The Unforgiven - Thread 1 (Reposting)

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ShikhaKhushi

@ShikhaKhushi

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Posted: 10 years ago

Prologue

The car's lights were still flashing but something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. She could feel it.

"Shyaam?" she called out softly.

He never replied. The wind blowing through the mountains were all what answered her. She closed the door of the black SUV she had just gotten down from, shivering a bit from the cold. The snow seeped in her tennis shoes. She hugged herself as she took a few steps forward.

"Shyaam?"

Her teeth were chattering badly. She was not well dressed for this weather. He had told her it would be okay, but it had turned out that this would be the coldest winter Nainital would ever see. Where was he gone now?

"Shyaam?"

She never should have let him get down to help. Now she felt abandoned. Again. He had told her to wait in the car until he returned but she was bored. He had left half an hour ago. What was taking so much time? This was seriously bad.

"Shyaam?"

She paused suddenly, feeling a low buzz in her head. Was it her, or was the snow pink? She took another step, a hot lump forming in her throat. The colour had darkened to red. What the hell? Another step. The colour was darker. Blood. Another step...

She froze, terrified. No. This could not be...

"Shyaam!"

This time, her voice was full of panic but it came out no louder than a hoarse whisper. She fell to her knees beside the man who lay dead before her, his eyes wide open. Blood was oozing from deep cuts on his torso. A knife was sticking out of his neck.

