One Fateful Dawn

Chapter 32

Yogini Anand

I froze.

My hands were shivering when I pulled the revolver out of the glove compartment. Why did Rudra have this, I thought.

Before I could keep it someone grabbed the revolver from my hand.

"What are you doing" Rudra almost yelled as he took the revolver from my hand.

"Wh-Why do you have that," I asked. 

 "It's for protection Yogini" he sighed as he kept the revolver back in the glove box. 

"Protection from them," I asked, "Do you even know how to use it"  

"Yes it is required and yes I know how to use it," he said and closed the glove compartment, "We should get going now," he said and closed my door. He sat in the driver's seat and started driving towards Tanot. We were hardly 30 minutes away from Tanot and I was getting anxious. My hands were sweaty and I was nervous as hell. I didn't realise I was shaking my leg when suddenly Rudra kept his hand preventing me from shaking my leg. 

I glanced at him sideways and a playful smile danced on his lips as he focused on the road ahead. 

"We have reached" he said and I looked in front of me the gates of the village were wide open and the hustling and the bustling of the village was evident. Rudra started driving once again. 

"What are you doing, why are you driving," I asked. 

"Calm down," he said and he drove further into the village and stopped exactly in front of the Bhavani Mandir. 

The last time I was here the situation was entirely different. I could see those scenes flashing in front of my eyes making me shudder. 

Rudra gently squeezed my knee and gave me a reassuring look when I looked at him. I nodded at him and got out of the car. I looked around the village and most people in the marketplace had gathered around me. Some of them recognised me while still the other looked at me as if I was a specimen. I saw the sarpanch and more people from the village council sitting under the tree and stood up as soon as they saw me. They were ready to charge at me with their rifles but then Rudra came and shielded me from their harsh gaze. 

"Madamji," one of the panchayat members said and they came near us, "You shouldn't have come back here," he said and took out his dagger and started coming towards me before he was stopped.

"Ramlal" the sarpanch kept his hand on his shoulder and stopped him, "What do you want now Madam Ji," he asked, "You have already unleashed Bhavani Mata's wrath on us. is there anything more you want to do" he yelled. 

"Please can you all hear me out once" I pleaded as I came in front of Rudra, "What all you were doing is morally and legally wrong. By killing someone you can never please the goddess especially when you were about to kill a girl who hadn't done anything wrong, it would have not brought you any good" 

"No madam Ji now because of you the government is not going to do any developmental project here and we would remain in this barren land forever and our children will perish to hunger and thirst in this land," one of the women from the crowd said. 

"No it is not true," I said, "For that purpose only I am here," I said and grabbed Rudra's arm and brought him with me, "He is the one whose company will be helping you out," I said frantically. I myself had not realised how desperate and helpless I sounded in order to convince all of them as quickly as possible so that nothing fatal happens to us, to Rudra. 

The panchayat members looked at each other and then at us. 

Before they could say anything Rudra said.