Part III
Somewhere in Amritsar
Half and hour later
Raj kept on driving wildly, his mind in turmoil. He didn't know what to do. From time to time, he would turn around to catch a brief glimpse of Kranti, to check whether she was fine or not. She was far from being fine, he knew; her precious life blood seeping away, and she was still unconscious, which was definitely not a good thing. He decided to stop for a minute and decide his next course of action.
He stopped near a lamp post and looked around. It was already dusk and there was nothing around. He seemed to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. Alighting from the car, he rushed to the back seat. The dark red splotch on Kranti's left shoulder tore at his heart and he touched the spot feebly. The clot was sticky and warm; her dress had got stuck to the wound and was damp. Raj ran his fingers through his hair, he looked at Kranti's face and felt like howling. Her face had lost colour and her lips were a pale shade of light pink. Raj wished that he had not thrown his coat away; it would have kept Kranti warm at least for some time. He bent down slightly and kissed the top of her head and murmured
'Have faith in me Kranti. I won't let anything happen to you. Please.'
Teardrops threatened to brim over but he knew that he could not cry now. He had to take Kranti to safety first.
Closing the door behind him, he stood outside the car, staring at the horizon in front of him, weighing his options.
Lahore was not a possibility at all; the police would search there first. And Amritsar was a deadly zone for Kranti. Where could he take her now? Rawalpindi was too far away and he would have to travel a lot, which was definitely not good news for either Kranti or him. His mind raced as he tried to remember all his contacts, the one he could trust, while his heart grappled with emotions.
An idea suddenly clicked and Raj felt more alert. It was a risk that he was determined to take. It was the only plan available to him.
He entered the car back again and turned on the ignition, praying to God that He assists him in his endeavor. It was necessary to protect a life.
……………..
IT was well in the evening when his car entered the borders of the British division of Jalandhar. It was a great risk he knew to bring Kranti to Jalandhar, since the town was the headquarters of both Jalandhar Division as well as District and was teeming with Britishers all around. Yet this was not going to be the first spot that the British would search for Kranti. They wouldn't imagine Kranti in Jalandhar in the first place. And he knew only two people in this town.
His childhood friend, Sanjay and his wife, Nirmal, who also happened to be Kranti's cousin sister.
Like him, Sanjay also belonged to a family which aspired to be gifted the Raibahadur tag by the British Government and hence when he fell in love with Nirmal and wanted to marry her, his family was not at all happy. Nirmal was a commoner's daughter after all. Also there were certain misunderstandings from the point of view of Nirmal's family too, and Kranti's maternal aunt was not at all happy with the prospect of their marriage. That left the couple with only one choice and that was to elope.
All hell had broken loose in the two households once the news of their elopement and marriage came through, and being the son of such a prominent personality, Sanjay found it difficult to find sustain a livelihood in Lahore. The two had then shifted to Jalandhar where one of Sanjay's friends had offered him a respectable job. Since then, Rajbir had visited the two in Jalandhar twice or thrice; he liked Nirmal and knew that she was the best thing to have happened to his best friend.
And that is where he was presently heading to. Sanjay and Nirmal's safe abode.
……..
Sanjay and Nirmal's residence
Jalandhar
Around 9 p.m.
Sanjay was sitting in the verandah going through the newspaper once again. Dinner being over, Nirmal was busy inside arranging the kitchen. It was pleasant and a cool breeze was blowing. It was a small house in which they were staying, but both Sanjay and Nirmal were contented. They had seen hard times, and couldn't have asked for more.
This was their favourite time of the day. After dinner, Sanjay would sit down in his favourite chair, overlooking the small garden at the back of their small house, feeling happy and relaxed. Nirmal would join him soon and the two would spend some idle time together, chatting generally about the day and their lives. A time well spent in happiness and laughter, before calling it a day, in preparation of the next day.
It was just another night when a car came and halted in front of their small verandah. Both Sanjay and Nirmal were surprised. Their surprise gave way to amazement and then happiness when they realized that it was Raj's car. Sanjay sprang down the small flight of stairs to greet his friend, who opened the door hastily and climbed out. Nirmal also followed Sanjay down the steps. But they were frozen in their spots when they realized that Raj's dress shirt was soiled with blood.
Seeing Nirmal with Sanjay together, Raj opened the back door of the car, the only words that came out of his mouth was
'Kranti's hit by a bullet. Needs a Doctor now. There's no time to lose.'
Raj sensed complete shock and disbelief in the faces of his friend and his wife. He turned around and his eyes pleaded to them.
The heartfelt pleading spur both Sanjay and Nirmal to action and within minutes, Kranti was inside her sister's household. Raj carefully carried her in his arms and laid her down on the bed. Sanjay ran to find a Doctor while Nirmal washed Kranti's wound cautiously. She was herself shocked and at wits' end. She loved Kranti a lot and was disturbed to see her in such a state. But this was the time for action, Nirmal knew and any sort of weakness on any of their part could prove fatal to Kranti. She needed to change her sister's dress which was heavily blood stained, but Raj just simply refused to budge. He huddled down beside Kranti's prone form, oblivious to everything else, holding her hand in his and staring at her face. Nirmal had never seen him so vulnerable earlier.
Was this the same Rajbir who hated her sister in the initial days of their acquaintance?
…………….
Jhanak
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