Strangely, she felt nothing but an emptiness. Her eyes did not even tear up. She just watched him for several moments, silent. Then, taking a deep breath in, she reached out. Her hand wrapped itself around the hilt of the knife and she pulled it out...

~~~~~~~~~

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Edited by ShikhaKhushi - 10 years ago

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ShikhaKhushi

@ShikhaKhushi

Rocker

+ 4

Posted: 10 years ago

Chapter 1 - Confidences

They walked her down the dark corridor. She sensed the fear emanating from the people around her. They stopped at a closed door and one of the constables stepped forward to knock on it.

"Come in!"

The constable opened the door and she was pushed in roughly.

"Carefully!" The lady snapped. She sat behind her desk, rigid and severe, her eyes cold as they settle on the policewoman who had shoved the girl in. "You may leave."

They looked at her uncertainly but hurried out under her stony glare.

"Khushi Malik?" The lady spoke again, her tone softer this time. Khushi nodded blankly and looked at her. She was probably in her early fifties. Her hair was black, but with a several strands of grey, and her skin wrinkled. Yet, she appeared very orderly in her cream chiffon saree.

"I am Devyani Gupta, in-charge of this facility. Sit down please."

She obeyed without flinching.

"You have been brought in this morning if I understand well?"

Khushi nodded again.

Devyani eyed her sceptically. "I have followed your trial very closely. But I would like to hear your version of the story."

The girl sneered at her hands. "My version?" she spoke. She had hearing herself after so many days. And in all those days, nobody at all had been interested in her version of what had happened. What was this woman trying to do?

"Yes, your version," Devyani smiled. "Tell about yourself Khushi. He was your father, right?"

She took a deep breath. Remembering was so painful... If only she could forget everything... If only she could turn the clocks backward.

"My father?" she chuckled drily. "No, just the man who fathered me. Not really my father. My mother had met him when they were in college. She was from a very conservative family, the first to go to university. I guess the freedom was so easy she abused of it."

"Go on," Devyani encouraged her, leaning back in her chair.

Khushi suddenly felt tired, so tired the words began flowing out of her easily, effortlessly."They had an affair and she got pregnant. She told him. He left her because he thought his career was more important than having a child and for her, abortion meant being a coward. Her family rejected her as well. She went to Nainital, she had a few friends who could help her out there. Then, I was born. She raised me alone for fifteen years. I never heard from that father of mine."

"What changed that?"

Her eyes welled up, remembering her mother's frail body being taken away from her. "She died... She was perfectly fine, cooking dinner for us in the kitchen. I was talking to her, telling her about my day at school, and... she fell down... They said she had a stroke..."

"And then? What happened to you?"

"I was sent to an orphanage," Khushi whispered bitterly. "I stayed there for months. It was horrible. Then he came..."

"Your father?"

She nodded.

"What did he say?"

Khushi frowned. "He pretended to love me... He said he was sorry for what he had done to my mother but that I was his daughter still and that he would take me to his home and I would have a new mother and a sister."

"But how did he know what had happened to your mother or where you were?" Devyani prodded deeper.

The girl shrugged. "I don't know... but he left me there. He said he had to wait for some procedures and speak to his wife about me. And he returned after a few weeks, on the day of my sixteenth birthday..."

"And?"

There was a huge lump in Khushi's throat. She tried to gulp it down but it was hopeless.

"He said everything would be fine and he was taking me home... But then..."

The girl's eyes snapped back to the in-charge to sighed and stood up to sit down nearer to her. She held her hand in hers in a supportive way. "Yes, Khushi, tell me. What happened?"

The beautiful dark eyes emptied themselves until they were blank like a fresh sheet of paper. "I killed him..."

"Tell me the truth, Khushi."

"I killed Shyaam Manohar Jha! That's the truth!" Khushi cried.

But Devyani was shaking her head. "That's what the judge has decided. I want the truth, your truth."

"You won't believe me..."

"Trust me, I will."

The firm reply made Khushi freeze. She sniffed, her eyes closed, and all the nightmarish images from that day came back to her.

"It had snowed. We were just leaving Nainital, entering that small wood. There was a car that had stopped in the middle of the road with its lights flashing. Shyaam said the person probably needed some help. He stopped the car and got down. I had told him not to but he said it would be quick. And he went away. I was reading my book, I didn't realise how much time had passed but then it started to become dark and I realised he was taking too much time. So I got down."

She felt the lady squeeze her hand.

"I called his name but he never answered. I went up to the car and he was lying dead there. The knife was sticking out of his neck... I removed it... I didn't kill him. I much as I hated him for abandoning my mother I couldn't kill him! I..."

"Shh," Devyani caressed her hair gently. "I know."

"I didn't kill him!" Khushi repeated, opening her bloodshot eyes.

The woman before her nodded sadly and helped her get up."Let's show you your room okay?"

Devyani understood this only too well. Her husband had been in the police force for years before losing his life in a shootout ten years ago and he had told her how innocent people were punished for another's crime just because the people charged with the investigation were too lazy to find the real culprits.

