by Varsha Dixit
“Shut up, shut up! Keep your voice down. Find some random girl and kill her. Get rid of your itch.”
The figure halted, jerked his head up and glanced around.
A woman was walking ahead of him. By her wrinkled and dirty jeans, faded top and simple footwear, she appeared poor. “This one is not perfect. This one is fat. You know how she looks. She is always beautiful. ‘
“This one is a compromise, you eunuch. If you don’t get your itch out, you will make mistakes. Go take her, kill her, and throw her in the ocean. The storm will take her far away. Her body will never be found. Go!” he assured himself.
“But where will I make love to her? The van is not here.” The man followed the woman on the deserted street, darting quick glances about him to make sure they were alone.
“Love?” A chortle escaped his throat. “What you do to them is not love. Knock her out, take her to the beach, and then do what you want to do to her. Because of the storm, the beach will be deserted. Hurry before someone else comes!” He ordered himself. A chuckle escaped his throat.
The sound caused the woman to stop and cast a look over her shoulder. Their eyes met, and her eyes widened. She saw the madness in his eyes.
“I think we’ve been made.”
The man smiled at her.
The woman broke into a run.
“Ha ha!” He gave chase. He loved hunting! A leopard hunting a fleeing deer. His stubby legs outran the girl. Before she could scream, he lunged and jumped on top of her, bringing her down. A sickening crack and the deer lay still.
“Oh shit! Shit!” He turned the girl around. Blood streamed from her forehead that had cracked open like shell, the brain oozing out like a yolk. He jumped back from her and bending in the bushes, he threw up. He staggered and fell on the ground. The wind was blowing harder, rousing more than dust.
“You, stupid dog! Drag her to the beach.” Words burst from his mouth.
“But! But!” The man scuttled on his bum.
“Before anyone else comes.”
“No, no!” The man whimpered.
“Shhh!” He soothed himself. “Just don’t look at her face. Her body is all woman. You can still do what you like to do to her. ‘
“I can?” The man now got on his fours and started crawling toward the body of the still woman.
“Of course! Just don’t look at her face. She is still breathing.” There was the wild laugh again.
The man shot to his feet and grabbed the nearly dead woman by her legs, avoiding glancing at her face. He dragged her to the pavement and then keeping an eye out for any witness, carried her all the way the beach.
Chapter 44
Salty water coursed over Aisha’s head. She sank in deeper and deeper. Her lungs felt like they were being crushed.
Aisha felt herself choke.
She tried to move her hands and legs, but they lay paralyzed on her sides. Her head throbbed with such pain that Aisha was sure it had cleaved in two. Suddenly, an odd shape came up.
Rocks under water!
Aisha could only stare with horror as the frothy water rushed her body toward them.
“HELP!”
Aisha bolted upright. Her heart thundered and sweat trickled down the sides of her face.
Shit!
Aisha wiped her face.
A nightmare? And I had a starring role in it? Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes and the rock formation loomed back at her instantly.
Familiar black and white stills crossed behind her closed lids.
Thoi.
Julie.
Nafeesa.
Sandhya.
Ann.
“Stop it!” Aisha opened her eyes and jumped off the bed. The list is growing! Now five!
Aisha swung her face sideways. Then, she breathed easy. Kiara slept peacefully at her side.
Last night, Christin, who had been roused out of his bed, had given Kiara painkillers and a sleeping pill.
I must speak to Suva. Who are all these people? What is happening to me? Aisha rubbed her forearms to get some warmth in her body.
Rattling sounds from outside distracted Aisha. She pulled the sheet off that still clung to her legs and padded to the window. She parted the silk curtains and saw the outside.
“Damn!”
The storm was on the horizon. The sky was the color of night in the day. The waves were rising as high as skyscrapers and crashing with enough force to make the wooden and weathered pier shudder. The sea nearly covered the pier. The gale was wreaking havoc on the beach, making tiny sandstorms all over.
Aisha put her hand on the thick glass. It vibrated against her palm because of the bullish wind hitting it from the outside. The dark angry cloud rumbled, and Aisha saw lighting fall in a zigzag bolt and hit the water at some distance. She forgot the nightmare in the raging madness of nature. “Spectacular.”
