Forced

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kiran could not sleep. She tossed and turned, feeling hot and sweaty under her thin bed covers. She felt closed in, in her own bed. Her mind was numb and frigid with horror. The event that had taken place earlier that day was engraved into her mind like a horrid nightmare. She was frightened, even with  in the comfort and solitude  of her own bedroom. Her own space. She was rattled, physically and emotionally.

The privacy within the four walls of her bedroom did not stop her from trembling in fear. She was expected to marry, and to a stranger she had never met. The reality of that fact was not sinking in, and that left her emotionally paralyzed.

Kiran had been in this state for three hours. The clock, downstairs, in the living room let out a clear bell sound. It was midnight. 

She was in the same position she had been when she had walked into her room and flopped onto her bed, shocked. She was still fully dressed. It had been her mother that had placed the blanket upon her trembling, curled up figure.

Kiran knew her mother would not be of comfort. She feared her husband too much, as well as Kiran's safety. There was no knowing what that man could do in the state of anger. There was no knowing if he was angry. His hard features were engraved with frown wrinkles. There was no kindness about him. Not even a tiny spark in his dark eyes. And no one had witnessed him give a smile of pure pleasure. He was harder than a rock.

Kiran had grown up listening to her father's rules. There was an endless list of dos and don'ts. No one had a choice whether they wanted to follow those rules. It was compulsory upon the members of the household to do as was said of them. The whole house was stiff in the presence of the man.

This was one of the reasons Kiran wished she had a brother. Maybe having another male in the house could have changed her father's personality. But there was no man in the house except him. He was the lone male, and this was his territory, and his rules were to be abided by. Going against them meant that there was severe consequences to endure.

More than once, her father had struck her, and never had Kiran the courage to let out, even a cry of pain. Their mother, a kind, timid woman at heart, had never the guts to say anything to her husband. But she was not the only one who had suffered his demanding ways.

Kiran felt something warm and light, trickle down her cold cheek. Somehow, a tear had managed to escape. And now that one was out, a whole more followed, sliding down her smooth skin, and dripping on to her pillow. The low sobs erupted from her, and she was crying, all alone and scared.

Clutching the blanket, she pressed her face into the warm softness of her pillow, and wept her eyes out, making sure not to cry loudly. There was no way her father could find out that she was against his wishes. The very hope of betraying his rule was a crime. And Kiran was helpless to do anything but follow.

She froze when a low creak reached her ears. It was the door of her bedroom being opened quietly. Kiran dared not breath, fearing it to be her father. Her eyes were wide open, and she could not find it in her, to force them shut. Her heart began to hammer in her chest, beating loudly, the sound a raging echo in her own ears. Whoever was in the room with her, Kiran hoped they would not hear.

"Kiran." the quiet voice was not that of any of her parents. It was Sarah.

Automatically, Kiran's body loosened, and she relaxed her body, sinking into her warm mattress, her body going limp. She was suddenly feeling very tiered.

"Are you awake?" Sarah asked from somewhere in the dark, behind her.

Kiran nodded, forgetting for a moment her sister could not see her. Feeling silly, she opened her mouth to answer verbally.