It was the same with this poor girl. She had lost her mother already and had no other family. Her father had abandoned her and her mother before she was born. They had set this up as her supposed motive. They had affirmed she had killed Jha because of what he had done to her mother. But those people had never thought what she would get out of that except for a miserable life. What had worsened matters was the fact that she had held the knife that had been used to kill Jha. Her fingerprints were the only ones found on the weapon and it had sunk her deeper in the mess.

But she could also say that common sense was not something the jury, judge, lawyer and all the other people had. The girl had only just turned sixteen. She was sane of mind. How could they relate it to the savage with which Jha had been killed?

Having studied psychiatry, Devyani could say that the real assassin must have been older with some knowledge in human physiology and mentally sick. Because Jha had been crudely stabbed in the neck in a way so as to puncture his voice box, which had why neither he had been able to scream for help, not Khushi had heard him. Then, he had been stabbed forty five times in the chest, giving him a slow painful death, after which the knife had been left in the neck.

The origin or owner of the car might have helped in proving Khushi innocent but it turned out that the car had been stolen from a dump yard. Instead of digging further, it had only seemed appropriate and less time-consuming to sentence Khushi. She was defenseless, an easy prey...

And that was how Khushi Malik had unjustly been accused and sentenced for Shyaam Manohar Jha's murder...

Edited by ShikhaKhushi - 10 years ago

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ShikhaKhushi

@ShikhaKhushi

Rocker

+ 4

Posted: 10 years ago

Chapter 2 - Going South

She watched the doors open in anticipation and glanced at Devyani, who nodded once in encouragement.

"Go."

Khushi gulped and doubtfully looked at the plump woman who stood by the car, awaiting her. She hugged herself nervously before starting to walk. Two whole years she had spent in this facility, repenting for a crime she had never committed. It had not been such a nightmare, but it not been so easy either.

She had been teased for having murdered her father. They had played disgusting pranks on her. But fortunately, Devyani Gupta had been there to support her. Of course she could not openly fraternise with Khushi, but she had always been there for her. She had urged Khushi to keep her studies going from inside the facility. And today that she was being freed, the young girl did not know what to think or feel. Where would life take her now?

Devyani walked her to the lady. "Khushi, this is Madhumati. You will be leaving with her for now, okay? Don't be scared. Just go."

The girl's gaze swayed to Madhumati who smiled comfortingly at her, and with a last withered glance at Devyani, she got inside the car...

***

She trailed her eyes over the house. It was not very big, but she had never seen such a beautiful house before. Well, that was obvious since she had spent most of her life in an orphanage and then, there had been the facility...

"Whose house is this?" she asked Madhumati.

The woman smiled at her affectionately. "Devyaniji's."

Khushi turned to her with undisguised astonishment.

"She will explain everything to you when she returns. I'll show you your room for now," Madhumati said as she walked up the stairs. Khushi followed her meekly, feeling very confused and uncomfortable. "Here, this is your room. You can have a bath and get settled. I'll be preparing something to eat and drink for you, alright?"

"Thank you... Ma'am," the girl stuttered.

But Madhumati cupped her cheek, chortling at her. "You can call me Buaji."

***

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

Khushi turned only slightly to acknowledge Devyani's words. Her eyes remained on the leaden skies outside the window. She watched the branches waver under the winds that grew yet stronger in sign of the impending storm.

"I could not tell you, Khushi. It would be against the protocol to... Do you understand?" Devyani said softly as she walked up behind her. The girl nodded, still looking away, and the lady sighed. "You will stay here only for a month. I will enroll you in a university in Ooty."

"Why can't I stay here?" Khushi asked softly.

Devyani gave her a sad smile and caressed the top of her head, her eyes full of motherly affection. She had never had a child of her own and that was her biggest regret, but since she had known this girl, it felt as if that wish had been fulfilled, even though it would not last long.

"I would have kept you here with me, if I could," she gently explained. "But I want you to move on in life. Your case... your father's death... these things are still very fresh in this area and because of this, you won't be able to study here. They won't even let you live in peace. Ooty is far enough, no one will know you there. And yes, I have one request."

The tears were blinding. Nothing or no one but ill-luck was permanent in her life... She gulped and nodded.

"Will you change your last name to Gupta? It will reassure me. It will erase any doubts that may arise around you and if the person who did that to your father tries to find you..."

Devyani couldn't go any further than that. She had tried to talk to Khushi about this several times before. In the facility, she had been safe. But now, she was out in the actual world. Shyaam's real murderer could be looking for her. She was the only person other person who had been present there that day and she might represent a danger... Devyani, retreated to the door, pausing on the threshold to look back at Khushi, who continued staring into the heavens that had closed up on her.

"Think about it Khushi. You deserve a better life. I am just sorry that I cannot prove your innocence."

***

Devyani squeezed Khushi's hand as the bus rolled into view. "Remember my instructions well, okay? And your tickets, money, everything else is with you, right?"

Khushi smiled tightly at her and nodded as the older woman wrapped her arms around her for a farewell hug.

