Apple of your eye- Part 13

Mohi-ud-deen stomped around the room like a hungry tiger. A deal was to be made with the fanatic leader. The leader wanted to smuggle some weapons that he would use to terrorize his neighbouring allies. Mohi-ud-deen was perfect source for all the illegal activities. The villainous person approached Mohi-ud-deen suitable for all their mean action. They came from all walks of life to induce any activity that was harmful to human.

Mohi-ud-deen called Shaukeen several times. The bugger gave the same answer- they would be coming within few minutes. But the few minutes had turned into hours. Sometimes it was difficult for him to trust even the right man. Did Shaukeen form any ties with his enemies? Did he change his plans of bringing the leader here? Before he could form any such assumptions, Shaukeen arrived with the package a.k.a the leader.

The leader greeted Mohi-ud-deen with warm hug. He was quite old with wrinkled skin and long white beard. He was small figure.To anyone he would seem to be a peaceful person unlike his aggressive interior. “ Sir, it’s pleasure for me to have you at my humble abode. I have heard about your kind contributions to society…”, Mohi-ud-deen said politely , trying very best to please the leader.

“ Don’t talk shit!  This sweet talk doesn’t suit anyone in this room. So tell me what can you do for me?”, the leader said firm not politely. Mohi-ud-deen understood his client. He was no nonsense person. “ Well sir, I do have a plan.”, he said, discussing his plans. But they discussed with Shaukeen waiting outside. Mohi-ud-deen made sure there was no one listening to their secrets. However he failed to notice that there was someone else who was listening to their talks and sending their secrets to the world outside.

It was first day of her lesson. Abhinav wasn’t prepared to teach her. He was only an average kid during school and college. His scores weren’t high like his cousins around him. His affair with books were short lived. When he picked up book to revise the past lessons, he fell asleep while reading two pages. He was nervous yet excited to meet her. Love made you do things that you thought you weren’t capable.

He looked at his watch. He was two minutes late. He saw her waiting for him. She wore white floral design salwar. Her milky complexion with slight red cheeks made him forget everything. He waved at her and she smiled. He walked with his heart in his hand and mind lost in thoughts about her. Love made even the strongest person weak . He was soldier and he should be brave. But love made him weak in his knees. Her one stare at him was more than enough to make him clumsy in next moment.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 12

She opened her mouth to say something. Later she stopped. However she couldn’t control her tendencies to speak out. “ Love! I don’t call this love. This is just one of your tricks to play with girls. I am not that sort of girl!”, she said. Her words and naive expressions made him laugh. “ Can you give me a reason for your annoyance towards me?”, he asked.

“ Don’t act too innocent! You broke all my dreams and hopes!”, she cried. “ I know that you loved your school. I also know that some army officials misbehaved with you. I am sorry for the fault that you never did. But don’t simply blame actions of someone else over me. I am here only for you. Give me a chance to show the person that I really am.”, he pleaded his innocence.

Chance! Never! Why should she give him a chance to spoil her life again? “ You have done more than enough damage to my life. Thank you!”, she said turning her back at him. When she started to leave, he said, “ Ok! I won’t force you to change your mind. But at least forgive me by allowing me you to teach you. I would like to tutor you.” “ Tutoring! You will tutor me!  Why?”, she cried.

“ Well! I told you that I care about your well being. If studies is where your happiness lies, I will help you with that.”, he replied. She had no control over her excitement and exclaimed in delightment, “ Tutoring is all fine. But how are you going to do it?”, she asked. “ Don’t worry about that! I have come up with a plan. Your only task is to let me know whether you accept my offer or not.”, he sorted her doubt.

After deep thought, she agreed to him. However she still didn’t trust him. A door was finally opened and she couldn’t risk for this door to get closed. At last she would start studying and build her once broken dreams. Positive energy flow

ed into her , giving her life back. She started creating blocks of desires of making her own name in this big bad world.

But positivity is always followed by negative thoughts and fears. What ifs started affecting her mind. She started imagining all kind of life blocks. What if her dear uncle got the hint of what she was doing behind his back? What if this is wrong? What if the jawan was bluffing? She rebuffed those thoughts in thin air and plunged into the valley of new hopes. “ So when will you start tutoring?”, she asked.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 11

His emotions were mixed. The accusations were too strong to be true. Her words rang repeatedly in his ears. He felt invisible amongst the crowd. What was the reason for which she was blaming him? Why was she so cold towards him? As she was leaving, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. His force was strong that she almost swirled before she was too close to him.

