I indecisively held the edge of the study table. I hadn’t come up with my final thoughts yet. I needed some more time to think but the time was over. My heart was beating furiously.
Think Maya think! Think of something to beat them. Punish them for harassing you and your little daughter. Think hard Maya! You have got your family which is entirely dependent on you. Rajat wouldn’t be able to handle himself after you and Sejal are gone.
It was the time for the final call. I had to fight with might and mane. Lion and Jackal seemed hell bent on killing us. Sejal was very scared and when she heard words like death and knife she started to shout and throw wildly herself side to side in fear; shaking the chair vigorously. Jackal came over and spanked her hard; so hard that her lips started to bleed from the right corner. She let out a loud cry and then went quiet. Her head hung down and her body lay still like a statue. Her eyes were shut with no limbs moving. She looked like she was dead!
My eyes went wide with horror. Her sudden silence had stunned me. What had happened to her? Was she alive or….? I couldn’t think further. I was sauntering towards her. But Jackal blocked my way and pushed me back. I stumbled back and hit the study table behind.
I managed to stand up. My back was facing them now. “We need to finish her off now, Jack. Take the knife and do it quickly. I will hold her hands.” From the corner of my eyes, I saw Lion throwing knife towards Jackal. My body was trembling with fear and anger. What they had done to Sejal had blown my mind completely. Sejal must be alive. She couldn’t leave me. She was my daughter and I loved her with all of my heart. Tears trickled down my eyes. I felt Jackal behind me, ready to take control. With all my strength I picked up the stone vase placed in front of me on the table and held in my hand. I waited for the right moment. When I sensed Jackal a few inches away from me, I turned back and hit him with the vase. The vase hit him hard on his forehead.
“Ouch! You bitch! Catch her, Lion and finish her” he screamed loudly as he fell back.
“How dare you slap my daughter? What had you done to her, you bastards? Why is she not moving?” I ran towards Sejal as quickly as I could after hitting Jackal.
“Sejal! Sejal! Open up your eyes, baby. Open your eyes,” I rocked the chair but she didn’t flinch. She was still, deathly still. I held up her face in my hands.
“Please Sejal, my baby! Open your eyes. Talk to me baby,” I was crying uncontrollably. Blood was trickling down her lips, staining my palm. My hands started to tremble getting drenched with my own daughter’s blood. The pain of losing her was something that I could never survive. Rajat would become mad with his little princess gone. She had placed a request for a doll just last evening to him. If he found his own doll dead, he would never come out of this tragedy.
I turned back with fire spitting eyes. I clenched my fist and hissed.
“You, morons! What the hell have you done to my daughter? She is not moving. I will not spare you,” I said chewing every word. While Jackal was on the floor holding his head which was bleeding, Lion started to come forward. He was smiling.
“She is dead. Can’t you see it? She is not moving. See,” and he rocked the chair with his legs. I pushed him with all my might and he fell down a few steps away from the chair.
“Don’t you dare touch my daughter, you pig head! You are not worth it. You are not worth anything good in this world,” I shouted at him, my entire body was shivering with anger.
Lion regained himself quickly and ran towards me in anger. He was highly vulnerable and I could see it. The anger had blinded him. Without thinking, he came closer. I mustered all my strength and kicked him hard on his groin. He leaned forward as a natural reaction and I hit his face with my knee without missing a beat. The blow was hard. His nose started bleeding and a few drops of blood dripped from his beard.
“You….” Holding his bloody nose with one hand, he tried to grab me with the other but I pushed him away with another thrust of my leg. He fell down and groaned in agony. He had become weaker after the two firm blows.
“Now how does that feel…huh?” I repeated Jackal’s words. I was mad with vengeance. Then I turned to Sejal and held her shoulder shaking her vigorously.
“Get up Sejal. Please get up. Don’t leave me,” I was crying when Jackal came from behind and grabbed me. I tried to break free but could not. “Leave me! I said leave me” I shouted at Jackal. Just then Lion too came over and punched my face with his fist. I felt a wave of pain as my bruises singed.
