When We Must Part (COMPLETE)

203 - Epilogue

203

Sanyukta closed her eyes. She could feel that Randhir was close by. She didn't know if she was desperate so she was seeking some hope in this situation, or whether her intuition was right... even if it was false, she liked this feeling. It was almost comforting to feel him near.

"Randhir," she chanted in her mind. "Randhir, Randhir, Randhir."

Tears poured out of he eyes as she chanted his name like a mantra. She didn't know if her voice would get to him, but she was certain that it made her feel comforted. It made her feel close to him... and she wanted nothing more than to find the solace she only found in his arms right now.

Upstairs, Vidhushi came back from the bathroom and sat next to Randhir, feeling upset because the guard had kept on watching her like a hawk, that she wasn't able to do anything.

"Is there anything else?" Kishore asked Randhir curtly.

"No. Thanks for listening to us," Randhir replied, and he stood up along with Vidhushi.

As the two of them were about to head towards the main doors, he stopped by some stairs that lead downstairs, and he felt an inclination to follow them down... but he shook off the feeling. It was just a staircase and his desperation for Sanyukta was getting his mind hyperactive.

They left the mansion and Randhir drove Vidhushi back home.

"Sorry Randhir, I couldn't find anything," she apologized.

"I don't think she's there," Randhir said. "She'll probably come back tonight."

After Vidhushi left, Randhir went back home and waited for Sanyukta. He stayed up all night waiting for her, but she never returned.

204

Five days passed, and they would keep keep her tied there with a buzzer pressed against the chair, in case she needed anything - like to go to the bathroom. In that case, a guard would come, untie her, take her to a bathroom in the basement itself, and when she was done, she would be tied back to her chair.

They had removed the tape from her mouth completely - it was only when they had people over that they would come back down and tape her mouth.

Three times a day, food was brought to her and her hands were untied, but her body was still tied to the chair. The knot was around her back in an inaccessible region, so she couldn't reach it with her hands to untie herself. A guard would re-appear in half an hour and take her empty plate after tying her back up.

The night before the elections, after the guard gave her dinner, she noticed that there was a small knife in his back pocket. She knew that this was risky.

"Water," she said, before the guard could tie her hands back up.

The guard nodded and bent down to pick up the plate. As the guard bent down, she reached out and took the knife, before sliding it in the fold of her sari, between her legs.

The guard returned a few minutes later with a glass of water. She downed it thirstily and passed the glass to the guard, before he tied her hands up and disappeared up the stairs with it.

She used her legs to move the knife on top of one of her thighs before bending down and using her mouth to lift it.

She cut her lower lip and it was bleeding, but she didn't care. She needed to get home. Tomorrow was the elections, and she didn't know what her family thought happened to her.

Then all of a sudden, the knife slipped and fell on the ground accidentally, giving off a loud thud that echoed off the walls.

Footsteps came rushing down and tears filled her eyes.