother', she ended up using the last tactics she could think of, that was giving a ‘Kasam’ of her own life to her mother and grandmother. Now according to the belief if they go against her they would see Imlie dead which none of the ladies can think of. They were extremely angry at Imlie for using that but Imlie only tried to lengthen the time.

“Chavi…”
They heard a noise outside. It was Chavi’s father Dulari Lal.
Imlie immediately made Chavi go out and hide behind the bathroom's fence. Meethi opened the door, Imlie and her grandmother sat near the stove and started cutting vegetables.
“Dulari Lal ji, why are you here?”
“Did Chavi come here?”
“No, we just returned from the meeting and started to make dinner”
“Oh, if Chavi comes here please inform us” he left looking at Imlie from the corner of his eyes.
Imlie understood that he was observing her the moment he stepped inside their house and she gave a panicked and worried expression for Chavi. As he was leaving Imlie said to her grandmother, “Nani what had happened to Chavi? He Sita Maiyya please protect Chavi at any cost”
Dulari Devi cooperated with her granddaughter and exclaimed, “Sita maiyya should protect Chavi”
Meethi closed the door and was about to start shouting about how unfair Imlie was being with Chavi’s parents, Imlie put her index finger on her lips and warned Meethi not to utter a single word. She pulled Meethi to a side window which had a small hole in it but light didn't pass out much through the hole as her study table was beside it and the steel glass where she kept pens and pencils covered the hole. She gestured to her grandmother to talk about some different things and Dulari Devi did what she was told. She removed the table slowly and saw outside through that hole, the moonlight was on her side. She reduced the flame of the room’s kerosene lamp and made her mother look through the hole. She saw Dulari Lal and the men who came with him in search of Chavi were still there standing near their door trying to hear their conversation. Now even Dulari Devi looked through the hole as Meethi said, “Amma I am turning the stove on. How many hours do you and Imlie needs to cut vegetables? It’s already so late”

As they were trying to convince the men outside, Imlie successfully brought Chavi inside the house and closed all the doors, then Chavi saw her father too outside through the same hole. Fear grabbed her mind, she never saw her father having such bloodshot eyes. Imlie kept on the conversations with Meethi and Dulari till all the men left convinced that there was no Chavi inside that house. Chavi sat near Imlie’s bed with fear. Imlie felt that she made quite a mistake not bringing the knives with her but she decided to do that so that her family doesn’t recognize her. Yet now it feels like a grave mistake to her.

She hoped that the night would pass without many events which she feared wouldn't be the case. Suddenly she heard a soft knock on the backdoor which was connected to the bathroom. Meethi and Dulari were convinced now that something wasn’t natural and Imlie might be right with her suspicions. Imlie took the kitchen knife and proceeded towards the door, she opened the volt and looked outside. She felt relieved and pulled the person inside the house.

“Imlie who was knocking the door?” asked Meethi.
“Come in, follow me to that room” said Imlie to that person.

When he stepped inside the room all were shocked.
“Why is Aditya here?” asked Chavi.
Aditya felt extremely relieved looking at Chavi. He ran and hugged her, the agony and fear he felt for this kid from yesterday at last rested with peace. Chavi was confused but she felt that Aditya was really worried for her hence hugged him back.

 Dulari Devi was utterly shocked at Imlie being okay with him inside because last Sunday he tried to marry her and Meethi was confused why he was even here. On top of that hadn't Chavi came here to avoid him? That was the only thought that bounced inside their heads. Imlie was herself surprised but she was fast in analyzing their emotions. 
“Before everything, I would like to say I called him here” said Imlie.
“But why?” Chavi demanded as she broke the hug and looked at him straight.
“To know exactly why you were in danger. Aditya, did you meet that man?” asked Imlie.
“Yes, you will be blown off when you go through this” Aditya handed the envelope from his bag.
Imlie went through the content and suddenly remembered she saw a dream today morning which she forgot after waking up.

Imlie saw a girl had put some clothes in her school bag and exclaimed, “I need to leave this village at any cost so that I can move forward. I will miss my family and my village but I will not return. No I don’t want to marry at any cost”
She ran through the back door, Imlie saw Chavi’s mother who was in her twenties cooking in the kitchen. The girl passed her and went out but as she made her way out and passed the rice fields she was caught by an elderly man, who brought her back home. That day Dulari Lal beat her for the first time and she was left bruised. Chavi’s mother didn’t give her food and she was left to starve.
That girl was a fighter and she tried to run again. This time some ladies saw her and informed her mother. Dulari Lal was informed by his wife and he told the villagers to catch her. She was caught again and he broke three of her fingers.
The girl ran again and somehow made her way to the Chutaalgarh but the police officer of that area caught her and took it as a teenager running from home as a case and brought her back to her parents. That day both Dulari Lal and Chavi’s mother took out their frustration on her with a heavy tree branch.
The girl was holding her dear life but she once again exclaimed as she was crawling on the floor with blue and black right leg, “I need to leave this village, this country side only for myself. I won’t marry because my fiancé saw me naked by mistake while bathing, he loves someone else. I will leave this place, I have enough for myself. I love myself. I won't let them lessen my love for my self respect. I will leave this…”
As she reached the hall crawling Dulari Lal stumbled on her and he roared, “This bitch, why the hell did we adopt her?”
The girl was pulled by her hands inside her room and the door was closed. Sounds of beatings could be heard, but the cries didn’t last till the time of beating.

