He had a hungry look in his eyes. A dangerous look.  A deadly look. 

He slowly walked toward her. His eyes never left her.

 “Please don’t do this! Leave me alone! Please!” she begged.  Sanjana begged and begged as if her life depended on it.  Her pleas fell on deaf ears.  Arjun ignored her and continued to taunt her. 

“You’re beautiful.” He whispered. 

Tears filled Sanjana’s eyes.  She pleaded with him. 

“Please Arjun! I’ll do whatever you want, just not this. You don’t have to do this.  Please!” Sanjana cried. 

“I know you want this.” Arjun said. 

He grabbed her and flung her onto his bed.  Sanjana screamed.  She struggled against his grip, but he was too strong.  He ripped open her blouse. He trapped her hands above her head with one arm as he continued to tear her clothes with his free hand. 

“Arjun! Please!” was all Sanjana could manage to say. 

She screamed for help, but she knew that the whole building was left vacant and the nearest neighbor was miles away. 

Arjun’s eyes raked over Sanjana’s bare body.  Sanjana wrapped her arms around herself, clutching at the sheets, attempting to cover herself.  Arjun roughly pulled the sheets away from Sanjana.  He lied down on top of her.  He peeled his own clothes off.  Sanjana turned away from him too embarrassed to watch him.  His hands moved freely over her body. 

“Sanjana,” he whispered.  His lips brushed against her ear.  She shuddered at his touch.  She closed her eyes, giving up hope.  There was nothing she could do. 

She felt a sharp object push into her abdomen.  Blood rushed from her stomach.  Arjun dragged a knife over the length of her stomach down to her hip. Sanjana screamed out in pain.  He cut her again on her back.  She lied there in a pool of her own blood in pain. 

Arjun found some sort of twisted pleasure from the sight of Sanjana’s blood.  He forced himself into her.  Sanjana shrieked in pain.  She felt numb.  She felt hopeless. 

“You will always remember tonight.  You will always remember me.” He said. 

            Sanjana jolted awake.  She started looking around her, trying to decipher her unfamiliar surroundings.  Then she remembered that she was staying with her aunt in Delhi.  Sanjana’s family sent her away to live with her aunt in America after the incident occurred, the incident with Arjun.  No on in her family knew all of the details, not even her aunt, but what they did know was enough to label her the black sheep of the family. 

            Sanjana stood up and made her way out of the bedroom and into the hallway.  She traced her fingers along the gold plated picture frames that lines the long hallway.  Sanjana stood in the open doorway of her aunt’s bedroom, wanting to talk to her, but she was fast asleep.  Sanjana’s Bua, meaning paternal aunt, was Sanjana’s father’s older sister.  She got married to rich businessman, based in New York.  He died of a heart attack five years after they got married, but Sanjana’s Bua decided to stay in America and take over her late husband’s business ventures.  She never came back to the village, where Sanjana’s family lived but has always remained cordial with Sanjana since she was her only niece.  So when Sanjana got into all this trouble, her Bua was the only one of her relatives who stood by her.  And now, Sanjana was on her way to America to start a new life away from all the rumors.   

            “Sanjana! Hurry we’ll miss our flight if we don’t leave right away!”  Meenakshi, Sanjana’s Bua, yelled as she rushed out her the car. 

            “I’m here, Bua” Sanjana said, as she walked her last suitcase out to the car. 

            “The driver will load all of that.  Sit down.  We’re so late!” Meenakshi said hurriedly. 

            “Bua,” Sanjana said. 

            “Yes, dear?” Meenakshi answered. 

            “Did Ma call…to say goodbye?” Sanjana asked quietly. 

            Meenakshi’s expression grew solemn. 

            “No, dear.” She replied. 

             “Oh.” Was all Sanjana could manage to say. 

            Meenakshi took Sanjana’s hands in hers and patted them encouragingly. 

            “It’ll all be fine, dear.  Don’t you worry.  In America, you can start over. No one has to know about any of this.” Meenakshi said. 

            Sanjana smiled at her aunt.  She always knew what to say. 

            “Okay, I know you’re nervous, but airplanes are totally safe.” Meenakshi mentioned suddenly. 

            “Bua, I forgot.” Sanjana said unsurely.  Sanjana had never flown on an airplane and was incredibly nervous.  Lost in all her thoughts about her family, Sanjana had forgotten about her fear of flying. 

            “It’s okay, dear! You’ll live!” Meenakshi laughed. 

            The flight to New York had been long and arduous.  Sanjana tried to sleep on the airplane, but she was too scared to relax enough to fall asleep.  Meenakshi had no problem falling asleep and remaining calm throughout the flight.  She tried her best to convince Sanjana that airplanes were safe, but it was to no avail.  Sanjana wanted to kiss the ground in happiness once of the plane safely landed at the airport.  She was finally in America, ready to start a new life. 

