A Journey To Mahabharata

Chapter 6

I ran as fast as I could fearing what would happen if I could not. No, don't think about it. Don't think just run. I could hear steps behind me, telling me there was no way out. I knew that but this wasn't the time to believe that. If there was even a 0.01% chance I would grab it. Run, run, run... I kept chanting to myself.

And so I ran through the dark alley. I could see the ruins of the buildings in some of the streetlights which still worked. I turned around to see how far they were. The biggest mistake I made in my life. They weren't near but stumbled over a broken bottle of beer and I fell. The glass pierced through my skin. I pressed my hand to my mouth to muffle a scream. Tears were running through my eyes. 

Blood was rushing out of the wound, but I couldn't wait I had to run. Their drunken shouts and loud footsteps were getting near. They were having fun chasing their victim. I tried to get up but I couldn't walk it was difficult to even take a step forward. But I somehow limped into a storehouse that had a broken lock. I could see blood dripping from my wound, just hope others won't notice it.

Nearly all the windows were broken which was bringing pale moonlight into the room. There was a thick layer of dust covering the whole room. Blue drums were kept in the room upside down. I hid inside one of them. After that everything was dark.

Water still fell from my eyes from fear or pain I don't know. I silenced myself but it was of no use as in a few minutes someone entered the room. The voice sent chills down my spine.

"Baby, where are you? You know you can't hide from me."     

I woke up drenched in sweat, my uneven breaths reminding me of my nightmare. I hoped that they would stop once I left kalyug. But, I was so wrong. They trailed behind me like moths to a flame and they hit harder. I felt like I was reliving the time, I desperately wanted to forget.

One step at a time I reminded myself. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. When I gained that, I got off my bed and went towards the mirror. 'I look like a wet rat,' I thought.

"Smile Aarohi, nothing has happened. You are safe now." I softly whispered looking at my image and I smiled. I tried different types of smiles like the one showing my white teeth or the one which just upturned the corner of my lips. The one which looked the most real hid my ugly truth.

Did Draupadi do the same? Did she hide under a facade that she was ok? Had she ever felt like it was her fault? That if she had not rejected Karna or if she had just refused to come to Hastinapur she would have avoided that. Did someone hold her when she had complete breakdowns or did she hide her pain and cried herself to sleep?

At that moment, I knew why I was here. I would never let anything like this happen to Draupadi. No woman should go through that pain, that fear that she can do nothing to stop it. I will fight for her and with her, whatever it takes.      

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The grandness of the palace wasn't forgotten by me. It would take decades to get used to it. The morning was refreshing, infinite times better than home. I could hear many birds singing melodies and the sounds of Morning Prayer. The fragrance of essence stick was just wow. It was a divine experience. But I still missed home, old songs which my mother played in the morning. I and my father did not like that decade. But for her smile, we used to endure it, and you know what it was worth it.

I asked a few maids about the way they stared at me, maybe my clothes were very weird for them. I was wearing a tracksuit and my hair was in a high ponytail. It was so difficult to walk in lehenga let alone do what I had in my mind. I could feel their stairs but thankfully they did not point it out to me. I looked confident outside but I was very nervous.