'The Accidental Wife' New thread link-151 - Page 96

32. Of Spells and Guardian Angels

It was the darkest of nights in the middle of nowhere and it was cold, so very cold, with a bitter, biting wind. And in the midst of this hell, Geet found herself running as fast as her broken feet would allow her. She was fleeing from something unseen, something more terrifying than anyone could ever imagine.

The wind began to howl, pushing her back, smacking her on the face with her own hair. Her limbs were heavy and weak, like stumps of dead rotting wood and the numbness began creeping up her torso. But she wouldn't give up. She just couldn't.

Up ahead on a low hill she thought she saw some flickering lights. They emboldened her to get moving again. But she had barely progressed a couple of feet when the ground under her started to slide. The asphalt had turned into a bed of loose gravel.

She fell forward and began to crawl, using her nails as talons, seeking purchase on the steep incline which had abruptly transformed into a river of slime. It poured into her nose and her mouth, extinguishing her screams for help.

The thing had almost caught up. She could perceive its putrid burning flesh. The heat seared her skin. She closed her eyes and prayed for a quick end.

Just then the earth tore apart and she saw herself plunge into a gaping hole. She plummeted, gathering speed as she dropped, further and further. But she wasn't alone, there were others with her, falling, too. And they were laughing in great merriment.

Astounded, she looked around and saw that she was seated on top of a gigantic Ferris wheel, high in the sky, floating among wisps of soft cotton.

"Geet!" Someone called her name.

"Here!" She responded earnestly seeking the source.

The voice belonged to someone she knew, but hadn't seen in ages. She finally spotted her. A beautiful woman with a face radiant like the sun. And she was smiling at Geet while eating ice cream. Rocky Road. Her favorite kind.

"Mama!" Geet screamed, reaching out with both her arms.

But the woman drifted away, waving cheerfully as she disappeared into a dense bank of clouds.

"Mama!" she called again.

"Mrs. Khurana!" Someone tapped on her shoulder.

"No," Geet grumbled, burying her face deeper into the pillows, desperately attempting to reassemble her dream. But it wasn't to be.

"Good morning. I'm Cara. Your new nurse," announced a woman with an incredibly bright smile on her perfectly done supermodel face.

Geet decided right away she didn't like her. "Where's Stephie?"

"She has the day off," the supermodel nurse replied, the corners of her mouth straining to reach her ear lobes and almost succeeding. She maneuvered a tray table close to the bed.

"It's way past breakfast time. But Dr. Khurana insisted to let you sleep through. He said you had a..."

"Dr. Khurana? Maan?" Geet exclaimed eagerly, struggling to sit up. "Is he here?"

"No. But you have other visitors," Cara said.

Geet became aware for the first time of the small crowd gathered in the room. Her beautiful, dark eyes, the most prominent features on her thin, pale face, grew wider as they darted from one person to the other.

"You know who we are, don't you? I'm Rima, Maan's sister," voiced a pretty young woman dressed in a becoming yellow and pink spring dress.

"Yes. I do. How are you?" Geet answered slowly. She did recognize them from the pictures Maan had shown her. Yet it felt odd seeing them in the flesh, in a most surreal way. The fantastic fable had finally come to life, filling her both with excitement and fear.

Her gaze first rested on a gentleman (who was apparently more than slightly fond of his paneer tikka and tandoori chicken) whom she recognized as Maan's father. The smile he wore on his ruddy face was so frank and genial that it instantly caused her to relax. She judged him to be a kind-hearted and down-to-earth individual, a person who invited trust and confidence.

She smiled back at him before moving on to his wife"a short, thin woman wrapped in a grey-black sari. She was examining her keenly with hazel eyes, which were just like her son's, though hers weren't smiling.

Seized by a peculiar sense of unease, Geet looked away and spotted a strange man standing right beside her bed. He wore the saffron robes of a priest. His bright, jet black, beady eyes made her skin crawl. She desperately fought the urge to pull the covers over her head.

"You're looking very good," Rima said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Geet, thankful for the distraction, looked gratefully at her, though she knew she was lying. How could a pale sickly alien wearing a chemo cap to cover her shaven skull look good? But Geet forgave her for she believed Rima bore no ill will in her heart.

Her sister-in-law placed a large bouquet of painted daisies on the bedside table along with a box of chocolates. "Maan told me there are no dietary restrictions. He said I could bring anything that'd encourage his picky, little wife to eat."

Geet smiled nervously, all at once realizing how desperately she missed him.

"Maybe we should come back later. Let bahu have her breakfast," her father-in-law suggested, and began hustling his wife toward the door, much to the woman's annoyance.

"No. Please stay. I'm not hungry," Geet pleaded, though wishing quite the opposite.

Her mother-in-law finally spoke, but not to her. She shared a knowing look with the priest. "Guruji, do you see what I see?"

He nodded, continuing to stare at Geet with his eerie eyes. "Yes. I do. This young woman's life is in great danger. She is haunted by malevolent spirits. She needs help or else she'll take everyone with her to hell."

Geet looked on helplessly, wanting to but unable to push him away, as the priest anointed her forehead with vermilion and ash. Then digging into his cloth bag, he brought out a white powder which he blew into her face, making her sneeze loudly.

"Shobha, what are you doing?" Geet heard her father-in-law yell from somewhere in the room. "I thought you brought this man here to bless our bahu and pray for her quick recovery!"

"Her condition calls for more than just blessings and prayers," her mother-in-law said. "Guruji knows exactly what she needs. Let him do his job. It's for her own good and for our son's, who happens to have turned into a big hard-headed fool!"

There were more voices raised in argument. Someone fled, shouting from the room.

Meanwhile Geet stared in horrid fascination, as the priest sat down by her bed and began intonating in a loud and fervid tone. She wanted to look away but couldn't. She was trapped; ensnared by some strange force in a dark, mystical realm.

And then to her alarm, she began to break apart. Her head separated from her torso and so did her limbs, detaching themselves one by one before drifting away. And she couldn't do anything about it. It was a conspiracy, a vile plot hatched to annihilate her very soul. Her mouth opened to protest, but the words were rammed back into her throat. Her heart screamed vainly inside her chest. She fought feebly, raising her hands in front of her face, but the voice only grew louder.

Fortunately, at that very moment her guardian angel walked in. "What in hell is going on here?" Maan shouted.

He ousted the wicked man from the room and admonished everybody to be silent and stop irritating his wife. He even ticked his mother off and sternly warned her against committing such foul acts again. "Enough is enough. There's nothing wrong with my Geet, absolutely nothing! Understood!"

My Geet. She closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation of being his.

tbc

PS: Loved the responses. Thank you 😊