Arhi FF: Pretty little fears |PREFACE|

Punjab, 1996

"Take her and go far away, Arjun. This pind is not meant for this innocent child, and you" Baldev disputed with his 18 year old son, as he handed over his 5 year old sleeping daughter, his Khushi, to him.

"But babuji, where will we go without you?" Arjun said with misty eyes, as the horrifying incident from last night replayed his mind. It had been only one day, since his mother had passed away, and he knew damn well that even after a decade, the memory of how he found her hanging from the ceiling fan would still be fresh in his mind.

"I am sending you to Canada, where my friend lives. I want Khushi to be raised there, and not here. The way this village works, I don't want it to grab hold of our Khushi the way it got to your mother. This place is no longer safe, and I want you kids far away from here. You will start your college there like you had planned, except with Khushi beside you. You will raise her like a father. For her own safety, she may never set her foot back in his place again. Promise me, Arjun, you will not let anyone or anything hurt her"

Arjun listened, intently, to his father's plea. Baldev, a man who was outspoken and fearless, a man of morals, whom many feared, now stood in front of his son with his hands joined together and tears running down his face; grieving his beloved wife, Harnoor. Without saying anything, Arjun simply gave his father a nod and left, with Khushi still in his arms, to start packing.

Baldev walked over to the telephone and dialled up a number in Canada. The phone rang a few times, and then was finally answered by his best friend.

"Haan Kartar, there is something I need to tell you...

Kartar Singh, jumped from his lounging chair, but careful enough to not wake up his little Arnav, as his best friend told him what had went down back in his pind.

"Harnoor... was all Kartar had managed to say and hung up.

How will Khushi survive without her mother's love now...

He thought as a flood of memories hit him.