UNCONDITIONAL

XXI

"I'm so sorry." Harleen's voice broke as she spoke. "I cannot imagine what it must feel like to live through such a tragedy."

"It cannot be described in words. Both the incredibly tough and strict bosses you see out there, they are carrying more bruises in their hearts than one can count." Bhuji told Harleen emotionally. "Eventually both their maternal grandparents decided they would put the kids into boarding schools. Not only would they get a good education, but they can also be taken good care of there. The kids from then on, spent almost their entire lives in boarding schools, and then college dorms, away from home, away from a family. Over the years, the kids lost their grandparents and I lost my husband. We never had any kids so Prem, Arman, Noor and Gurleen were our everything. Soon, it was only I left with the kids. Then, as luck and god would have it, Prem expressed his interest in the American real estate sector. Something I knew Noor was also pursuing and immediately recommended the state of Washington to him because I was confident their bright minds could pull off wonders together. When Noor and Prem came across one another, they were around the age of 20 and instantly fell in love. Their love was something no one had ever seen or heard of before. It was powerful, passionate, sincere, and divine, literally blessed by god himself. When Prem came to America, Arman was still back in England because he had a few years of University left as did Gurleen over here. Over the years, as Prem and Noor's struggle period came to an end and they began achieving high levels of success, they decided to get married. At 24, they bought their house and that's when Gurleen and I moved in with them. Gurleen had finished school at this point but Arman in England was pursuing an even higher level of education, so he had to stay back a couple more years. Fast forward two more years and we get the news of Arman coming over to America. Meanwhile, Gurleen had gotten engaged to the love of her life. Prem and Noor were ecstatic to see the developments in their younger siblings' lives. Things were going perfectly. Arman arrived here in mid-October. Our little family was the happiest it had ever been until that one night, when everything changed forever." Bhuji's terror-stricken face had already called tears to her eyes.

Harleen reached forward and placed her hand on top of Bhuji's, "what happened that night?"

"That night..." Bhuji began but paused at her inability to form words. She grabbed a glass of water at her side and took a sip. "The day felt like any other. Arman and Gurleen were occupied in their own tasks, Prem and Noor were at work and I headed over to the Gurdwara in the evening. The children had planned to go out for dinner, but it got cancelled due to some important meeting that came up for Prem and Noor. That night, when I got home..." Bhuji wept as tears flowed out of her eyes. Harleen squeezed her hand to provide support. "I remember that Prem and Noor arrived home at the same time I did. Our cars entered the gates back to back and we went inside together. What we saw inside took the life out of us." Bhuji cupped her mouth with her hand to covers up her sobs. "We saw...Gurleen..." She said barely forming the words. "We saw Gurleen in a bloody condition on the floor, with Arman's clothes and hands dripping in her blood as he shuffled with the buttons on her shirt. There was a gun lying next to them. It didn't take long for us to realize she had been sexually assaulted and then shot. Dropping everything at once, Noor ran over to her and pushed Arman out of the way. She put her unconscious sister's head on her lap and hugged her, shook her, begging her to wake up. Her screams still ring in my ears till this day. Gurleen then opened her eyes for a split second and Noor implored her to tell us who did that to her. Gathering every bit of the life force left in her Gurleen managed to form the sound "Ar..." before suddenly collapsing and giving up the fight for life. Noor watched her sister die in her arms. She screamed and cried holding her for a moment before suddenly the coldest expression I had ever seen on Noor dawned on her face. She suddenly grabbed the gun and stood up. "How dare you?!" She shrieked as she pointed it at Arman who still sat frozen in the same spot. "How dare you touch my little sister?!" She yelled at the top of her voice as Prem held her to calm her down. Noor was not the space to listen, she pushed him so hard, he landed on the floor next to Arman. "How dare you?" Noor kept repeating while Prem begged her not shoot as he sat on his knees next to his little brother. Prem was sure Arman could never do such a thing. He was unwilling to believe that the brother he raised could even think of committing such a sin. I also begged her to put down the gun. Meanwhile, Arman sat completely frozen and looked at his Bhabi (sister-in-law) like a deer in the headlights. We don't know what got into Noor, but she pulled the trigger killing Arman on the spot." Bhuji let her tears drop as she threw her head backwards and looked up.