"Take care of yourself, child. Study well and remember to call me once you reach there, okay?"

The girl nodded again, breaking Devyani's heart. She never spoke much. Her life and all the miseries she had faced all along had destroyed her. She could only pray that the suffering would end here and that this young heart would learn to beat properly once again...

"When the time is right and you have finished your studies, I will call you back, Khushi. And someday, you will find the happiness you deserve."

There was no response to that. Khushi just hung her head and turned away.

***

Her eyelids fell shut while she let the wind recklessly whip her face, her hair slapping her cheeks. She barely felt the sparks of pains. In a way, they were comforting. It reminded her of her mother. Of the times when life was a bed of roses. When she was nice, her mother would take her for a walk in the mountains during the weekends. The winds would blow hard in those heights turning their cheeks red. A faint smile grew on her lips. She could still hear the tinkling laughter of her mother, feel her presence. If only that stroke had never happened...

"Do you mind if sit here?"

Her eyes fluttered open in alarm and she stiffened at once, staring warily at the young man who smiled at her with a friendly expression.

"Actually, I gave my seat to that little boy over there. He was sitting on his grandfather and it was getting pretty uncomfortable for both of them."

Clutching her bag closer to her, she nodded ineptly and he flashed a lopsided grin at her before sliding in.

"So where are you from?" he asked. "You don't look like you're from Delhi."

"Nainital," she muttered, not quite willing to having a conversation. It had barely been thirty minutes since the bus had departed from Delhi and she was already annoyed. It had not been very easy for her to move through the crowd and find this bus.

"Really? Must be very beautiful there, right? And I heard it snows too? But I'm sure it isn't as beautiful as you."

Her head snapped up briefly and she scowled at him to show her displeasure at his attempts to flirt but he seemed to have expected such a reaction from her since his lips were twitching as though to hide a smile and his eyes glimmered with humour. She slid her gaze back to the scenery outside as they started leaving the city behind.

"I'm from Delhi, by the way," she heard him chuckle and she clenched her jaws together, controlling her irritation.

She felt him lean closer to her, feigning interest in the landscape too. Khushi whipped her head around to tell him to stop it but all she could do was to suck in a surprised breath. He was so close their noses were almost touching. She could nearly distinguish each shade that made the rich brandy and caramel of his eyes, which held copious amounts of flirtatious amusement. Colour crept up her cheeks despite herself. She was not impressed, not at all. It was just the first time that someone of the opposite sex was so close to her.

"She is beautiful, and therefore to wooed," he whispered. "She is a woman, and therefore to be won."

It was a line from Henry VI, by William Shakespeare. A hardly perceptible smile touched her lips as she recognised it and his smirk widened.

"Expectation is the root of all heartache," she quoted back in response, trying to sound as indifferent as she could.

He shrugged and straightened himself. "We'll see."

She bit her lip and looked back outside, hoping to have shattered all his anticipation with her coldness but he tapped her on the shoulder to capture her attention again within the second that followed.

"Tell me your name, I'll tell you mine."

Edited by ShikhaKhushi - 10 years ago

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ShikhaKhushi

@ShikhaKhushi

Rocker

+ 4

Posted: 10 years ago

Chapter 3 - Such A Journey

"Just leave me alone," she grumbled, turning away.

He pouted but remained silent from then on. Khushi let her fists relax with relief. Exhaustion took its toll on her and she found herself sinking in a dreamless sleep. And she was thankful when there were no dreams... because the dreams were never anything good...

***

The bus screeched to a halt, waking her up. She frowned as she adjusted to the new surroundings. It was pretty dark outside. She started lifting her hand to rub her eyes, only to realise, from an unfamiliar pain in her neck, that she had fallen asleep on her neighbour's shoulder. Crap! She jolted upright. He was looking at her with an amused smile.

"So, you finally woke up?" he grinned at her cheekily. "Drool quite a lot, don't you?" Her eyes widened as they snapped to his shoulder. His shirt was dry and unblemished. But his grin had widened when she had looked up with annoyance. "Hey, I was just joking, yaar!"

Flustered, she turned away from him and looked outside instead. And she had no idea of her whereabouts. Despite herself, she felt panic rising inside of her.

"It's eight thirty in the evening," her neighbour explained to her calmly. "We are in Chittorgarh, we have stopped here for the night. We'll leave again tomorrow morning at seven."

She looked back at him with hesitation. "Thanks," she mumbled half-heartedly and clutched her bag closer to her. Oh lord, what was she to do now? She had nowhere to go to, she hardly knew the place, she had never had a normal life that could have taught her how to deal with a situation like this. She was lost... Tears began to pool in her eyes, making her feel terribly ashamed of herself. She was no baby!

The stranger next to her tilted his head. "Are you hungry? I know a nice dhaaba nearby. They offer lodging accommodation too, you won't have to worry about finding a place to sleep." She bit her lip as a mixture of emotions swirled inside her. She had been so rude to him. Why did he want to help her? As though he had read her mind, he smiled kindly at her. "It's your first time travelling this route alone, isn't it? You do look like you could use some help. I know there's no reason for you to trust me, but you can. I promise, I won't take advantage of you or anything. Anyway, I am starving, so... do you want to come along?"

