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A Narrow Escape

A Narrow Escape

6 mins
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She ran. Her feet sped as fast as they possibly could. At the crossroad, she turned into the by-lane, trying to shake off the man following her. Throwing furtive glances over her shoulder she could see him far behind, but he had noticed her and was chasing her. She could hear him shouting at her to halt. As she ran ahead, she came across another crossroad linking the by-lane to the main road. The distant sound of drumbeats and cymbals of an approaching Ganpati procession sounded like music to her ears. She ran faster. The procession was almost within reach when she heard him scream out to her to stop. Not pausing to look back, she just pushed her way into the crowd.

She thanked her stars that she had chosen to wear a red ensemble. Red seemed to be the color code of that procession. She mingled beautifully with the dancing damsels. A sideways glance showed the man shaking his head in disbelief and walking away. She heaved a sigh of relief. She did not have the courage to look back to see whether he had actually gone. ‘What if he was still standing there waiting for her to make the wrong move!' She softly requested the girl in front of her for a pair of lezim. The girl gave her a curious look but silently handed the pair over. Suja had always enjoyed playing the lezim. The rhythmic sound quietened her pounding heartbeats. After an hour of playing and dancing with the procession, she found the courage to look around and saw that the man was nowhere around. The procession had almost reached Shivaji Park. The massive crowd at the beach seemed to be a Godsend. Thanking Ganpati Bappa, she quietly slipped away from the procession and made her way back home which was just a few minutes from the beach.

She rang the doorbell and her mother, as usual, came to open the door. But what she saw inside left her stunned. There he was, sitting on his armchair, his legs crossed over and his face buried in the newspaper.

‘Oh my God,' she thought. ‘How did he turn up here so quickly? Had she been mistaken in thinking that she had seen him in the by-lane?' A train of confusing thoughts threw her mind into chaos. She moved swiftly towards her room when a soft voice stopped her suddenly in her tracks.

"Suja," he called. "My dear, look at me. Are you all right? Did you get selected?"

The concern in his voice was her undoing. She could not hold back her tears any longer. She knew he had seen her. She knew she had to confess. She turned and ran into his outstretched arms. He enveloped her in a protective embrace trying to soothe her frayed nerves as sobs wracked her whole body.

"No Dad," she muttered. Her upward glance glistened with tears, as she tried to achieve a semblance of control.

"I should never have gone there Dad," she admitted. "I realize it now."

Suja had always had dreams of becoming an actress, and when her friend had said that she would introduce her to Nikhil Pal, a film director, she had accompanied her unhesitatingly. The first meeting had gone on fine enough. The conversation with the middle-aged, well-dressed man over a cup of coffee had been quite friendly and uneventful. Then the director had turned to her and asked her to meet him to discuss a role at a jaunt that she was not too familiar with. She had come home and given the news to her parents. Her father had restrained her from going alone, saying that she should not have blind faith in a man she hardly knew. She had argued, cried, done everything to convince him but he was intent on not letting her go alone there. Frustration had made her stomp her feet and run out in a huff. Her father had called out to her, but she had not responded.

It was now that she recognized that it was her aspiration, her dream that had clouded her vision. When she had reached that unknown joint, she had been struck by its garish appearance and the seamy crowd. She had seen that man, Nikhil, in a drunken state holding on to the bars, leering at the women. When he had set his eyes on her, she had felt uneasy. He was letting his eyes roam lecherously over her body. She knew that she had to run. Fortunately for her, she was still a few feet away from his outstretched hands trying to grab her. She had run and how! And it was while running away that she had seen her dad. She had tried to hide from him as she felt ashamed that she had disregarded his orders.

"How do I tell him that I went against his wishes, and got myself into such a situation?" had been the only thought in her mind as she fled.

"Dad," she looked up at her father curiously. "Why did you follow me?"

"That's an interesting story," he replied softly. "Suja dear, when you mentioned the name Nikhil Pal, the name seemed to strike a chord," replied Jagannath. "I was racking my brains, and it took me just a few minutes to realize that this Nikhil Pal was the same person who had been a suspect in the human trafficking case that had been placed before our police investigation team."

"I was alarmed and concerned. Quickly, I rang up my office and they confirmed my suspicions," Jagannath paused.

"But by then you had already gone away. So I followed and tried in vain to attract your attention many times. But either you did not hear or you did not want to hear. But then, I could not allow my only daughter, who prides herself on being more intelligent about the ways of the world than me, to be caught and harmed in such a racket, could I?" he smiled disarmingly, patting her cheeks with affection. Suja held on tightly to his hands as she gave him a wobbly smile.

"But why did you not pursue me after I joined the procession?" she asked curious to know why he had shaken his head and walked away.

"Oh, that!" he exclaimed with a smile. "I knew that you were out of danger and now your only mission was to give me a slip."

Suja was stunned for a minute, and then the air crackled with the merry sound of their laughter. Her mother, a tense, bemused witness to the whole episode let herself smile at last as she clasped her palms together in a prayer of gratitude to the Lord.


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