The Waves Whisper ✓

20 | this is not the end

16
𓂃𓊝𓂃

Apoorva's words reverberated in my ears. My mouth was dry. Uttering a word felt like a Herculean task. All I could hear were our rhythmic breaths. I was not prepared to handle his confession.

"Why are you silent?" He asked. His brown eyes were pleading for an answer-eyes that shone like the sun.

My mind was foggy. I couldn't come up with a response. Because no answer could satisfy him. We were at two extreme ends of life. He was academically successful and independent, while I was married to an abuser and tethered to that marriage by a mangalsutra.

"Vikram would be here any minute." I said. It came out like a whisper.

"Yeah." A hopeless smile appeared on his face. "Vikram." He scoffed.

"You should leave."

"Yeah, I am leaving." He said as he walked out of the kitchen. I couldn't look at his face. If I had, I would've asked him to stay.

"Where are you staying tonight?" I asked as he was about to leave.

"Um... The Oberoi." He replied.

"Listen." He said before I closed the front door. "You don't deserve to be treated by your husband like this. No woman deserves that."

I looked down, my head heavy with sorrow.

"I'm not here as a knight in shining armour. You should stand up for yourself, Roopali. If you don't, no one ever will." When I looked up, he was gone. But his words stayed with me.

That night, Vikram came home drunk. I was in the kitchen when he barged in with a kurta in his hand. His face was red, furious with anger.

"Whose kurta is this?" He yelled at me. My body stiffened when I saw Apoorva's kurta in his hand. He forgot to take it with him when he left.

"Whose is this?" He screamed. His eyes are bloodshot, either from consuming alcohol or being furious at me. He made the monster in the story my mother used to tell me look innocent.

My tongue was not moving. My brain was in a frenzy. I couldn't think of an answer. Before I could think of anything, I was on the floor. He was chocking me again, like he did in the morning.

"Did you invite another man into my house to avenge me?" He lifted me up from the floor without leaving his grasp around my neck.

"Did you sleep with him, you whore?" He tightened the grip. "Did you fuck him?" He yelled again.

I could feel the fire igniting inside me. The more he tightened his grip, the more it grew.

This is not how I end.

I wouldn't let this man end my life.

I've come so far, not just to die in this monster's hands.

This. Is. Not. The. End.

"Yes." I said, in a raspy voice. His eyes widened in shock. He loosened his grip.

"What did you just say?" He asked to be reassured.

"He was better than you." I smiled sardonically. I loved to see him perplexed and hurt. I enjoyed his ego getting bruised.

"He was better than me? Huh?" He screeched. "I'll show you who's better." He said and tried to drag me by my hand. I knew what he was going to do to me once he got out of that room. I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Let go of me." I cried as I struggled to escape from his hands. My feet hurt as he hauled on my hands. He wasn't planning to leave me, so I did what I had to do. I pushed him, mustering up the strength in my body. His head hit the wall, causing his body to collapse on the floor with a thud.

My mind went blank for a second. When I regained consciousness, I saw Vikram lying on the floor with his eyes closed.
I was a corpse-not moving, not breathing, not blinking. I slowly trudged towards him with trembling legs and crouched down. There was no blood and he was breathing.

He wasn't dead. The fog in my mind cleared. I let out a sigh of relief.

...

Vikram blinked his eyes open, adjusting to the bright light coming from the fire in front of him. He coughed, inhaling the smoke. He tried to get up from the floor and failed, like a beaten-up snake trying to slither away. The pain must have kicked in because he groaned. And then his eyes trailed towards me, standing beside the fire. His mouth fell open in horror.

"What did you do?" He asked seeing the heap of paper on fire.

"That's your life's work on fire. Whatever you were writing for the past months is just ash now." I said with no emotion. He was the reason for whatever I did. He made me do it. He made me burn his story like he did mine. I knew it was evil. I knew it was heinous. But it felt good. For the first time, I felt good.

"Remember this. Remember this when you feel like hurting a woman"

"You bitch." He cursed while trying to get up. He couldn't, and he fell to the ground. He realised that both his hands and legs were tied with rope.

"Free me." He screams. "Free me, or I'll break every bone in your body."

"Well, let's see about that." I chuckled, looking at the pathetic state that he was in, wriggling his body like a worm.

Once I was sure that everything had turned to ashes, I collected a bowl full of water and emptied it on the fire. I wasn't going to let the house burn down.

"You'll pay for this. I'll make you pay." He said as I walked out of the kitchen.

"Good luck with that." I said and grabbed the bag I had packed beforehand.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Leaving this hell. I hope you rot in here alone."

"... and that rope isn't tight enough. Keep trying, and you'll loosen it." I said and walked out quickly.

...

It was extremely embarrassing to walk into The Oberoi. There was nowhere else for me to take shelter that night. They let me in after fifteen minutes of explanation. I looked crazy, and a few people that looked like they had never seen a bad day in their lives stared at me as I walked in. The manager led me to the visitor's area. After five minutes, I saw Apoorva walking towards me in a hurry with confusion in his face.

"What happened?" He asked, perplexed.

I looked around; a few people were still staring. I felt vulnerable, and I was on the verge of breakdown.

Okay, let's go to my room. We can talk there." He said as he sensed how uncomfortable I was.

"I need your help." I said once we were in his room.

"What is it?" He asked as he closed the door to his room.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

"Yes. You can." He stopped. "But, what happened?" His face looked worried.

I looked at my feet. I tried not to cry.
"I left him."

"Did he hurt you again?" He asked. I couldn't meet his eyes. I nodded. I heard him walking towards me. I felt two strong arms embrace my small body. I melt like butter under his embrace.

"Everything's going to be okay." He whispered to me and stroked my hair. I buried my face in his chest. My tears seeped through the fabric of his shirt.

"I will leave tomorrow." I said and pulled out of the embrace.

"You can leave anytime. But the first thing you need is sleep. Look at you. You need to rest." He said. He was right. My head was hurting, and all I wanted to do was sleep before I left for Calcutta, where Neelam lived.

"But..." I said looking at the only bed in the room.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll sleep on the sofa." He said and grabbed the pillow and settled on the sofa.

...

I am not really fond of the plot or my writing style at this point. So let me know your opinion. Is okay or do I need to change something?