Happily Ever After

Chapter 14

The plan me and Niru hatched was great! Hindi was as hard as Arabic. If this plan succeeded, Hayden would go mad before our to-be wedding. I prayed God to keep him away from me. A voice pulled me out of my thoughts. It said, "Hello gorgeous!" It was Hayden. He tried to touch me, and I went out of his grasp. "Why darling?" he asked me. "In Hinduism, Gods and Goddesses don't allow a man to touch a woman or vice versa. Otherwise they would give punishments." I said, making up each sentence. "And I decided, that I need a husband who can speak pure Hindi. I hate English people. They overtook our country, and defeated us on our own soil! In my opinion, my husband should speak Hindi, even if he is an Englishman, since he has stepped on Indian soil!" I said, and looked at him with fake kindness. I hope I said it firmly. This wasn't actually a lie, since I had love for my own country ever since I was small. "I shall show you that I am a worthy husband!" he shouted and went.

He wasn't angry, just overconfident. I thought, "Let's see young man...... whether you might succeed this quest or be crazed by it..." I called Niru and said that Hayden was into it. He laughed and said bye. I ended the call in a happy tone. Dad hit me everyday, hoping that I would change my decision. But I never did. It did pain, but I never took care.

The next day, Hayden came in a joyous mood and said, "Namaste! Mehey naam ky Hayden hey." (He meant " Hi! My name is Hayden.") He paused. "Good, isn't it?" "Nahi, nahi (No, no)," I murmured. "Huh?" he asked. "It meant good in Hindi," I replied. He left, much to my relief. I slid onto a chair, resolving to meet Niru tomorrow. It was pretty tiring these days, mostly because Hayden was buzzing over me.

Days passed. Me and Niru came in contact. We called each other, wrote letters. Meanwhile, Hayden was getting crazed, trying to learn Hindi. There was one thing I knew about love; no matter how far you are, love was always the same. I got a letter from Niru. It read;

Dear Adira,

Miss you loads. Hope to meet you soon. It's been lonely here. Your presence would have vanished it. How's it going with your dad? Hope he doesn't hurt you. Is Hayden crazed by now? I sure wish he was. I am now living near a lovely lagoon. Got a few supplies near me. Food fresh from the forest. Vegetarian meals. Wish you could come and enjoy too.

P.S.- If Hayden starts to trouble you, just call me!

With a heart full of love,

Niru.

I let out a laugh. Niru had his personality unchanged; sense of humor, anger, kindness and concern. Most of all, I value his sense of humor. I cannot bear serious, business-minded people. No smile in their faces. I missed his jokes. I felt like a caged bird. Niru's words made me happy. That was the only happy thing in my life. Dad was becoming cruel, day by day. He had no love for me. Hayden was trying to flirt with me, but I gave him fake Hinduism lessons about a man's contact with a woman. It was fun. I did some poojas in the house, to all the Gods and Goddesses I knew, by praying for Niru's protection. I lied on the bed and smiled. I remembered all of the times we were there together. The day I met him, our secret meetings, studying together, his Pa's death, our first flight together, his sudden leaving for India, the day our relationship began, coming back to India, in school with him. Those happy memories! How I loved them! I wished a life with no barriers, just a beautiful life. But something tells me, that the war over here is going to be bloodier than King Ashoka's fights. I thought about all of these and fell asleep. I saw happy dreams, and in the last dream, somebody called me, "Hi gorgeous!" Vaah! It was none other than Hayden, himself! That man had a knack for irritating me. I woke up. I did enjoy frightening him.

"Thought you had enough sleep. So, how ya doing?" he said.

"Fine," I grunted.

"Wedding's getting near, eh? Can't wait to see you in the dress. In the church, isn't it?" he said. That got me charged up.

"Young man, if you keep your foot on Indian soil, you have to do things Indian style! Otherwise I'll bury you in the church graveyard! Respect Bharat Mata, will you?" I yelled at him.

"Okay, okay, sweetheart," he said, half- terrified.

"And stop calling me sweetheart!" I shouted and went out of the room in burning anger. I locked myself in Niru's room and even locked the window which connected our rooms. Where are you now, I thought. He is not crazing himself, he is crazing me! I would end up in a mental asylum before he does. I lied on Niru's bed and fell asleep.

I used to spend hours writing to Niru, sending him useful things too. Mostly I asked about him and leaked some information about me, and what Hayden and dad were planning- mainly the wedding. We were, by all means, trying to ruin it as much as we can.

I was going around the corridor of the top floor when I noticed a locked room. I took a hairpin out of my jacket, inserted it into the keyhole, opened the door, and went inside. There was a pile of wedding cards stacked on one side, which I recognized to be of my wedding. I went to the prayer room, took a box of matches, and came back to the room. I dumped all of the wedding cards onto the middle of room and burnt it with a lit match. This was the first time I wasn't afraid of fire, much to my surprise. It all burnt, increasing my happiness. I took all of the ashes into a sack, locked the door, went to the backyard and scattered it among the plants. I knelt down and pretended to look at some plants. I heard two worried voices near me. "Hi," I said, in a fresh mood. "Did you, by any chance, happen to see some wedding cards?" Hayden asked me. "Wedding cards?" I asked in a questioning mood. "What wedding cards?" They left as soon as I said that. Thank someone, because the duo didn't find out what I did.

It was very near to our wedding. I still hadn't found out a way to ruin it. I haven't even heard from Niru, lately. Hope Hayden hadn't hunted him down. I was just walking out of my room, when some men caught me and dumped me into a jeep. I familiarized them as Hayden's men. They were silent. I was taken to a coast. I was horrified. I saw Niru, in a near death state. He was wounded. Hayden was trampling his head and laughing.

Tears fell down my cheeks and I started to cry. I tried to go near him, and then Hayden threatened, "Come near him, and he'll be dead!" I stepped back, still crying, and fell down on the sand. Niru couldn't talk, but he was letting out sounds of agony. I was weeping like I'd never done before. I suddenly felt my heart stop. I couldn't breathe! I tried to breathe. It was really hard! Then the whole world blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital, with a mask over my nose and mouth. All I could utter was, "Ni! Ru! Ni! Ru!" "Calm down, calm down," the doctor said. I was in an air-conditioned room. Must be a private hospital. I looked around, trying to calm myself. But the memories I had were petrifying. Niru dying........ Then Hayden and dad came into my ward. I widened my eyes in anger and tried to shout. Then the doctor said, "The patient wants some time alone. You could go now." They left, much to my relief. The doctor removed the mask. I cried. I just couldn't finish it. Just seeing Niru die made me cry forever. "Relax, will you?" the doctor said. "If you get a shock, you won't be able to breathe again. Sleep now." I did as I was told. All I needed now was a peaceful sleep.

The wedding was postponed to a month, to allow my recovering. A red saree was brought for me. But, I wanted to wear white. I always cursed dad and Hayden. I started to starve. I couldn't eat, because I felt guilty. Hayden always laughed when I looked sad. "Boyfriend dead, isn't he? Now you are just a robot. Cannot do anything, because you are a woman. You will have to marry me!" he would say. I am a woman, he says? The thing he doesn't know is what that women can do! In history, they have mentioned that Padmaavati (who was a Sri Lankan princess) married Ratan Singh (a Rajput ruler). Due to the heartless actions of Alauddin Khalji (who wanted Padmaavati to be his bride), Ratan Singh was killed. Then, Padmaavati, along with other women who did not want to bow to Alauddin, committed jauhar (mass self immolation). I would do that on my wedding day too (although I don't have any women to do it with)! That would show Hayden what I can do!