She gulped. Did she have another choice? Besides, what could he do to make her life any worse than it already was? She nodded and followed him out of the bus. He jumped off the last step that was rather high above the ground and helped her down, like a gentleman and walked side by side with her as he led her to the dhaaba.

"I'm sorry for annoying you earlier," he said repentantly after a few minutes of awkward silence. "I was just trying to be friendly but when I thought about it later, I realised I was down-right creepy. Sorry."

Khushi shrugged. "You are forgiven."

He smiled at her and extended his hand. "I'm Arnav."

"Khushi."

His eyebrows went up. "Oh... wow..."

"What?"

"Nothing," he chuckled. "You just... you don't honour your name very well, do you?"

She didn't respond to that. He muttered another apology and remained silent. Khushi sighed, feeling sorry for him. She knew what he meant and she regretted it because if her mother had seen her like this, it would have hurt her a lot. She had not always been like this. Before, she used to be cheerful and playful, just like the name her mother had chosen for her with so much love. But ever since Shobha Malik had passed away, right in from of her young eyes, Khushi had lost the will to even smile. Things had gone so downhill for her after that, she didn't think she would ever be able to smile again. They sat on one of the cots facing each other and ordered their food. She notice that he was avoiding to look at her completely.

She cleared her throat. "I am sorry too. For being rude earlier." He stared at her with surprise but she really meant it. She had been awfully rude and he was helping her. She had to apologise. "I am not a very social person... I don't really know how to behave around people." That was also true. Even before her mother passed away, she had had no friends. Everyone seemed to have a problem with the fact that her father was absent. After Shyam's murder and during her confinement, she had mostly kept to herself. And people had rarely been as nice as he was being to her. She did not know how to react to that.

"It's okay," he smiled at her. "Where are you off to?"

"Ooty. I'm going to university."

His brow went up again. "Hey, that's so cool! I go to university there too! It's great! But... Nainital to Ooty... isn't that a very long distance?"

"I could say the same thing to you," she replied, aloof. She always felt this distanced from people. Like nothing could get to her. "Delhi is quite far from Ooty."

"Touche," he chuckled. "Actually, I decided to go to university there because that's where my mom had gone to study. Nana was in the army so she travelled a lot with him. They were in Ooty during that period of her life and she studied there. She really loved it. That's also where my parents met. Dad was on a trip with his friends, bumped into Ma, fell in love, got married after a few years and poof! Here I am! I also have two brothers and a sister. I'm the second one and our sister is the youngest. Do you have any special history with Ooty too?"

She shook her head. "I needed a change of space," she sighed, hoping that she was going far enough to forget.

***

"Ready to go?" Arnav smiled at her. She merely shrugged in response. "Okay, we should be in Ahmedabad by two in the afternoon latest and our train to Bangalore is at three thirty. Is there anything you want to do while we wait?"

"I don't know," she replied, deadpan. He regarded her seriously for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Khushi, do you ever smile?"

Her stoic expression did not waver and he shook his head. "We'll have to do something about you soon, or I will go crazy."

***

"So, what are you going to study?"

He was definitely the most curious and talkative person she had met in her entire life. Not that she had met a lot of people, but still, he was. "Journalism."

"Nice," he turned in his seat so that he could see her properly. "I'm studying law. It's my final year. Dad's a lawyer, he has his own firm. I'm going to join in when I finish."

That piece of information about him made her wince. She did not have a happy memory of lawyers. It made her feel sick instead...

"Uh-oh, looks like someone does not appreciate lawyers."

After the treatment she had received from them? She would never be able to trust one... But this one... Maybe he was pretending too...

***

Dropping his bags at his sides, he stretched his arms. "We are early, eh? We have about two hours, what do you want to do?"

Khushi balanced her own bags carefully in her hands. "What do you usually do?"

"I am asking you, baba! Is there anything at all you want to do? Eat something, see some place, do some shopping?"

She shook her head. She just wanted to get to her destination, settle down and forget.

"Okay," he sighed. "Come."

***

They had dropped their bags at a hotel for the two hours and he had taken her around, just in the vicinity. Then, half an hour before the departure, they went to fetch their luggage and headed to the train station. Arnav placed the bags appropriately. He had been able to strike a deal with the person who was supposed to share the compartment with her since he had a first-class ticket with him. So now, he would be sharing the compartment with Khushi, which was appropriate because the other guy had appeared quite seedy.

Arnav flopped down on his bunker. "Okay! To Bangalore now!"

She sat down on hers silently and looked outside. The platform was crowded and the sight, both unsettling and calming. Shuddering, she turned her eyes away to find him watching her oddly. "What?" she patted her face to see if there was something but he only smirked at her, shaking his head.

"Nothing. You just look so detached." He propped himself on an elbow. "Miss your parents?"

Her heart started hammering in her chest and she automatically clenched her jaws tight. "No."

Edited by ShikhaKhushi - 10 years ago