There was an emotional tension between them. They wanted to remain close to each other but even the closeness between them scared them. She tried to release from his clutches. But it was too tight. She checked for curious eyes of the crowd. Fortunately, the crowd was too busy with bargaining to see their juicy chemistry. Or maybe they were timid to prevent the mishappenings in their society. “ Let go of my hand”, she cried.

“ No I won’t! Not until I speak my heart out.”, he said in thin voice. The feelings which he had kept too long had erupted from nowhere. She looked at him with strange curiosity. “ Your accusations may be true or may be baseless. I don’t know the reason for your strong despise towards me. But I would want to clarify one thing- I have always been attracted to you from day one. Your welfare is the only thing that I care about and anything that affects you is my concern.”, he said firm yet gently.

She was stunned by his sudden revelation. Her welfare was his concern! What did he mean by that? “ Welfare! Attraction! Are you trying to tell me that you are in love with me ?”,she asked. He was silent for sometime until he found right words. He released her hands. She didn’t run and simply stood , staring at him for answer.

“ Yes if caring for someone without any reason , then I am in love with you. I love you unconditionally and I know it’s strange. But that’s how love is. You have no control over your heart. Before you try to hold your heart tight, it has been stolen already. Your feelings are centered around the only person your heart has set towards. I know you have no such feelings, And force is something I avoid most times.”, he continued.

Love! She never had thought about it until he had come into her life. She had simply rebuffed that feeling as some sort of distraction. She did feel the same way but she didn’t know whether she could trust him with her heart. She also didn’t know whether she was in love or infatuated towards him. She looked at him with confusion and disillusioned of her own feelings.

( To  be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 10

Her dreams were mostly about miracles where her uncle would allow her to go to school and meet her friends. But when she would wake up to bright sunny day , her dreams would be washed by sunlight. Her days would be spent on mundane work at home- washing clothing , dusting and cleaning the house and then preparing the three meals in a day.

Life had become routine. Adventures and hopes of exploring the world was lost. Time passed slowly , making the pain unbearable. She had come to accept he fate. However destiny had some other plans for her.

She walked to the market with her cousin as her body guard. He was ten years old with mind of genius. He never let her go out of his sight for one minute. She purchased the necessary groceries except one last thing- sweet corn. Her mother had planned to prepare a side digs with sweet corn as the main ingredient.

 As she looked for the corn, she lost her tiny brother in the crowd. It was Friday and the prayer hours was almost over. People had started crowding the market , making her impossible to walk with her cousin. She had forgotten about him when she bought the corn at the price she had bargained for. When she turned to see her brother, she  saw Abhinav towering her.

He was indeed tall - a feature she was oblivious. She became very concious at his presence next to her. Her heart jumped out and for  a second she thought she had got a heart attack. She wanted to run away and never see him again. But her feet refused to let her leave.

He looked at her with delight. " Hi! I heard you left school. I... Well! Is everything okay?", he asked with geninue concern.  She  misunderstood geninue to saracasm. "Everything is not okay! Because of you, I have lost my hopes and dreams! I wish I didn't see you at all.", she said with all the anger. He simply heard with broken heart.

(To  be continued )

Apple of your eye-Part 9

His huge eyes told everything. He was going to tear her apart. Mercy and sympathy were words unknown to me. Every localite was a terrorist to him irrespective of  their nil involvement in any inhuman activities. He smirked and then he spoke, “ You! Are you trying to get away just like that?”

She stared at him with no words coming out of her mouth. What was she supposed to reply back?   Enough was enough ! She had to retaliate back, “ Yes! I am not the only one who is leaving the area. My friends will leave with me and you won’t question me.” Her words poked him like bee’s sting. “ How dare you speak to me like this?  Do you have any idea whom you are talking to, young lady ?” , he growled at her.  “ Then you have no idea whom you are talking to ? I am Mohi-ud-deen’s niece.”, she gave him back.

He had always witnessed weak begging calls from the localities like her. But never ever had he witnessed anyone giving him back. “ Arrest these girls”, he ordered one of his juniors. They followed his orders without questioning. Alas! Their fun filled picnic turned out to be sour and they ended up at the jail.

