The Apollonian and Dionysian: (AR) - Complete - Page 8

Originally posted by: naureen_aly

just read all the parts

i must say u r an awesome writer

plzzzzzzzzz pm me

Originally posted by: Zaynoo2320

Very well written! The ending really had my heart beats go fast. Thank you for your PM! And continue soon!

Originally posted by: Pebblez

I believe, every person and the way he/she is is an outcome of what their childhood has been like, and what kind of family life they have lead, what consequences have come out from it and what problems u had to face.....you are an outright result of the mess that was your childhood :) you are proving me right with this story of yours, and I believe, this is going to go down in one of the few good ones I have actually found here, forever to be remembered :)

Great work L, you have me smitten...err, with the story of course! :P

Kiran

Originally posted by: desire_20

updated comment on p.7

loved part 5.. love the way u write n im lookin forward to see more mysteries unravel... seems like everyone in this ff has a mysterious and gloomy past... update soon n add me to ur pm list

"She went to a movie with Armaan Dad for the noon show." Anjali replied not looking at her father gratefully picking up a cup of coffee offered by her mother, Padma, and blew her a kiss. Padma smiled at her daughter antics. The rapport which Padma and Anjali had was totally different from that of Padma and Riddhima. While the former were more of buddies the latter had maintained the mother-daughter relationship. Anjali, like any other eleven year old had hated Padma when they had first met. The bitter hate had gradually grown into grudging respect and in next two years, they had had a bond of something between friends and care taker. Anjali mimicked Riddhima and called Padma mom. When she had reached her teens, she chose to talk about boys, crushes, heartbreaks, love letters, bad marks with her mother rather than with her sister. Shashank was the most surprised one in the household as he witnessed the growing relationship between his wife and his daughter.

"Which one is it?" Shashank further inquired.

"Cars. It's a cartoon movie." Anjali replied with mild disdain in her voice.

"Why did Armaan take Riddhima to a cartoon movie?" Padma asked in bewilderment.

"Mom, either Armaan is a genius or the most stupid guy I have ever met", Anjali huffed.

"Why is that?" Shashank asked.

"Who in their right mind takes their girlfriend to a cartoon movie when there is a couple of amazingly romantic movies are playing in the same multiplex." Anjali replied and secretly winked at her mom. She loved riling her dad. Padma's smile only became wider.

"What's wrong in watching a cartoon movie?" Shashank put down the journal he was reading and stared intently at his daughter. Anjali smirked. Her father was predictable to the T.

"Dad, two young people in love and watching a romantic movie together on a Sunday afternoon is a highly romantic thing to do."

"I am glad it's a cartoon movie." Shashank replied stiffly. Padma and Anjali burst out laughing.

A persistent knock was heard and it got louder and urgent by the second. The three of them looked at each other in surprise and Anjali switched off television and ran to the front door closely followed by Padma and Shashank. As soon as the door was opened, Riddhima fell into her arms Armaan on her heels.

"He was there in the theater Anjali. He was first sitting behind me and after interval he sat right next to me. He was talking about taking me Anjali. He told me that he will buy me cotton candy if I go with him. I told him that he cannot take me as I was holding hands like I promised mom and dad. I always hold hands. Ask Armaan if you want. I didn't let go of his hands the whole time. Don't let him take me away again. Please." Riddhima was hysterical and was holding Armaan's hands very tightly. Padma and Shashank tried to pry her hands from Armaan but in Riddhima's hysterical hallucination, her strength was overpowering.

"Armaan please carry her to her room", Shashank requested Armaan. Armaan nodded and started to speak to Riddhima but she only gestured wildly and started screaming - "Don't put me in the dark room" over and over again. Armaan didn't waste much time in contemplating about rights and wrongs so he picked up Riddhima forcibly and started walking briskly with Anjali and Shashank leading the way to her room. Padma was a mother and also a surgical nurse. She went to pick up a shot of sedative which they always stacked in their house as they were very aware that the probability of these kinds of incidents cropping up was very high.

