Episode 14
Calm or Anger
Javed woke up from his short nap due to noises coming from downstairs. He realized where he was and what had happened, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked down at Ganga, who was still asleep on the floor. Her naked body lay exposed, showing the aftermath of their wild night. Javed shook his head in disbelief at their luck.
Javed walked over to the window and peered outside. He saw the construction workers arriving for their night shift. Panic started to set in. He quickly moved to the bed where Chacha was still sleeping.
Javed: ( shaking Chacha) "Chacha, wake up! We need to go, now!"
Chacha groggily opened his eyes, trying to comprehend the urgency in Javed's voice.
Chacha: "What’s going on, Javed?"
Javed: "The construction workers are here. We need to get out before they come upstairs."
Chacha sat up quickly, the gravity of the situation hitting him.
Chacha: "What should we do? How do we get out?"
Javed: "There's a back exit behind the construction building. We can use that to escape. We need to move fast and quietly."
As they spoke, Ganga woke up, her body still exhausted from the night's activities. She listened to their conversation with her eyes still closed, pretending to be asleep.
Chacha: "What about her?" ( nodding towards Ganga)
Javed: ( with a dismissive wave) "Her husband will take care of her. We need to worry about ourselves right now."
Ganga remained still, not wanting to alert them to her wakefulness. She listened intently, trying to gather as much information as possible.
Chacha: "Are you sure we can make it out without being seen?"
Javed: "It's our best shot. The front is too risky. If we go out the back, we can slip away unnoticed."
Chacha: "Alright, let's do this."
Javed and Chacha hurriedly got dressed, their movements quick and practiced. Ganga kept her breathing even, listening to their every step.
Javed: "Stay close to me, Chacha. We need to move fast."
Chacha: "Got it."
Srinu’s heart sank as he realized what was happening. He watched as Javed and Chacha hurriedly gathered their clothes and dressed. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing—the two men who had violated his wife so brutally were about to make their escape, leaving Ganga behind like discarded trash.
As they moved towards the door, Srinu noticed Ganga stirring slightly, her eyes fluttering open before she quickly shut them again, pretending to be asleep. Javed and Chacha, oblivious to her awareness, continued with their escape plan.
He watched helplessly as the two men walked out of the room, their footsteps echoing down the hallway. They paused briefly outside the door, and Srinu could see them looking at his unconscious body with sneers on their faces.
“Look at that loser,” Javed scoffed. “Didn’t even put up a fight.”
Chacha laughed, shaking his head. “Pathetic. Let’s go.”
Srinu’s heart broke as he saw them laugh at his prone form, mocking his helplessness. They turned and ran down the stairs, their footsteps fading away as they made their escape. Srinu watched them go, feeling a mixture of rage and despair. He had never felt so powerless in his life.
Srinu with a heavy heart knowing that he might never be able to bring them to justice, focused on ganga who was now awake.
Ganga woke up slowly after the sound of Javed and Chacha’s footsteps faded away. The room was cloaked in the darkness of midnight, the only light coming from the faint glow of the moon through the window. She lay there for a moment, the silence of the room pressing down on her like a suffocating weight. Her body ached, a stark reminder of the night’s events. She sat up slowly, her movements sluggish and pained, her mind still foggy from exhaustion.
She looked around the room, taking in the disheveled bed, the scattered clothes, and the lingering scent of sweat and sex. The events of the night flooded back to her in vivid detail, each memory more shocking and repulsive than the last. The realization of what she had done hit her like a tidal wave, and she felt her heart sink into her stomach.
Ganga sat there in silence, her mind a chaotic whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. She finally came to her senses, the gravity of her actions settling heavily on her shoulders. She remembered Javed’s rough hands on her body, Chacha’s eager mouth, and the way she had responded to their touches with a fervor she hadn’t known she possessed.
Her head fell into her hands as she tried to make sense of it all. “What have I become?” she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible in the stillness of the room. The questions she had pushed away during the night came crashing back with a vengeance. What kind of woman was she to behave like this? How had she let herself be reduced to acting like a street whore?
Tears began to stream down her face as the weight of her actions crushed her. She felt a surge of disgust at herself, at the pleasure she had taken in their touches, at the way she had begged for more. She had always thought of herself as a respectable woman, a dutiful wife. But the woman who had emerged last night was someone she didn’t recognize, someone who reveled in the attention and the rough, illicit pleasure.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she tried to contain her anger. “Why did I let this happen?” she cried out, her voice breaking. The questions she had been avoiding now screamed at her. Why had she done it? What had driven her to such debauchery? Was it some latent desire for excitement, or was it something deeper, something darker?