News of their arrest spread like wild fire. Mohi-ud -deen rushed to see his niece. Although he got her bailed, he didn’t speak to her throughout the journey. On the other hand, she felt guilty of actions that she should have been proud. When they reached home, she knelt down before her uncle asking for forgiveness. “ I always wished for your safety, child. What you did by lying to your parents about the trip was far more wrong in your part? Because of this, I can’t show my face to anyone. Anyway what is done cannot be changed. From now on, you will not go to school and help your mother with household work.”, he said cold and firm as usual.

Her world came crashing down in few seconds. Her dreams disappeared in thin air. Her hard work over past years seemed like waste.  She had never questioned her uncle’s decision and even when he had broken her dreams, she didn’t question him either. She accepted it as her punishment.

She did all the household without complain. Her contact with outside world had become nil. She still felt guilty and wished that she hadn’t gone to the woods. But as her uncle had said . nothing could be changed now. She would look out the window when she was free. Outside world looked like wonderful dream which she couldn’t achieve.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 8

Aafreen was surprised to see Shaukeen. Was he the same guy she saw on that unfateful day ? It can’t be! It must be her imagination. She was wasting time on mediocre thoughts. She should be spending her precious minutes with productive activities. Instead she found herself constantly doubting things around her and thinking about the jawan.. Jawan!!  

This was hundredth time she was taking his name. Why? Distraction such as love was not for her. She had dreams too big to achieve. She wasn’t like other girls who only focused on how to impress boys. She didn’t want to end up being just a housewife. She wanted to carve niche for herself just like her uncle. But past few days , her mind was under the spell of her heart.

She planned to visit her friends in order to ward off thoughts. After a lot of discussion on places to hang out, they came up with idea of picnic in a lonesome woods. They had planned some crazy amazing fun things which they were restricted. They termed it as ‘experimentation out of blue’.

Within few hours, the girls reached their planned destiny. During the whole journey, they were chatting on all the possibilities of doubling their so called fun activities. They planned out with cycling through the woods, chasing each other around and then finally exploring the restricted places. Everything went smoothly. They played like carefree bunch of girls. Aafreen had almost forgot herself with her friends around her.  But happiness always stayed for sometime.

From nowhere they found themselves surrounded by group of army officials. And they didn't come to check on them or arrest them. These men looked at the girls like as if they were untouched  candies waiting for them.  The girls were scared and stood like immovable creatures. These men watched their every moment.

After thinking a lot, she walked towards the army with loads of courage. Fear was still paralyzing her legs though she didn’t listen to her fears. Her friends stared at her with disbelief. Her upbringing had taught her to stand up against the evil. And she was never going to stand and simply stare at the army. Instead she was going to fight for her friends and her safety. A burly looking man came in front of her. He seemed like the head of the army. His presence had bought down whatever courage she had. Her body trembled with fear. What looked brave move became her stupid mistake.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye-Part 7

Craziness was his other name. His passion was revenge in name of God. He believed in extremist values. His youth was the main reason for his impatience. Unlike elders slow paced moderates policies, he believed in fast and quick actions.

He was Moh-ud-deen's favorite fool. He performed all the dirty works for Moh-ud-deen. He was called by the world as Shaukeen Ahmed a.k.a right arm of Moh-ud-deen. Love, care and affection were alien words to him. He was born listening to words of misery and hatred. His mother was killed when he was nine and his father was arrested on wrong charges of deceit and murder. Thus when he first met Moh-ud-deen, his radical thoughts attracted young Shaukeen and there he made him as his master.

His instructions were like words coming from God. Anything that played against his master's rules were immediately removed from the way. But everything would have worked well today if the army had not been prepared. He was not ready to face the wrath of master. Unfortunately he had no choice.

" I am really angry with you! I have never left down like this. I want results. God will never forgive you.", he said while storming into the room. His words were firm and cold like stones. It pierced Shaukeen's heart. Shaukeen couldn't face the truth that he had let down his master and Allah was not going to be pleased. " If and only if Rehman could outweigh that jawan, we would have killed the girl. Because of that jawan, we lost many of our men",Shaukeen said.

" Forget the girl! You failed to research about the area. You missed the important information- That area was surrounded by army and obviously they could act fast on our attack. And that jawan! I only want you to do one small work- get anything and every information on that jawan. This time! Remember! No mistakes! Got that! Now you may dismiss.",  Moh-ud-deen instructed and Shaukeen listened to him like a disciplined little child.

