ZEHRA
Those words rang in the air, and I stood there, as they reminded me in my head like a radio, repeating again and again. Questions that haunted my mind now.
I took a step back before their eyes could catch me, I turned on the wall hovering over the wall next to the door, taking support of it.
My eyes were wide open, but my sight questioned, they watched into nothing, while my heartbeat fastened,
The intention were loud and clear he wanted me, but he hid something that he felt would distance me.
Yet, the fear of losing this new bound happiness, the idea broke me, a chill running down my spine, every possible happiness just ghosted before my eyes.
No!
I chose to not know the truth, I chose to stay in oblivion, unknown to whatever facts he feels aren't something I should know about.
I have never been more happy in my life than I have been while living here with him, whatever the verity is, it can rest in grave.
"Zehra, are you done?" I heard the voice from outside, I swiped the tears that slipped from me unsure when, and turned to stare at myself in the mirror, making sure my emotions were masked I turned on my feet and stood in front of him.
"Yes," I said, stepping out. He had straightened his hair and his shirt, but the distress was still visible on his face, he took my bag from the room and walked out.
"I told Maa and Divya earlier," He informed stepping outside, I gave a nod before I faced Devakshaya who was staring at me the whole time.
"Take care, Mute!" He said and I smiled nodding.
Soon we were in the car next to each other. He chose silence, and somewhat I was prone to it as well. I don't dislike it, but the question stuck in me and hadn't chosen to leave me.
"When we will, meet Taara?" I asked,
"We are going to their house right now," He told me, I gave a nod, and he pushed his hand out towards me and took my palm in his, intertwining our fingers and passing me the warmest smile ever.
He did not want to let go of my hand but to turn the gear stick he pulled out, and I felt empty. I stared at my hand and soon he was back holding the same way.
We were soon in Rajkot Haveli where Abhiraj and Taara live. I stepped out, he walked towards me, Abhiraj and Taara came outside soon after. The bags were taken down in their cars, while two more cars were lined up behind Abhiraj's black car.
"Zehra!" Taara walked towards me and hugged me, I hugged her back when she pulled back,
My eyes met Babasaheb and I did the adab and he returned it with a head dip, "How are you?" he simply did the courtesy.
"I am good." he impeded after that,
He and Daiwik followed out of the way soon after, but returning I saw that the two black cars were dismissed now.
"We should leave now," Daiwik said and turned to me opening the door for our car.
"Abhiraj do you mind, if I come in his car too?" I heard Taara ask him, and I blinked, hoping that he would say yes because I somehow felt a giant hole. I want time to fill it back.
"What about me then?" He asked her, "You can join too?" She asked him, and he looked at Daiwik. "Okay, but let's take my car," he said and agreed.
~
DAIWIK
My eyes travelled from its peripheral vision and I saw her standing at the door.
I know she heard Dev.
She knew I was hiding something and believed that she would walk inside and ask me what didn't mean. But he stepped back and hid herself from the sight.
She had been silent the whole ride, just talking casually will Taara in the back seat, whole I and Abhiraj sat in front in his Mercedes.
It was going to be an hour's drive, and it had only begun, She sat there silently, both Taara and she were not loud talkers, so their conversation was so subtle that I barely heard a word.
We stopped in the middle of the ride to have lunch, going inside the huge restaurant, and we sat next to each other. She ordered a non-vegetarian platter after she took approval with her eyes from me.
I leaned on her ear, "You don't have to ask me what you want to eat," I told her, and she nodded. And once again started talking to Taara.
Zehra behaved so indifferently, like nothing had happened, her same smile, same eyes nothing was different. It's almost like I doubt my own eyes for seeing it wrong. But her distress came to the surface occasionally when she would be completely shunned.
I never want her to know what I have done.
Because I know, I don't deserve her. And if my falsehood is going to make me have her? Let it all be a lie.
~~~~~
PAST (10 months ago ~)
ZEHRA
They left me in the fort, lying there with my clothes all torn apart.
The only thing still intact was my dupatta, I heard them laughing and chanting while they walked out of the fort.
My vision was blurred with tests that were filled in my eye socket I couldn't see straight, then and there I turned around curling pulling my clothes to my chest forcefully even if it fell short, I wanted it all to gather on my chest.
To get this nudity to be hidden, what did happen to me? What was done to me! Now what? The pain in my chest was growing heavy, and it came out in the form of tears.
I whimpered there on the cold land, in pain and heartache. Everything that was stolen from me today, my respect my honour was stolen from me and captured in a camera, their photos were going to be out. People are going to find them.
They are going to see it.
Everything is destroyed!
What if? What if it reaches Murshad? What if Murshad sees my naked pictures? What if it gets to Ammi, she will go insane if she finds out!
She will lose her mind, a woman's everything is her izzat, and I just lost it!
No! I shook my head,
I cried, getting up on my feet. They still had not left, I wrapped my dupatta around me and walked outside, to where they were on the veranda of the fort, they all heard me, sitting there with the phone in their hand and smiling looking at it.
Something crashed inside me, shattered into a million pieces and threw me off the ground that now I was walking on. Its sharp edges dug through me, piercing my soul. It was getting hard to breathe, but I shook my head, wiping my tears away, I took my steps closer to the man with the phone in his hand.
"Please delete it?" I asked, wrapping the dupatta closer to me, Feeling their gaze my skin burned, I wanted to put acid all over me and wash their look off my body.
I begged stepping further, "Please? Please delete it?" I begged him again, he laughed, and and others echoed back.
"No! We won't delete it! Look at this," He said and pressured a finger on the icon of my photo in a mesh clicked the share button and passed in contacts of his social media, I ran to him and tried to steal the phone away from him.
But he pulled his hand back and slapped me, I fell on the floor. And I heard him saying, "Share to all contact!" He said, tears falling on the dusty floor beneath me.
I stood up, angrily and slapped him back, couldn't care less that my dupatta was no longer in my clutch. He faltered, his eyes enraging.
He stepped forward caught my hair and threw me on the wall next to him, The huge hit made my entire head ring, the world spiral around me, and the pain in my chest now was equivalent to the pain in my head and before I could recover. He pushed me back on the same wall.
"Madan don't! Don't hit her! It will become troublesome!" I heard the voice but no one dared to step in and save me. I caught his wrist and tried to get my hair away from his hold, I tried to hit his chest with my head and was let go falling behind.
He fell back, on the floor, I wrapped my dupatta around and kicked him. "Delete it! Delete the picture!" I shouted as I kicked him.
I wiped my tears with my free hand, trying to stand straight when I could feel I was swaying back and forth. He stood back and slapped me again, pushing me on the wall.
"Ye photo toh gayi! Ab pura vandigana dekhe ga! Chali ja! Isse pehele tujhe chod ke vo video sab ko bhej du!"
(This photo is gone now! And the entire village will see it! Get lost before I fuck you and send that video) He spoke with pure hatred and left me.
"Get lost!" he threw me and walked away with his friends. Leaving me alone.
I couldn't get a grip, and I fell on the floor, hugging myself tightly, I hit my chest again and again, with a punch hoping that this heavy feeling would lessen, it would die, but nothing.
I cried as night approached. In the well of darkness, I took the corner road to hide my open state and somehow reached home.
I managed to, create a cut without getting caught and reached my door. Opening it, there were Ammi and Murshad,
Ammi was on the floor in a very bad condition. Everything in the house was scattered on the floor like a hurricane hit us. And Murshad stood there immediately turning to me.
He hit Ammi, and now he will hit me.
He saw the photos.
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VOTE TARGET - 50