5 views
#2 Kept in the dark
#TheWritingProject *Please read Part one if you haven't, before reading this
Devaj sat on an easy chair,his cold eyes fixed on a far away valley.He never felt lazy in the afternoons,like his subordinates.He didn't know what relaxation and laziness were.Those were just excuses,the people working under him weren't ambitious like him,they can never be.The hunger for power and dominance wouldn't let him rest.
"Father.."He tore his eyes away from the large window he was looking through till then,and slowly looked in the direction where the voice came from.It has been ages since he heard it.
Aparna,his daughter...his only child who made him aware that even he was capable of loving someone,stood in front of him.Her husband,Aadil too.
And who is that hiding behind Aparna?Oh.A little girl.A splitting image of her mother.The very same big brown eyes,curly hair and a dimple on her chin.Very beautiful,he thought.
"What brings you here,my child?After all these years,you suddenly remembered me?"He finally said,after a long silence."Pita ji,your grandchild.Aashna is her name.We thought we'll bring her to you when she was a year old,but I fell sick.."
She urged the child to go to her grandfather.Aashna toddled curiously toward him,her pigtails bobbing up and down with each step.Devaj cracked a smile,that quickly faded away."Nanaji.."the child said,grinning,showing her tiny front teeth.
Devaj blessed her,not out of love,but because it's tradition.Nobody could replace his daughter,ever."Maybe you should leave now.It must have been tough to get a permission for coming here,isn't it?"He said,not once looking at Aadil.
That's when Aadil lost it.His father-in-law wouldn't even look at him properly,let alone address him while talking.Nothing changed.He was fed up of being treated as if he separated his daughter from him."Uncle,I don't mean to disrespect you,but you treat me like a stranger.Not even acknowledging my presence.A bit of the love you have for your daughter...Is that too much to ask for?I love your daughter.Isn't it clear to you,even after all this time we have been together?"
"Would you die for her?"Devaj asked,sneering at Aadil."I know you are a fake,your love is fake.You are here for the money.My hard earned money.My daughter is just a pawn in your game,isn't it?"He said,his voice dripping with contempt.
Aparna's attempts to calm them down were in vain.She knew that the difference in their values and beliefs would lead to a day like this.They were always at each other's throats,but this time,they are taking it to a new level.
She turned back after trying to call for help,but they were not in the room.
She spotted Devaj's robe in the balcony of his room.Aashna followed her mother,clinging to her,as she ran towards the two most important people in her life.
Aparna was staggered to see a new shade of her father.It wasn't just rage,it was hatred,the murderous look on his face said it all.The balcony wasn't the same anymore,it was a platform split into two halves,like the earth split during an earthquake,as her father pressed a tile with his feet.
She couldn't reach them.She was on the other end.The gap was too large.Desperate to stop them,she looked for anything to help her get across.
Aadil struggled to breathe,with a slit on his throat,drenched in his own blood.Her father looked like a venomous snake,like he waited for this moment for years.A housekeeper rushed into her side of the balcony. "Sanchita,please do something,please!Stop this madness!Aadil.."Aparna dropped to her knees,suddenly hearing a ringing sound in her ears.Something warm trickled down her neck.
Sanchita stared at the ground,her hand held a rod stained with blood.Her tears of betrayal to her friend,a sister she never had,blended in with the pool of blood at her feet.
**
"I was such a coward.I let them die.I did nothing for them..A traitor like me shouldn't live..They bled to death.Devaj made a sacrifice that day.He made them wear lemons in their necks.That is a ritual done to bring good luck to whoever has performed it..What did the little girl do?He wrung her tiny neck.."Riyaaz's greatgrandfather's memories seemed to haunt him,robbing him of his peace and happiness.
He blamed himself for being a bystander.The guilt was taking a toll on him.He refused to eat and sleep,and when he did,he often woke up in the middle of the night,soaked in sweat,gasping for breath.
Connecting the dots,Riyaaz understood that his Devaj needs him.He knew that his grandson is growing up somewhere,yet he chose to let him live.He needs Riyaaz for something crucial.It can't just be a sacrifice.It definitely was something more.
Should he avenge his family's death,the family he never got to be with?And where were his wife and son?His mind was overflowing with questions..
**
Leaving his men on guard,Riyaaz and Prayag left the old man in their village, and drove through the impenetrable forest,to the cave of the vyaghras.Danger lurked around the corner, they knew.But did they have a choice?
The road was blocked by boulders and electrical fencing,like they expected.There weren't any attempts to kill them so far..
"Aisha!?What are you doing here?And where is our son.."Riyaaz jumped out of the jeep.He stopped in his tracks when he noticed what his wife was wearing.She brought Basheer before her,and picked him up,an uncharacteristically cruel look on her face.
The pair of friends didn't feel the bullets pierce their chest,dangerously close to their heart.They looked at their wounds,the at the gun in Aisha's hand.Her arm was steady,and they knew instantly that only a sharp shooter,with years of practice could have such precise aim.Her eyes weren't soft,and kind like they were.They resembled someone's..The friends thought hard,before they blacked out.
