The houses were blazing with fire, brighter than the setting sun. The sound of the glasses of the luxurious cars being shattered was echoing in the ears. The shrill shrieks of the women being attacked terrified the soul. The slangs of the men soared in the air. Thugs with cycle chains, iron rods, fire balls, kerosene cans, and butcher’s knife spread everywhere. Families shrunk into the deepest corners of their house. Some brave men went out to fight for the ladies who were the target of these savages. A few hours ago the place was as good as a well developed locality. Now, it was a jungle of fire and shrieks. Every single person seen was running in order to save his life or his dear ones. The men were killed because they tried to come between the attacker and the victim. The attackers were a large group of wild men, no less than animals, who entered the locality in order to take the soul out of every single girl in her adolescence. Mercilessly they attacked the tender girls who were merely aware of their sexuality yet. The reason behind this animosity wasn’t known.
Every single person who tried to save his daughter or sister was dead. So were Alin’s brother and father. Her mother hadn’t been in house for a couple of weeks. She probably had no idea about the loss of her husband and son. Alin was scared enough to stay within the ruins of the flat which once used to be her happy home. She heard girls and women screaming and knew what was happening to them. She knew that she is going to meet the same end. She was shocked to shed even a single tear. She was just fifteen with a quite plain complexion but sharp features. Looks weren’t going to save her from being raped. She couldn’t mournn on her dear ones’ death. She couldn’t think of her fellow mates who were out there. She was so indulged in her blank thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps coming closer to her.
A hand was placed on her right shoulder and she got up from the ball shape, she had squeezed herself into. She screamed out loud, but couldn’t hear her own voice because another hand was now on her mouth. She couldn’t dare to turn around. She did not need to. The person who bore those hands presented himself before her and she brought herself to hug him tight and for the first time in hours, she broke down in his arms, in Vishal’s arms. Vishal had been her childhood friend who eventually became her secret admirer. She wasn’t aware of his love as he had never confessed it to her. He was the closest person to her outside her family. With no one from her family around, he had probably become her only family. He tried to calm her knowing that it was an impossible task. He felt stupid himself while asking to do her so. He had searched for her as soon as the riots begun. He couldn’t find her. He wouldn’t have been able to forgive himself if something had happened to Alin. He had seen her father and brother’s dead body lying a few feet away from them. Being an orphan himself he could feel Alin’s agony, her pain. They sobbed together for a while but then they heard the wild screams coming towards them. Vishal had to do something to keep Alin safe and alive. He pulled her out of the ruins and both of them ran in the opposite direction of the screams. They landed in a small area which was still unaffected by fire, where they couldn’t hear any screams.
Before long a man with iron rod attacked Vishal on his head from the back and pulled Alin to his side. She cried, she screamed for herself and more for Vishal. He was the only person alive whom she could claim to be hers. Vishal had fallen on the rough stony floor but had in a way regained his balance, not completely though. He ran towards Alin. Though he took steps closer to her, she seemed to be distanced. His eyes were closing, blood dripping from his head to the back of his neck. His hands were trying to get hold of the man with Alin. She was trying her best to get rid of the strong grip. Vishal managed to get hold of the thug and punched him in the face and the man attacked his stomach by the same rod. He ruthlessly hit Vishal which made every part of him bleed, but he resisted. The love and pain in his stunning blue eyes were obvious when they turned red with anger and tears flowed down. He lay unconscious, probably dead. Alin shouted for him, all she wanted was to be with him.
She suddenly felt a hand running down her back through her multi colored though faded kurti. She felt thrown on to the stony floor beneath her. Her long sleeves were torn with knife. The man above her was fair skinned though heavily bearded, severely scarred, eyebrow pierced heavily and had blood dripping from his forehead. He caught her waist between his thighs which made her immovable. His hands pinned her hands to the ground and he laughed, showing his red teeth which added to the scary appearance. He tore the sides of her kurti simple by his sharp teeth. Alin screamed so loud that her voice became inaudible to herself. She had never imagined herself in such a situation, no girl ever does. She felt sharp nails running above her stomach in a circling motion, she saw the man undoing the buttons of his shirt and jeans. She couldn’t tolerate it anymore. There was anger in her eyes, she tried her best to get out of the clutch of the savage but failed. She was hit on her head with the same rod. She felt something hard hitting her left knee, probably breaking the bones. She felt herself giving up; she failed in accepting the fate she was having. She just lost the chain of thoughts, she was about to close her eyes completely when she smiled. She saw wounded Vishal pick up a knife lying nearby and attack the man. He stabbed him again and again till his grip on Alin loosened. Vishal asked her to run but she couldn’t, she did not have the energy, she did not want to leave him behind. He forced her while he stabbed the man. She finally ran with her wounded limb. She settled in a corner yards away and lost consciousness while waiting for Vishal.
The sun had set, it was dark. The sounds had subsided and so had the fire. She made herself to stand and go look for her savior. She saw the smoke forming a layer beneath the sky. Even though she couldn’t directly see the sky, she knew it was dead blank with no stars, with no moon but simply blackness. She could hear the faint sounds of mourning, the siren or ambulance in the far distance. She couldn’t make out anything clear, her vision was blurred. She had hardly taken a few steps when she fell back onto the ground with Vishal as her last words.