My all anger came out in a loud scream. Losing Sejal had shaken me immensely. Sejal had been the only hope for me; she was the motivating factor for me to do something; to get out of here but now that she was gone, the pain of losing her started to overcome my courage and confidence. I looked at her and called out to her again. Her face was resting on the back of the chair, leaned towards her right side. Her eyes were still shut. She was the reason behind my battle and now that she was gone, I had lost my purpose. I felt my inner self drying up and quickly turning into a barren field. I found myself losing again.
“Oh come on, you can’t be dead, baby. Don’t go away. We love you. Come back.” I pleaded and struggled to break free.
“She is dead, you poor lady. Can’t you see that?” Lion said with a devilish grin, wiping the blood from his face.
“No! You can’t be dead Sejal. You just can’t be.” Tears rolled down my face.
Lion picked up the knife and walked towards me. I stopped struggling. With Sejal gone, my world was torn apart. I would lead a useless and meaningless life. Even Rajat wouldn’t be able to fill that void.
I was prepared for my death now. I myself wanted it more than ever now.
My eyes were fixed on Sejal all this time. I had completely given up when I saw Sejal’s head coming back to life. She was moving. Lion was about to shove the knife into me when I shouted out with joy.
“Sejal! Sejal! Mamma is here. Wake up.”
She was not dead. She had just fainted. I was so relieved to see her alive. I smiled at her.
“Umm… Mamma… Mammaaaa!” Sejal whispered.
Lion and Jackal looked in the direction of the sound of her voice. They saw Sejal moving weakly on her chair. Lion and Jackal were startled to see Sejal alive. They thought for a minute.
“Jack! You stay here. I am going to finish this little one first. She is causing too much trouble for us. I am just done with her” said Lion clearly irritated. He turned towards Sejal with the knife
“Nooooooooooo!” I screamed. I jumped up and kicked Lion as hard as I could. Jackal and I fell back on the floor. Lion lost his balance and tripped. He fell down heavily on the very knife he was holding. He screamed as it pierced his stomach. I gasped as the blood spurted out, profusely staining his shirt. The knife that he was going to drive in my daughter’s body proved to be his own death tool. Lion tried to turn over. His face grimaced with surprise. The knife was stuck in his stomach. Holding its handle, he mumbled, “Whatttt! Johhnnn… ahhh,” before becoming still.
He was dead.
Fortunately, Sejal was still fairly unconscious to notice all this.
Jackal froze. He couldn’t believe what just happened in front of him. Lion’s death was something he hadn’t anticipated. His eyes went wide in fear.
Now he was all alone on the spot; the spot where he and his partner had planned to rape a woman; where they had made a plan to kill a mother and her daughter. But their plan had certainly taken a bizarre turn.
“Lion! Get up Lion. Don’t leave me alone. Get up, you idiot,” he was clearly panicking. He let go of me and I took advantage of that. I hit his face from behind as hard as I could with my right elbow. The blow would certainly numb his senses at least for a few seconds and that would be enough for me to put this gruesome game to an end.
“Oh shit!” He fell back holding his nose, I picked up the same vase and hit him on the head. He began to crawl on the floor in sheer pain. The vase had hit on his fresh scar. I hit him for few more times to cla
mp him down..
“You bitch,” he abused me. He was twisting with pain on the floor where I had been some time ago. Our roles were mysteriously reversed
Without losing any more time, I ran to Sejal, quickly unfastened her from the chair and lifted her into my arms. I threw a last glance at Jackal.
He was sitting on the floor, writhing with pain. Time had come to bowl him over with my last shot. “And one more thing, you moron; I am not HIV positive. I was simply lying.”
I spat the fact on his face. He shot a frustrated glance at me. He was surprised and disgusted for falling prey to my lie. I kicked him hard again and ran out of the room locking it behind me.