Imlie sat on the floor as she couldn’t breath when she remembered the dream so vividly she had today morning. She woke up with heavy breathing today, this was the reason but she forgot it almost immediately after she woke up. Aditya supported Imlie by holding her and told Meethi to bring a glass of water for Imlie. She was greeting such a brutal person with respect from childhood and that very thing wanted to make her puke. What will happen to Chavi when she knows this? She looked at Chavi as Aditya was holding her and Meethi was making her drink water. Imlie removed the glass and said, “Aditya you explain what happened with Chandrakala, Chavi’s sister”
"Chandrakala who is she?" asked Chavi.
Aditya took the files slowly from Imlie's hand and said, “Chandrakala, your sister who died eighteen years back was beaten to death by Dulari Lal”
“What? This is a lie. I saw her going to the temple with Shekhar” said Dulari Devi.
“I have proof, Sudheer Jha was able to record a confession of Chavi’s mother”
Aditya turned on the recorder where Chavi’s mother's voice was heard.
“That’s my Amma’s voice” exclaimed Chavi.
Chavi’s mother said that Chandrakala was fiancé of Chandrashekhar from the age of ten, when she was fourteen, he came to meet her once in the afternoon and ended up near the bathroom. He saw her naked and then they decided to get them married because they didn't wanted their family images to crumble. Looking at a naked unmarried girl was considered an act of shame even if the boy and a girl were engaged. But she was against it, she wanted to study and didn’t want to marry. She ran away with some guy to Chautaalgarh but police brought her back home. Chavi's mother claimed that they didn’t even scold her but when she tried to run away again her husband lost it that day and beat her to her death.
Imlie looked at Aditya and said, “She was lying”
All of them looked at Imlie baffled.
Imlie realized if she speaks about her dream where Chandrakala was beaten more than once everyone will either not believe or will think she has some supernatural powers hence she replied, “She was fifteen not fourteen”
“Why do you think she was fifteen?”
“That attached birth certificate. Count the years she was fifteen when she died and there was no involvement of her with boys, she used to study in an all girls school. Right nani(grandmother) you said this to me when I asked about the Chandra-Shekhar story?” asked Imlie.
Dulari Devi got confused but thought she might have said it and replied positively.

This time Chavi broke down badly as her unknown fear towards her parents increased at an exponential rate. Imlie gestured to Aditya to comfort her as she noticed Chavi was quite comfortable with Aditya, much more to what Chavi had been verbal about. She didn’t notice but she was absolutely okay with him. Though it was definitely not in the sense of being romantic, Imlie couldn’t find attraction in them; rather there was affection which was built on the base of friendship they started when Chavi was showing him around the village as the guide. Now it was more of a parent’s grooming of their kid, subconsciously for Chavi he indeed became a guardian. As for Imlie she had other jobs to do.

Imlie asked Aditya to take care of the inside of the house as she herself went up to the roof and threw water on the straws that covered the house's roof so that even if someone throw fire to burn the house, it wouldn't catch any fire. As instructed by Imlie, Meethi and Dulari Devi got the mud and bamboo walls wet with water from inside so that at any cost the house doesn’t catch fire even if someone plans. Imlie assured that this phase will get over by tomorrow morning.
Aditya wanted to help imlie’s family and hence asked Meethi to pull out water from the well and he would wet the walls with the water. But as he was about to move he saw Chavi holding his hand in fear, she was trembling after hearing what happened to her elder sister. 
“Chavi, will you leave my hand for a second?”
“If they find me?” She tried to look around.
“They won’t, there are four people protecting you tonight. The dark night will end soon and the morning will be brighter than ever”
“Imlie said about that poison, she saved me from dying in the afternoon. What if they manage to kill me?”
“Not till I am there, from today onwards take me as your friend and well wisher, like your big brother who will save you from any hazard, like your family and best friend. I will be there for you” said Aditya looking straight at Chavi's eyes. He tried to assure her that he is there to protect her as her sword.
Chavi left his hand a little when she felt a little assured, he took out the saree which he gave her during the ritual and the same saree she threw in the dustbin; he covered her shoulders with it. A fresh smell of detergent hit Chavi’s nostrills, she understood this sky blue colored saree had been washed yesterday after she dumped it in the dustbin. She felt sorry for doing such a thing.
Aditya said, “I will be helping Imlie now, if you fear hold this saree as tight as you can. Just know I am with you through this saree”
Chavi nodded her head and held the saree tight, Aditya took a bowl and started throwing water on the walls.

Imlie who came inside heard Aditya’s words. She saw him and thought, ‘What an interesting turn of events? From a fake husband to a real acceptance to her heart as a brother and a best friend. They actually managed to find out the relationship they wanted between them. Maybe his age played the key role making both of them comfortable accepting this relationship rather than the first one imposed by the society. So, I guess Aditya won’t try to be her husband anymore but one question still stays intact. If Chandrakala really died two days before Shekhar, whom did he take to the temple that day to marry? The story can’t be a lie when there were so many eyewitnesses who might have not seen what happened in the temple area but indeed saw them going up and informed the Sarpanch and his family.’ 

Songs Used-
~Coutry Road(Mimi O Sumaseba) [Language: Japanese]

My tip point: 
-The movie Arpita mentioned is a real movie called SWEATER(Language: Bengali)

Also Bonus: Next chapter name is OMOINOTAKE- Listen to this song and check out the meaning of the song, that would be the feel of next chapter.

How was todays update by the way?
As always trying my best to entertain all of you with the story...
Yours Mimi(❁´◡`❁)