Aisha cast one more look at Kiara in deep sleep, softly snoring, and then went in the adjoining bathroom.
Sometime later, she took some clothes out of her bags.
Kabir had organized them to be moved from her hotel. Kabir had organized a lot of overnight security for the place, barricading the Villa off in preparation of the storm but all from the phone. No one knew where he was. He had holed up somewhere. Aisha wasn’t even sure he was in the house anymore. She had not seen him after their last conversation.
Where is he?
Aisha stepped out of the room and nearly jumped out of her skin. “Oh excuse me!” She apologized to the security guards at the bedroom door. One of them was a burly woman with arched eyebrows and a masculine jawline. She was dressed in black shirt and trousers with a yellow company logo on her shirt. “Kiara is still sleeping. I’m just going down for a bit.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” She replied. “We won’t be moving from here.”
“Thank you!” Aisha smiled and was about to walk past the door Kabir had emerged from yesterday, bare-chested with shaving foam. She paused and titled her head to the door. There was no sound from the other side. Where are you?
Sighing, Aisha went downstairs. Most of the models were gathered in the informal living room that overlooked the back yard. Front seats to the storm! Aisha went to the dining table that was stacked with food as always. She grabbed a plate and went straight to where the fruit was kept.
“Excuse me!”
Aisha shifted. She saw Kabir’s assistant, Vikas, standing behind her. Aisha’s eyes cooled considerably. She had not forgotten how he had behaved with her the first time she had met him.
“How is Kiara?” Vikas asked hesitatingly.
“Sleeping,” Aisha’s voice was terse.
“If you need anything please let me know. We have security guards posted all over the house. Kiara will be safe now.”
Aisha nodded briskly.
His face color tinged a darker shade. “If you need anything from Kabir, I’m in touch with him.”
“Where is he?”
“Around here.”
Aisha’s eyes slipped to the stormy scene outside. Just hope he is not loitering around out there.
Vikas turned to go and then halted. “I am sorry about . . . that day.” He swallowed and continued. “It was a joke.”
Aisha waited, her expression far from pleasant.
“Please don’t say anything to Boss.” He swallowed heavily. “I need this job. My mother . . . she has . . . cancer.”
“Oh! I’m sorry.”
Vikas gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you. It’s a painful disease.”
Aisha remembered her own mother’s pain. “It is. Hope she gets well soon.”
Vikas lowered his eyes and replied. “She won’t. There is no hope. But, thank you.” He turned to go.
Aisha stopped him. “I will pray for her. But promise me, no more crap like that.”
“Never. Promise. I just got carried away. I’m not the brightest bulb in the pack.” Vikas’s smile was wry.
“You are fine the way you are.” Aisha g
ave him a wide reassuring smile.
“Thank you so much. Let me know if you or Kiara need anything. Anything at all.”
“Will do. Thanks!”
Taking some food, Aisha moved toward the formal living room.
“Hi, Boo!”
Aisha looked up; Kiara stood at the stairs.
“Hi, baby!” Aisha went immediately to her niece.
Aisha noticed the scarf Kiara had draped around her neck. “How are you feeling?”
Kiara came down. “It’s hurting but bearable. I’m ravenous!”
“There is lots of food there.” Aisha shepherded Kiara to the dining room. The models and Amee welcomed Kiara amidst them.
It became dark rather quickly and that is when the electricity went out. The wind sounded like the loud howls of wild beasts. The walls of the house shook with the force of the gale. Invertors came on when it got darker.
By 4:00 pm it seemed like the middle of the night outside. That was the time the rain started, accompanied by hail. Thunder boomed and crashed like a giant machine gun let loose. Bolts of electricity hit the ground outside, washing the backyard in eerie blue light.
There was no conversation inside the room as everyone was freaked by the wrath of nature. Some were chanting prayers.
Fear overcome by faith.
Aisha stood up and stretched. Kiara glanced at her.
“I have to go the loo!” Aisha went in the direction of the stairs.
Amee stopped her.