            “I never want to take that long of a flight ever again.” Meenakshi commented as they exited the airport after collecting their luggage. 

            Sanjana frowned.  She knew she would never take that flight ever again.  She had left India for good.  There was no going back.  The drive to Meenakshi’s house wasn’t too long.  Sanjana was grateful once the car pulled up into the driveway.  All Sanjana wanted to do was sleep.  She could only think about how no one in her family had called to say goodbye.  Even when she left for Delhi, her parents wouldn’t even look at her. 

            Meenakshi’s house was huge, too large for one woman to live in by herself.  She never had any children and wouldn’t even entertain the idea of remarrying, even when she was younger.

            “Here’s the kitchen, over there is the living.  Upstairs, there’s a bunch of bedrooms.  The media room is on the other side of the house. There’s an office over there too, but I never go in there.  I know you like to read, so the library is yours to use as much as you’d like.  Come on, let’s go upstairs.” Meenakshi said as she gave Sanjana a tour of her house. 

            “Choose any bedroom you want. Mine is right down this hall, at the very end.” Meenakshi said.

            Sanjana followed her aunt silently, taking in the view of her house in awe.  It was so much larger than any home she’d ever seen in her village.  The upstairs itself was larger than her entire house. 

            “Sanjana, dear.” Meenakshi turned around to face Sanjana. 

            “Yes, Bua.” Sanjana listened closely. 

            “I know whatever happened back in India was…life changing.  I want you to know that this is now your home and don’t worry about anything.  You’re my daughter now.” Meenakshi said, tearing up. 

            “Thank you, Bua.” Sanjana replied quietly, holding back tears of her own. 

            “You’re so quiet.  I’ll have to get you out of your shell!” Meenakshi exclaimed.  “Wake me up when you get hungry! We’ll go out and have dinner. Right now, I’m damn tired.  Sweet dreams, dear!” 

            “Bye, Bua.” Sanjana said, as she made her way down the hallway. 

            Sanjana peeked into each of the five remaining bedrooms.  They all looked nearly identical except for the color scheme and where the window was located.  Each had its own attached bathroom and large queen sized bed. There was a sixth bedroom in the furthest corner, away from every other room.  Sanjana opened the door, expecting to find another large bedroom, decorated immaculately.  Instead, she found a smaller bedroom that was decorated as if it were a bedroom in a house back in her village.  Long, colorful drapes hung on the windows.  A smaller bed was placed in the middle.  There was a wardrobe and a desk and a bedside table, but no other furniture stood in the room.  It was furnished simply, and Sanjana loved it.  Red floral decorations hung over the bed.  There was a small Indian style lamp placed on the bedside table.  An intricately decorated elephant statue stood on top of the wardrobe, and there was even a small temple set up with idols of Hindu gods set up on a built-in shelf on the wall.  Sanjana went inside the room.  She looked through the wardrobe.  It was empty.  She opened the only other door in the room and found that it led to an attached bathroom.  She turned on the lamp to see if it worked.  The stain glass of the lamp illuminated the room in a way that left Sanjana breathless.  She knew that this was going to be her bedroom, her home. 

            “Sanjana,” Sanjana heard someone call her name.  She felt someone shaking her awake.  She sat up abruptly. 

            Meenakshi backed away quickly. 

            “Sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to startle you.  I see you had a nap as well.  I’m so hungry.  What’s say we go out and have some dinner?” Meenakshi said. 

            “Of course.  Let’s go.” Sanjana agreed.  She stood up and fixed her appearance before following her aunt out of her room and into the hallway. 

            “I know the perfect place to take you.  It’s a nice restaurant right near Time Square.  That way you can see some city sights as well.  We’ll drive over and take a nice walk to the restaurant.” Meenakshi spoke.  She continued with her banter throughout the car ride.   

            Sanjana knew it was rude, but she tuned her aunt out.  She stared out the window at the lights that adorned the city.  Her village was small and was nothing like New York City.  Sanjana was in awe.  Meenakshi parked the car in a dark and quiet area.  The area made Sanjana feel uneasy. 

            “Come on, Sanjana.” Meenakshi prompted. 

            “Bua, it’s so dark here. Are you sure it’s safe?” Sanjana asked, concerned. 

            “Of course, dear.  Time Square is in walking distance.  Truthfully, this place gives me the creeps too, but what can you do? There’s no parking anywhere else.” Meenakshi explained. 

