Minutes Before The Miracle

CHAPTER - 33

Thought of the chapter :-
Fate decides who comes into your life, your heart decides who stays.

-x-

The chapter might be triggering for some readers. Read at your own risk.

-x-

STEVEN

"A blood curdling feminine scream reverberated through the dense foliage of the woods. My insane pace of running slowed down gradually at the heart wrenching scream, until it turned into an easy jog.

It was a night of the crescent moon with a pocket full of stars sprinkled all over the raven sky. The sky that looked promising a couple hours ago, now seemed depressing as though someone robbed it of its charm. The streaks of moon washed the forest in a dull mercury hue, its glimmer toning down with each filtration through the sheets of leaves.

A deep sense of fear brewed within me. With slow, calculated steps, I moved towards the direction of the bellow. The abrations on my skin made the journey torturous, with the tiny twigs scraping and the leaf blades scratching.

A one-storey house stood a few footsteps away from me. The drab red drapes moved in sync with the light breeze. It was dark inside, apart from the pale glow of a dirty yellow light. I took a deep breath to calm my pants when I heard the sound of muffled cries coming from the window. The desperate cries turned intense as I ambled forward in shaky steps.

Reaching the little window, I drew open the drape bit by bit."

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, and close my eyes as if praying for power to speak on.

"It was the first time I witnessed defilement..."

I shut my eyes in resignation. A sense of anger and helplessness overpowers me. I can feel Emma's hold loosening.

Deep breaths.

"There were two bodies, as naked as the day they were born, one defiling and the other in the last vestiges of struggle. Shrieks of vulnerability turned into moans of helplessness. The girl laid limp as that demon stripped her off of every shred of innocence. The tear striken face of the young girl could haunt a saint. Her lifeless eyes spoke volumes of pain. I saw the two extreme faces of humans - the innocent one, absorbing all pain in ignominy and the diabolical one, being sadistic.

There wasn't any track of time. That beast got up after he satiated his thirst and went away. I tore my eyes from the cheap bed and looked around the room. Empty bottles of alcohol were rolling on the floor along with degenerated pieces of fabric, that were once part of some outfit. A stack of clothes and palettes of makeup were lying in one corner. An old mirror with wooden edges sat on the other corner with cracks all over and splats of red... seemingly blood.

A loud thud broke my trance. A bulky man with a pot-belly entered the room. Tossing away his clothes, he climbed on the bed producing a creak and did the shameful act. Again.

A fifteen year old, hungry, tired and injured boy saw everything with his own eyes. Four men of varying ages coming and committing sexual assault. That day, I witnessed rape. Something that nobody should even witness, let alone go through. By the time everyone was finished, the eyes of the girl were closed, blotches of crimson stained the sheets and I lost my consciousness."

-x-

"An off white ceiling with peeling plasters welcomed me when I struggled to lift open my lashes. My eyes closed on their own accord as the blinding sunrays fell all over me. A splitting headache was what I felt next and I held my head as a reflex. I slowly sat up and saw four pair of prying eyes directed at me. An obese lady, probably a sexagenarian; a bulky man in white clothes and rippling muscles and two young, undernourished girls.

I felt fear. Fear of the inevitable.

"What did you see?" the lady with the pot-belly sitting on a creaky, wooden chair interrogated me.

I kept quiet.

"Who are you?" she asked again.

And I maintained silence.

"How did you reach here?"

Silence.

"Will you do a job?" And that got me.

"What job?" I whispered, looking a little towards the burly man who chuckled lightly.

"That you'll come to find once you start doing it. Give this boy some food and he will start from today."

One of those girls served me some pieces of bread and pickle. The other one's eyes were glued at me.

Those eyes.

They seemed rheumy.

They screamed susceptibility.

They were helpless...

And familiar.

The eyes that I saw the day before.

A strong breaker of guilt ate me up. Probably, she had seen me peeking through the window and hoped that I would save her last remnants of dignity.

But I couldn't.

Or perchance, I didn't.

And that minute, I learnt my third life lesson - If a thing is within your reach and you can do something about it but you choose not to, then there will only be a heavy sense of regret later.

I finished my food with difficulty and got up to walk out. Two steps away from the threshold, I gazed at that girl again."

I gulped twice before I could continue.

"And realisation struck me like a thunderclap.

Her dewy eyes were focused again.

Not at me.

But at the empty plate I had left behind..."