Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 73 : Journal : Another Brick on the Wall

I could still not forget that day. Sometimes it makes me wonder as if my destiny was to be close to Abhinu and protect him from the harm that the sisters would be planning against my sweet and innocent Abhinu.

I decided to continue reading the journal entries.

                                                                            17th August 1994

There was nothing much to do at home. As promised to uncle I woke up at 5 a.m. I don't want them to be mad at me. Well something happened in school the other day with Darika and Garima and they were pretty mad and annoyed with me. I kept asking them what happened and the only thing they replied is that only my death would give them peace. I really don't know why they said that, cos as far as I could recall, I didn't do anything to them which would make me mad. I went to the kitchen to get the things ready so that aunty could get the breakfast ready when she wakes up. At around 6:30 she wakes up and hugged me softly and said that because of me and my help, she was able to get continue the last 6 months without any incident. She reminded me to be mentally  and physically strong so that when the day finally comes for me to be free, there should not be any roadblocks. I know she tries everything in her power to keep me safe.

We kept talking about random things while getting breakfast ready. Another 3 months and we are going to have a new member of the family. I came to know from her that it's going to be a boy. I just hope he grows up to be a better man, unlike my sisters and hopefully he treats me better. I wish he would never know that I was born a boy at birth.

After breakfast, aunty called the 4 of us into the living room. She has a bag on her hand. She asked me to sit next to her and then started telling my sisters that Abhishek had promised me that once every 3 months, I get to put on boys clothing till midnight, and so uncle and aunty had decided that today is the day and that they should consider me as their brother for the rest of the day. None of the rules are applicable to me for the rest of the day.

She gave me the bag and the moment I opened it, it contained a beautiful shirt, a long trouser and a blazer, with a tie on it. However there are no shoes. Aunty asked me to go and get changed. I couldn't describe how excited I was, I was finally getting to wear a shirt and a trouser after almost 8 months. I was so excited that I thanked Aunty and went to my room to put that on.

As I was putting on the shirt, I suddenly realised that because of my breasts, the shirt won't fit me well and so I still had to wear a sports b*a to set them properly so that I can button the shirts. It took me about 20 minutes to get ready. I began to admire myself in front of the mirror and the more I kept looking at myself, the more I realised that I don't look the same anymore wearing a male attire. As I picked up the tie from the box, I found a note in it. It was from uncle and there it was written "I know you are very happy wearing the attire, but remember that during the day you are supposed to wear shoes at home. I want you to put on a pair of Pumps of your choice along with the dress. I had no choice but to put them on.

Later around 10:00 A.M. aunty came to my room and said that she had to go and meet the doctor and from there she has to go to the bank and then asked my sisters to be good to me. After she left, I decided to walk up to Darika's room and sat on her bed and wanted to talk to her. Garima was also there. The 2 of them, pushed me from the bed and because of the heeled pumps I lost my balance and fell on the floor. The 2 of them sat on top of me and shouted saying that I am a disgrace to a human being, I am neither a boy or a girl and just because I pretended to be famous at school and was able to get a hot girlfriend, she has no rights to make their life miserable every chance she gets. They further said that I was born to be their bondsmaid and thats the universal truth.

Hearing their shouts, Aamaya di came up to the room. She tried to convince them not to hurt me and then darika reminded her not to forget what uncle said, if I actually decide to put on the shirt and trousers. They pinned me to the ground and tied my hands and feet together with a dupatta. 

I struggled but then they did the inevitable. Aamaya di pulled out the belt from my pants while Darika and Garima got a pair of scissors and began to cut the blazer and my pants. I struggled and begged them not to do such a thing, but the 2 sisters kept saying that they only consider Abhishek as their brother and no one could replace him and since I tried to replace him, I had to be taught a lesson. 

They also said that even though uncle and aunty might want to make life better by considering me as their daughter in law, but I will still have to earn their respect first which by the way if not going to happen as long as I am alive.

Garima then took off my shoes and then Aamaya di started to hit the bottom of my feet with a belt. I kept pleading them to stop but they kept assaulting me till they were fully exhausted. She left me lying bound on the floor for the next hour and then the 3 of them dragged me to my personal room and laid me lying on the floor. They picked up a frock and a pair of pumps and left it there and asked me to put it on whenever I want.

They untied my hands and challenged me that I can tell about this to anyone I want. This room has an auto-lock system and as they pulled the door from outside, the room was locked. It can only be opened by my key. Once they left, I found both my feet had swollen up. I tried to get up to put the frock on, but my feet gave up. Lying on the floor, unable to stand-up all I could do was to cry due to the pain. I pulled myself to take the support of the wall, pulled the teddy towards me which mom gave me as a child, hugging it with one hand, and began to write the entry early. I knew for a fact that I would be unconscious at any moment. With the door locked from the inside and no one knows the location of the key, it would be a few hours before I am finally rescued.

**** What the hell happened... they stripped him only because of a retaliation for what I did to them at school. Damn I wish I knew about this and never challenged the girls to a match, Abhinu would still be safe. But what's wrong with these girls. Why do they hate him so much? 

