Ria could be considered a normal high school girl, medium described her best until you looked into her eyes , pretty brown eyes that stared into the world in a unfocused way, she was still standing at the edge of adolescence – not yet an adult and still instinctively, definitely not a child. Awareness had not yet sharpened her gaze as it had to most of her class mates, so her mind was still more in the clouds and her smile was sweeter for it, and the fact that she was unaware of her self drew more attention than the buxom girls who flaunted their charms. The class knew that Ria was a klutz and generally did not hold it against her. Her best friend was Prachi- they generally could finish each others sentences before the other could say it and loved each other almost like sisters. The only barrier they had to almost living with each other was that fact that Prachi’s mom could not stand Ria- who she believed had ‘spoilt her innocent daughter’. But as the girl in question was supremely unaware of any bad vibes and Prachi quite could not exist with out her conversations with her friend, Ria could usually could be found lounging at her friends house after school.
Prachi knew she should have no expectations of her own. Her life as dictated by her ultra conservative family was that ‘Girls should get married in their own clan and the boy should have a flat handy, so that the girl’s parents would fill it with all the worldly goods that that she would need, along with a hefty sum in dowry. And of course - then they would live happily ever after’ and heaven forbid any one to think differently. Now this was where Ria had a problem. What happened between the marriages and happily ever afters. Life was not as simple as they thought it was and even ‘head in the clouds’ Ria knew so.
After school every day The two friends usually arrived in Prachi’s house and aunty would bring a snack within 10 minutes of Ria’s arrival hoping against hope that she would eat –quickly - and leave. But it was generally 4 hours before the final good byes were said and the tiny light of the small bike flickered to life to lead the way to her house. Ria had trained her father to believe that she did all her home work at Prachi’s place and hence peace, an early dinner and sleep ensued. Life as Ria knew -was generally like this.
Life is a very weird course and just as you feel that you have figured out a rhythm it changes, for some it’s a gradual change like a river carving its way through mountains and then for some it is like a clap of thunder that singes the very ground it falls on. On that morning, it seemed like just another day - she was at the pool training hard for the up coming sports meet. Most of her friends did not even know that she swam. It was her own secret and she guarded it jealously, her father had paid for her to swim in a nearby luxury apartment complex and hence no one remotely connected with her knew about it. Ria knew that her father did not like her swimming alone. But she was persistent and it was now so natural that it was considered a part of her normal schedule. But riding on the lines of fate that day her bike refused to startup. Even her usual and highly inventive starting by dipping her bike low down did not work and after some futile kicking, she gave up and started to walk looking for an auto. What she did not notice was, three guys who started to follow, they had seen her struggle with her failed moped and marked her easy prey. Before she knew it, two strong arms had come from behind to cup her chest and another started to grope under her body. She could not think for a min, even to move seemed impossible, struggling and trying to scream with her closed mouth, she bit the hand that was holding her mouth shut and let out a heart rendering cry. But of no avail. She was in an unknown area and there seemed to be no one around. Within a heart beat she was pushed on the ground, intelligently her knee connected with her assailants groin and she had the pleasure of seeing him howl in pain. Then a large hand hit her face and just before she passed out - saw a shadowy figure running toward where she was!!
‘OHH the pain in her head’. She slowly focused her eyes and within split second remembered what had happened. Struggling to sit up she looked around A crowd had gathered and were staring. No one moved, they were not looking at her but at some one beside her. A man was lying beside her - his hand at an awkward angle that left no one is doubt it was broken. Blood covered his face and arms. And still the people stared.
That’s when it hit her- Words just came out of her mouth expressing her fear and raising her pitch to a shrieking decibel level ‘What is WRONG WITH YOU ALL?? CANT YOU SEE A PERSON IS HURT! Has any one called for an AMBULANCE?? And for the first time in her life, she screamed out loud and promptly fainted.
The next thing she knew was cool hands being laid on her fore head. And some one was sponging her face; she saw the steel of the injection and passed under again. Pain hit her again and again until she was left feeling numb on her jaw and her head throbbed, She felt another presence and saw herself looking at a lady. One part of her head studied her ‘A small face with a nicely pressed sari’ while some thing did not seem to be functioning at all. She could only hear the roar of the waves or so she thought. Then she finally seemed to pick out the sounds. Her father was there! Looking dazed and agitated, in an argument with a stranger. The lady who was now looking at her said. ‘She is coming around now’, and suddenly she became the hub of all the activity. But all explanations seemed to be stuck in her throat. Why were you there? What the hell happened?? What happened to the bike? Why didn’t you call!!!(Oops forgot she had a cell) Who did this? Was it the boy? The list of questions went on endlessly. And still she couldn’t talk.
‘Just let her be. I can fill you in now’ said a new voice. Ria saw the person who had saved her. A tall, thin boy who had a very firm face , he seemed to know what was going on better than her and was describing the features of the people who had fought with him. Ria felt deserted, her father seemed so far away and as she remembered the reason why she was here in the first place, she felt ashamed and guilty as if she was the one at fault. Slowly a hand moved to touch her hair, a pair of the most soft eyes looked at her, ‘ Hello child, are you feeling a lot of pain ? is there any thing I can do to make you feel better’ asked the lady whose body seemed to radiate concern.
Having never been addressed so kindly till now, nor seen such a look of caring in any ones face, she did what she had almost never done in a long time. Ria burst into tears. ‘Ohh you poor child, don’t cry. It’s going to be ok’ the lady crooned. Comforted Ria slid back into her dreams. The next few days passed in a blur. She blocked almost all the events out of her system trying to forget them and make herself as normal as possible. At least she told herself-she was alive and she would recover from her injuries faster than the person who had come to her rescue. He had been shifted to a bigger hospital and that was that.
Ria slowly got back to her routine, her father now took her to and fro from the pool and the news of her accident did not spread out at all. The only people who knew were limited to the numbers of her fingers on one hand. ‘Oh I wish I could say thank you to him!’ Ria thought for the umpteenth time, in the pool as she accustomed her muscles back to the way they used to work. Back and forth she was weaving slowly, wrapped up in the most primal feeling of water flowing across and above her. Hey!! Some one seemed to be shouting at her. “Ohh!!!! It’s him’ thought Ria righting her self up looking across. It was the boy who had hurt himself rescuing her from the most traumatic episode in her life. Gratefulness surged in her and she raced towards him - only to encounter the most ferocious pair of eyes staring down at her.
