New FF: Escape Last Part Page 49

Chapter One

It was cold. Gopi was completely soaked but she knew she must keep moving. The wound was still bleeding. She was leaving a trail. She has to find a place to rest. She was growing really weak from the blood loss. She had to patch up her wound before it was too late. She turned right but all she could see was darkness. Where could she go? What was she going to do? A sudden bleak light caught her eye. Maybe she can go in there and ask for some help. She was wet and cold. She walked towards the house and knocked but there was no answer. She could still see the light. It was faint but it was there. She knocked once again. She turned the knob only to discover the door was unlocked. 'Should I go in?' she thought. She slowly pushed open the door and walked in. It was abandoned and filthy. She discovered where the light was coming from. She looked around for something to burn. The fire quickly turned bigger and lit the place up. She could make out faint pictures against the wall. They were dirty. Someone once lived here, but the house had definitely been abandoned for years. She made out the picture of a small family. She couldn't see the faces very well but it was a couple with a small child. They looked happy. She wondered what their story was and what had happened to them. The pain from her cut drew her from her thoughts. She grabbed a small pail from the corner and filled it with some water. She put it on the fire. She needed to clean her wound. That was the only way it would stop bleeding. The water came to a rolling boil and she cleaned and dressed her wound. Gopi was weak from the blood loss and cold. 'I'll just rest here for a little while before I make my way out. Maybe wait for the rain to stop.' She was tired. She quickly fell asleep by the warm fire.

The morning light woke her up the next morning. She looked around and remembered the events of the night before. They brought tears to her eyes. She had been kicked out of her home. She no longer had anyone in the world to rely on. She was all alone. She quickly put out the flames from her fire and collected her belongings. She needed to get as far away from this city as she could. But how was she going to do that? She had no money and she had nowhere to go. Maybe she should turn around and go back. She'll beg if she had to.

"STOP IT." She screamed at herself. "You don't have a husband and you don't have a family. Why are you crying over people that don't love you? People that don't want you anywhere near their home. That home isn't yours anymore Gopi." She looked down at her mangalsutra and the memory of her wedding day came to her. That day had been the happiest day of her life. It was a mere memory now. She wouldn't need this anymore. She quickly took it off and wiped away the sindoor from her forehead. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She being a married woman couldn't wear these signs anymore. She didn't have any right over them any longer "Why wear the signs of a married woman when your own husband doesn't want you?" She quickly stowed the mangalsutra in her bag and walked out of the house. She had to face the world sooner or later. The sunlight felt good against her face as she walked along the streets. The street was deserted as it was still early. She suddenly heard a commotion across the street. Gopi looked around to see where it was coming from. She saw a man lying down on the street. He was being robbed. She had to help him but how? Those men were too strong for her and they had knives. She had to get someone to help him. "Stop it. You're hurting him." She screamed at the men before bolting away. She needed to steer them away from him before they killed him. She heard footsteps behind her. She looked back to see the men chasing her. She looked ahead at the police station and screamed.

"HELP!" No one was around and she was still too far from the station for anyone to hear. She saw the rocks in front of her and stopped. She knew she wouldn't outrun them. She grabbed the biggest ones on the ground and aimed. Before they had a chance to see what was happening she was gone. Gopi ran into the police station. "Help me. There are two men chasing me and they have knives. They were hurting an elderly man down the road. Please come with me quickly." They ran back to where the man was and helped him up. The thieves were long gone. There was use in trying to chase them.

"You are a very brave girl. Thank you. You have saved my life. If it wasn't for you those two men would have killed me."

"Don't thank me babaji. It was my duty to help you." The man was touched. He had met many people in his life and they had all had a motive behind their actions. This girl didn't know him, didn't recognize him and she put her own life at risk to save him, a mere stranger to her.

"Beta, I have never met a more gentle soul than you. What is a girl like you doing out in the streets by yourself at this time of night?" The old man saw the suitcase in the corner of his eye. It suddenly dawned on him that this poor soul had nowhere to go. She was wearing a nice sari. She looked like she was from a good family so what was she doing out here at this time?

Gopi did not know what to say. Her chin dropped and tears began to roll down her eyes. The old man understood everything from the look in her eyes. What kind of heartless people would do this to such a sweet girl? He had spent his whole life working hard to make money. He had been so busy working that before he realized it he was old and all alone. He had all the money in the world, but he had no one to share it with. He was Sanjeev Shah the richest most well-known businessman in all of India but he had no family. He was constantly surrounded by people but was always lonely. He had no one to call his own. Everyone put up a front and acted as if they cared but he knew better. They were after his money. They knew he had no heir, and no family to leave him money to and they wanted it. He had met many kinds of people in his life but he had never met a girl like her.

"What's your name beti? Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Ji my name is Gopi." She couldn't bear to say anything beyond that. He understood that she didn't.

"You saved my life today beti. You called me baba na. You will come live with me as my daughter. I have no one in this world either. We will be each other's family. Come on. Let's go home." Gopi looked up at the kind man and smiled. He led her down the road to a parked vehicle. "My car has broken down and I was just waiting for the mechanic. I don't live very far from here. Let's walk and I will send my driver to come fetch the car later." When they finally reached their destination Gopi was taken back. This was where he lived. To call it a house was an understatement. It was bigger than anything she had ever seen before. MM had been big but that looked like a cabin compared to this mansion.

"Baba do you work here? Don't worry I will do all of your work so you can have complete rest. I will do my share so that I will not be a burden." The old man chuckled at her response. She really was an innocent child.

"Nahi beti. I don't work here. I live here. This is my house. I own it and you will not lift a finger here do you understand. This is your home now as you have called me baba. Everything that is mine is now yours." Gopi couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She had a home. She had a family, small, but still a family. She slowly walked through the gates into her new life.