He has not done anything wrong to her. I was the one who hurt them, and instead they hurt him because of me. When will they understand that Abhinu is only a lost soul who has lost everything in life and all he desires was a little bit of love and care from them, but they are frugal with that too. 

I just wish I could meet the girls and show her what Abhinu might have felt that day. I continued reading the journal and suddenly figured out that the next entry was from the 28th October 1994. ***

                                                                    28th October 1994

As I woke up, I saw a lady in a paramedic uniform sitting on a chair. Aunty was holding my hand and sitting next to me. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and saw that both my feet have been covered in a white-colored cast. I looked at aunty and discovered that her tummy was not swelling anymore. My new baby brother is probably born too.

Aunty rolled her hand over my hair and said that she is sorry for what her daughters did to me. She also said that I was unconscious for almost 2 and half months. Because of the beatings, my sisters gave me a few bones in my feet were dislocated. As a result, I have a cast on. Aamaya di has been admitted to a Trauma Center for anger-management.

I hugged her and as I was about to tell her that Aamaya di was not the one to be blamed for the incident, she asked me to silent about it and said that she knows that Aamaya di is innocent, after what happened, uncle confronted her and told her that he knows that Aamaya di who was responsible for Abhishek's disappearance and I was aware of it too, so he wanted to teach the 2 of us a lesson and whatever happened that day was his way of retaliation to find the whereabouts of his missing son.

Aamaya di is still in the trauma center and is expected to return by the 15th of November. I also came to know from her that she lost her baby. He was born 3 weeks premature as a result he was kept in an ICU for observation however there were some medical complications, and the baby didn't survive. 

She also told me that because of the way my sisters tied me up that day I suffered an injuries in my spinal cord and due to the beating my tibial nerve had serious damage and I suffered a stroke. Doctors gave up on me and declared me brain dead.

Aunty told me that with the blessings of Devi Bahuchara I was returned to her however I will have to be bedridden for at least 4 months, till the nerves heal itself up. She said that she has been observing fast every Friday for my well-being and that I should not feel disheartened about losing a brother. 

She has never considered Abhishek as his son because of his bad habits and wants me to know that she already has a son in me and no matter what everyone says, how I look or what clothes I wear, I will always be her little boy and it’s a universal truth and no one can take that away from her.

*** 'O' dear... I wonder what happened to Aamaya di in the trauma center. I hope they have not tortured her there. There is no words to describe the sacrifices Aunty and Aamaya di did for Abhinu. I just wish Aamaya di is still alive and that woman from the accident is someone else. I am going to take care of Aamaya di for the rest of my love. A girl like her really deserves all the love in the world.***

Damn, how stupid I can be, I started hitting my forehead with my hand.

I remember after we returned back from Kolkata to Purulia and I found that they Darika and Garima joined the same school as mine. This incident clearly explains why I didn't see Aamaya di till the end of the session. Later on when Aamaya di joined school, I learned from her that they are our next-door neighbor.

One day I went to meet them, Abhinu was not well that day, Aunty called me up and requested me never to give up on Abhinu and if possible to keep helping him any way she could so that he never breaks down and tries to kill himself amidst all the abuses that her family would be giving him over the years.

She revealed some crucial details about a plan she was setting up in motion to rescue Abhinu. She received a call from someone few days back, who confided in her that he was also a victim of Uncle’s wrongdoings and had devoted his life to stop uncle from hurting any other kids just like Abhinu. 

He disclosed some of the most disturbing activities of Uncle which shuddered auntie’s conscience and convinced her to believe in this man. The man said he was very aware of how Uncle was conducting illegal gender change experiments on his own nephew. 

He said he needed her help and patience in this matter. He needed time till Uncle’s empire would be at its most vulnerable and then he and his associates will come for Abhinu and Aamaya di. But till then, he said he needed Aunty to not act and rouse Uncle’s suspicion and just keep Abhinu safe and protect him in her own way. He assured her that with time she will see uncle’s empire dismantle and him as helpless as his victims.

For some reason, she believed in the determination and confidence in the man which gave her a sense that she was not alone in all of this, but she also disclosed her fears to this man that she cannot possibly wait forever for his plan to gain traction. All she wanted was to make sure that Abhinu and Aamaya is as far away from this evil man’s clutches as possible.

The man sympathised and persuaded her to wait. He promised her that even though his plan might fail, he has someone amidst us, who will always look out for Abhinu and if things get truly bad, he will come to his rescue. And no matter what the consequences could be, he will take Abhinu and Aamaya di away from Uncle and assured her that he will do everything in his power to provide them the life they truly deserves.

He also went on to mention something about another person who had a personal stake in destroying Uncle and had been sent to prison because he was getting too close to Uncle’s criminal empire. He also knew of a very high-ranking Police Officer in Kolkata Police who would be personally interested in Abhinu’s rescue and in due they would all come together to devise a plan to bring Mr Banerjee to justice.

How the hell can I forget that day? That was the only reason I keep visiting that house every day. I didn't trust aunty a single bit however a part of me felt aunty was telling the truth.

I was happy that aunty thought my presence would keep Abhinu mentally sane and he will know that there is someone who will never give up on him.

I know I had to talk about this to my parents because this was important. I thought I had enough for the day and decided to take a nap.

                                                                    TO BE CONTINUED…

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