A Twist of Fate (Slow Updates)

10

It was a sound or a peep that woke Ananya the next morning at a very early hour. Ananya opened her eyes and realized that it was still a little dark outside but the chirping of the birds had begun. She slowly turned on her back and glance on her right to check the kids. The kids were fast asleep and Kudrat was even snoring. Ananya gave a slow smile and sat up in bed. She put the blanket over Jai who had most likely kicked it off himself at some point in the night and was now clinging to Kudrat for some warmth.

She noticed that Vikram was not in the room and she assumed that he must have had had moved to his own room at some point in the night. She slowly turned the blanket and moved out of the bed as quietly as possible. As she existed the room and pulled the door half shut behind her, she heard the front door open and softly being shut.

She heard her heart hammer in her chest and with her body shaking over her jelly legs. 'Who was opening the main door this early in the morning?' She quickly walked to Vikram's room and opened the door without knocking. To her surprise, his bed was empty. Ananya quickly went the bathroom and saw that the bathroom door was open, so he wasn't even in the bathroom. Maybe, he opened the main door.

Fully alert now and gathering her wits around her, Ananya slowly made her way down stairs. Half way down the stairs, she realized that in her rush to check who opened the door, she had not worn her warm jacket and though her feet were cold, she was thankful that her bare feet ensured that her steps were extremely silent. She hadn't even stopped to put on her slippers which were lying in own her room. The house was in pin drop silence. She stopped before reaching the ground floor and slowly peeped her head out to check the kitchen and the main door.

Ananya was sure that the house was currently empty, because there just wasn't any movement neither in the kitchen nor the drawing room where Vikram usually sat late in the evenings.

She decided to call out to Vikram, "Vikram?" She called in a loud whisper. The house was eerily silent. Thanks to the dawn, the entire area was still bathed in dark light. She went down the rest of the steps and slowly made her way to the kitchen. She noticed the water vapor atop the pan containing tea over the stove but, fortunately, the burner was turned off. She suddenly felt her tiny hair at the nape of her neck stand up. She was hiding behind the glass door and had not completely entered the kitchen but from her standpoint, she could see the kitchen French windows that opened towards the outside. She saw a large man dressed in all black, including a black woolen cap and coat standing near the window and keenly peaking in. Ananya quickly backed away and hid further in the corridor. She prayed that the French windows were still locked from inside. 'Where was Vikram?' She thought to herself fanatically.

Ananya was still trying to think her whether she should confront the man or should she lie low and hide when she heard the French windows rattle a little. It was a soft rattle and had she not been standing here in a 'flight or fight' moment, she wouldn't even have heard it. She pressed her lower lip with her teeth in stress and to keep herself from making sudden movements that might attract the man's attention towards her. Thankfully, the gentle rattle of the French windows proved that the windows were indeed locked from inside. As she sagged down to her knees in relief, her gaze fell to the main door. She had completely forgotten that she had heard the door open a few minutes ago. The door was indeed unlatched. To her horror, she could see a pale thin strip of morning light hit the wall from the gap between the door and the door frame. She just prayed that the man doesn't decide to come around the front of the house and enter through the unlatched main door. Ananya went on her knees and hands and carefully poked her head through the kitchen door to see the French windows. Thankfully, the man was no longer there. But, somehow, it made her even more anxious and fearful than she was before.

Still on her knees and hands, she softly and hesitantly made her way towards the main door to secure the latch. God knew where Vikram was but she wasn't going to wait for him especially when it might actually get her killed!

As she reached the door, she heard footprints on the gravel path. Heavy but sure footsteps of a tall man. She got up in a second and pushed all her weight against the door. The door shut with a 'bang' and she secured the latch with a sweaty and shaking hand. To her trepidation, the footsteps picked up speed and instead of going away, came towards the door with urgency and determination. She braced her weight against the door to ensure that the person on the outside would not be able to push his way inside by breaking the door. She fanatically thought of ways of keeping the children safe and of an escape route. Her mind ran through various scenarios- she could escape through the balcony, but how would she move the kids? She could open the door and confront the man but what if he had more people with him and they had weapons? She could run up the stairs and look for Vikram's pistol... this idea made the most sense to her. She was still standing with her weight pushed against the main door.

The man reached the door and with abated breath she saw the handle turn slowly. The man on the other side pushed the door and turned the handle again. The man grunted and pushed the door again with force. At this point, Ananya truly believed that she was in the middle of a kidnapping story and simultaneously, as she heard her heart beat fanatically in her skull, she also felt like that lone heroine confronting the villain in a solo actor movie.

The man banged on the door once and turned the handle. He tried to push it in and when it didn't budge, he banged on the door fanatically.   

***

I finally delivered!! Yay!! Better late than never! *sheepish smile*

A BIG THANK YOU for your patience!!! ❤❤

These days are indeed some of the toughest times that our country has seen in the last 20 years or so. But in this post, I am not going to rant about Covid. Please be positive, happy and safe!  :D

With ALL my love!