To be continued..
© wallflower
Devaj sat on an easy chair,his cold eyes fixed on a far away valley.He never felt lazy in the afternoons,like his subordinates.He didn't know what relaxation and laziness were.Those were just excuses,the people working under him weren't ambitious like him,they can never be.The hunger for power and dominance wouldn't let him rest.
"Father.."He tore his eyes away from the large window he was looking through till then,and slowly looked in the direction where the voice came from.It has been ages since he heard it.
Aparna,his daughter...his only child who made him aware that even he was capable of loving someone,stood in front of him.Her husband,Aadil too.
And who is that hiding behind Aparna?Oh.A little girl.A splitting image of her mother.The very same big brown eyes,curly hair and a dimple on her chin.Very beautiful,he thought.
"What brings you here,my child?After all these years,you suddenly remembered me?"He finally said,after a long silence."Pita ji,your grandchild.Aashna is her name.We thought we'll bring her to you when she was a year old,but I fell sick.."
She urged the child to go to her grandfather.Aashna toddled curiously toward him,her pigtails bobbing up and down with each step.Devaj cracked a smile,that quickly faded away."Nanaji.."the child said,grinning,showing her tiny front teeth.
Devaj blessed her,not out of love,but because it's tradition.Nobody could replace his daughter,ever."Maybe you should leave now.It must have been tough to get a permission for coming here,isn't it?"He said,not once looking at Aadil.
That's when Aadil lost it.His father-in-law wouldn't even look at him properly,let alone address him while talking.Nothing changed.He was fed up of being treated as if he separated his daughter from him."Uncle,I don't mean to disrespect you,but you treat me like a stranger.Not even acknowledging my presence.A bit of the love you have for your daughter...Is that too much to ask for?I love your daughter.Isn't it clear to you,even after all this time we have been together?"
"Would you die for her?"Devaj asked,sneering at Aadil."I know you are a fake,your love is fake.You are here for the money.My hard earned money.My daughter is just a pawn in your game,isn't it?"He said,his voice dripping with contempt.
Aparna's attempts to calm them down were in vain.She knew that the difference in their values and beliefs would lead to a day like this.They were always at each other's throats,but this time,they are taking it to a new level.
She turned back after trying to call for help,but they were not in the room.
She spotted Devaj's robe in the balcony of his room.Aashna followed her mother,clinging to her,as she ran towards the two most important people in her life.
Aparna was staggered to see a new shade of her father.It wasn't just rage,it was hatred,the murderous look on his face said it all.The balcony wasn't the same anymore,it was a platform split into two halves,like the earth split during an earthquake,as her father pressed a tile with his feet.
She couldn't reach them.She was on the other end.The gap was too large.Desperate to stop them,she looked for anything to help her get across.
Aadil struggled to breathe,with a slit on his throat,drenched in his own blood.Her father looked like a venomous snake,like he waited for this moment for years.A housekeeper rushed into her side of the balcony. "Sanchita,please do something,please!Stop this madness!Aadil.."Aparna dropped to her knees,suddenly hearing a ringing sound in her ears.Something warm trickled down her neck.
Sanchita stared at the ground,her hand held a rod stained with blood.Her tears of betrayal to her friend,a sister she never had,blended in with the pool of blood at her feet.
**
"I was such a coward.I let them die.I did nothing for them..A traitor like me shouldn't live..They bled to death.Devaj made a sacrifice that day.He made them wear lemons in their necks.That is a ritual done to bring good luck to whoever has performed it..What did the little girl do?He wrung her tiny neck.."Riyaaz's greatgrandfather's memories seemed to haunt him,robbing him of his peace and happiness.
He blamed himself for being a bystander.The guilt was taking a toll on him.He refused to eat and sleep,and when he did,he often woke up in the middle of the night,soaked in sweat,gasping for breath.
Connecting the dots,Riyaaz understood that his Devaj needs him.He knew that his grandson is growing up somewhere,yet he chose to let him live.He needs Riyaaz for something crucial.It can't just be a sacrifice.It definitely was something more.
Should he avenge his family's death,the family he never got to be with?And where were his wife and son?His mind was overflowing with questions..
**
Leaving his men on guard,Riyaaz and Prayag left the old man in their village, and drove through the impenetrable forest,to the cave of the vyaghras.Danger lurked around the corner, they knew.But did they have a choice?
The road was blocked by boulders and electrical fencing,like they expected.There weren't any attempts to kill them so far..
"Aisha!?What are you doing here?And where is our son.."Riyaaz jumped out of the jeep.He stopped in his tracks when he noticed what his wife was wearing.She brought Basheer before her,and picked him up,an uncharacteristically cruel look on her face.
The pair of friends didn't feel the bullets pierce their chest,dangerously close to their heart.They looked at their wounds,the at the gun in Aisha's hand.Her arm was steady,and they knew instantly that only a sharp shooter,with years of practice could have such precise aim.Her eyes weren't soft,and kind like they were.They resembled someone's..The friends thought hard,before they blacked out.
To be continued..
© wallflower
