Minister's Possession

Shadows of Morning

The morning after was as calm as the sea before an upcoming storm. Veena once again left her bed earlier than everyone else, but this is what she thought, not what was the truth. In another room, Minister Vinaay was already up and preparing himself for a stroll in the garden. When they both met outside, both looked shocked. None of them spoke, but they took a morning walk side by side, feeling each other's eyes on them.

"What happened last night..."

"Did you really come into my room last night...."

Both spoke simultaneously and stopped simultaneously. They looked at each other. Veena was lightly surprised, and Vinaay had a teasing smile playing on the edge of his lips.

"Do you dream about me that often to mistake a real incident from an imaginary one?" He teased, making her shift uncomfortably on her spot.

"There is nothing like that, Minister Vinaay. I ju..." Before she could speak further, Minister Vinaay interrupted, raising his brows slightly. "What did I tell you last night about this title of mine?" he asked.

"Forgive me. What I was saying is, after seeing you after a month, I thought I had seen a horrible nightmare and just wanted to make sure whether it was a real incident or some form of God or devil trying to scare me by faking you," Veena said back and looked away. A smile found its way onto the corner of her lips, seeing the frown on his face.

"I didn't know you were harboring a secret talent for comedy," he grumbled with a mock scowl. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stifle the laughter that erupted. His initial response was irritation, but as he fully absorbed the sight of her, adorned with that dazzling smile, he found himself unable to resist flashing a grin in return.

"I...hah.... am ..haha..sorry," she laughed and apologized, looking up at the sky. The first ray of sunlight hit her against her naked face, making her look more attractive and beautiful. As if with the sunlight came the realization, came the memories of the last day. Her smile disappeared and was replaced by something unreadable. Minister Vinaay, who was enjoying her melodious laugh and uncompromising beauty, saw the changes of emotions as well and came out of his spell.

"What's wrong?" he couldn't help but ask, making her focus her attention on him and his handsome face.

'He has a beautiful face, he is so kind and caring even going as far as being kind to a woman like me. A woman who was abandoned by all, including her family, a woman whose virtue was snatched from her, to the woman no one would marry in today's society.' These were the thoughts in her head, and then came the self-pity. Veena wasn't a weak girl, but at the mere age of sixteen years, she wasn't even as strong as she tries to be. Even after knowing that the incident of that horrific night wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but believe the words spoken by people around her over and over. They all keep saying it's her who is at fault; no one sees the mistake of that monster in it.

"All okay?" Minister Vinaay placed his hand on her shoulder, pulling her out from her head, and she shrieked in response, pulling herself away from him like his touch burnt her. It wasn't intentional; his touch was everything but not uncomfortable and scary. The scary thing was her thoughts, her own head.

"I... am.. so.... stay away from me, please." She had opened her mouth to apologize but ended up saying something different. She ran inside the house, leaving a confused Vinaay behind, who just didn't know what had just happened. "Did I marry a crazy woman?" he asked himself before shaking his own head as well and going back inside the house.