The Vile.

Chapter : 41

Pretty From Inside.

The last thing she remembers is the cold water. She remembers how she was on the verge of drowning, the cold and huge drops of rain attacking her face, as she struggled to come out of the water.  She can't believe herself when her hands finally touch the wet mud on the other side of the lake.

And then she runs, runs through the rain. The tears from her eyes mingles with the rain drops. Many realizations hit her mind like multiple needles together. Her shivering body keeps giving her a hard time. But she doesn't stop, she doesn't stop until she reaches her room, more specifically the bathroom attached to her room.

The moment she gets inside all she gets to do is lean onto the toilet counter and break into a sob, as her mind takes her to a painful journey, some nine or ten years back.

¤¤¤¤¤

"We have to move to the Breaking News here!!" Shouts a woman journalist from the t.v.

Vasudha keeps focusing on the science project at hand. She has to complete it before dinner, before her father returns home. She kept the news channel on for the sole reason of the official result announcement of the debate competition, that already took place some three hours ago, but she couldn't see it for some other engagements. She is waiting for the highlights.

"A very heartbreaking news for everyone, as it appears, Mr. Devraaj Sachdev and his eldest son Mr. Devansh Sachdev's car has fallen off a cliff in Himachal Pradesh." Vasudha snaps her head to the t.v screen as the woman shouts once again. The scale falls on the table as she loses her grip around it. Her eyebrows scrunch up with worry and fear.

"They have been stuck inside the car for nearly two days as nobody seemed to know about their whereabouts. Right now, according to the informations from the rescue team, the whole endeavor turned really risky and life threatening for them as well, but they risked it willingly to recover the lifeless body of Mr. Devraaj Sachdev from the partly burned car but as they went back to the car, it caught fire with Mr. Devansh Sachdev stuck inside it. Yes, a huge loss for our country and a very heartbreaking news indeed. Seems like we couldn't get lucky enough to see the charming man taking control over the competitive Indian business market. He certainly, was amongst the strongest and promising intellectuals of our country. As they say, gone too soon Devansh."

The woman on the t.v screen keeps blabbering as Vasudha's eyes tear up. Her lips start trembling. She can't believe her own ears, is this a joke, a very bad prank? Because, how is she going to accept the fact that just ten days ago she saw this man sitting right infront of her, on the guests' panel. How is she going to digest the fact that this same man stood right infront of her in his tall frame, with a confident and shining pair of grey eyes, a charming smile and those attention seeking dimples. His aura was impossibly overpowering when he looked at her and uttered those words,

"You were absolutely brilliant there. We can only hope to see you amongst the strongest females of India some day, Sudha."

"Thank you so much sir. And my name is Vasudha sir, Vasudha Roy." Smiling, Vasudha answers like a hypnotized girl.

"Oh! Apologies then. I heard some of your friends calling you with that name. I found that better. Would you mind if I call you with that name?" He asks in his deep voice, keeping the same smile plastered on his face. Which made her break into full fledged giggles.

"God, I won't dare, not at all. It's totally fine with me. I feel grateful." She says as someone else clears his throat from behind them and hands Mr.Devansh Sachdev a cordless microphone.

"Good evening everybody, I find myself lacking proper words with so many talented and qualified people standing around me. But I think I will always resort to something I heard backstage, only today." He looked at her with those intense eyes as he said the words surprising her, the same words she said to her friend outside the auditorium.