Buried Deep Under ......

 

The roads in the region were deserted and it was giving an appearance of a secluded dwelling but today nothing could deter my determination and grit to reach my destination at any cost. This is true; I was very much determined but at the same time I was damn petrified and scared too. I was walking really fast. I was wearing a Black jacket and one counterfeit beard just to disguise the people who could recognise me; also carrying a sharp flanked gigantic knife in one of my Jacket’s back pocket; just to try it out when some invincible situation arises; but I had a feeling that some eccentric, really colossal and damn ghastly events were going to happen. 

 

I was walking in one of the by lane; my phone started vibrating. I took out phone from my pocket and peeped into the phone Inbox window. Her message was there,” Raman time is not there … Please come fast... “. I replied back, “10 min”. I was just 200 meter away from that place. I could able to listen to the noises; all assorted up – Bollywood songs, tête-à-têtes among people etc. I checked my watch; it was showing 11’o clock night. I took a deep breath; started walking again and just 50 meter away from the main gate, I made a hideout under a closed shop which was not discernible from the front gate of that place. I took out my phone and sent her message, “I am near to the pan shop …come fast “.My phone vibrated again,”10 minutes”; her message was there. It was the condition of life and death for both of us .I started monitoring the events going on at the main gate from the small window of the shop. I was waiting for her twitchy; desperation & anxiety level was crossing all limits; I saw one woman coming straight towards the pan shop; her face was completely covered; she was wearing burka. The woman came near to me and took off her hijab .She was the one for whom I was frenziedly waiting; she was the one for whom it did not matter for me whether I live or die; she was the one for whom I can fight against any impregnable circumstances and situations – My Love Sara. Yes you got it right, Sara khan and me; Raman Yadav.” We have to go now.. Fast …” Sara shouted. 

 

I held her hand and soon we hurried out and started walking briskly; were trying to move away from that place as fast as possible. We were literally running, wanted to go to bus stand; which was 3 km away from that place. Last bus was about to leave; when we finally arrived there. We got into the bus and settled at the back. Bus slowly started moving. I was holding her hand, she looked at me and smiled and covered her face again. Soon she was in deep sleep, I checked my watch it was 1’o clock; Bus was gaining momentum; she rested her head on my shoulder. I looked at her and went into deep thoughts. Today we did not know where we were heading. There was no destination for us but we wanted to reach to an anonymous and safe place where nobody knows anything about us and our religion. I did not realise when I fell asleep but there were millions thoughts in my mind and I started reminiscing my past moments. 

 

The whole story flashed back in my mind, the whole anecdote about my first meeting with Sara in college; the way I proposed her and how I had to run for my life because of my true love for Sara; whole courtesy to Sara’s parents who were the most powerful force in Bellary. Today was the Sara’s wedding, Just 2 day’s back I got a message from Sara that if I did not come to take her away she would die. So here was I with Sara, trying to run away from everyone; not know anything about our commencing future. 

 

I felt sudden jerk as if the bus rammed with some other vehicle; everyone in the bus woke up. People inquisitively started looking outside. Within a span of some seconds , A group of people barged into the bus wearing black masks and started yelling , “Nobody moves , otherwise we will chop your head … We are looking for someone,”. They were carrying knives and guns. One person moved forward and started checking passengers. When he was just one foot away from us, another person shouted, “Those runaways are there …last seat “. Soon couple of guys marched towards us and at that time I realized my fear had become true. Those guys had come for us. They attacked us; attacked us literally hard and dragged us out of the bus .People in the bus did not react or did not want to react. They dragged us on the street for few seconds and thrown us at the back of Tata Sumo vehicle; which was parked in front of the bus. Those people jumped into the vehicle and accelerated the vehicle to the top speed. They checked my pocket and took out the knife, started abusing and beating both of us. Their voices were quite familiar. I had been pleading not for me, for her but they did not show any sympathy. We would have travelled 30 minutes, I just sneaked a look at the side window; car was entering into one Farmhouse. They stopped the vehicle and pulled us out and took off their masks; revealed their identity, 2 of them, I could not able to recognize but 2 guys I knew, one was Sara’s father and another was my own brother. Tears started rolling my eyes when I had seen my brother as my captive. I asked him, “ Why Rohit ,,, why? “,They did not say anything , I could make out from the expressions on their faces ; they were in no mood to listen to any other thing ,Their eyes were red ; filled with hatred and anger. 

 

Sara’s father took out the knife and stabbed her on her chest. She was screaming and he did not stop; repeatedly he was stabbing and with one final stroke with a knife; he chopped her head off. I was watching this whole forbidding episode helplessly and could not able to react. Sara was no more and next turn was mine. I did not want to live and these people also wanted to sacrifice me in the name of religion and orthodox thinking. My brother turned towards me; His eyes were red; within a span of fraction of seconds my head was thrown on the ground; blood spattered all over the place. They took the pieces of our bodies and then buried deep in the ground. I and Sara are lying lifelessly deep in the ground so is our true love; raising same obsolete and old-fashioned questions again and again to our society. “Is there no place for the true love?” “Do we need to continue doing the same, sacrificing people in the name of religion “.”This so called Honor killing will continue?” I don’t have any answers, may be you guys have.