You and I - a pranushka tale

chapter thirty-three

It had been two days since Mithrah moved to Hyderabad and she felt restless.

She had been unpacking and trying to settle into her cosy, little apartment. But no matter how many of her paintings she had put up on the wall and how many of her family pictures she placed on every table...there was something missing.

With a deep sigh, she continued unpacking the final box when she caught sight of the saree that Prabhas bought for her. She lifted the soft material and carefully stroked it, her mind immediately drifting back to her unforgettable summer.

Prabhas.

The man who occupied her mind repeatedly, not letting her focus on a single task. A small smile that had appeared on her face when she first saw the saree soon faded as a glare took its place. She thought back of his goodbye, just before he left her village. It was short and well...not the passionate or emotional parting one would have expected. Rather with an amused smile, he wished her goodbye and well in life before getting in his car and speeding away.

But not before giving her his number.

Mithrah sat down on one of the sofas and picked up her phone. Before she even realised what she was doing, she was staring at his number. One slight tap of her finger and she would be hearing his voice. But she glared at the screen as if it was him and locked her phone before putting it to the side.

She wasn't going to call him.

Not when he acted that unbothered as he left. She was certain Soori was far more emotional about her leaving than the man who tortured her thoughts daily. It didn't help that Rana had casually mentioned Prabhas had been appointed to work in a city that was three hours away from her. When she first heard that, she felt crushed. But then she forced herself to believe it was for the better and she could focus on work with no distractions.

She couldn't wait for her first day of work. She needed something to take her mind off the man she wanted to pretend not to care about. 'He didn't even call her once,' she thought bitterly. But of course, Mithrah didn't care. She was completely unbothered.  But then with a groan, she cursed him once again as she accepted those were all lies and she was very much bothered. With the hopes of a distraction, she decided to step out of the apartment and go to a nearby store to buy dinner.

Distraction did not fail to deliver.

On her way back she froze when she caught sight of a group of armed men circling a family. The two little children hid behind their mother and father as one of the thugs stomped closer with his knife raised threateningly. Mithrah took a step forward but an elderly woman beside her grabbed onto her hand tightly and shook her head.

Almost everyone around them had quietened and attempted to walk away as if they didn't notice what was happening or they stood afar and watched quietly. With a racing heart, Mithrah watched the family cower under the threats of the men. She caught onto phrases here and there about money and land but they were too far for her to fully understand.

The thug had placed his knife away, sending a wave of relief wash through the civilians watching. But the large, burly man then lifted his arm and punched the father, sending him to the floor. The kids started crying as the men laughed boisterously before jumping on their jeep and driving away.

With horror-filled eyes, Mithrah once again tried to walk ahead to see if the family was alright but the elderly woman beside her didn't let her. With an expression she had seen on her grandmother's face, the woman shook her head once again.

"Some things are better ignored dear, go home and don't look back." She told her worryingly before walking away.

Mithrah stood frozen, her mind flashing with the images of the thugs and the fear on everyone's faces. The crowd was slowly beginning to disperse and not a single person stepped forward to help the family out. For a moment she felt ashamed. She should have stepped forward but then she wondered what could she have done?

She should have called the police.

But it was too late now. The family slowly walked away, the children and the mother still in tears. With furious eyes, Mithrah made her way back to her apartment, the cold dinner in the bag long forgotten. She wanted to call her father and tell him what she saw, hear his advise but she restrained herself. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her family back home. 

Curiosity began to burn within her as she closed her front door and walked straight to the balcony. With her fingers curled around the bannister, she stared down at the live, busy city from the top floor. Who were they? Why did they hurt that man? Why did that elderly woman stop her from interfering?

A hundred questions buzzed in her mind but she had no answer for a single one. She needed to force herself to let go of what she saw today. She was alone in this large city. It was far too dangerous for her to be curious about the criminals of her new home. She clutched the diamond around her neck and willed herself to forget what she saw.

But everything inside of her protested against that. 

a/n sorry for the short update!! i had to divide the chapter i initially wrote as it got too long, the new update will be up soon. I will also be replying to comments soon, im really sorry about the delay. as a quick teaser theres a picture of one of the new characters who you will be meeting soon!! xx