AASHI SHARMA

Chapter 2_What happened on that day?

Aashi started her scooter and headed towards the medical shop. She recalled her conversation with her father on the way. Her father didn't say much. Even though she did not expect many reactions, at least she hoped to see happiness in her father's face. She failed again in impressing him. 

Aashi's mother died in her childhood. Her father never loved her like other fathers. So she always felt emptiness somewhere deep in her heart even being the daughter of one of the richest businessmen in India. Even though she did not know the reason for her father's feelings towards her, she tried every way to impress him but in vain. Nevertheless, the fact that she never received warmth from her father, she still hopes that one day her father will recognize her and love her like all other fathers.

She sighed deeply and came out of her thoughts as the medical shop arrived. She bought some meds and put them in under-seat storage along with her phone and headed to Farah's house. Farah lives alone since her parents live in the village. Aashi is the reason Farah's parents send their daughter away from them without any worries. Aashi takes care of Farah as her own sister and most of the days, she lives at Farah's or drags her to her mansion.

She went on in the path she uses every time but unfortunately, she has to take another since some road work is being done. She took a diversion and went as the directions board indicated. The poor one did not know what she is about to face nor she knows that her life is taking a big turn at that moment. As she entered the highway, she notices that she lost her way and stopped her vehicle. She reminisced the way she came in and immediately recognizes her mistake. So she turned her vehicle back and raised the accelerator scolding herself in mind.

 As she was halfway to Farah's, a van suddenly crossed her and stopped just beside her. The man sitting beside the driver's seat slid down the window and asked her some address she never heard. She was about to say that she doesn't know and leave but a cold hand held her hand from the back seat and pulled her in. She did not get what's happening to her for a moment and was shocked. She doesn't know what to say or what to do. The door closed and another man took her scooter and followed the van.

Aashi gets herself out of shock and notices that she is being kidn*pped. Helplessly tried to lose the grip of the kidnaper's hand around her body. As the van reached a remote place, they stopped the car and the man following them on her scooter opened the door. 

She trembled in fear as she realized what's going to happen to her. She shouted, pleaded them even tried to madly resist them. Nothing saved her on that day from those monsters. They r***d them and left her in the van while they were discussing outside what to do with her.

She wore her ripped clothes and thought only one thing in her mind. She should get out of here anyways and its worth a try to do so. Moreover, she believed in God that he will show her the way once she took a step and try to escape from there.

Aashi took a deep breath, prayed Lord Rama in her heart, and slowly opened the door from the other side and began to run barefoot. She reached her scooty by the time the kidnappers noticed her. Her belief in God did show her a way out. The scooty key is safely left in its slot. She did not wait there for kidnappers to come and catch her. She started the scooty and left that place as fast as she can and didn't look backward.

Aashi went in the path in front of her even though she did not know where it leads. She drove the vehicle into different paths in fear with her palms bleeding from the blade cuts. After a while, she calmed herself once she noticed that no one is following her and looked around. She met the dead-end and bushes beside her.

Her fear did not let her go back. So she parked her scooty there and took out the scarf from under-seat storage which can barely cover her and entered the bushes and tried to walk as fast as she could. She noticed a lake in front of her. Her hand watch with its broken glass strikes midnight. She sighed heavily as she looked at it. She can hardly walk and collapsed at the edge of the lake.