Love Conquers All
Ihurriedly ran towards the main door. I ran out and locked it too behind me. I took a long deep breath. The morning breeze welcomed me along with the warm sun rays. The sun was up above the horizon. The warmth I inhaled soothed my aching body and slowed down my pounding heart.
I sat down at the doorstep to even my fast breathing. My head was throbbing like someone was pinning nails into it. I put Sejal on my lap and covered my face with my hands. Jackal’s brutal bites hurt and blood still oozed from few cuts. I touched them, one by one. There were total of ten bite marks he had crafted on my face and neck. I rested my head back at the door. Everything looked blurred. I still wasn’t in the state to believe that what happened the night before was vivid reality, not a dream. Everything seemed incredible, like I would just open my eyes and would find nothing had happened. I gradually tried to gain control over my senses.
I was feeling heavy within and I wanted it to unload it as soon as possible. But I was in a whirlpool of complex emotions and I had to let it out in some way or the other. I cried. I cried to banish my fear; I cried for my family; I cried for my little daughter; I cried at my own helpless state; I cried that the night was finally over. I cried as I called out for Rajat in a whisper.
“I have saved us, Rajat. I have saved your little princess.”
I let my tears flow unabashedly down my bruised face. I checked the door again. It was firmly locked. I had to compose myself before I reached out for help. Jackal’s and Lion’s despicable acts were still hounding my soul. I was still heavily gripped by fear. I looked at Sejal. She was still unconscious. I caressed her forehead. She twitched a bit when I touched her mouth where Jackal had slapped her hard. The blood had gotten dry in patches. I took her into my arms. I had saved her; I had saved both of us. As this victorious feeling sunk in, few more tears rolled down.
Gradually the tears started to cleanse my trauma and finally I gathered some courage.
The night is over and so is the nightmare, Maya.
I thought and got up to reach out for help.
I held Sejal tightly in my arms. She was still not in her complete senses and was mumbling a few words to me. I comforted her and started walking.
My neighbours were Shekhar and Shruti and their seven year old daughter Diya. Shekhar’s parents also lived with them. Diya and Sejal were good friends. They studied in the same school and used to spend a lot of time playing with each other. It was because of their friendship that both the families got close. I was about to knock on the door when it swiftly opened. Uncle and Aunty were going for their morning walk. They were startled to see me in such an incomprehensible state.
“Oh my god, Maya! What happened? Are you okay?” Uncle asked while Aunty touched my face. They were shocked at my state.
“No, Uncle, I am not. Can I please come in?” I asked entering inside without waiting for their answer. I put Sejal down carefully on the couch and turned to them. I was coughing. A flummoxed Shruti hurried to get me a glass of water. I gulped the water down the second I held the glass like it was the last glass of water I’d get. She sat next to me and noticed the blood stains on my fingers and face.
“Oh, my god! Blood! Is this blood, Maya? What happened?” She freaked out. But I called out for Uncle.
“Uncle! Please call the police. There are two criminals inside my house. One is dead and another is locked up inside the room. Please hurry, Uncle,” I managed to tell him. All the other members of the family had gathered around me by then.
“What?” They said in unison. They were shocked to hear this.
“What has happened, Maya? And which criminals you are talking about? And what are these? Blood and the bruises? Tell us everything,” Shruti said anxiously.
I looked at everyone’s faces around and finally said. “Last night, two criminals broke into my house. I fought back with my all strength and saved both of us. Now they are in my house. I will explain everything but please call the police first. Shruti, please get me a glass of warm milk for Sejal. And Shekhar, I need to call Rajat. Can I have your phone?” I spoke as calmly as I could. I didn’t want them to freak out by indulging into the details this soon. My physical state was enough for them.
“Of course! Here it is,” Shekhar held out his cell phone towards me. Shruti brought a warm glass of milk for Sejal. I gently woke her up. After a few minutes, she got back to her senses. She refused to drink the milk and cuddled beside me. She was extremely scared of what had happened with her. There were reddish finger marks on her cheeks.
