Reborn to love

The Darkness

Part 30

It was pitch dark and nothing was visible. Her hand was safely ensconced in that of the man she was following but had no clue where she was going. However, she trusted him with her life and knew that he would not let her fall or get hurt. Normal people would instinctively put out their other hand to feel around in the dark and walk extremely cautiously, but she simply followed him at his pace, which was not hurried but rather comfortable as if he could see around clearly and walked around here everyday countless times. She didn't put out her hand to feel or gauge her surroundings but reached out to hold the hand that was guiding her. Finally, he came to a standstill and he whispered softly, "hum pahuch gaye Naina!" just before the whole room illuminated and she gasped.

The dream was a very vivid one for random eye movements and she came awake with a startle. She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything. It was indeed pitch dark. She tried to feel her body but suddenly felt it sightly paralysed. The cold hard stone floor was now making her feel numb in the spine and the rest of the body stiff. That's when realized that was lying on the ground somewhere and in the distance she could hear tiny water droplets dripping from a high roof continuously but at regular intervals on the rocky floor. She gauged that the place must be quiet and empty for such a noise to echo or amplify and reach her. She tried to sit up and that instantly her head started hurting like someone pounding a hammer and drilling a hole in it at the same time. Instinctively, her hand went to rub her temples and scalp but felt the sluggishness in her limbs. It was really difficult and it triggered autophpbia, nyctophobia, and claustrophobia that she was sure she never had. The darkness leading to fear and the faint noise ascertaining probably an enclosed area and the speculation of it all was beyond her comprehension. She wanted to scream her lungs out for help but no voice came out. She tried several times but it felt like one of those dreams or rather nightmares where a fly sits on your hand or an insect is trying to bite you and it is hurting and you are trying to ward it off but you cant move a muscle. The dream seems so real that you feel a part of it and panic that you cannot move while your conscious is fighting to take over the subconscious to take charge and surface you back to the reality.

The irony of it was that it was real and no matter how much tried, she was finding it onerous to move or yell for help. After numerous futile attempts, when everything she tried was in vain, she heard footsteps echoing in the distance slowly and steadily approaching her. The echo reduced in intensity as the person moved closer and closer and then the footsteps stopped suddenly. She still couldn't see due to the void of darkness but was sure that the person was somewhere is proximity, enough to feel the breaths due to her unrealised heightened sense of hearing or may be just due to the quiet.

"Itni koshishein mat karo! Thakk jaaogi aur fayda kuch nahi hoga!" She was hearing intently for any signs when the footsteps stopped but the sudden icy tone closest to her ear had startled her. The cool breath felt so close to her ear that she feared if she turned her face in the direction of the voice, it would bump into his face. Whoever the person was, she didn't recognise the voice, but it gave her cold shudders and an icy scare tingled down her spine. Though she couldn't access her psyche and was too nervous to orchestrate her other senses, the tone was enough to give her alarming vibes. He hadn't chained, tied or blindfolded her. But whatever was happening to her was enough to indicate that she was in trouble.

"Itna mat ghabrao, main tumhe koi nuksaan nahi pahunchana chahta. Agar aisa karna hota toh kaafi samay tha mere paas jab tum behosh thi".

This scared her even further coz it dawned on her that she didn't realize where she was and how long had she been here like this.

"Tum soch rahi ho ki main kaun hoon aur tumse kya chahta hoon. Par puch nahi pa rahi ho! Chinta mat karo, mujhe buss tumse kuch baatein jaanni hai, itihaas ke kuch aise panne palatne hai jiski kunji tumhare dimaag mein hai. Buss mera kaam kar do aur main tumhe sahi salamat aaram se tumhe tumhare ghar pahuncha doonga".