Love Is Our true Destiny: A Rikara FF

Chapter four

Omkara asked one of the returning guards. "Now what's going to happen to them?" 

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear the Thakurain? The Panchayat will decide on the boy, though since he's from another village, the Panchayat of that zila will be involved as well. The girl would not be punished, except, well, I don't know the Panchayat of the other zila might insist to punish her as well. Well, anyways, this is none of your business, Shehri babu, you better leave now. You have created enough trouble here" said the guard, with an annoyingly superior tone, and rushed to join his mates. 

Yes, thought Omkara, he had created enough trouble. 

He had almost let that boy execute his evil plan. He had almost let that boy ruin a girl's life. He should be going, clearly he didn't understand matters here, and made it worse for all parties involved. But Omkara felt bad that his interference had expounded the mess. Maybe he should make reparations? 

He might as well admit to himself, that he just couldn't let the matter go, he had to see how it ended, he had to see the whole thing to its conclusion. Omkara sighed and picked up his shoulder bag. He was going back to the village. 

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The Thakurain's jeep stopped outside the haveli.

The guards got down first, for security, succeeded by Chhote Thakur, and finally the Thakurain got down. 

A huge crowd had gathered outside the haveli. They had come to pay respects to the Thakurain for establishing law and order in the zila, as always. 

The Thakurain idly wondered how many of them were asked to do this by the Panchayat, as was custom, how many of them were here because they feared her and wanted to appease her, and how many of them were here because they genuinely respected her. The last category was probably the least in number. 

A man came forward and joined his hands in a plea before the Thakurain. 

"Chhote Thakurain, thank you, thank you, for saving my daughter, and I'm sorry that her actions brought shame upon the village." It was Savitri's father. 

He had come to thank her, and with a request; to protect her from the punishment by the Panchayat for eloping twice. The request was not overt but implicit in his apology for his daughter's behavior, in the fear for his daughter. 

Thakurain well remembered the man. 

He was one of the rich businessman of the zila. When Kali Thakur was driving her away, abducting her to his haveli, he was one of the huge crowd that had assembled to watch her humiliation. When she had tried to escape and begged the people of the village to help her, no one came forward, they were all scared of Kali Thakur, they were all cowards. Savitri's father was one of those cowards. He could've helped her, like the other rich and influential men in the zila, but he refrained from doing so, like the rest of them. Now the tables had turned and he was begging her to protect his daughter. The Thakurain wanted to make him grovel. But she was not like him.

"Enough of this gratitude. You may go now, I'll see what I can do" said the Thakurain bluntly, fixing Savitri's father with a disgusting glare. 

He understood. He felt ashamed. The girl he refused to help two years ago, had saved his daughter and his family's honor today. He looked at the ground shamefacedly, and retreated. 

"That was harsh, wan't it?" whispered Chhote Thakur.

"I don't care. I hate them, all of them" replied the Thakurain, so that only he could hear her.