“Aisha, there are several bathrooms downstairs.”
“I know. I just. . .” I need some me time!
“Take the candle or a torch. Just in case you need one.” Vikas suggested.
“Sure,” Aisha picked up a thick lavender candle and a box of matches kept on the table.
The security woman started to move with Aisha.
“Please, I’m just going to the bathroom. You stay here.” Aisha went up the stairs and entered the suite. It was dark. Aisha lit the candle in her hand.
Another loud thunderclap rolled over the house. She jumped.
A self-depreciating chuckle slipped from Aisha’s mouth. “Idiot!” She took careful steps toward the room Kiara and she were sharing.
A muffled sound made Aisha pause. She immediately halted, all her senses alert.
That wasn’t the storm. Someone else is here.
Chapter 45
The sound came again—a low moan from just behind Kabir’s door. Aisha put her ear to the door. More lightning fell outside. This time the painful moan was louder.
What the—?
Aisha pushed the door open and stopped at the threshold. She took a few minutes to adjust to the darkness for the room was pitch black. The curtains were shut. Only a sliver of light passed through the crack between the curtains.
The room appeared empty. Aisha took hesitant steps in the room.
Loud thunder boomed again.
This time the painful whimper was clear and close. Aisha glanced down. It came from the bed she was standing next to. There was a rolling shape on it covered by the sheet.
Lightning crashed again. The shape shuddered violently.
Aisha kept the candle on the nightstand and gently raised the sheet.
“Kabir!” She cried in surprise.
Kabir lay on his stomach on the bed. His head was buried in the pillows, his fingers fisting in the pillowcase tightly. The shoulders were taut, and goosebumps covered his arms.
“Hi!” Aisha called out, her voice hushed.
Kabir was shivering uncontrollably. She tentatively touched his shoulder. “Oh God!”
His T-shirt was soaked with sweat. Panic seized Aisha. All she knew was that she had to help. Aisha got on the bed. “Kabir! Talk to me. What happened? Please turn around. Please!” She gently touched his hair; it was soft and springy to touch. His fingers continued to twist in the sheets. More thunder boomed over them and lightning crashed outside.
“No!” Kabir turned and before Aisha could react, he hugged her around her waist, burying his face in her stomach.
“Oh!” Aisha squeaked, surprised. She fell back on the bed, her knees bent under her.
She glanced down shocked. His shoulders were trembling. The lightning clapped outside again. His hold around her stomach tightened.
He is scared of the lightning.
Aisha’s inhibitions collapsed on seeing the strong commanding man, who could silence most simply with his eyes, so crippled by fear.
She bent over Kabir’s icy body and spoke close to his ear. “It’s okay! Nothing to be scared of. Lightning is just a natural electric discharge and lasts for only seconds.”
Kabir’s arms stayed clamped around her. Aisha maintained her even tone, frantically remembering all that she had learned in school about storms and read over the years. “Water and ice whiz inside the cloud and the warm air forces them to go up and the gravity, of course, tugs them down.” She stroked Kabir’s head and back, her fingers enjoyed the feel of his muscles and contours. “Everything happens in a cloud that is compressed tight like a box. So, all that push and pull far away from us, very far from us, creates static and thus electricity so it’s a natural phenomenon, nothing to be scared off.”
Aisha heard Kabir murmur something even as he moved restlessly against her abdomen.
“What?” she asked in a hushed voice.
Tilting his head, Kabir turned his face to her. His eyes were clamped tightly, and his pale mouth twisted like he was in mortal pain. “What . . . is thunder?” His voice was hoarse like he had been screaming for hours.
“Oh! I know this one,” Aisha tried to maintain a casual demeanor. She bent over him, her voice in his ears, all the time stroking his back and hair. “All that electricity I mentioned earlier? Do you remember that? Do you?” She forced him to respond.
Kabir nodded in her lap. Restlessly, he moved up to her waist.
“Well, all that electricity needs to get out.” Aisha winced. I’m really winging it here. “So, like a high energy child . . . umm . . . it rushes through the air causing all those particles to bump or vibrate.” Aisha paused and smiled to herself.