Ganga’s eyes filled with tears as she grappled with the reality of her actions. She had betrayed Srinu, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. She had allowed herself to be used and degraded, and in doing so, had discovered a side of herself she didn’t know existed, a side she wasn’t sure she could ever reconcile with.
The questions in her head were relentless. Why had she done it? What had driven her to such debauchery? Was it some latent desire for excitement, or was it something deeper, something darker? She felt like a stranger in her own body, her sense of self shattered by the events of the night.
Ganga hugged her knees to her chest, rocking slightly as she tried to calm the storm of emotions inside her. She felt like she was drowning in guilt and shame, unable to find solid ground. The woman she had been before last night seemed like a distant memory, replaced by this new, broken version of herself.
As she sat there in the darkness, she let out a choked sob, her body shaking with the intensity of her emotions. She didn’t know what the future held, but she knew she couldn’t stay in this place, both physically and emotionally. She needed to find a way to move forward, to piece together the fragments of her shattered self and figure out who she really was.
Seeing her like this, Srinu felt a mixture of emotions. His heart ached for her pain, but he also felt a deep, burning anger for what had been done to her and for her part in it. He understood now why she had not called out to him, why she had not tried to stop what was happening. She was too lost in the moment, too caught up in the chaos of her emotions and the powerful influence of Javed and Chacha.
Srinu realized that this was probably why Ganga had not told him the truth about what had happened inside the room. She knew that admitting the full extent of what had occurred would shatter him, that their relationship would never be the same again. She was trying to protect him from the harsh reality, hoping to spare him the pain and devastation that she was now feeling.
As he watched her cry, Srinu felt a deep sense of helplessness. He wanted to go to her, to hold her, to tell her that everything would be alright, but he knew that things would never be the same between them. The trust that had been broken, the love that had been tainted—it was all too much to mend. He felt a deep, aching sorrow for the loss of their relationship, for the life they had once shared.
Srinu, still reeling from the whirlwind of emotions, saw Ganga begin to gather herself. She slowly stood up, her body trembling as she realized she was completely naked. Panic flashed in her eyes as she started frantically searching for her clothes. Her movements were hurried and desperate, a stark contrast to the earlier moments of indulgence and abandon. She knew that the construction workers could be here any moment, and the thought of being seen like this filled her with dread.
Quickly, she dressed, pulling on her saree with shaking hands. She stepped outside the room and took a moment to adjust her hair, smoothing it down in an attempt to regain some semblance of normalcy. Then, with a deep breath, she began to descend the stairs.
As she reached the bottom, her eyes fell on Srinu's unconscious body. The sight hit her like a punch to the gut, and she ran to him, tears streaming down her face once more. She knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she checked for any signs of life. Her sobs grew louder as the reality of what she had gambled away sank in.
"Oh, Srinu," she cried, her voice choked with guilt and sorrow. "What have I done? What have I become?"
She held his hand, feeling the cold, unresponsive touch of his skin, and the weight of her actions crushed her. Her mind raced with the memories of the night, the choices she had made, and the dark side of herself that had surfaced. She knew she could never take back what had happened, and the thought of losing Srinu forever was too much to bear.
Desperate for help, she stood up and ran towards the construction workers she had seen earlier. Her voice was frantic, filled with a mix of desperation and urgency. "Please! Help! My husband is hurt! Someone, please help us!"
The construction workers, startled by her cries, quickly rushed to her aid. They followed her back to where Srinu lay, and together they worked to help him. Seeing the severity of the situation, one of the workers immediately called the security officer and an ambulance.
The minutes felt like hours as they waited for help to arrive. Ganga hovered over Srinu, her hands still shaking, her heart pounding with fear and regret. The construction workers did their best to comfort her, but nothing could ease the torment she felt inside.
Finally, the wail of sirens pierced the night air. The security officer and ambulance arrived, and the paramedics quickly assessed Srinu's condition. They carefully lifted him onto a stretcher and rushed him into the ambulance. Ganga watched with a mix of hope and despair as they prepared to take him to the hospital.
