Chapter-5 (Pain)
Radhika entered into the study along with her mother right after her.
Her father was behind the deep brown mohagany table, in his chair, with his suit coat hung over the back of his chair. His eyes reading out papers and documents from a file. His platinum plated glasses gleamed as he had an immense concentration all over his face. His jaw set hard.
Radhika glanced at her mother in a worried expanse of a dread. Her heart started palpitating.
“Dad.” She whipered, it travelled through the thick silence and cut the low temperature.
Her father’s head jerked up. Her mother hurriedly went to his side and stood stiff by the chair.
His eyes cut to hers.
“Ah, you’re here. I was waiting to talk to you since all day long.” He said, his voice a deep soft loving tone, his eyes endearing.
Radhika blinked, he was waiting to talk to her? He was? Her throat closed up, as she felt an immense wealth of tenderness pass through her.
But, I was waiting for you to say this since how many years, dad? Her mind whispered loud a cry. A blink of an eye, remembered tge thousand nights he waited up for him. Waited for him to lift her up in his arms and smile at her once, but he glided past her without even giving her a glance, a smile, a care, a love, a glimpse of affection. No. Never. Her smile often used to diminish with that snub, leaving her heart broken and in tears.
Radhika blinked away the pained memories and smiled, really feeling the joy dispersing through her very core of heart from her lips and eyes.
“Come, here, closer. Why do you stand so distant near the door?” He asked and signalled her to come forward.
Radhika gave a look of surprise at her mother, who in return looked tensed, but she smiled only a whisper playing at her lips.
“Yes, dad.” She mumbled, and moved towards the table, smiling a wide one, feeling somehow relieved.
He flicked his eyes to the chair, beside her, Radhika took her seat, right infront of her him. He smiled back just as affectionately.
“Look, here are some patterns and designs for cards, which one do you like?” He asked her out of thw blue.
Radhika blinked rapidly at him, his silver grey eyes glittered behind the glasses, looking at her, a different light in his eyes.
Radhika’s surprised eyes flung back to her mother’s. Now, she was avoiding Radhika’s gaze.
She looked down at the cards on the neat table. They were five different cards. Brown. Blue. Biege. Red and plain white.
They were wide rectangular, designed in gold and silver borders. Her eye turned bewildered and speculative. The cards looked auspicious.
She lifted her confused eyes at her father’s smiling ones.
“They look like wedding cards. Are we attending any function soon?” She asked innocently, her voice not a notch higher than average normal one.
With that, her father threw his head back, guffawed hard.
Radhika stared at her father. What did she say that was funny? She looked up at her mother is a rather curious way.
Her mother smiled uncertainly, looking at her as if in extreme guilt.
What was happenning here, she only didn’t know about?
His father’s guffaws stopped into silent chuckles, he removed his glasses and rubbed his watery eyes formed due to the extreme mirth, which Radhika did not find relevant to the situation.
Her father glanced sideways at her mother, still chuckling.
“A function we’ll be going, she asks.” He stated and chuckled lightly and turned his eyes to hers. “It’s your wedding we’ll be attending.” He concluded in finality.
Radhika’s wide smile clipped out, leaving her lips pale, her face drained and leeched off blood, her veins thinned and squish tight holding the blood flow, leaving her heart to fail in its beating.
Her father went on.
“You’ll be married two weeks later.”
Her constricted mind trapped in a loop grabbed on to his words, as she stared arrested at the cards. The nails of all ten fingers bit into her skin deep on her both wrists. The nails broke, rapturing her skin and bleeding crimson all over her being and hands.
“You’re very lucky. I didn’t have an inch of inclination that you’ll grab a prospect much more richer than your sisters. The good for nothing, useless furniture, I thought, is actually a diamond.” He went on, still chuckling in an immense mirth.
But, Radhika couldn’t hear a word he was saying. Her ears started ringing right on at the muttered hateful words about her wedding. They still were ringing, making her dizzy, disoriented and extremely nauseous.
“I’m not getting married.” She blurted out.
No. Never. It’s not going to happen. Come whateve may. She was never to going to let go of her dream, now this close to mere hands reach.
A complete silence fell around the study, a low fog of heat surronded, tensing the atmosphere with it’s poisonous lash of fangs. It hit her skin viciously pouring its deadly concotion into her blood. It mixed with it.
Radhika reluctantly looked up at her father. He stared back her, now all laughter gone. From over his face, from over his eyes and from over his throat and lips.
She stayed stern, though a deep rake of shivers darkened her mind an body.
“Why?” He asked her simply, leaning back in his chair.
Why? Her mind vibrated the question incredulously, why because, he didn’t ask or consult or even thought about her while deciding her wedding date.
Radhika still stared remaining passive, without answering, but her resolve didn’t falter.
“I’m not getting married, dad.” She said firmly, still blinking back the coming tears at bay. Her voice wavered a bit, but not the words.
Her father’s stare sharpened at her tone, her mother looked on helplessly, never uttering a word, she stared at Radhika, pleading with her to consent. Pleading immensely.
I will never be forced, Radhika stared too with the words through her eyes travelled in communication.
Her father abruptly got up, Radhika flew up from the chair too, she felt a great different shadow come over him, she shivered feeling the blackened vibes.
Her mother rushed forward as a rescue.
“Oh, how late it is. See the time, Radhika, We’re keeping your father from his work.” Sonia crossed the distance and moved towards her husband.
Radhika saw her father, glower at the fireplace, his eyes reflectin the embers. Dark hued orange.
Her mother moved closer to her father.
“Do you want tea?…I could make….”
Right then, a whip of sound vibrated all over the walls, a huge crackling sound pierced the study, a pained moan of a heavy cry splintered apart the floor.
