(t/w blood)

❦

IT WAS TIME AGAIN. Fastening her potli brimming with all things she'd need on the way and tying her dupatta over her mouth, Aaina scurried out of Hira Ghar as fast as she had ever run.

Having left a note for Razia, who would be able to take the rest of the day off, Aaina smiled at the fortunate day that had come to her.

To wake up without the bothersome presence of her kaki was like honey to her soul. She slept with such ease, the clear morning air minding its own as the day seemed to be shining brighter, or maybe it was just Aaina's excitement. The warmth of being awakened by sweet silence and hope. But things had to be done, and only in a time like this. Her absence would finally let Aaina carry out her impending and very important errands.

Aaina sat at the breakfast table, alone in the colossal, burnt beige dining room. Chai on one side and kachori on the other. The sun rays slanted over her side of the table. No servants, no Kaki. She smiled at the start of the day until she peered out of the jharokhas and saw people already at work. It was an hour after noon, and she had overslept for the first time in many years.

The doors would be locked, servants away till noon the next day, and meals all prepared and stocked. Not that one day in solitude would make a difference, but it felt like a privilege she did not enjoy often. But she was ready to sacrifice a day of nothingness to finally go and seek the answers she'd been looking for. No sooner did the sun set and the night sky had emerged out of its rest than she left Hira Ghar at twilight. It was time to forfeit her part of the bargain.

Days of wandering and waiting had now led her to this moment. She decided to tread along the path before any self-doubt could surface. And the path seemed longer than it had during her earlier visits. Or maybe it's just my anticipation, she thought. Or maybe it was just the unexpected rain that had arrived unusually early. Regardless, Aaina jogged her way to the makaan, half-drenched and ready to step in. The rain water had started to channel itself in the crevices at the gate that wasn't fully open. Careful not to stumble, she tried to hop over the mud stuck under it. But no avail, the gates were jammed.

Her eyes scanned the area. The man was nowhere to be seen either. Did he forget she was going to come today? If he was doing it purposely, then all her suspicions would come true. She wished it did not come true.

Aaina walked towards the dark thatch of trees a few feet away and lifted the lantern above her shoulder. The sable night did not allow her to see anything beyond a few shrubs.

A whimper, an unfeigned groan, came from the cavern on her side. Her feet slowed down the moment her awareness caught it.

All of a sudden, all other sounds became trivial, and only the eerie vocal remained. She suspected an animal roaming about the cavern, a domesticated dog perhaps, but the wails were followed by a relentless tapping that was now quite distinct.

In such a situation, it was favored to just take a few steps back. And she did. Turning on her heels, she pushed the lantern in another direction, only to recoil back again at an even louder sound. Pain and agony lined the man's cries. The screeches, each one stretching out louder than before. Aaina shuddered, and her instinct pushed her to peek inside the cavern.

She wished she hadn't.

Blood and daggers splattered over the place.

A wailing man hunching on the ground, his scratched, bare back smeared with blood. And it wasn't his own. A deeper look beyond the man had Aaina in a chokehold.

She gasped like her life depended on it. Nahi, nahi, nahi. . . And that was it. She forgot where she was stepping or going. She just ran. The crooked ground seemed it would suck her in, and stepping on, it was a sin in itself. Everything went in a blur. Spikes, wood, or grass, whatever hit her leg, she evaded whatever came in her path. Her fear-fuelled dash away from the cavern sired a very generous sprain in her ankles. But not one that would stop a desi chhokri from a situations like these. Yet, this was not a normal situation either. Her heart beat pounded in her throat as if she saw a. . . what exactly did she say? Even thinking about it made her insides churn. The ghastly teeth, an-and blood? Raw blood smeared all over the place. She could even smell it. She tried hard to resist the urge to scream at the sickening sight she encountered.

She ran past the gates and landed on a confined deck with a thud. She heard the crinkling of her bangles, shattering down the ground. The ominous thumping of her chest faded as she had come afar. Everything felt silent there until she heard someone holler in anger.

"Kaun hai wahaan?"

Her mind needed no introduction to that voice, and it tried to calm itself.

No sooner did he appear outside than she rested her back against the marble. He spoke something, but he heard no reply from her, for she had crouched against the wall, hyperventilating. The cold coalesced with the fear throbbing in her chest, and at one point, she could not even breathe.

"Your garden-den. . . " her voice rustled in incoherence.

Her feet and hem were entirely soiled with grime and dirt. Beyond hooded eyes, she saw him whip out a cloth from his back pocket and wiped her feet with the melted ice on the ground. He stared at her them curiously.

"He heard your payal,"

She did not hear him.

"Sit down and unhitch your shoulders,"

Her legs gave away as she slumped down on the cold wet floor, her palms still clutching her face.

She chanted god's name for every second the picture kept reappearing in her mind. Terror seethe through her veins as she sat paralyzed to the spot yet struck so severely, the cold water slowly turning her skin red.

"Let yourself breathe for a second, damn it," he chided, bent down to pry her hands away from her cheeks. She whimpered at the sudden skim of warmth on her fingers, and it made her open her teary eyes.

All she could see in front of her was burdening regret. "I want to go home," she sniveled.

"An unfortunate thought. I'm afraid that won't happen. " he replied.

She flailed her arms to get rid of the chill water that had already soaked her ghagra in all its entirety and tried to move her legs to get up, ignoring his hand the process as he attempted to help.

"Don't be delusional. You can't go out in the storm. "

Concerned or not, the man clearly had no good thing surrounding him. And before he'd cut her into tiny pieces as well, the only option was to run.

She got up on trembling, frozen legs, and a wet, heavy ghagra and braced herself for the action, but it seemed the entire cosmos was trying to push her back. Her senses faded away bit by bit, and fear froze the blood in her veins, depriving her skin of all sensation.

The sinister winds blew in water icicles. Amid the dark, all she could make sense of was the heavy aura of ignorance and guilt.

And before she could take another step, she was being dragged to a direction she'd never been to. She was being taken inside the makaan.

❦

did I mention I almost stopped breathing while writing this chapter? i could feel it in my bone

how was the chapter? let me know in the comments :)