ढलती रात के साये में एक खामोशी सी है,
दिल की धड़कन में छुपी हुई एक उम्मीद सी है,
छुपा लिया है आँसुओं को पलके झुका के,
वो समझ ले अगर, तो किस्मत की जीत सी है।
◇
Author Pov
The scene within the zoo restaurant has turned from tense to terrifying. Avantika, blood seeping from her head, her white t-shirt now soaked in red, sits motionless.
Her earlier defiance seems like a distant memory, her breaths shallow as the metallic scent of blood fills her nostrils. She feels the wet warmth against her scalp, and yet, her mind is numb—a hollow acceptance settling in.
She casts a slow, hazy glance around the room, noticing families huddled together, eyes wide with fear.
Her ears pick up fragments of sobs and whispered prayers from the frightened hostages.
Despite the pain in her head, her heart clenches painfully as her gaze lands on a young woman across the room.
The woman clutches her swollen belly protectively, a child not more than three or four years old held close to her side.
The child, sensing his mother’s fear, begins to cry—a soft, frightened wail that pierces through the tense silence.
“Chup,ho jao baby,”the mother whispers desperately, trying to soothe him. “Sab thik ho jayega, okay?”Her voice is trembling, thick with fear, and the boy’s small hands clutch her dress tightly.
But the child’s cries only grow louder, the pitch rising with every sob. One of the goons turns abruptly, eyes narrowing at the source of the noise.
The sight of a weeping child grates on his nerves, and he storms over to the woman, his boots heavy on the floor.
“ISSE CHUP KARWAO!” he roars, the veins in his neck bulging with anger.
“WRNA AGAR HUM CHUP KARWANE AAGYE…” He doesn’t finish the threat, but his hand moves to his gun, fingers itching dangerously close to the trigger.
The mother’s face pales as she holds her child closer, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Beta, chup ho jao,”she pleads, her voice breaking. “Please, chup ho jao…”.
The boy hiccups through his sobs, looking up at her with wide, tear-filled eyes.
Avantika watches the scene unfold, her pulse throbbing loudly in her ears.
The numbness from before slowly gives way to anger and a sense of helplessness.
Every fiber of her being wants to reach out, to protect the woman and her child, but her body feels too heavy, her vision still blurry from the blow to her head.
In the midst of the growing chaos, Avantika hears a voice—a low, furious whisper—coming from behind her. It’s Dev, still struggling against the ropes that bind his wrists. “Bhai will come soon Bhabhi”he mutters, his eyes never leaving the goon.
But even as he speaks, Dev knows they are powerless. Every attempt to move only tightens the restraints digging into his skin, and Avantika’s weak form beside him only strengthens his sense of helplessness.
