Posted:
Here's another part, since the last update was so short. Please do comment, as it gives me the incentive to continue.
Part 3:
Bani looked up and was shocked at what was before her. "Oh my god, Pushkar!!! What are you doing here?" she screamed with glee and hurriedly got up and hugged him. She then started sobbing on his shoulder. Pushkar was Bani's brother. He had always taken care of her when she was younger. He always had to play the role as big brother, although he was 2 years younger than her. He would always make sure that no guys ever hurt Bani, and if they did, then they knew it'd be their end, because Pushkar would never leave them alone.
"Bani di!!" he replied with as much enthusiasm as she had. "Pushkar, I'm so sorry. I disobeyed our parents. I went against their rules. How am I ever going to look them in the eye? I've shamed them for life" she finished with a snivel. "Bani di, it's not your fault. Don't blame this on yourself. You had nothing to do with this. It was the fault of those men who kidnapped you. Do you know how scared I was when I found out you were missing?" Pushkar said pure concern in his voice.
With curiosity, Bani asked, "Pushkar, how did u find me anyway? You, mom, and dad had gone to America to visit Priya. How did you get back so soon?" Priya was Bani's older sister. She had gotten married a few years ago and had moved to America when her husband had been transferred over there. Bani's mom, dad, and brother had decided to go and visit her after she delivered her first baby boy. Bani, of course, had wanted to come, but she had exams that week. So, the family had decided that once Bani's exams had been finished, she would come to America. Bani had her heart set on going to America. Bani's parents and brother had gone a day before her kidnapping. She had completely forgotten about her trip to America on account of all the happenings of her life at that moment.
"Before I say anything, just listen to me. Make some noise, as if you're being hurt, because if they don't hear any noise, those men are going to be suspicious, and we can't afford that right now," Pushkar said with urgency. Bani did as she was told to. She didn't want to be taken away from Pushkar, and she'd do anything possible to stay there as long as possible.
"See, I had called the house a few days ago, but you didn't pick up. So, I was really worried, and so I called Nikita, your friend, and asked her if she was with you. She told me that you had been missing for at least 3 or 4 days and that you hadn't come to school either. I knew that was really unlikely of you, because you never skip school, especially during exam week. So, I took the first flight back, although I didn't tell mom and dad the reason, because I knew they would really freak out" Pushkar finished.
Bani's question had been answered, but that did leave room for one more question. How exactly had Pushkar known she would be here? Before she even asked, Pushkar knew what she was thinking. Bani and Pushkar did always have a strong relationship. They kept no secrets from each other, even about their love lives, not that they had much, considering they both were still in high school.
"Oh, well, when I had gotten home, there was a letter there, addressed to mom and dad, from you. I was a bit skeptical about it, because I knew that you knew we were in America, so why would you send us a letter when we weren't even there? The letter said that you had run away from home because you were tired of all the rules that mom and dad enforced upon you. You said that you'd never come back and to not look for you because you'd run some place far, far away. I didn't believe it for a moment" said Pushkar with pride and continued, "So, I looked at the return address, and I followed it to some old village around here. I asked one of the men there if they knew anything about this letter and at first, he denied having ever seen the letter, but after all, money talks. I gave him some money and he told me that some men had come to the village a few days earlier and had asked the man to post the letter with his address. I started looking around the village, to see if there were any clues, and that's when I ran into this place. I knew that the men probably hadn't gone far from where they were operating. So, I came into the place, and that's when I saw you dancing. At first, i thought the worst, and i thought that maybe you had done it willingly" Pushkar said while looking at the floor with shame.
He then continued, "But then I saw the sadness on your face and I saw how tose men were treating all of you, and I knew that you didn't do it willingly; You were forced to do such a heinous thing. That's when i made this plan. I pretended I wanted some 'alone' time with you, and I paid the men for it. They gladly accepted, considering the obscene amount of money I bribed them with, but anything's worth it for my sister" he finally finished.
Bani was so proud of her brother. Today, he had truly shown her how much she meant to him. "Thank you so much Pushkar. I'm so lucky that I have a brother like you. B-but how are we going to g-g-get me out?" she said with fresh tears brimming her eyes. She couldn't even think of the idea of maybe having to spend her whole life in this place. It would just kill her completely. Pushkar just reassured her sister by saying, "Don't worry, i'm here aren't I? And as long as I'm here, you have nothing to worry about. Just leave that up to me. But, just tell me one thing. Do you think you'll be able to stay in this place for a few more days while I think of a plan to get you out?" Pushkar asked cautiously because he knew that it was a really sensitive issue for Bani at that moment, and he didn't want to do anything to add to her misery.
Once Pushkar had asked the question, Bani just started sobbing on his shoulder once again. She told him of all the things that she had seen. "It's so horrible. I don't think I can take it much more. The men beat us when we don't do like they say and they force us to dance in front of those men. I just hate it. They sometimes forget to feed us and I go to sleep hungry those days. I just don't think I can do it anymore. Please, just get me out of here Pushkar" she said with pleadingness in her voice.
Pushkar knew that he shouldn't leave his sister in there, but he had to think of a plan to get her out and for that, he needed some time. He tried to avoid the topic for a bit by talking about their new nephew and their parents and how happy everyone was in America. Bani was sad thinking about how everyone was having so much fun, and how it would all be ruined when they found out about Bani.