"Will he be okay?" she asked one of the paramedics, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We'll do everything we can," the paramedic replied, offering her a reassuring but uncertain smile.
As the ambulance doors closed and it sped away, Ganga felt a crushing weight of responsibility and guilt. She knew that the road ahead would be difficult, that the bond she and Srinu shared had been irreparably damaged. But at this moment, all she could focus on was getting him the help he needed, hoping that somehow, some way, they could find a way to move forward from the nightmare that had unfolded.
As Srinu watched his body being taken away to the hospital, he snapped back to reality from his third eye of imagination to the present day. The vivid memories of the events that had unfolded haunted him, and as he watched his past self being taken away to the hospital, the overwhelming emotions became too much to bear.
He fell to the ground, unable to control the flood of feelings that surged through him. The weight of his heartbreak and the trauma of that night pressed down on him, and he began to sob uncontrollably.
"Why?" he cried out, his voice cracking with anguish. "Why is this happening to me?"
The questions echoed in the empty space around him, but there were no answers. The sense of betrayal and loss was overwhelming, and he struggled to understand how things had come to this point. The love he had once shared with Ganga felt tainted and shattered beyond repair.
"Why did she do this?" he whispered, his tears flowing freely. "What did I do to deserve this?"
His mind raced with memories of happier times, of moments when he and Ganga were inseparable. The contrast between those cherished memories and the painful reality of what had happened was almost too much to bear. He felt as if his world had been turned upside down, leaving him broken and lost.
As he lay there on the ground, sobbing and questioning, Srinu realized that the road to healing would be long and arduous. The pain of betrayal cut deep, and he knew that finding a way to move forward would be one of the hardest challenges he had ever faced. But in that moment, all he could do was cry, hoping that somehow, the tears would begin to wash away the hurt that consumed him.
Yang: "Why are you crying like a little girl, huh? She is the one who deserves to cry. Go to her and show this CCTV footage and ask her the truth. If she denies any wrongdoing, you beat her blue and black until she tells the truth. Get up and show her what it is like to cheat on us."
He could hear another voice it was Yin.
Yin: "Don't listen to him. Don't believe him. He just showed you an imagination which came out of your worst insecurities."
Srinu: "But... what if it's true? What if she really did betray me?"
Yang: "She did betray you! You saw it with your own eyes. She has to pay for this. She needs to understand the pain she caused."
Yin: "What you saw with your own eyes is the creation of your thoughts to justify your suspicions. You have no real base to prove that what you have imagined is the actual truth"
Srinu: "I'm so confused. I don't know what to believe anymore."
Yang: "Do you want to be a fool who forgives a cheater? You saw what she did in your mind."
Yin: "Imagination isn't reality. Don't let your insecurities ruin your life. You owe it to yourself to find out the truth calmly."
Srinu: "But the memories... they felt so real."
Yang: "That's because they are real. She betrayed you. Don't let her get away with it."
Yin: "Why would she betray you? She loves you so much."
Yang: "Because she wanted to get fucked. She is a whore. She went and asked for it."
Yin: ( with certainty) Why would she ever do such a thing? You and Ganga have a great sex life.
Srinu: ( confused) But what if she did? What if she wanted something more? What if I wasn't enough?
Yin: ( softly) Srinu, you know that's not true. Ganga has always been satisfied with you. She’s always had multiple orgasms whenever you made love.
Yang: ( mocking) Ha! Satisfied? Maybe she just pretended to be. Maybe she wanted to experience something different, something rougher.
Yin: "Trust in her love for you, Srinu. Have faith in the relationship you've built."
Yang: "Or prepare for the worst, because she might not be the woman you think she is."
Srinu: ( taking a deep breath) "I don't know what to do. I need to make a choice. Anger or clarity... which path should I take?"
Yang: "Choose anger. Make her pay."
Yin: "Choose clarity. Seek the truth with compassion."
Srinu stood there, torn between the two voices, knowing that his next step would shape the rest of his life.
Srinu: ( desperately) "Should I ask her?"
Yin: "Yes, that is the only way to find out the truth. She is the only one who knows what happened inside that room."
Srinu's eyes widened as the gravity of the situation hit him. Questions began to flood his mind.
Srinu: "What if she lies? What if she loses her love for me knowing that I'm doubting her? What if she leaves me? What if she confirms that my imagination is the truth?"
The questions were overwhelming, each one more terrifying than the last.
