"THE FORGOTTEN ONES"

The Unexpected Visitor

"Gouri, wake up!"

Who's calling me? I'm so tired... I just need to sleep a little longer.

"We don't have much time, wake up."

What...? Gouri slowly opened her eyes and found herself in her own bed. She looked around, but there was no one there. Who was calling me  just now?

"Whatever, I'll just go back to sleep," she mumbled, closing her eyes again. But the strange voice called out once more, this time more urgent, "Here, please come here."

Gouri turned her head and saw a girl standing by the door, looking back at her. In that moment, Gouri remembered where she was before she fell from the window. She wanted to escape, but the room was sealed off. The only door she could see had disappeared.

The girl was now sitting on the left side of Gouri's bed, her voice filled with pain as she pleaded, "Help me," reaching out her hands toward Gouri.

Gouri noticed something written in Hindi. She couldn't make out all the words, but she caught the name "Abhi." As she looked back at the girl's face, she saw a shadow behind her. It was a man, holding an axe, with a smile that sent chills down her spine.

His face was half-crushed, his eyes barely clinging to his skull as if they might fall out at any moment. The man swung the axe at the girl's neck, and her head dropped into Gouri's lap.

Terrified, Gouri screamed with everything she had, and the head in her lap whispered, "You must find him."

Suddenly, Gouri's eyes snapped open again, and she found herself back in bed. The room was a simple kaccha house—a rustic structure made of grass and wood, common in rural India.

She wanted to run, but her body was covered in injuries. Confusion gripped her as a voice came from her right, "So, you're finally awake. I'm calling someone to check on you."

A Sikh boy wearing a black turban appeared before her eyes. He was sitting on a chair but quickly left the room. Soon after, a few women entered.

"How did you get injured? Did someone attack you?" asked a woman around fifty-four years old. But Gouri couldn't answer; she was still caught in the nightmare she had just experienced. She feared these women might turn into something horrific, just like before. Trembling with fear, she managed to stammer, "D-don't... p-please don't kill me."

A doctor entered the room, but his face was hidden. He, too, wore a turban. Gouri's vision blurred, likely from the exhaustion of waking up after such intense injuries.

"Thank goodness she's back to normal. Her body is fine, and she should be on her feet soon, but I can't say the same for her mental health," the doctor remarked.

Gouri heard everything but desperately wanted to know where she was and who these people were surrounding her.

A man spoke up, "Thank you so much, Uncle, for helping us. If it weren't for you, she would have been handed over to the police before receiving any medical care. I'll make sure to inform the authorities about her."

It was the same guy who had been sitting beside her. After the doctor and women left, the man moved to close the door from the outside.

"Don't go," Gouri pleaded in pain, and the man came back in, shutting the door behind him.

"Who... who are you?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Don't worry about that for now. You're safe here. Just rest before you push yourself any further. Uncle said you'll be fine in a day or two, but the injuries you've sustained are serious. Make sure to take proper medicines once you get home," he replied with a gentle smile.