Alas, the time came for Bani to go back. Before she left, she hugged Pushkar and told him to hurry up. Pushkar went back home and spent the night thinking of ways to get Bani out, while Bani spent the night crying, not tears of sadness, but of joy. Of the joy of seeing her brother again, of regaining the sense of hope that she had lost, and of the possibility of seeing her family once again. She slept that night with peacefulness on her face, which had been lost for the past week.
part 4 on page 6
Part 3:
Bani looked up and was shocked at what was before her. "Oh my god, Pushkar!!! What are you doing here?" she screamed with glee and hurriedly got up and hugged him. She then started sobbing on his shoulder. Pushkar was Bani's brother. He had always taken care of her when she was younger. He always had to play the role as big brother, although he was 2 years younger than her. He would always make sure that no guys ever hurt Bani, and if they did, then they knew it'd be their end, because Pushkar would never leave them alone.
"Bani di!!" he replied with as much enthusiasm as she had. "Pushkar, I'm so sorry. I disobeyed our parents. I went against their rules. How am I ever going to look them in the eye? I've shamed them for life" she finished with a snivel. "Bani di, it's not your fault. Don't blame this on yourself. You had nothing to do with this. It was the fault of those men who kidnapped you. Do you know how scared I was when I found out you were missing?" Pushkar said pure concern in his voice.
With curiosity, Bani asked, "Pushkar, how did u find me anyway? You, mom, and dad had gone to America to visit Priya. How did you get back so soon?" Priya was Bani's older sister. She had gotten married a few years ago and had moved to America when her husband had been transferred over there. Bani's mom, dad, and brother had decided to go and visit her after she delivered her first baby boy. Bani, of course, had wanted to come, but she had exams that week. So, the family had decided that once Bani's exams had been finished, she would come to America. Bani had her heart set on going to America. Bani's parents and brother had gone a day before her kidnapping. She had completely forgotten about her trip to America on account of all the happenings of her life at that moment.
"Before I say anything, just listen to me. Make some noise, as if you're being hurt, because if they don't hear any noise, those men are going to be suspicious, and we can't afford that right now," Pushkar said with urgency. Bani did as she was told to. She didn't want to be taken away from Pushkar, and she'd do anything possible to stay there as long as possible.
"See, I had called the house a few days ago, but you didn't pick up. So, I was really worried, and so I called Nikita, your friend, and asked her if she was with you. She told me that you had been missing for at least 3 or 4 days and that you hadn't come to school either. I knew that was really unlikely of you, because you never skip school, especially during exam week. So, I took the first flight back, although I didn't tell mom and dad the reason, because I knew they would really freak out" Pushkar finished.
Bani's question had been answered, but that did leave room for one more question. How exactly had Pushkar known she would be here? Before she even asked, Pushkar knew what she was thinking. Bani and Pushkar did always have a strong relationship. They kept no secrets from each other, even about their love lives, not that they had much, considering they both were still in high school.
"Oh, well, when I had gotten home, there was a letter there, addressed to mom and dad, from you. I was a bit skeptical about it, because I knew that you knew we were in America, so why would you send us a letter when we weren't even there? The letter said that you had run away from home because you were tired of all the rules that mom and dad enforced upon you. You said that you'd never come back and to not look for you because you'd run some place far, far away. I didn't believe it for a moment" said Pushkar with pride and continued, "So, I looked at the return address, and I followed it to some old village around here. I asked one of the men there if they knew anything about this letter and at first, he denied having ever seen the letter, but after all, money talks. I gave him some money and he told me that some men had come to the village a few days earlier and had asked the man to post the letter with his address. I started looking around the village, to see if there were any clues, and that's when I ran into this place. I knew that the men probably hadn't gone far from where they were operating. So, I came into the place, and that's when I saw you dancing. At first, i thought the worst, and i thought that maybe you had done it willingly" Pushkar said while looking at the floor with shame.
He then continued, "But then I saw the sadness on your face and I saw how tose men were treating all of you, and I knew that you didn't do it willingly; You were forced to do such a heinous thing. That's when i made this plan. I pretended I wanted some 'alone' time with you, and I paid the men for it. They gladly accepted, considering the obscene amount of money I bribed them with, but anything's worth it for my sister" he finally finished.
Bani was so proud of her brother. Today, he had truly shown her how much she meant to him. "Thank you so much Pushkar. I'm so lucky that I have a brother like you. B-but how are we going to g-g-get me out?" she said with fresh tears brimming her eyes. She couldn't even think of the idea of maybe having to spend her whole life in this place. It would just kill her completely. Pushkar just reassured her sister by saying, "Don't worry, i'm here aren't I? And as long as I'm here, you have nothing to worry about. Just leave that up to me. But, just tell me one thing. Do you think you'll be able to stay in this place for a few more days while I think of a plan to get you out?" Pushkar asked cautiously because he knew that it was a really sensitive issue for Bani at that moment, and he didn't want to do anything to add to her misery.
Once Pushkar had asked the question, Bani just started sobbing on his shoulder once again. She told him of all the things that she had seen. "It's so horrible. I don't think I can take it much more. The men beat us when we don't do like they say and they force us to dance in front of those men. I just hate it. They sometimes forget to feed us and I go to sleep hungry those days. I just don't think I can do it anymore. Please, just get me out of here Pushkar" she said with pleadingness in her voice.
Pushkar knew that he shouldn't leave his sister in there, but he had to think of a plan to get her out and for that, he needed some time. He tried to avoid the topic for a bit by talking about their new nephew and their parents and how happy everyone was in America. Bani was sad thinking about how everyone was having so much fun, and how it would all be ruined when they found out about Bani.
Alas, the time came for Bani to go back. Before she left, she hugged Pushkar and told him to hurry up. Pushkar went back home and spent the night thinking of ways to get Bani out, while Bani spent the night crying, not tears of sadness, but of joy. Of the joy of seeing her brother again, of regaining the sense of hope that she had lost, and of the possibility of seeing her family once again. She slept that night with peacefulness on her face, which had been lost for the past week.
part 4 on page 6
Anupamaa
Udne Ki Aasha