He walked out of the blue room with his face bent down. He didn't see  Aafreen coming in the opposite direction and he almost hit her. No one tripped or fell or got hurt. He raised to see who that person was . He was bit shocked and more confused as he felt that he had seen the girl. The girl looked at him with same confusion and left him alone.

(To be continued)

Apple of her eye- Part 6

The events of that unfortunate day was so fresh in her mind. Aafreen could still recollect memories in her mind. The sound of sudden blast induced by the miscreants had made her ears deaf to the cries of pain of people around her. But the vision was more than enough for her to feel the pain. There were people running around due to fear and helplessness. Some people were looking out for their dear one’s welfare.  Most of them lie on ground in pain with grievous injurious. It was a nightmare.

She was one among them. Lost in crowd, stunned by so many things happening around her and hurt. She was disappointed to see how humans could hurt their own kind. Did love and human compassion existed in this world? Have the humans turned into emotional cold creatures over the coming years? What she learnt during her first years in school was all lie? Books drew far different pictures from real world. If real world was going to be like this one, then it would be better for her to die than live around the miserable.

As she was engrossed in the above thoughts with her heart questioning the very existence of life, a  terrorist was trying to shoot her on sight  She didn’t see the danger lurking towards her. But someone else did notice and in span of few seconds, the terrorist lost his life. She was saved by that someone else quick action. That someone else was no other than the person she was maintaining distance- Lieutenant Abhinav Kaul.

She was in his protective arms. She should be feeling safe but she felt threatened. She tried to release herself from his tight grip. “ Leave me!”, she screamed and he released her at once. However the danger didn’t end there. Another miscreant came from nowhere to complete his dead friend’s task. He had his gun really close to her. However Abhinav’s skills of shooting were lauded by the seniors. He shot the man on his forehead in less than a second. Aafreen was shocked. He grabbed her hand and ran towards the safe side.

He had left her to the custody of another officer. The officer was female who was dressed in local attire. Her dress had concealed the woman from being recognized. She dropped Aafreen to Mohi-ud-deen’s house which was quite near. Aafreen’s aunt and uncle were relieved to see her safe. They didn’t ask her about the blast. Instead they took really good care of her and notified her parents about her presence.

Her aunt didn’t let her leave home and asked her to go home once everything settled. Aafreen was a bit apprehensive initially. Later she settled down to her aunt’s demand. She was apple of their eyes and everyone in her family. A small wound on her body or heart would make them tremble with fear. Unfortunately she couldn’t share about how she got saved. The main reason being that an army officer had saved her. They detested the sight of any army officer. An army officer even being next to her would scare them and their over protection would hinder her dreams. This would be really bad.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye - Part 5

Aafreen was in her own world. But that wasn't for long when the thump sound of something fall struck her. She ran towards the hall as if something stung her.  She saw her uncle Mohi -ud-deen in worst state ever. Fumes of fury was flowing out of his eyes and ears. She had never seen her calm uncle lose temper so easily. “ What happened, tre ( uncle in Pashto language)?” , she asked.

Mohi-ud-deen looked at his niece. His heart melted in a minute. Her soft eyes were more than enough to calm down his anger. He held her tight in his arm and kissed her forehead. “ Nothing, my child.”, he said, gently brushing her silky black hair. He had learnt to shield his emotions perfectly in front of his family. They never doubted his other side.

Aafreen got convinced from the warmth of her uncle’s words and touch. She was simply imagining. Her uncle’s calm personality was known amongst the people in whole town of Pahalgam. Unlike any of her other uncles or father, he had made his name in the world with sheer hard work and goodness. And Aafreen wanted to follow the footstep of her uncle. She would seek his advises on life and studies. She could pursue education only because of her uncle.

She released from his embrace and walked into kitchen to help her aunt to prepare snacks for the evening. It wasn't even three. But punctuality was something her uncle wouldn't sacrifice for anything. This was the sole reason the household of Abdullah was known all over the town. People flocked from smallest and unknown places in the town to his house for his advises. It had become a part of routine to visit her uncle. And this year her visits had become frequent like twice in a day.

She was back to her imagination again. Her aunt had asked her to wash few utensils. Half an hour had passed. The water was flowing and she was standing in front of wash basin without scrubbing the vessels. She didn't even realize her aunt calling her name out. How could she when her mind was consumed by thoughts of him?