With widened and a deep pull of a more far pained cry bursted, howled and teared out of Radhika’s throat and lips.
“Mom!” She screamed, and fell on her knees.
Her mother lay in the floor, with her face and body on it. A hurting groan coming out of her lips. Radhika’s throat rose bile rising sobs. Immense tears flowed down her cheeks. As her chest pained crying. Her face scrunched up hurt.
She looked at her father, whose hard powerful hand clenched, the hand which gave the rippling jaw hurting slap.
“How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t need tea.” He sneered down, raising his foot to kick her mother.
Radhika sobbing jumped and clutched his foot in a tight hold of her hands.
“Please! Dad, don’t do this…please.” Radhika begged brokenly, her voice hitched and hiccuped.
“Creating useless daughters to raise their voices against me! How dare you make her grow up like this.” He growled ugly words, trying hard to shake her off his feet, but Radhika clutched on.
He stopped and glared down at her, then his eyes turned colder as he smiled and looked around.
Radhika’s body frozened in extreme hair raising, deep heart jabbing dread, when he took hold of a glass vase from the table.
She heard her mother’s painful moans, as he raised it up and flung it down in slow motion.
“Alright. Alright. i will get married next week dad! I will get married next week. Please don’t do anything to mom. Please, dad!” She screamed and screamed, closing her eyes tight, feeling her heart die out.
A complete burr of resounding vibrated more heavily in the air. Radhika eyes flew open as she gasped and desperately touched her mother’s body all over.
No wounds. Her heart stuttered, as she looked at the vase which had fell next to her mother’s head. Just a mere inch.
Radhika looked up at her father through blurring tears, hiccups attacked her lips. Her mother half unconcious. Almost dead.
“Next time, my aim wouldn’t miss.” He warned and wiped out his forehead with his shirt sleeve.
Radhika could do nothing. It was her fault. It wouldn’t have happened if she had agreed.
“Get up.” He ordered.
Radhika glanced down at her mother with new fresh pained tears flowing out of her eyes.
“Leave her there.” He ordered again, and glowered down at both of them in disgust.
“But…” She protested.
Her father took a step forward, Radhika flung up hurriedly still looking down at her mother’s faced down on the floor figure.
“Take this card. I like the red one.” He waved it, and put that in hers hands.
Radhika heard her mother moan, she immediately tried move towards her, but her father clamped his hand on her wrist. Hard. Biting.
Her face came into view, her eyes unfocussed, her head bleeding by the cut formed when she hit her head on the glass teapoy, the corner of her lips bleeding lots, Radhika’s throat let out whimper as she sobbed again, her heart being stabbed hard one after the other of heavy jabs looking at her wounds.
“Mom…” She cried heavily, her soul bleeding crimson.
“Leave the room.” Her father warned again, Radhika jumped feeling the threat wound deep her mind.
She clamped the card hard in her clenched hands, as she flew fast running out of the study. If she didn’t go out of the room, god knows what else he would do to her.
Radhika ran fast and hard, sobbing heavily, her eyes flowing, the sounds of her cry whimpering in her ears, she reached her room.
She locked it behind her and bawled her eyes out. Hiccuping. She searched her paint bag.
She tore the canvases into pieces. She flung the wooden art stool on the ground. She pushed the oil paint bottle and other water colour from the table and on the floor violently. Still crying hard. She watched the bottle crash on the floor, with the glass splintering apart, colouring the ground in rainbow coloured liquids. She pushed all of the bottles off the dressing table again, the glasses broke apart, creating an immense mess on the floor.
She glared down with angry tears. Because of this dream, her mother paid today. Paid so heavily. Paid through blood and beatings. Radhika clutched her hair on her head with both of her hands. She slid down on the floor.
Broken. Splintered. Failed. Perished. Done. Died. Her form became lifeless and her eyes turned vacant. The tears dried the river on her bloodless cheeks.
Her vacant eyes glanced down at the now bruised clenched hand. The card rumpled and messed up.
Radhika blinked slowly and unclenched her hand. She straightened it and her eyes moved on the gloden gleaming lines of the card board piece.
‘Radhika Mishra’
‘Weds’
‘Rohan Raquel Mehra’
Her eyes stayed glued to the name.
Shocked. Bewildered. Hypnotized. Surprised. Speculative. Astounded.
With all these things Radhika read out the words again. Imagining if her eyes were acting up. But not, the words were glaring back at her. Visibly glaring.
Radhika’s eyes now turned colder, as her body went into an artic pacific. Every nerve of cell hated the name with its depth and core.
Hated. Absolutely loathed. Disgusted.
It’s a business deal then. His father with that man. This wedding was a transaction. She knew it or why would a stranger without even looking at her, meeting her, talking to her would marry her in two weeks.
Her wounded mind decided and her thoughts strayed to one and only one motive.
It’s time to meet up with the destructor of her fate. To see the devil written in her destiny face to face, as her chin tilted up high in strong determination.
Radhika wiped out the tears with the back of her hand…
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Woah…mind boggling!
I felt drained out.
So, how do u like it? Haha, don’t berate me plssss, it’s house the story moves forward.
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I’m wiped. It’s 1PM now, so I really might not be coming for two days perhaps..coz of the festival…agar phone pakadkar if i sit den mera pachka hojayega yaaar haha.
Soooo,,,,, HAPPPPPPY BAKRID,,,,ADVANCE EID MUBARAK….
Til den keep smiling chicas and keep rocking al wit ur stories….im soooooo sorry i cant read.
Thena, deepa, Nats, Tanya, Anu….u rock guys and I wil read al ur stories at leisure wen Im not being glared at for lifting up the phone deez day..sweeeeeeties bu bye loveliessssss 😀
Credit to: kfar