She found her daughter struggling and still in a hysterical state screaming and gasping. It hurt her to see her daughter this way but it was something they all had to live with till Riddhima was healed. She handed over the shot to Anjali who was closest to Riddhima immediately injected the sedative to Riddhima. After handful of moments Riddhima's breathing steadied and her actions lulled. She soon fell into a drugged sleep. Padma adjusted her covers and removed Riddhima's footwear and other accessories.

"Let's go downstairs Armaan. And then we can talk about what happened." Shashank led Armaan downstairs. After few minutes Anjali and Padma came downstairs. Padma poured coffee for Armaan and handed him a cup which he received it gratefully. He was going to be here for some time.

"What happened during the movie Armaan?" Anjali was the first one to break the silence.

"After thirty minutes into the movie, Riddhima started looking back frequently. She said there was a man sitting behind us who wanted to take her away. I tried pacifying her by saying that there was no such man, but she didn't believe me. After another thirty minutes, she said the man was now sitting next to her and was now seriously telling her that he would take her away and also that he promised to buy her cotton candy and told her that she shouldn't have let go of her parent's hands." Armaan finished talking about what happened in the theater.

"What happened next?" It was Shashank who asked that. At that moment he was speaking as a doctor who was analyzing the situation which had led to Riddhima's breakdown.

"She was very scared of someone. She clutched my hands and started murmuring incoherently. It was then I decided to get her home. She wouldn't leave my hands even in the car when I was driving. She was certain that there was a car following us so she made me change the routes till she was satisfied. I finally came home when her state became more and more hysterical and paranoid and all she wanted to do was to come home and see you guys." Armaan took another long sip of coffee.

"In theater, who was sitting behind her and next to her? Maybe those faces could have triggered memories." Anjali contemplated.

"Behind us were a group of high school girls and had their uniforms on as it was a class trip for them. Next to her was a six year old girl." Armaan replied.

"Nothing fits the profile which could trigger her memory", Shashank observed and Padma nodded.

"These things are unpredictable dad, psychological trigger can be something as small as a sense of smell, intensity of light or even sound. There were lots of little kids there eating snacks and making noise and laughter all around and it was dark in the theater. It's possible that one of these acted as a stressor and triggered her paranoia." Anjali said looking at her father.

Armaan didn't ask any questions but listened to their conversation intently. He was in awe of the three people in that room. They were Riddhima's family and the way they were handling the situation was something he never thought he would see in a family. He was honestly expecting a lot of drama, water works and perhaps even certain amount of accusation on his behavior, but never this. They were systematically analyzing the situation and were trying to find a solution. If all families were this honest and straightforward and spoke openly, people would be naturally more happy.

It was quiet for some time where everyone contemplated on day's events and tried to draw some conclusion from it. Armaan had a basic idea of what might have happened but didn't voice it out loud. Anjali was the one who again broke the silence.

"Dad I think we owe Armaan an explanation about the situation. He should know about it given the fact not only is he Riddhima's boyfriend, but also a very good friend of hers. He has handled the situation very well today and at least for that, we owe him the truth." Shashank nodded positively and Padma looked at her daughter with pride. The way Anjali took care of things and handled crisis situations were par with that of her father's.

"Thank you for everything you have done for us today Armaan. I am not happy that such an incident has happened but am definitely glad that you were around to handle the situation well. For that, we are very grateful." Shashank shook hands with Armaan and moved out of the family room leaving Anjali and Armaan alone.

"Riddhima was abducted when she was twelve years old."

"I thought as much", Armaan replied. Anjali sighed. Of course Armaan would have guessed after listening to Riddhima's paranoid rant.

"The man who took her was a preferential pedophile. He abducted girls who were quiet and introvert type aged who were aged around eleven to thirteen. I was there with her when it happened you know." Anjali looked tearful. She continued.