A series of past moments were replaying in her mind. But this wasn't long when she felt someone hit her head. It was aunt Khadijah. "What are you day dreaming about? How many times should I call? ", her aunt scolded her. Khadijah turned the tap off and continued belittling her for spending large quantities of water, "Water is not in abundance now. It has become scanty now because of people like you. Now instead of using it carefully , you are wasting Allah's precious resources. Now tell me what is bothering you?" Aafreen lied, " No! Nothing! It's just some class assignment I was thinking about." However the truth was something else.

(To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 4

“Sigh!”, he took a deep breath. She didn’t come today also. Where was she? Will he ever see her? No chance! He should have known from the beginning that their love story was going to end before it started. It was good that things ended before it turned out to be disastrous.

“ Abhi!! Abhiiiii!!” , Nanda called his name out , distracting him from series of thoughts. “ We have to rush. The major needs us urgently.”, Nanda said while huffing in between. Abhinav could only understand the word ‘ major’ in the whole sentence. Instead of calming down his friend, he hurried towards his vehicle. At once, they were on the road to their destination.

A truck was being loaded with gunmen covered in thick black dress and a scarf that only disclosed their eyes. They had caliber sniper rifle in one hand and bombs around their waist. Their commander in charge switched on the speaker where their master - ( Mohi-ud-deen Abdullah ) spoke loud and clear, Brothers! Remember you are going on mission of god. God is waiting for each and everyone of you in the heaven with open hands. A gentle reminder- kill the demons and don’t think about the results. Let God be with you!” Later Mohi-ud-deen recited a quiet prayer.

He switched off the radio with one of quirky smiles. “ Fools!  It is so easy to make people fools based on religious sentiments.” he thought , making a final conference call to his associates in Mumbai, Dubai , Lahore and London.  “ Your work will be done in few minutes. Transfer the payment to the said account.” He cut the call and walked out of his blue room to his family. He had his lunch just like any normal family.

It didn’t care Mohi-ud-deen about the casualties of life. While everyone was burning out there, he sat with his family happily leading life he desired for years. The only thing he cared apart from his family was power in his hand. His obsession with power let him play with emotions, manipulate and influence people’s thought. He played messiah to people who put religious belief in front of everything in their lives. In the next moment, he played  the service provider to politics player and businessmen whose only motive was to take advantage of every situation and make money out of that.

Mohi-ud-deen had sip of tea while his eyes was on the watch. When it struck two in the clock, he switched on the TV and surfed the news channel for the good news. He watched carefully the ticker appearing on the lower part of the screen. There was a election news, a politician’s assassination news, something about the actress duping an innocent man of his wealth and then a breaking news cropped out from nowhere. Fifteen people were killed in a truck shootout. All were militants and no civil person were injured. There was appreciation of major and his officers especially Lieutenant Abhinav’s brave move to stop the attack.  Mohi-ud-deen was disappointment and with anger he threw the remote. It broke due to his impulsive throw.

(To be continued)

Apple of your eye-Part 3

Aafreen couldn’t concentrate in the class though it was her favorite subject.She was day dreaming about the incident with Indian army jawan. She tried hard to ward off those thoughts from her mind. But they replayed again and again. She convinced herself that she was overreacting. But those thoughts appeared repeatedly. Almost one week passed and everything was fresh in her mind.

The school bell rang, marking the end of one of day at the school. She was the first one to leave the class without even saying her goodbyes to her dearest friends. This was unusual. She walked on the path ( same path that she had discovered in order to avoid any more encounters with jawans).

“ Hey! Stop!”, a firm voice called. She didn’t respond and quickly walked until a hand grabbed her by her arm. She raised her head to see who it was. And there he was too close to her. She tried to resist his forceful arm around her. But he was too tough for her. The distance between them became smaller and smaller that even a fly couldn’t pass between them. There was madness in his eyes. She couldn’t feel anything except his hot breath on her face. She wanted to scream but her voice didn’t seem to come out.

She woke up on her bed in her small room, screaming in top of her voice. Her younger sister got up once when Aafreen’s voice hit her ears. “ What happened,khor!”, her sister asked. “Nothing Safina! You sleep. It was just a nightmare.”, she assured, giving a nervous smile. She didn’t sleep next hours until the sun rose up from nowhere.

Abhinav stood hours at the same place with his eyes only at the road where she came. But she didn’t arrive yet. This was atypical. She arrived on time at the road. He saw her friends walking without her. Where was she? Did she confront her parents about her encounter with army? Maybe her parents stopped her from continuing education. Whatever reason was, he didn’t care. He just needed a glimpse of her.

