Apprehension. Anxiety. Nervousness. Discomfort. Hesitation. The Dev in Advay noted a myriad of emotions skirt Chandini's face before she entered the temple. The way she fidgeted with her Pooja thali and her big black orbs detected her surroundings with trepidation, filled him with unease as he reversed the car out of the parking lot. Her confusion when their eyes collided left him questioning if he was doing the right thing by leaving her there alone between unknown faces.
But Advay quickly emerged suppressing Dev's concern by fueling the rage. Of course she deserved every bit of the treatment he was dishing out. Even he was mercilessly thrown amongst unknown, hostile crowd when he had to flee his hometown after witnessing the most horrific incident of his lifetime. The people he considered well-wishers and friends suddenly turned foes. And he was only 16 years old, for God's sake! So yes, it was justified that she experienced the same loneliness, fear and terror as he did all those years ago.
Advay kept driving for a few minutes convincing Dev that his plan was to teach Chandini a lesson and not cause her any sort of physical harm; until an instinct from somewhere kicked in, forewarning him that something dreadful was about to happen to Chandini. And that was enough for Dev to emerge again and steer him away from the direction his mind was taking...the path of revenge; and persuade him to return to the temple to ensure Chandini's safety.
He turned his vehicle around and realised that he had driven a long way from the temple. He flexed his fingers on the steering wheel trying to ease the tension that was gradually building up in him. And the long wait in traffic added to his anxiety. The vehicles moved bumper to bumper where every agonising minute felt like an hour.
As he neared the temple, his heart thumped in his chest, beating a mile a minute at what he witnessed happening right before him. People screaming and running for their lives was the last thing he expected to encounter. His uneasiness moved up a notch, and his imagination didn't help matters either. The thought of any sort of bodily damage to Chandini was eating away at him and the Dev in him grew angrier by the minute.
He managed to cautiously manoeuvre his vehicle and parked it with impeccable efficiency. He hurriedly stepped out of the vehicle and made a move towards the entrance of the Mandir. But the disorder around him and the already freaked out public, slowed down his movement.
His eyes scanned the crowd frantically in search of his wife as his body simultaneously moved towards its target. It was a very challenging task with people scurrying around and chaos everywhere. Flowers and colours lay scattered all around and the motion around him made it difficult to locate his wife and yet he kept an eye on the entrance hoping to catch a glimpse of Chandini; to calm his agitated mind.
His gaze suddenly caught the slender image of his wife in yellow stumbling out and he closed his eyes and took a quick moment to thank God for her safety. But he opened them back again only to find her keel over clutching her waist in agony. His gaze darted towards her hands covered in the red liquid that started gushing out of the wound.
His feet seemed to have a mind of its own and they moved speedily towards her now; praying that he wasn't too late to grab her swaying self as he hurriedly dashed through the crowd.
'Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! How the hell could you let this happen to her, damn it?' The Dev in his mind emerged all guns blazing. The sight of Chandini on the verge of collapsing made him scream her name reflexively. He seized her limp form as he reached her and held it against his for a brief second.