Srinu: "How will I ever live without her? That will be the end of me."
Yin: "You need to face your fears, Srinu. The truth, no matter how painful, is better than living with doubt and insecurity. You need to know, for your own peace of mind."
Srinu: ( taking a deep breath) "But what if it's too much to handle? What if knowing the truth destroys me?"
Yin: "Strength comes from facing our fears, not running from them. You deserve to know the truth, and you owe it to yourself to ask her calmly and sincerely."
Srinu: "And if it is true? If she did betray me?"
Before Yin and Yang could answer the question Srinu answered himself
Srinu: “I will kill her and then I’ll kill myself.”
Srinu took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. With a sense of determination, he decided to face his fears head-on. Leaving his inner voices, Yin and Yang, behind in the room, he walked out. The corridor was dimly lit, and the silence of the night amplified the sound of his footsteps. Each step felt heavy with the weight of his doubts and fears.
As he ascended the staircase, his heart pounded in his chest. The bedroom door was slightly ajar, and a sliver of light spilled out into the hallway. He paused for a moment, taking in the sight. The light was still on in the room, casting a warm glow. The familiar surroundings of their shared space felt foreign and distant to him now.
He approached the door slowly, careful not to make any noise that might disturb Ganga. His hand trembled as he reached for the doorknob. With a gentle push, he opened the door just enough to peek inside. The room was as they had left it, but everything seemed different in the light of his new suspicions.
Srinu's eyes fell on Ganga, and for a moment, all his thoughts and suspicions melted away. She was lying on the bed, wrapped in a black nighty that accentuated her curves and contrasted beautifully with her fair skin. Her hair cascaded around her pillow like a dark halo, and her serene face was bathed in the soft glow of the bedside lamp. She looked so peaceful, so innocent, that it was hard to believe she could be involved in anything sinister.
Srinu stood there, transfixed by the sight of her. He marveled at how someone could be so beautiful. Her lips were slightly parted as she breathed softly, and a hint of a smile played on them as if she were having a pleasant dream. Her long eyelashes cast delicate shadows on her cheeks, and her skin glowed with a gentle warmth that made her seem almost ethereal.
He took a tentative step closer, wanting to get a better look at her face. As he moved beside the bed, he felt a rush of emotions—love, longing, regret, and fear—all mingling together. The sight of her, so calm and untouched by the turmoil inside him, brought back memories of happier times. He remembered their laughter, their shared dreams, and the love that had bound them together.
For a moment, Srinu let himself believe that everything was okay, that this was just another peaceful night in their home. He leaned down slightly, his eyes tracing the delicate contours of her face. He admired the gentle curve of her cheek, the soft line of her jaw, and the way her hair framed her features. She was a vision of beauty, and in that moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness and love.
His hand reached out, almost of its own accord, to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. He hesitated for a moment, afraid to disturb her, but the need to feel a connection was too strong. He gently moved the hair aside, his fingers trembling slightly as they grazed her skin. The contact sent a shiver through him, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes.
As he looked at her, he couldn't help but notice how beautifully her mangalsutra rested above her cleavage. The gold and black beads contrasted against her fair skin, a symbol of their union and the promises they had made to each other. It lay there, perfectly framed by the delicate curve of her breasts, which rose and fell gently with each breath she took.
"How can someone be so beautiful?" he thought to himself, his mind a swirl of conflicting emotions. "How can she be the woman I love and yet be the source of my deepest fears?"
He sighed softly, the sound barely more than a whisper. Ganga stirred slightly but didn't wake. Srinu stood there, torn between the desire to hold her and the fear of what he might discover. The love he felt for her was as strong as ever, but it was now laced with uncertainty and pain.
He stayed by her side for a few more moments, allowing himself to be lost in her beauty. Then, with a heavy heart, he turned and walked out of the room, his mind a tumultuous sea of questions and doubts. The truth remained elusive, and the night stretched on, filled with the weight of unspoken fears and the fragile hope that their love could endure.
As Srinu kept looking at Ganga's serene face, his gaze traveled upward, finally resting on her sindur. The red vermilion mark, which he lovingly applied on her forehead every morning as a symbol of their marital bond, now seemed to blaze with an almost accusatory light. The memories of their daily ritual, a simple act that symbolized so much love and commitment, contrasted starkly with the image that suddenly flashed in his mind.