"We were in a fair and as usual I was being a brat. I wasn't still used to mom being around and that evening I was taking out my tantrum on Riddhima. Her non responsiveness had irked me even more than I wanted to care for. I was constantly pestering my dad to buy me something to eat and being doctors, they both flat out refused. Finally just to keep the atmosphere calm, dad agreed to buy Riddhima and I something to munch on. As I was the big sister, I was given money and my parents asked Riddhima to hold my hand and never let go. She always had this habit of holding hands you know. I always teased her as a little baby. Anyway after buying the snack, I let go of her hand as I had to hold the snack and eat it too. She initially insisted that she didn't want to let go of my hand and on that miserable day, I scolded her for acting like a baby all the time and told her to grow up. We were practically teenagers already. After few moments I noted that Riddhima who was walking next to me all along was nowhere in sight. What followed afterward are the worst moments in all our lives." Anjali dabbed her eyes with a tissue. Armaan put his hands around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. She suddenly felt exhausted after everything.

Armaan had always believed that the underlying reason for Anjali's overprotective nature was not merely due to the fact she was the elder sister. Now he knew.

It was guilt driven. It was most commonly known as survivor's guilt. But in Anjali's case it was the guilt of her own recklessness combined with the one who was not taken.

"What happened next?" Armaan asked.

"We didn't find Riddhima in the fair. Police were called and they started a town wide search. By next morning they told my parents that it was a pedophile who had abducted my sister and that she was his fifth victim. I was too young to know what it meant but in three days when Riddhima was gone, I was matured by ten years or so. My parents never kept anything from me. When I saw mom's grief stricken face, I realized the damage I had done. It was irrevocable and irreparable."

"Anjali listen to me." Anjali looked up. Armaan held her hands in his and looked straight into her eyes. He spoke again.

"When that man abducted Riddhima, it wasn't because of you. It wasn't because you let go of her hand or because you were being mean to her that day. He did it because he chose to do that to Riddhima. It is not your fault. Do you understand me Anjali?"

"I want to believe that too Armaan, but if I had only..."

"Stop. There are thousand circumstances which could have played out in entirely different way yet Riddhima would have been abducted and few thousands more where even you might have been abducted. The game of if-only is not going to help you or Riddhima for that matter. Unless you forgive yourself you can never heal and forget the guilt."

"I have tried it Armaan. Hours of therapy and counseling was given after the whole ordeal passed. But whenever I see that self absorbed look on Riddhima's face, the past keeps crashing back to me and undoes the whole healing process."

"Anjali, for few months at least, handover Riddhima to me okay? I have already known her for five months now and though am not familiar with every idiosyncrasy she sports, I know most of them. You just be her sister for few months and not a guilt stricken survivor."

"Will that help?"

"I think it will help her to some extent. Can we speak to her consulting psychiatrist?"

"I will make an appointment soon for us to visit him. But Armaan, tell me, how is it going to help her?"

"Anjali, the first thing she has to learn is to be comfortable with herself. Has she talked about what happened to her in those three days?"

"She never spoke about it. When she was found, she was in a semi-conscious state. Once she recovered, the trauma she had faced in those three days had damaged her memory and psyche real bad. Thankfully there were no traces of sexual assault on her. But if he did touch her and played with her, she never told us."

Armaan hugged Anjali who was trying very hard to be brave while talking about her sister. It was natural that one of the family members would take up the responsibility of the strongest and ironically the youngest among the three had become the strongest for the sake of her sister. Her parents were devastated after the incident. They had been visiting that town as tourists and this had happened.

"Let's talk to her doctor and see what he suggests okay?" Armaan asked Anjali.

"Okay Armaan."

"Anjali, please talk to a therapist about this. I don't mean to nag about the issue but you need to heal and get a closure too. It's just not about Riddhima. Do you understand?"

"I do. Thank you Armaan for listening and helping Riddhima." Anjali was really glad that Armaan was now in Riddhima's life. Like he suggested, maybe she needed to get out of their protective cage, face herself first and only then they all could move on.

"Take care Anjali. I will get going now. We will talk again about this, okay? You, Riddhima and I will talk and then see her doctor." Anjali nodded.

As he left Riddhima's house he wondered how serious the issue really was.

To be continued.