Kabir’s skin did not feel as icy anymore and his shivering had mellowed. He moved up and without warning.
Aisha gasped and toppled back on the large bed. Kabir stirred; his body her pinning Aisha down. He snuck his face between her neck and collarbone.
The warmth of his body and the feel of Kabir so close to her rendered Aisha speechless. Oh my!
“Don’t stop . . . please?” Kabir said in her ear, his tone pleading.
“Yes, yes!” Aisha replied breathlessly. “The electric current . . .” She struggled not to react to the feel of Kabir’s hard body moving over her. Mindlessly, Kabir crushed Aisha’s breasts with his muscled chest. His strong arms bound her to him. His chiseled face rubbed continuously against the soft skin of her neck. A strange lethargy filled Aisha. “Is super-hot so it heats up all the . . .” She closed her eyes and her body arched against Kabir as he continued to rub his body against her. “Particles it touches.”
Aisha’s hand, which had been stroking his back reassuringly, now touched him exploring, caressing, and fondling.
Much like the cloud discharging electricity, the air between them shimmered, heavy and charged.
Aisha’s head fell back on the bed. Kabir, still half delirious, spoke urgently against her skin, pressing his mouth against her chin. “Go on. You were saying?”
“Hmm?” Aisha licked her dry lips, shocked by the desire that was swirling in her, much like the storm outside. I will die because of longing.
“The electricity . . . umm,” she inhaled the clean smell of his hair against her face. “When the electric bolt passes through the air, its hotness, in turn, heats the air.” Kabir tightened his arms around her waist, pulling Aisha close into him.
Chapter 46
Aisha closed her eyes even as delicious sensations overwhelmed her body and mind. “When the air heats up, it
expands quickly, forcefully creating more,” Aisha paused as her one hand urgently twisted in Kabir’s hair, pulling him closer and her body shamelessly melted against his angles. “vibrations. Those vibrations are what we hear as thunder.”
In a flash, Kabir grabbed Aisha’s arm and gently pinned them over her head. He now hovered above her, his mouth twisted, yet his eyes were dark and lucid in the flickering candle light. “And what is this fear that I suffer from? This fear I have suffered for decades, Aisha?”
Aisha took her time in answering. She ran her eyes over Kabir’s face. His lashes were wet and stuck to each other. She saw deep anguish in his eyes. Aisha freed one hand and cupped his cheek. Kabir turned his face in her hand and held it against his lips. “Fear is nothing but the past spoiling your present. Nothing else.”
Kabir’s anguished eyes turned tender. His lean fingers touched the side of her eyes. “Why are you crying?”
Aisha had not realized her eyes had overflowed.
The old authoritative Kabir who was good at demanding things was coming back. “Answer me. Why are you crying, Aisha?”
“Because you are.”
Kabir bent his head and kissed her forehead. He placed lingering kisses against her round cheek. “I can’t resist you!” His voice was tortured.
Aisha closed her eyes, relishing a sense of power and desire. “I can’t stand the sight of blood.”
Kabir, again, tucked his face in her neck. Aisha thought she would swoon because of the pleasure as she shifted her neck to give him more room to burrow against her. “Why are you scared of blood?” He asked against her skin.
Thunder rumbled over them. Aisha felt him shiver again. Instinctively, she stroked his shoulders.
The lightning hit the garden outside. Kabir jolted like it had fallen on him. He rolled on his back but dragged Aisha on top of him. Aisha raised her head.
“Kabir, look at me!”
“Go on.” He kept his eyes tightly shut. Kabir’s voice was hoarse, and his skin took on a sickly pallor. Aisha could sense he was fighting his fear.
Aisha moved closer as it seemed to comfort him “I discovered the bodies of my brother and sister-in-law. They were murdered brutally. There was so much blood. Everywhere! I was eleven.” Kabir gripped her hand tighter. Aisha glanced up; eyes open Kabir was really listening to her. “Kiara was a newborn; her face was smeared with her father’s blood. I wiped it off her . . . off Kiara’s face . . . since then I can’t . . .” Aisha’s throat choked up.