Part 2:
He walked in circles restlessly round and round the small living room... waiting impatiently... containing his rage and reining in some... some other feeling that was causing very weird feelings in his heart. He checked his watch for the hundredth time... and it was looking as if time was running slower now if that was even possible. It had steadily become slower and slower since he had heard those words from her mouth.
He had walked away from her and walked out the door and as soon as he could breathe again he had called his sister. Normally, he would have dealt with this situation without his sister ever getting a wiff of the situation... if the girl sent to him had been a professional... but even a blind person could tell that the girl in that room was no professional... she was innocent... she shivering voice, her trembling body, her frightened actions and her helpless eyes all pointed to one thing... an innocent who had been pushed into this situation... His blood boiled and his palms fisted... his heart thundered at the injustice...
The door burst open stopping him in his tracks and pulling his thoughts back to the present. "Chote!!! What the heck was so important that I had to leave what I was doing and come immediately..." She stopped looked at her brothers serious eyes and she immediately knew, something was really wrong... so she lowered her voice and said "Chote... what is it?"
He calmly looked at her body guards who had come in with her and they took the hint and immediately cleared out. He walked his sister and said "Di... I ..." he hesitated this was going to be the first time he was going to discuss something with her that would say he was a man now and he knew about adult physical relations... it was embarrassing... he hesitated... but she put her palm on his cheek looking worriedly at him and said "Chote... you can tell me anything... you know that right?"... Erasing his doubts and insecurities... he had forgotten for a second she was not just his sister she was his mother too... so he said "Di there is a girl in that room..." she frowned and looked in the direction he was pointing... "The village people... they... hmm they sent her as a bribe... so..." he never got to complete the sentence "Ooh shit... Chote... these people will never learn..." and she moved towards the room he had just pointed at very briskly.
But she paused at the door and said "Is she ok, chote?"... he looked at her directly and said "She... she is scared Di..." "F*****G B*****DS..." she said stunning him with her outburst and the next second disappearing into the room.
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Women... their tolerance is their weakness and their strength... but it is handle for manipulation for men... she walked into the room blinking her eyes briskly to adjust her eye to the darkness. She could make out that someone was standing in the corner of the room... close to the intersection of the room walls... standing a bit too close... she was not standing there Anjali realized with a pang... she was hiding... she hated the whole world of men... her heart twisted in pain for the girl.
She softly but clearly said "Hi..."... smiled one of her brightest smiles, though she knew there was little chance the girl could see her smile and said "My name is Anjali... can I know your name?"
"Ji... Khushi... my name is Khushi..." Anjali smiled and said "Khushi... very sweet name... Khushi... I am here to help you... nobody will hurt you now... do you know where the light is in this room?" she spoke softly soothingly so the girl does not feel threatened in anyway.
"JI NO...NO light... NO light..."Anjali frowned not understanding why she didn't want any light... but it took no time at all for the Raizada brain to put two and two together..."Ooh God!! They had taken her clothes away from her..." Tears stung her eyes, she felt rage boil in her blood, she would slay all the men in this village... she would not even need her brother or her body guards for that. But she controlled her voice to not show the anger or pain she felt so she does not make the girl feel more embarrassed..."Where did they put your clothes... Khushi?"
The girls voice trembled as she answered Anjali and Anjali knew her eyes were flowing a river... Anjali wanted to go and hug her but she knew with the experience from working with battered women that sudden moments usually scared them more. "JI... daima... she... she dropped me here in this room and asked me to take of... my... my..." she couldn't finish "then she took them and went away... daima didn't tell me..."
DAIMAAA... ooh god if women don't help women... how in the world can we expect men to help women... She felt ashamed for the actions of one women against another. Anjali bucked up and said "Khushi... I will leave the room for just few minutes I will be back before you know it... don't be scared ok... I will come back... I am right outside this door..." she assured the girl and turned and left the room.
She needed to breathe...
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He was waiting with bated breath for his Di to come out and come out she did and without even paying any attention to him walked straight to the front door and said "Raju... Raju please bring my reed suitcase here... quickly please..." She didn't open the door wide she just poked her head out and said it. He watched her as she quickly took the suitcase from the door itself thanking her body guard and closing the front door firmly.
She laid the suitcase down and opened the zip and quickly pulled out one of her salwar and kurta. Then it struck him... ooh God he had completely forgotten that she was not properly clothed... He was so grateful that he had brought his Di along for this trip. She looked up then as if just now realizing that he was also in the room with her...
She smiled slightly at him and said "She will be ok Chote... I have seen worse situations at the NGO... I know she will get through this..." he nodded blindly... numbed by what his sister had just said "she had seen wrose!!... wrose than this!!" he was a grown man he knew evil existed in this world but to take a front seat in the action always showed things in a different light... he unknowing said it aloud "Wrose?"
His Di had almost reached the door, turned slightly in his direction and said "Lets... just say she is lucky it was you that went into that room..." and disappeared into the room again.
He shuddered to think of what could have happened to the girl if it was anyone else... the reality that there were many many other women out there going through such situations and being destroyed... he took a deep breath, if he cannot give up life to help these women, he would give up what he can to help them, he picked up his phone and texted Aman.
"Aman, from this year forward, we will give a percentage share to the NGO that Di runs and RI will never turn down a monetary help request from any charity that helps women in need... make sure this reaches the accounting and legal departments and ask them to have the necessary papers ready on my desk, I want to sign them the minute I get back to my desk." He hit send...
He frowned Aman might come and try to talk to him, he was not going to let anyone in now... so he walked out the front door on to the veranda, closing the door firmly behind him.
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Anjali stepped into the room and this time she knew in which direction to look, so she turned that way and said "Khushi... I got some clothes for you... come here please and change into these clothes... they are mine... I will go outside and stand just outside the door... ok?"Anjali said putting the dress on the big bed in the room.
Just as she reached the room's door, she heard the girl's soft voice say "Anjali ji... Dhanyavadh...", Anjali smiled in her direction and then reached for the door and she heard Khushi's panic stricken voice say "Anjali ji... please could you stay... I... I am very scared of the dark...if you... if you turn that way I can quickly change..."
Anjali's heart twisted, a young girl who was afraid of the dark... was made to seek darkness to conceal her modesty... Her throat blocked with pain... so instead of answering to Khushi she just turned away from Khushi and stood there, her hands folded in front of her.
A few moments later, the light came on and Anjali blinked adjusting her eyes to the light. She turned around and stared at the girl in front of her. She was beauty personified, long flowing hair almost reaching her hip, glowing milky complexion, but her most beautiful feature was her eyes, big, soulful and innocent. Anjali also noticed she looked malnourished and her face was tear stricken and her lips looked parched... probably dehydrated from all the crying.
The girl was like a bag of bones, it was more enhanced in Anjali's dress which was probably twice her size... she looked hesitantly at Anjali and Anjali realized that she was staring at the girl. So she straightened up and said "Khushi, did you eat anything?... no don't answer I know you didn't... I will go get some food and water..." and turned to leave but remembered something and said "Don't stand Khushi you look tired, sit or lie down..." she told Khushi and pointed at the bed in the room and Khushi looked at her startled as if to question if SHE could really sit on the bed... Anjali sighed... shooke her head and walked over to Khushi and held her shoulders in a feather light touch and walked her to the bed and made her sit on it smiled looking into her big scared eyes to give her courage and then stood up to leave the room and just as she opened the door she heard Khushi speak again "Anjali ji... is HE your husband?"
Anjali knew who she was referring to and turned and smiled at Khushi and said "No Khushi... HE is my brother..."
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