Was this love or infatuation? He didn’t know what was this feeling called. He was confused about how one could want someone so much after one glimpse. Any resemblance to her would instantly hit his sight or heart. He had never wanted someone so badly. Love makes person weak in knees. Only one glimpse of her could quench his thirst.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye-Part 2

Few minutes passed like hours and silence seemed eerie between them. He wanted to speak but he couldn't find right words to start a conversation. He had never been in company with any girl since he was in army school. The only time he saw any female species was during vacations when he would meet his mother and sister.

Beautiful! Petite! All the words that described beauty was not enough. She was even more pretty when she was so close to him. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. “How can anyone so beautiful live in fearful conditions? “, he thought. She didn't look at his side. Her head was bent down. She simply stared at her nervous hands shaking with fear. The only thing he wanted was to hold her hand and drive the fear away.

Suddenly he felt her hand touch his hand that was on the gear. He quickly felt his pulse rise to highest level and instantly looked at her wide fearful eyes. Later he saw at the same direction where she was looking. A frightened man of small built with huge tummy was almost close to get hurt At once he applied the brakes and bought the vehicle to halt. He sighed with relief to see nothing happened to the man.

However the man came barging to his side and shouted, “ How ridiculous of you! You were about to kill your good friend - Nanda and I am sure you wanted that from the beginning. And my dear friend, you proved it right.”  Abhinav simply nodded his head in amusement at his friend. Nanda looked at the girl sitting next to his friend and joked, “ Oh I see! When you have a pretty girl sitting beside you, dearest friend is of no use.”

Aafreen gaped at the two men with fear. She got out of the vehicle when Abhinav stopped her. “ You are leaving! We haven’t reached your destination yet.”  She left without saying anything. Abhinav angrily turned at his friend’s side. “ Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do anything.”, Nanda said innocently.

Abhinav didn’t speak much while Nanda tried to hop into the vehicle without opening the door. He failed miserably. He ended up hurting Abhinav and shaking the whole vehicle in process. In fit of rage, Abhinav spoke irritably, “ Why do you have to try stunts instead of sitting properly. I am not leaving you stranded and we are not in hurry.”  Later he regretted and said sorry for his sudden burst of anger. Nanda simply hugged him tight and signaled him to go.

(To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 1

The apple trees were blooming after months of hibernation. The thick belt of snow was slowly becoming thinner marking the arrival of the summer- Aafreen’s favorite season. The sun played hide and seek by momentarily hiding behind the clouds. Aafreen looked at her new watch ( it was a birthday present from her father). She was already late to school. Hadn’t it been her insomnia, she wouldn’t have slept over the day.

She increased her speed and walked on the path she had been taking since the time when the word ‘school’ was introduced to her. She was barely five and was first girl in her family to get into school. Now she was in grade 12th and one of the best student of her class. She was apple of everyone’s eye. She had the aura of attracting people to her. Maybe it was her spotless red cheeks, curious green eyes and carefree smile. Or maybe it was her way of allowing everyone into her life.

Whatever it is , one more person wanted to be a part of her life. And there he was , Lieutenant Abhinav Kaul trying to get a glimpse of this seventeen year old damsel. It had been six months since his posting in this small town in Pahalgam and he lost his precious heart to a girl of unknown land. His eyes were trained to look out for trouble instigated by the militants. However today, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was all alone and her friends were not to be seen for the first time.

“ Abhi! Be a man and speak to her. You won’t get this opportunity any day.”, he spoke to himself , mustering the courage within him. He walked two steps towards her and stopped. “ What if she calls the village heads and complain about me?”, a second voice in him said , enhancing the same amount of fear.

Somehow he shed his fear and walked towards her. “ Hi! Should I drop you somewhere? I am driving on the same road.”, he asked politely. Her face turned blue with fear. He could sense it and therefore came up with an instant solution to her fear, “ Don’t worry! I won’t harm you. I only care about safety of people. If you don’t want to take my offer, you can very well refuse me.”

She thought for a while and then nodded ‘yes’. Her inner soul condemned her for this decision. Negative thoughts circled her mind. What if someone saw her with a man? What if this army official was danger to her?  She had heard many horrifying tales about Indian soldier and in her worst dream , she never wanted to be the victim of their torture. “ What a fool am I to accept his offer to drive me to school?”, she thought after she hopped into his vehicle.

( To be continued)