            Sanjana heeded her aunt and exited the car.  She and her aunt quickly walked down the abandoned road.  Once they turned the corner, Sanjana was left surprised.  An assortment of colorful lights mingled with each other to create a breathtaking sight.  People bustled around them in an apparent hurry.  Tall buildings surrounded them in every direction, but Time Square was anything but a boring, gray concrete jungle. 

            “Bua, this is stunning.” Sanjana said, still staring at the tall buildings all around her. 

            “I knew you’d say that!” beamed Meenakshi happily.  “The restaurant is this way, dear”

            The walk to the restaurant had been longer than Sanjana had expected.  She wasn’t sure if it was because the restaurant was a long distance away from where they had started or whether it had only taken her more time to walk there because she was so distracted by the sights before her.  By the time they’d reached the restaurant, Sanjana was more than happy when presented with a wonderful Indian feast. 

            “This is just like at home!” Sanjana exclaimed. 

            “I thought you could use some familiarity.” Meenakshi said as she dug into her curry. 

            Sanjana looked up at her aunt, sadness apparent in her eyes.  New York wasn’t her home.  Nothing about it was familiar to Sanjana.  Sanjana felt an intense longing for her home.  She wanted nothing more than her mother’s home cooked food at this moment. 

            “Sanjana, I’m sorry.” Meenakshi said immediately after noticing Sanjana’s change in mood. 

            “No, Bua.  This is great.” Sanjana said, smiling. 

            “After dinner, we’ll walk around Time Square, and I’ll point out some places I think you’d be interested in.  When I’m at work, there’s absolutely no reason you should stay cooped up in the house.”  Meenakshi quipped. 

            “You mean, walk around the city by myself?” Sanjana said unsurely. 

            “Of course. Why not?” Meenakshi answered.  

            Sanjana’s village was small, so small that one could walk everywhere and not get tired.  Seeing a car in the narrow lanes of the village was a rare sight.  Of course, there was a central marketplace and places of business farther away from the more residential parts of the village, but no parent ever worried about their children wandering off because getting lost was nearly impossible.  The only unsure area was the large fields that surrounded the northern part of the village. Sanjana had learned that the hard way. 

            “Eat up, dear.  We have a lot of walking to do after this.” Meenakshi said cheerily. 

            After dinner, Meenakshi showed Sanjana many designer stores and fancy restaurants she thought Sanjana would enjoy going to.  Every place her aunt showed her looked expensive to Sanjana.  Life in her village was so simple, and New York City seemed so fancy.  Sanjana looked at her aunt, wondering how she could have possibly been raised in the same village as her, yet be so different.  Meenakshi and Sanjana wandered into a huge crowd near a theatre.  Sanjana stopped and stared at the people around her, feeling uncomfortable in such a thick crowd.  She looked to her side, wanting to convey her discomfort to her aunt.  Only Meenakshi was no longer beside her.  Sanjana took a few steps back, feeling uneasy about the increasing number of people around her.  Sanjana looked around her, searching for her aunt. 

            “Bua?” Sanjana called out.  She didn’t see her anywhere. Sanjana leaned against a building and tried to control herself.  She was becoming increasingly nervous.  She didn’t know the way back to her aunt’s car, and she’d never been in a city this large before. She started to panic.  Sanjana frantically looked around her, silently praying her aunt would appear. 

            Sanjana decided to walk around the crowd in the direction she and her aunt were going, thinking that her aunt continued on without noticing that Sanjana wasn’t by her side.  She figured if her aunt hadn’t come back for her by now, she must be waiting down the way somewhere to see if Sanjana would catch up to her.  Suddenly, Sanjana slammed into a hard body.  A strong pair of arms surrounded her, keeping her from crashing onto the ground. 

            “Are you alright?” A male voice said to Sanjana. 

            Sanjana balanced herself and back out of the stranger’s embrace. 

            “I’m fine.” She said quietly, walking past the group of men the stranger was standing with. 

            Sanjana walked down the sidewalk and stopped.  She didn’t know where to go.  She didn’t want to walk much further in case her aunt came back to look for her.  She’d once been told if she got lost, she should stay in the general area so it would be easier to find her.  Sanjana walked and stood in front of what seemed like a hotel.   The area was well-lit and a little less crowded.  Sanjana could see the spot where she’d lost her aunt from where she was standing, so if her aunt came back to look for her, Sanjana would spot her.  She took a deep breath and waited.  A lone tear escaped her eye.  She quickly wiped it away.  She had no idea how much time had passed. 

            “Are you sure you’re okay?” Sanjana heard someone ask. 

            She turned around and saw the same stranger that she’d bumped into earlier.  Had he followed her?  

               Yay! This is my second story! Hopefully you all will like it as much as you loved Learning to Love (if you haven't read it, you should!)  I'm having some weird technical difficulties with this story...idk why.  Anyways lemme know what you think!!

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