Chapter - Five
§ The Surprise
She opened her eyes and felt sweat running down her forehead and into her, she tried to wipe it away and found her hands were tied. Where could she be? There thin rays of light filtering through some splints in the high ceiling. Initially, in the darkness she thought she was in a stable. Then she adjusted her eyes to the half dark and half-light of the room and found traces of mechanical devices and tools scattered and strewn in corners. This could be a garage or an empty factory, she thought. Trying to focus her thoughts on what had happened, she realized she had been kidnapped. She thought how could that be. It must be a mistake. Why would anyone want to kidnap? She wasn’t rich, neither were her parents rich. This seemed almost like a movie yet there was no real reason for a gang to kidnap her.
Then she thought, may be this was more of a random thing. May be they had just seen her and then kidnapped her, may this was one of those things that one thinks can never happen to oneself. She kept thinking might be there was some mistake. But as time went by and no one showed up her mind began to wander. She started thinking may be she was going to be raped. She thought,” wonder why this didn’t occur to her before. For my entire feminist attitude shouldn’t this have come to my mind first? Rape is only in the mind, nothing is going to happen to me, I can work my way out of this. What is important that I get out of this alive? I will do what these people say they want me to do, and I will leave here unarmed? Don’t have a ridiculous attitude, thought she, virginity is not an issue, you don’t want to die that is the most important thing.”
She steeled herself against all possible outcomes. But one thing she realized that she had to get out of this alive. She suddenly thought of Deepak, he must have been wondering where I am? She thought and she felt very alone and scared for the first time, and she felt warm tears washing her face.
Somewhere a tin scraped across the concrete floor, she strained her eyes to see but all she saw was dark mass of black. Then as turned around a sharp pull on her hair made her shriek with pain. Their was a strange looking man holding her, she could feel his sweaty hands groping her, as she shrieked again, cursing herself this time, she had to keep her cool, there appeared a burly man with a thick moustache, he walked straight down to her, and grabbed the other man and pulled him away, cursing him and calling him “Palan”. Whether it was his name Prakiriti couldn’t figure out. She was standing there stunned and dazed.
The burly man looked at her and asked her, “have you informed the police?” she was shocked. What could this mean? He raised his voice again and asked the same question. She denied having done anything. He raised his voice again and this time slapped the “Palan” across his cheek, whether he was mad or not, he cowered and kept saying that the girl knew something and he knew that. Prakriti was more and more confused. The big man called out, two smaller yet stout men came running in, Prakriti realized these were the same people who she had seen walking around. They grabbed her both arms and she didn’t fight them they dragged her, but she found her voice and said firmly that she would walk. Initially they didn’t listen or ignored her. Then she pulled her hands away from them and said in a loud voice in the vernacular, “I can walk by myself, please do not pull me I am not running away anywhere.” This caught the ears of the leader who turned around in his step and moved his hands to say that she was to be left alone and allowed to walk. Pagol had regained his stature and he hissed, “you can’t trust that bitch.” This was said presumably to the leader glared at him and motioned his two assistants. They prodded Prakriti. She walked quietly counting the men. One leader, his brother or may be not, two assistants, that makes four. They passed through a tin door into a stair case they climbed up a flight of stairs in front was a door that opened into a passage, this floor was white washed and not dirty although seems it had fallen to disuse. The corridor was closed with no widows, and it seemed like an endless journey suddenly, the leader walking in front of them disappeared, literally into thin air, before she could realize, the assistants grabbed her hands and turned her to the left into what seemed a glass room. It was dark except for the faint light form the corridor, the door closed behind her with a grunt, she turned around as someone brushed against her, then a light cam on somewhere, washing the whole room with a white glare, she lowered her eyes, as she raised her eyes again she saw a man tied to a chair in the middle of the room. She looked closely. Then suddenly she gasped as Palan went and pulled the man’s head up grabbing his hair.
***
She opened her eyes and felt sweat running down her forehead and into her, she tried to wipe it away and found her hands were tied. Where could she be? There thin rays of light filtering through some splints in the high ceiling. Initially, in the darkness she thought she was in a stable. Then she adjusted her eyes to the half dark and half-light of the room and found traces of mechanical devices and tools scattered and strewn in corners. This could be a garage or an empty factory, she thought. Trying to focus her thoughts on what had happened, she realized she had been kidnapped. She thought how could that be. It must be a mistake. Why would anyone want to kidnap? She wasn’t rich, neither were her parents rich. This seemed almost like a movie yet there was no real reason for a gang to kidnap her.
Then she thought, may be this was more of a random thing. May be they had just seen her and then kidnapped her, may this was one of those things that one thinks can never happen to oneself. She kept thinking might be there was some mistake. But as time went by and no one showed up her mind began to wander. She started thinking may be she was going to be raped. She thought,” wonder why this didn’t occur to her before. For my entire feminist attitude shouldn’t this have come to my mind first? Rape is only in the mind, nothing is going to happen to me, I can work my way out of this. What is important that I get out of this alive? I will do what these people say they want me to do, and I will leave here unarmed? Don’t have a ridiculous attitude, thought she, virginity is not an issue, you don’t want to die that is the most important thing.”
She steeled herself against all possible outcomes. But one thing she realized that she had to get out of this alive. She suddenly thought of Deepak, he must have been wondering where I am? She thought and she felt very alone and scared for the first time, and she felt warm tears washing her face.
Somewhere a tin scraped across the concrete floor, she strained her eyes to see but all she saw was dark mass of black. Then as turned around a sharp pull on her hair made her shriek with pain. Their was a strange looking man holding her, she could feel his sweaty hands groping her, as she shrieked again, cursing herself this time, she had to keep her cool, there appeared a burly man with a thick moustache, he walked straight down to her, and grabbed the other man and pulled him away, cursing him and calling him “Palan”. Whether it was his name Prakiriti couldn’t figure out. She was standing there stunned and dazed.
The burly man looked at her and asked her, “have you informed the police?” she was shocked. What could this mean? He raised his voice again and asked the same question. She denied having done anything. He raised his voice again and this time slapped the “Palan” across his cheek, whether he was mad or not, he cowered and kept saying that the girl knew something and he knew that. Prakriti was more and more confused. The big man called out, two smaller yet stout men came running in, Prakriti realized these were the same people who she had seen walking around. They grabbed her both arms and she didn’t fight them they dragged her, but she found her voice and said firmly that she would walk. Initially they didn’t listen or ignored her. Then she pulled her hands away from them and said in a loud voice in the vernacular, “I can walk by myself, please do not pull me I am not running away anywhere.” This caught the ears of the leader who turned around in his step and moved his hands to say that she was to be left alone and allowed to walk. Pagol had regained his stature and he hissed, “you can’t trust that bitch.” This was said presumably to the leader glared at him and motioned his two assistants. They prodded Prakriti. She walked quietly counting the men. One leader, his brother or may be not, two assistants, that makes four. They passed through a tin door into a stair case they climbed up a flight of stairs in front was a door that opened into a passage, this floor was white washed and not dirty although seems it had fallen to disuse. The corridor was closed with no widows, and it seemed like an endless journey suddenly, the leader walking in front of them disappeared, literally into thin air, before she could realize, the assistants grabbed her hands and turned her to the left into what seemed a glass room. It was dark except for the faint light form the corridor, the door closed behind her with a grunt, she turned around as someone brushed against her, then a light cam on somewhere, washing the whole room with a white glare, she lowered her eyes, as she raised her eyes again she saw a man tied to a chair in the middle of the room. She looked closely. Then suddenly she gasped as Palan went and pulled the man’s head up grabbing his hair.
***
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