SEVEN
... a strange beast of prey was chasing Urmil with a monstrous yawn. Urmil was running with difficulty, she was unable to move her legs and the beast was near. As she stumbled on a rock, the beast jumped on her and caught hold of her leg. A loud howl came out of Urmil... the ground was getting soaked with red blood… Urmil's blood...
Urmil woke up and found herself sitting on the bed with a parched throat… she was drenched with perspiration. Oh God! What a horrible dream...
It started with the delivery of Pir Baba's medicines to different parts of Delhi.
Urmil couldn't deny as she thought of Mother Sebastian and Patricia. She could hear Mother Patricia's kind voice "Serve child… whenever possible, serve the needy, the under privileged." Urmil was satisfied.
The medicine bag was getting bigger day by day.
After reaching Daryaganj, Urmil saw police barricades at every turn. Cars, buses were all getting de-routed.
She stepped aside to find out about the problem. It was understood from the conversation of the localites that drugs were being distributed all over Delhi under the guise of medicines. Police had information that drugs would reach Daryaganj that very day.
Navya and Sanjay's true faces behind the mask were getting uncovered before Urmil's eyes… she was caught in a terrible trap. Urmil was drowning in deep water and... there was no one in her rescue.
Sanjay was not Navya's brother and their field of work was suspicious but by the time she could realise, the simple and kind hearted girl who moved downtowns from the hills was quite well involved. Urmil wanted to escape but it was not easy to get out though it was quite easier to get involved… and the only way out was death.
Urmil took out the key, hidden under the floor mat and opened the door to enter her dark flat.
She changed her clothes and took out a bottle of red wine from the bar counter. She poured some wine in a glass, dropped a few ice cubes and settled down on the swing. She had taken out Sanjay's photograph from the frame and started piercing it frantically with the burning cigarette and murmured
...I hate you Sanjay, I hate you... hate you… hate you!
Mehdi Hasan's mesmerizing voice floated around the apartment...
"Ranjish hi sahi… dil hi dukhane ke liye aa ..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
The mountains of Solan appeared before her eyes. Urmil found herself leaning on a big piece of rock. It started snowing and Urmil enjoyed the pure white snow flakes while placing her feet in the cold water of a swirling and fluttering mountain stream.
Urmil's griefs and sorrows were getting washed away by the rain.
The relationship with Sanjay was of sheer give and take… there was no place for affection or fondness. Urmil was often the victim of his cruelty.