He remembered how she had looked when she came out of that room earlier tonight, her saree mangled, her hair disheveled, and her sindur almost completely rubbed away. The stark difference between the Ganga he loved and the Ganga he had seen tonight was too much to bear. It was like witnessing two different people, and the pain of that realization cut deep into his heart.
His eyes started to water, the tears forming unbidden and spilling over as he struggled to reconcile the woman sleeping peacefully before him with the woman from his worst nightmares. The weight of his emotions felt unbearable, and he found that he could no longer stand there, looking at her.
Feeling as if he might break down completely, Srinu moved away from the bed. His steps were heavy and unsteady as he walked toward the balcony attached to their bedroom. The cool night air hit him as he stepped outside, offering a brief, if superficial, respite from the turmoil inside his mind.
The balcony was a small, intimate space, a place where they often sat together, sharing their dreams and talking late into the night. Tonight, however, it felt like a refuge, a place where he could gather his scattered thoughts and try to find some semblance of peace.
He leaned against the railing, looking out into the night. The city was quiet, the streets empty save for the occasional passing car. The stars twinkled overhead, indifferent to the pain that wracked his heart. Srinu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but the effort only brought more tears.
He thought about their life together, the love they had shared, and the promises they had made. How had things come to this? What had gone so wrong? The questions swirled in his mind, each one more painful than the last. He felt a profound sense of loss, as if the very foundation of his life had been ripped away.
The image of Ganga with her smudged sindur haunted him. It was a symbol of everything that had gone wrong, a mark of the betrayal he feared. He remembered how proud he had felt every morning, applying the sindur to her forehead, and how it had always seemed to glow with the promise of their shared future. Now, that promise felt broken, the future uncertain and filled with doubt.
He couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness. He wanted to confront her, to demand answers, but he was also terrified of what those answers might be. The thought of losing her, of their love being tainted by betrayal, was more than he could bear.
As he stood there, staring into the night, the tears continued to flow. The cold metal of the railing under his hands grounded him slightly, offering a physical anchor to his spiraling emotions. He knew he needed to find a way to move forward, to confront the situation and find the truth, but in that moment, all he could do was cry. The weight of his fears and the love he still felt for Ganga tore at him, leaving him feeling lost and broken.
In the quiet of the night, Srinu wept for what he had lost, for the woman he loved, and for the uncertain future that lay ahead. The balcony, once a place of shared dreams, now bore witness to his deepest sorrow.
As he stood there, lost in his sorrow, his new phone vibrated in his pocket. The unexpected sensation jolted him slightly, pulling him out of his emotional spiral. He reached into his pocket with trembling hands and pulled out the phone, his vision blurred by tears.
He checked the message, hoping for some distraction, but it was just a spam message. He closed the message with a sigh, feeling even more alone and adrift. As he returned to the home screen, his eyes fell on the wallpaper, and his heart gave a painful lurch.
The wallpaper was a picture of Ganga, her face lit up with a radiant smile. It was from the early days of their relationship, a time when everything had felt new and exciting. Srinu stared at the image, his tears momentarily forgotten as he was transported back to those happier times.
He remembered the day they had taken that picture. They had been at a park, laughing and talking, completely absorbed in each other. It was one of the first times he had realized just how much he loved her. Her laughter had been infectious, her joy pure and untainted by the worries of the world.
As he looked at the picture, Srinu thought about how cute she was, her eyes sparkling with happiness and her smile wide and genuine. That smile had been one of the first things that had drawn him to her, a smile that seemed to light up the entire world.
The memory of those early days brought a bittersweet feeling. On one hand, it reminded him of the deep love they had shared, but on the other hand, it contrasted sharply with the pain and confusion he felt now. How had they gone from those joyful moments to this?
He realized that the picture was more than just a memory; it was a symbol of everything he had loved about Ganga. It represented the innocence and purity of their early relationship, a time when they had been inseparable and deeply in love.
As Srinu stood on the balcony, the memories of their relationship began to flood his mind, offering him a temporary escape from the pain and confusion that had consumed him. He remembered how he had first met Ganga when his family went to her home to meet her family as part of their arranged marriage. Although it had been an arranged marriage, for him, it was the purest form of love marriage.
His mind drifted into his memories, and he could clearly remember everything as if it had happened yesterday. The vivid recollection of their first meeting replayed in his mind, each detail etched deeply in his heart.
THE FLASHBACK!!