Snippets

III. Freedom

[Warning! This chapter deals with little violent scenes.]

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Her legs carried her as if they had a mind of their own. Pain coursed through her feet and her heels were throbbing from running a mile or so. She had slowed down when she had tripped over her own leg and hurt her palms. The skin was raw and pink where she had planted her palms on the concrete road. Those aches, although, were nothing compared to what she had been feeling for years.

His footsteps echoed the empty walls of the hall. As the sound grew louder, she could feel her heartbeat growing as well.
He was late. It was almost past midnight.
Even though there was no clock in her line of sight but the struggle to keep her heavy eyelids open gave her the idea. She stiffened when he got close to where she was sitting.

Her sobs had grown silent a long ago. Her body was screaming at her to stop and rest. Her mind, on the other hand, had a clear destination. Her arms and legs were decorated with bruises. Her mind was scarred with betrayal and torture from the most loved one.

He stopped in front of her. Without giving her a glance, he dragged out the chair across from hers and dropped down with a loud thud. Her fingers gripped the edge of the dining table as she barely controlled herself from flinching.

A car went past by her at an impossible speed yet she remained unfazed. There was yet a long way to go, she reminded herself as she willed her legs to move faster. She wasn't always the one to run away from any challenge life throws at her. But she was tired now. She was exhausted.

She got up from her seat and served him dinner which she had re-heated a few minutes ago. His eyes never met hers neither did his mouth utter a word. But somehow it took everything in her to keep her hands from trembling. She was terrified of him while he was busy typing away on his phone to even notice her distress. But she was glad. She was glad that his attention was not fixated on her.

Her gaze strayed skyward. The stars looked spectacular tonight. They looked at peace, unlike the chaos that was once brewing inside her. Despite her actions and it's consequences, she let her lips quirk upwards in a smile. Blinking away the tears, her mind reeled her back to a similar night when the same stars twinkled above and she had done something she would regret the rest of her life.

"What is this shit?!" He spat the food out as his seething gaze landed on her. This time she couldn't help but flinch. She already knew what was coming and she embraced herself for the impact.
He got up with such fierce strength that the chair fell down with the noise reverberating through the walls that had heard far worse than that.

She remembered, as she kept walking, the day she had planned her escapade with him, the man she believed she was in love with.
Why would she not?
He was the man she had always dreamt about. The man who made her feel like she was the part of his life that he couldn't live without. He asked her to marry her and she accepted at once. She felt like the happiest being alive that day.

He grabbed her arm in a death-like grip. She bit her lip, keeping herself from wincing.
"I asked you a bloody question!"
She remained frozen to the ground and closed her eyes as his hand flew and hit her bony cheeks. The pain vibrated through her body. The area where his hand struck her cheeks were getting heated and she knew it would leave an imprint. Am imprint of the injustice she had been enduring past three years.

The biggest issue that remained, she reminisced, was that he belonged to a very different caste from hers. Her family would never agree to it. Both of them knew it. Hence, one day, she broached the subject of running away to someplace far, far away. He had a job, a home and he loved her with all his heart. What more did she need anyway?
A newfound pain evoked in her as she knew the man she had loved so much had broken the free soul that resided in her.

She fell down due to the forceful slap. The familiar metallic taste of blood dissolved in her mouth. Tears rolled down her cheeks but she didn't give him the pleasure of the cries of her agony.
"All you have to do is cook. And you can't even do that properly." He grabbed her cheeks with his right hand in a hard grip. Her eyes remained glued to the floor while his face was inches away from hers. "Tell me why am I keeping you here when you can't even provide me with decent food."

Each day she cursed the unfortunate time she had decided to elope with him, the day she betrayed the love of her family and the day she had broken the trust of her friends. This is karma, she thought. A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as she compelled her legs to carry her forward. A few more moments of regret and heartache and soon it'll be over. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand as she led the path lit only by starlight.

His vice-like grip left her face and she breathed in a sigh of relief among the hiccups. She expected more to come but it didn't. Instead, he walked over to the table, grabbed his plate and hurled it across the room. The plate shattered as the food contents flew all over the path it had taken.
"Clean up the mess!" He barked his orders and stomped all the way to their bedroom.

The bridge was in sight now. She could hear the water of the river flowing. The sound brought with it a sense of solemness with it that she embraced delightedly. Her pace increased as she reached the mid of the bridge. A light breeze caressed her sweaty skin as she breathed it in. A sensation of coolness tingled her skin and she felt at ease after years.

When she heard the bedroom shut, she had made her mind already. She knew what she was about to do and how she was gonna do it. She knew no one would bother to come after her and this was her advantage. She picked herself up, gave a last glance to the shut bedroom door and started to walk away. She needed to leave for the freedom of her soul. She needed to do this to relieve herself from the torment.

The water was effortlessly flowing in the forward direction. Her hands rested on the cool metal railing of the bridge. Her eyes were directed at the waters. Free, dark and enticing as if it was calling out to her. This is it then. At this moment, I declare myself free. I'm sorry to everyone whom I'd caused any kind of pain. A small smile spread on her lips.

And with that thought, she left.

And with that thought, she jumped.