Ratneshwari

Chapter 34

Ratneshwari had refused to marry Dhruvan. But it is not hidden from him that she had actually wanted to marry him. She had thought of giving a second chance to herself.

Dhruvan was sitting alone in his room. It was night and the lights in his room were switched off. It had been one month since he saw her. It was true that he was grieving over his lost love.

His mother entered the room and switched on the lights. She sat beside him. She gently caressed his head. She had tears in her eyes.

"You did not come for dinner."

"I have lost my hunger."

"I know that you are hungry. It is 11 o'clock. The food has turned cold. Shall I warm it up for you?"

"I don't want to eat anything."

"I know that you are angry with me. But don't punish yourself like this. Eat something and then you can continue to express your anger towards me."

"Amma, I have already told you that I am not hungry. Please leave me alone."

"It is about that woman, isn't it?"

"Amma, please leave me alone."

"Look at the mirror at least. Look what you have done to yourself. You are my son. I cannot see you like this."

"Amma, it is already late. Go and sleep."

"Marry her if you want. I will not say anything. If I get back my son in this way, then be it. Marry her! Call her tomorrow! We will perform the rituals and fix a date for your wedding."

"It is of no use, Amma."

"What are you saying?"

"She is not going to marry me. She is scared of you, she is scared of me, she is scared of everyone in our family."

"What do you mean?"

"She has suffered long enough. She is afraid of suffering again. She has a pain in her heart. She does not want me to give her any more pain. She has embraced her old agony. Let her live with it. She has asked me questions that I cannot answer. Now, I am afraid of myself."

"W......."

"Amma, please go. Please leave me alone ."

His mother left the room. She closed the door and saw her husband standing near the door. She hugged him and cried. Her husband also had tears in his eyes. She said,"I only wanted him to be happy." Her husband hugged her back and said,"You cannot even imagine what you have done. Now, that poor woman will never think of remarrying in future and will have to die alone. Have you seen what you have done to your son? Do not disturb him. Let him grieve. This too shall pass. Just leave him alone for some time. Pray to God for him."

(Ratneshwari's home)

Ratneshwari was sitting on the terrace. She was looking at the moon.

She said,

"Look at yourself, O' king of the night sky,
Look how miserable you are!
You are so close to us,
Yet you are so far.
They talk of your beauty,
But are they blind to your scars?
Laugh at me, O' miserable king,
O' king of the night sky!
But tell my beloved,
That I had tried to reach him,
Ask him, why did he stand so far?"

Ratneshwari heard someone footsteps. She was scared. She lived alone in the house. "Who could it be?", she thought. She hid herself and carefully looked around the house. There was no one. Then, she saw a shadow. A shadow of a man carrying an axe. She hid behind a curtain. This time, she saw a man. She saw an axe in his hand. She clutched the curtain tightly and as a result, it tore and the curtain fell on her. The man had noticed her. He attacked her with the axe. She moved away but the man managed to injure her hand. She was scared. She saw that the door was open. She ran towards the door and left the room. The man was running behind her. She ran towards the main door but could not open it. She started crying. She saw the man in front of her again. This time, she ran towards the terrace. She looked back and saw the man again. She screamed loudly. She was running when she felt that she was falling down. Then she realised what had happened. She was looking behind and running when she fell down from the terrace. The whole world turned black and she could not see anything.

Ratneshwari opened her eyes and found herself in her room. She was sleeping on the floor. She was confused. She stood up and tried to sleep on her bed when she felt a movement beside her. She turned to the other side and saw someone. She felt relieved.

"Shiv, you are here?"

"Yes, I am here."

"Where is that man with the axe?"

"I have taken care of him. He will not bother you anymore."

"When did you arrive?"

"Just a few moments ago. The door was open. So, I entered the house."

"Sheetal will be angry at you if she comes to know about this."

"Sheetal is not a part of my life anymore. You are my life, Ratna."

"And your baby?"

"There is no baby, Ratna. Perhaps, it was another wild dream of yours."

"Really?"

"Pinch me and see if you don't believe it."

"It is real. You are with me for real. Don't leave me alone. Be with me always."

"How can Ieave my beautiful wife? I love you so much, Ratna. I love you so much."

"I love you too. I love you more than anyone else."

Ratneshwari felt relieved when she saw Shivan. She hugged him tightly and slept.

(Next morning)

Ratneshwari felt as if the sun rays were falling on her directly. She opened her eyes and saw that she was sleeping under the open sky. She was confused. She looked around herself and realised that she was sleeping on the terrace. She could not understand anything. She clearly remembered sleeping beside Shivan the previous night. She looked at her hand. There was no injury. She remembered something. She had forgotten to take her medicines. Then she realised that, she had not taken her medicines for two days. Everything was her imagination. "There is not even an ounce of truth in whatever I saw last night.", she thought.

She took a bath and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast for herself. She took her plate and sat in front of the TV. She was watching the news while having her food. She finished her breakfast and went to the kitchen to wash the plate. She did not switch off the TV.

The news reporter said,"The recent murders have shaken Coimbatore. Every other day, people are getting murdered. The identity of the murderers are still unknown. Last night, two women were murdered in their house. A bloody axe was found in their house but the forensic team has not found any fingerprints on it. A special unit of police officers has been formed to investigate these murders."

Ratneshwari came back and switched off the TV. She got ready and left for school.