CHAPTER 33
Paro kept looking at her watch as she looked through the pending
paperwork. It was just 11 o' clock. She knew her husband must be done with his
shift and will be back soon. She picked up her phone and looked at the
wallpaper of them together. She giggled as she remembered the day they took it.
Shatabdi had shown her how to take a selfie and she had rushed home to get one
with Rudra. She had wanted that a picture of them together for her phone. He
had laughed at her idea and pinched her cheeks saying she was too cute. She had
pouted in annoyance and he kissed her cheek as he clicked her camera. He
refused to take another one so she was stuck with this one. "Such a
Jallad you are! Can't even call your wife before you start," she scolded
his image. Then she unlocked her screen telling herself that she could do the
same thing and call him. She excitedly scrolled down to his name. Her fingers
hovered over the call button when she stopped. She didn't want to be one of
those wives who would bother her husband while he was at work. He said he would
meet her for lunch so he will make it to her soon. Another half an hour she
could be off home.
She was going through some files when she heard the sound of glass
breaking upstairs. She rushed to check on the Birpur girls. Her aunt had told
her that they preferred to be undisturbed and kept to themselves. But she was
in charge today. If there was a crisis, she needed to make sure everyone is
alright. She saw a tray on the corridor along with some glass. She went closer
and saw there were medicines along with it. "Baisa, be careful. We will clear
it up," said one of the employees who rushed there. A volunteer rushed out of
the door as she saw a brass vase being flung out. "She doesn't want to
take her medicine," she explained before bolting downstairs. "Bring
me my brand of medicine next time," came a hoarse voice. Paro asked the
employee what exactly the woman wanted. "Baisa she is in alcohol
withdrawal but she wants us to sneak in liquor. If Geethanjali ma'am found out
she would have our hides," came the reply.
Paro held on to her rudraksh for strength and ventured into the
dark room. Her maasisa had warned her to stay away from them for a while. But
she couldn't resist. This woman needed something which the counselors didn't
have. Maybe the voice of a Birpur native who had been in a similar predicament might
make a difference. She reached the light switch. Before she could turn it on,
she was pinned to the wall and strangled at the neck. "Didn't I warn you lot
to never switch on the light? I am the creature of darkness now. Let me rot in
my own hell," came the hoarse whisper. Paro was shocked when she saw the
ragged face of Vaishalli jeeja. She had changed so much. As a teenager, Paro
and Bindu always admired the charming girl. They had even gotten bangs to look
like her. People used to tease them saying that they looked like mini versions
of Vaishalli baisa. But the years that passed had been very cruel to her. Her
hands were calloused and the once lustrous hair now sparse and lifeless. Her
eyes no longer twinkled with mirth but had nothing but black emptiness to them.
"I'm Paro... from Birpur... I heard the noise...wanted to see if...
everything is alright," she struggled to get the words out. Vaishalli stepped
back immediately and twirled around, "Take a good look. What do you think? Do I
look alright?" Paro noticed the knife mark on her neck. "That was a wedding
gift from my husband. He gave it to me just before he threw me to the
vultures," the other woman explained caressing the scar. She walked upto Paro and
touched the butterfly mangalsutr, "Tell me, who's the animal who managed to
trap a butterfly like you? You know my so-called husband had such plans for
you. We heard that the most beautiful and innocent girl in Birpur was chosen.
Varunsa had already gotten an advance before your baraat started. All he had to
do was pretend to be the man of your dreams until you came to the other side of
the border. Nobody expected the plan to fail," she laughed.
Paro trembled at what happened that fateful day when her world was
turned upside down. "So who is he? The man who convinced you to try marriage
again. You know I can never trust another man after what Tejawat did to us,"
she was asked. "I knew him well before I agreed to marry again. He is a good
man," she replied. Vaishalli laughed at her naivet, "All men seem to be good as
long as they get what they want." She showed her back where there was whiplash
mark, "I got this the first time I said no to servicing other men that my so
called husband brought." She pulled her choli low and showed a bite mark, "This
one is from when I was bitten by a mad man because I didn't give in to him."
It hurt Paro to see so many scars on the girl she used to idolize.
She never expected to see her this way. "No jeeja, don't think so negatively. I
was lost too for a while when my Mamisa was killed and I wasn't allowed to come
back to our village. I didn't know where to go but Geethanjali Maasi found me
and helped me get a new purpose. You will too with time. These wounds will fade
and the memories will be forgotten. Look forward, jeeja. The worst is behind
you now. One day, you will meet a man who loves and respects you for overcoming
these hardships. Then you can have a home and family of your own. Don't stop
dreaming about the future," Paro said earnestly.
