The Inevitable - 1

Some incidents just happen in our lives. We can't either predict such incidents or find a reason why it had happened to us. But they leave a trail of bitter-sweet memories in our minds. And we cherish them all our life and wish that we could go through them again and again. One such incident was waiting to happen in 15-year-old Isha's life. She was a beautiful and vivacious young girl studying in her 10th standard.

On a fateful night, it was her mother's best friend Nandini Aunty's daughter's engagement. Though Isha was dying to attend that party as her internal exams were approaching, her parents refused to take her along. They instructed her to study well and promised to return soon. Isha knew that the party will last all night and they won't return any sooner than the next morning. Before leaving, her Mom kissed her goodbye and told her to lock their bungalow's main door securely.

"Open the door only for the plumber," Mrs. Verma, Isha's mother said as she hurriedly followed her husband and rushed towards the car.

After they went, Isha locked the door and started studying. Suddenly it started raining heavily. But Isha didn't take notice of it as she was busy with her studies. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and startled Isha by its loud sound. She rose from the chair and walked towards the door. As she opened the door, she saw a man wrapped in a heavy raincoat from head to toe. He was a tall man and well- built man. His face was partly covered with the hood of the raincoat and partly by the raised collars of his raincoat.

"You must be the plumber," Isha smiled as she knew that the plumber was her father's trusted one. "Please come in."

He stepped in silently without saying a word.

"A tap in the kitchen is leaking," she said as she took a couple of steps towards the kitchen. "Come on, I'll show you."

Isha walked to the kitchen and the man followed her in silence. She switched on the lights and went towards the basin on the far end of the kitchen. As she stretched her hand to open the kitchen tap, she felt a robust hand grab her by her slender waist and she was immediately pressed on a rock-solid chest. And before she could know, a damp towel was pressed on her face.

Danger bells rang in Isha's mind. Now it was clear that she had opened the door for the wrong man. Petrified Isha broke out screaming but her screams were instantly muffled by the cloth pressed on her face. She struggled with all might to break free from his grip but was rendered helpless. During the struggle, Isha's hair clip broke and her dark, silky hair cascaded over her back. A strange but strong smell was emitting out the liquid that was placed in the towel pressed to her face. And it was already making her feel giddy.

Isha realized that the towel was drenched in drugs that were meant to put her to sleep. Time was running out for her. If she didn't do anything quickly, she was very soon going to be knocked down and fall prey to his lust. She gathered all her strength and started swaying her hands and feet to set her free. But the struggles of a petite teenager were not enough to battle against his immense masculine strength.

Fortunately, the very next moment Isha's hand landed on a knife and she picked it up. She held it tightly in her hand and was about to stab that man when all of a sudden she felt a chilling wave roll up her svelte frame. Her eyes started drooping and every object in the kitchen started fading away. Even the bright kitchen lights seem to wane away from her sight. Her mighty screams turned to meek moans. It scared the hell out of her as she realized that the drugs had started taking a toll on her senses. Her hands and feet turned numb and the knife fell from her hand on the floor.

He removed the towel slowly from her face as he asserted that the girl has passed out. A gush of fresh air patted her cheeks and Isha tried to open her eyes. But her effort was in vain as it was too late for her. He picked the semi-conscious Isha up in his stolid arms and carried her to her bedroom. He laid her softly down on her bed. Though on the verge of slipping into oblivion, Isha chanced to have a look at herself. She was lying helplessly on the bed in front of an atrocious stranger with her knee-length skirt drawn halfway up on her thighs. Her T-shirt was pulled up slightly from her waist revealing her sensuously carved navel. The zipper on her shirt had come down on her chest during her struggle with that monster, exposing the blossom of her youth to a cold-blooded criminal.

"No! Leave me. Don't do this to me."

A hardly audible plea for mercy escaped out of Isha's dainty lips and then darkness took over her.