chapter 7
She seems to have gone through hell. Why is that man threatening her?
Chapter 9
They’d been running through the deep forest lining the highway for a while now, constantly changing directions to lose whoever might have been tailing them. Shiva was afraid he would lose consciousness any minute now but he pushed himself to keep going. For Raavi! For Raavi! He kept telling himself. He stumbled on a rock and fell, losing consciousness almost immediately.
“Shiva!!” Raavi crouched beside him and pulled him onto her lap. She was shaking - from exhaustion, from fear - not for herself, she realized, but for him. She took a couple of deep breaths as she felt the onset of a panic attack. Now was not the time, she told herself firmly as she pushed the crowding thoughts away and looked around. Shiva needed her right now. The darkness could come later.
Without thought, she clasped her hand around his locket and held onto it, grounding herself. She focused on the rough edged feel of the rudraksh bead in her hand and the cool smoothness of the trishul it hung from. Her eyes focused on Shiva. Her breathing easing into the same pattern as his as he lay unconscious. She was here. Shiva was here. She repeated in her head till she felt her heartbeats calm down.
A few meters away, she spotted what looked like the flickering flame of a lantern. Maybe she could get some help but she found herself unable to release her hold on his rudraksh pendant. She couldn’t leave him. Whether it was because of the remnants of her own panic or concern for him, she did not pause to ponder. She held him tight as she hoisted him up with her and draped his arm over her shoulder, struggling to bear his weight as she walked toward the light, dragging him along.
“Namaste! Mera naam Raavi hai. Aur yeh Shiva. Isse chot lagi hai. Humme madad ki zaroorath hai. Please hamari madad kar dijiye,” she told the older man who opened the door to the cottage where she’d spotted the light of the lantern. The older man looked at Raavi skeptically. “Kahan se aayi ho? Aur ek ladke ke saath jungle mein kya kar rahi ho?” The man asked, his voice giving away the fact that he’d already judged and sentenced her in his head. Raavi could’ve engaged in a sermon about how it was none of his business, but right now was not the time or place. Shiva needed help. “Hum Somnath se aaye hain. Hamari gaadi highway pe kharab ho gayi aur kuch gundon ne humpe hamla kar diya aur Shiva ko chot lag gayi. Unse bachthe bachathe hum jungle mein gum gaye. Ab please Aap hamari madad karenge?” She asked, at the end of her patience.
“Pan yeh tera hai kaun?” The man stood adamantly blocking the doorway. The stress of the situation, the exhaustion from running was all catching up on Raavi as she struggled to hold Shiva upright. “Pati.. Pati hai yeh mera,” she replied. It wasn’t entirely untrue, she reasoned. “Pati?” The man trained his hawk-like gaze on the two of them. “Na mangalsutra, na sindoor.. hum maan kaise le ki yeh tera pati hai?” In her head, Raavi cursed the man’s moral policing to hell, but she was desperate. Taking a deep breath, she slipped her hand into her skirt pocket to pull out a small cloth pouch that she carried with her all the time. Out of the cloth pouch slid her mangalsutra..
The one Shiva had tied around her neck because his bhabhi asked him to..
The one she’d taken off because it meant nothing to him..
Or her..
She held it out to the older man, “Ab aapki pooch thaach khatham ho gayi ho tho hum andar aa sakte hain?” The man finally nodded and let them in, even helping Raavi hold onto Shiva. Lakshmi, the man’s wife appeared and he quickly explained the situation to her. “Take him in to the room and both of you get some rest,” Lakshmi immediately ushered them towards the room. “Paani.. paani mil saktha hai, please?” Raavi asked.
It took a while for Shiva to come to. In the meantime, Raavi had freshened up and had gotten something to eat. “Raavi!!” Shiva screamed as he shot off the cot and regretted it as his head spun like a Ferris wheel. Her soft, warm hand came up beside him and rested on his chest, holding him. “Tum.. tum.. theek ho?” She asked, helping him get back into bed. “Tum theek ho?” He asked, panicking, as he examined her arms and face to make sure she was alright. She shrugged his hands off her and scooted away from him, “I am fine.”
Just then, Lakshmi walked in with some food. “I heard you scream and realized you must be awake and hungry. Yeh lo beta, have some food,” she passed the plate to Shiva and smiled affectionately. “Ab tabiyath kaisi hai?” She enquired. “Main theek hoon,” Shiva replied, gorging down on the food. “Tumhari biwi bechari itni pareshaan ho gayi thi,” Lakshmi commented. Shiva stopped chewing and looked at Raavi. Biwi?
“Aapke paas phone hai?” Raavi asked Lakshmi, ignoring Shiva’s questioning gaze. “Hai tho. Kabhi kabhi kaam kartha hai par hai,” and Raavi followed Lakshmi out of the room.
“Nahi Papa.. Main bilkul theek hoon.. Mujhe kal Tiwari ke call ke baad samajh jaana chahiye tha ki kuch tho jhol hai. Par Khanna uncle ne call kiya tha aur kaha ki aapki tabiyath kharab hai tho main bina soche samjhe aise nikal padi. Tiwari ne zaroor Khanna uncle ko dhamkaya hoga. Please aap ek baar Khanna uncle se puch lo woh theek hain ya nahin?”
She was silent for a minute before she smiled a little and said, “Papa please, Maa ko bol do ki woh aur koi mannath na maange. Bhagvan bhi ab tak pareshaan ho gaye honge!”
“Haan, abhi main office phone karke dusri gaadi mangvaane waali hoon. Aap tension math lo.”
“Woh Papa.. Kaka nahi hain mere saath. Woh unki beti ki sagaayi ke liye gaanv gaye hain na?”
“Nahi Papa. Aapko aane ki koi zaroorath nahi. Main theek hoon. Akeli nahi hoon.”
Her gaze met Shiva’s from across the room.
“Woh maine ek bodyguard rakha hai. Aapko hamesha tension rehthi hai na meri? Tho issliye..” her voice drifted off.
“Theek hai! Maa ko bol dijiye ki main kaam khatham karke jald se jald wapas aa jaoongi.”
“Mujhe nahi lagtha Papa ki ek mahina bhi lagega. Aur ek baar kaam ho jaaye tho phir mera iss jagah se aur iss jagah ke logon se saara vaastha khatham.”
“Okay, Papa! Somnath pahunchke aapko phone karthi hoon.”
As she hung up, Lakshmi brought her some tea. “Ghar baath kar rahi thi, beti?” “Hmmm..” Raavi nodded, taking the cup of tea. “Parivaar hi tho hota hai na, Kaki, jise sach mein aapki fikar hoti hai. Ek pal bhi nazar se dur ho jao tho ghabrake zameen aasman ek kar dethe hain aapko dhoondne ke liye,” Raavi commented, her gaze fixed steadily on Shiva as she talked.
***
They survived the attack. Why is Tiwari after Raavi?
Raavi has found a new family who cares for her.
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