Vaishalli held her hands and asked, "You know what I am dreaming
of these days? Scotch. Can you get it for me?" Paro shook her head and replied
that alcohol is never a solution. Her old friend shook her head, "You are still
such an innocent bachi. Some things never have solutions. You only have to
forget about the problem." Paro sighed, her Rudra usually does that ignore
issues and hope they go away. But at least in his mother's case it worked. He
tries his hardest not to think about her and that selfish woman never bothered
about him all these years. Now this trial was kept him preoccupied and she
wanted to help. But everyone is too busy protecting her from her own past. She
is aware that it was Bholenath's grace that sent Rudra to save her from a fate
similar to Vaishalli jeeja's. She had struggled to move past all that. Now she
wanted to do her mite and make sure Thakursa stays behind bars and help the
girls he hurt. Her family unfortunately didn't agree.
Vaishalli saw the thoughts running in her mind, "You also
have something that troubles you. My guess is your husband is ignoring you for
his work. Want me to teach you tricks to make sure he stays tied to your
pallu?" Paro blushed thinking how they were usually stuck to each other
whenever he had tine. "No, his work is important to me too. His entire
focus is on making sure that Thakursa pays for his crimes. You know jeeja, I
thought I would feel less anger towards him and Thakurain once Rudra brings you
all home. But I can't help myself. I still want them to face the
consequences," she admitted. Vaishalli pondered over what she just heard.
"So it's your dewana was the one who came all the way to rescue us,"
she asked. Paro nodded. "He and his friend are very brave and very stupid.
They made a lot of enemies in the process. You love him don't you?"
Vaishalli asked. Paro replied that she loved him more than she ever thought
possible.
"Then why did you send him after us Baisa?" asked
Manjiri a former playmate. "You should have kept him away from us. The man
who owns us will come after him. He was already attacked once when we were
rescued. He will destroy your world. He believes in nothing but himself and his
comfort," she yelled leaving Paro shell shocked. She remembered how her
aunt and uncle always insisted that she travel with a BSD escort. Her husband
had a tendency to ruffle a lot of feathers. Had she made it worse? "I was
desperate to know what happened to my Nandu jeeja. He told me that some of you
were alive and in not very... um... comfortable situations," she tried to
explain. Manjiri laughed, "Not in very comfortable situations? Uffo baisa
your husband must think you are a child if he sugar coated the truth like this.
Here jeeja, try some of this stuff. I heard they confiscated the alcohol."
Vaishalli deftly caught the small packet that her friend threw at
her. "She is Rudra saab's wife. We owe him a lot for bringing us out of
that hell hole. Be nice," she gently chided. A small smile graced Paro's
face as she heard them acknowledged her husband's deeds. Maybe soon they will
realise that they can step out of the darkness and breathe in the light again. "I
heard. Do you want her life to become like Alina Begum? She has to be a little
smart and realize husbands are like. All the stories we heard as children are
not true. BSD are not the villains. Tejawat is a terrible liar. His wife just
pretended to care about us. And marital vows are just for us to follow. For
husbands we are just a commodity with which they can do as they please,"
Manjiri shouted. Paro recognized the name as Rusheed jeejosa's first wife. "Alina
jeeja is Nandu jeeja's... What happened to her?" she asked the women who exchanged
looks. They weren't sure how much to tell her.
Poonam, another woman whom Rudra rescued spoke up as she entered
the dark room, "Alina is a walking dream. Beautiful as a rose kissed with the
morning dew. Rusheed's greatest treasure. No man or woman was allowed to look
at her slender form. She was always clad in burkha with eyes downcast. She had
but one folly. She couldn't bear him a male heir. He started to drink when the
doctor told that he shouldn't force her anymore. He didn't want her health to
suffer but didn't want to give up his dream either. The first time I met him,
he said that beautiful women are fit only for dancing about in skimpy clothes.
They can't beget sons, just useless girls. Mirza made a deal, a different girl
to bed each night for a small price. If one of us conceives, he could buy the
woman. Luckily for the rest of us, Nandu jeeja captured his attention on the
first night. He started to insist on her waiting on him and dancing in his
private chambers only. We don't know what else happened to her. She had stopped
talking to us because of his commands. Eventually she became pregnant and he
took her away," she revealed to a dumbstruck Paro. She had a bad feeling that
the tale wasn't over. But she was too scared to let her continue.
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