Everybody had decided to let us settle down first before asking us questions. Uncle called the police while I made a quick call to Rajat giving him a brief explanation of the incident. He was flabbergasted and got ready to leave immediately. Rajat was all I wanted at the moment and when I heard he was leaving at once, I relaxed. It was half past five in the morning and he would be with me probably in three hours. After making a call to the police, everybody gathered around me. Aunty was caressing Sejal’s head but she was glued to me. She was constantly refusing to talk to anyone. She was crying with fear as she muttered about the slap she had received. Now I could feel four pair of curious eyes probing my face.
Aunty touched my face and asked warmly, “What had happened to your face, Maya? There are bruises all over it. And what slap is Sejal talking about? Tell us, Maya. We are your family too,” Her gentle voice gave me confidence. I told them everything but hid the HIV trick. People don’t take such things very positively even if you are not infected. Also, I had used it in my defence and did not want to tell everyone about it.
“One of them hurt me, Aunty and the same person slapped Sejal too. She is very scared right now,” I said as I comforted Sejal. There were no more tears left in me to shed. Shruti hugged me lovingly and patted my back.
“Hurt you? How? I mean… did they…” and she trailed off biting her lips. There stretched an ominous silence for some time. I realised what she was going to ask. The same question was hesitantly hanging on everyone’s face. I sighed. They were thinking I had probably been raped. But thankfully I had some good news to burst the bubble of mind boggling silence.
“Thankfully and luckily, no, Aunty. I am saved. I got all these bruises because one of them bit me very hard but after a hard fight we both are safe,” and I hugged Sejal. I had been so close to losing her. An audible sigh of relief ricocheted off the walls.
“Oh Maya! Thank god you both are safe but I feel so sorry for what happened,” Shekhar stepped forward showing his compassion towards me.
“What happened with both of you is really shocking and saddening. But how did they enter the house? And when did Rajat leave for Mysore?” He asked. They knew Rajat was due to left that morning.
“I don’t know how they got the keys of my house. Maybe they had a skeleton key or something like that. Rajat had to leave last evening because of some wedding ritual and those criminals knew I’d be alone at night. That’s why they planned everything out.” I looked at Shruti and held her hands.
“It’s still hard to believe we are out of a snare, Shruti. I was so scared I can’t tell you. I thought I was going to die” Shruti nodded and pressed my hands in compassion.
“Oh Maya! It’s horrible to listen to the torture you have endured but why didn’t you call us the moment you
realised someone was entering?”
“The balance in my mobile was finished last night after talking to Rajat. That’s why Uncle, I could not make a call.”
“Oh. A pimple grown upon an ulcer. But we are happy to see you safe and sound. Get some rest now. No one will bother you with any more questions. Take care of Sejal as she is not coming to any of us. Rajat will be here soon. Do you want to go to the doctor now?” Uncle asked.
I relaxed as explaining the night’s incidents was the last thing I wanted to do. But as soon as Uncle mentioned Rajat, Sejal cried loudly to be with her father. I hugged her and calmed her down by saying he would be with her very soon.
All I wanted was to cuddle her and hide somewhere safe until Rajat arrived.
“No thanks Uncle. I guess I’ll be fine. I badly need some rest. I can take some painkillers in case I need any,” I said standing up. Shekhar came forward to hold Sejal but she screamed and clung to me.
Everyone was stunned to see her reaction. Aunty’s eyes brimmed with tears seeing her like this.
“She is very scared right now, Shekhar. Please understand. Let me talk to her,” I said and turned to face her.
‘Sejal! Baby! It’s fine. It’s fine. Nothing bad is going to happen now. Everything is fine now. This is Shekhar Uncle. You remember how much he plays with you? He will not hurt you, sweetheart.”
But she was too scared to understand anything. She said in a terrified tone.
“No, Mamma. He will throw me on the floor like that man did.”
I was shocked to hear her. She had been deeply affected and I couldn’t say how much. It had left her scarred enough to not trust anyone, even familiar faces.
It’s Never Too Late Page 13