MAZE OF FATES

3. Bruises have a Tale to Tell

   I dashed upstairs and took out a night gown from my cupboard and headed downstairs again. I handed over the clothes to the girl and suggested that she took a shower. Having agreed she let me direct her to the bathroom. Once she was inside I went back to my room to gather some cotton and ointment along with a roll of bandage.

It was eerily quiet and all of a sudden an owl hooted. I jumped up and dropped the items from my hand. Having a mysterious girl at your house in the dead of night does perform the job of alarming you and freaking you out at the slightest disturbance.

I picked up all the stuff I had dropped on the floor and headed downstairs. I kept those things on table and went to the cupboard and took out the few things that I needed to make coffee. The girl was still showering and I knew better than to call her. I toasted some bread too. 

  When she finally came out, she looked calmer and less heart rendering. She sat down at the table and I placed a plate of toast and a mug of coffee in front of her. Her eyes widened at the sight of food and she munched on it hungrily.

I didn’t disturb her the whole time she was eating. I glanced at the digital clock on my wall and saw that it was three forty-seven. The whole event of my waking up to our sitting down at the table had taken forty seven minutes. There were other options I was considering in my mind simultaneously- whether or not to ask about her condition or inquiring about her family and home because all these years I had taught herself better than to let creepy strangers inside my house.

She was still eating when I examined the places where I had seen the wounds. When she had finished, I grabbed the cotton and ointment and asked her if I could treat her wounds. She was hesitant at first but reluctantly agreed.

While I was nursing her arm, I said, “I am Carmen and you are?” “Laurel,” she replied. She occasionally let out a shriek and I knew that the ointment made the wounds sting but it was for the best and she understood it well. Each view at the wounds gave rise to an ill feeling in the pit of my stomach and there were flashbacks of the memories I had kept locked in my brain for long.

I was fighting myself to hold back tears and I bit my lip to prevent loud sobs for escaping my mouth. My head ached and I felt nauseous but I continued because I knew that the contents of the flashbacks were no longer supposed to be a part of my life. After I was done, I drew a chair for myself and sat down in front of Laurel.

“Is there anything you need to tell me?” I asked her in a quiet voice. “I guess I can trust you,” she replied. I didn’t say anything and she took my silence for approval. She began, “My house is at the countryside in a village named Dukewell. It has been years since I was out of the house. My father Peter Wilson is a butcher there and he occasionally goes to the nearby town of Shellton to fetch the things he needs. My mother......” There was short pause.

I had closed my mind to any thoughts and was listening intently, absorbing each word she said. She continued, “My mother died when I was three. I am fifteen now. It happened when one day I unknowingly went inside the forest adjacent to the village and got lost. I delved deeper into it when I heard branches snapping behind me. There were three men, fierce and dangerous looking. They were dacoits. I was scared and I shouted for help. One of them had a dagger in his hand. They were looking at me with bloodshot eyes and I kept screaming. They were coming nearer but I was paralyzed with fear and just stood there helplessly. Suddenly I saw my mom running towards me. I later figured that she must have looked for me in the whole village because I never stayed out for that long. However, the man with the dagger spotted her and when she tried to save me; he slashed her throat with it. I collapsed on the ground along with her and began weeping. Some villagemen came running towards us and the dacoits ran away at the sight of them. It turned out that they had seen her running towards the forest and came running to stop her. However, her death was inevitable as it took a really long time to walk out of the forest and to the doctor. I kept crying the whole way knowing that I couldn’t resurrect her. My father was out on business and when he came back he was thunderstruck. He held me responsible for her death, he still does and….. and…”

There was an edge in her voice that made the hair at the back of my neck stand up in fright. I somehow knew what she would say. I dreaded it and still couldn’t stop her. She continued “He punished me for murdering my mother. He whips me, keeps me locked and cuffed and gives me no more than bread and water. He had never liked me much but the loath that has his insides burning up against me is immeasurable.” Her voice was impassive.

I knew it was the result of the lot of effort and strain she was putting into it. Her twinkling blue eyes seemed distant and lost. They were deeper than ever, submerged in the great ocean of memories that sent forth waves on the shore of her mind one by one. Still, she didn’t shed a tear. She was strong, brave and had a ready-to-face-the-world vibe about her while I………. That was when I turned my attention to myself. I felt nauseous again. I had quit nursing her bruises and was now biting my lower lip and my nails were digging deep into my skin as I struggled to hold back tears which threatened to break free. I was a coward, a weak of heart and even though I had been living under the clear sky for 6 whole years, I never had the courage to challenge destiny.

“I couldn’t see the outside world for twelve long years,” Laurel said “Yet I don’t blame my father. He could’ve been at fault and he could’ve not. I might me dead to the world but he was kind enough to keep me alive all this while. He lost it when my mother died. He couldn’t help himself; He turned into a maniac all because I was foolish enough to make my mother run towards her death.” “You weren’t at fault, I assure you,” I interrupted.

She shot me a pained smile and continued with her face even more serious now “Yesterday, he went to Shellton on business and I saw my chance to break free of the dirty, blood-stained walls and floor which had been my world for twelve years. I didn’t know how to do it. I kept running in that small room like a wild animal put recently in a cage. Suddenly, I thrashed against the door which was pushed wide open. The door which was supposed to be locked was ajar all that time and I hadn’t noticed. Still I was happy and I ran outside towards the main door and that was when he appeared out of nowhere and then………..” There was a pause which felt like eternity. Her face had grown pale and her eyes looked hollow. I was curious to know what happened but she refused to go on. There was an unspoken agreement between us to not take the matter any further.