The Velvet Healer (The Roys, #1) ✔

Chapter 1- Stranger

10th July

"Be tough!" Sonya patted Priyasha's shoulder. "It's okay that you ran away. You've put your own mental wellbeing before everything, and that's the right thing to do. I completely understand that it's difficult to shake off all the haunting memories you still have." She squeezed her shoulder softly and continued, "But truthfully, they'll never leave. They say time heals everything. But it really doesn't. You just become resilient enough to cope with life." She paused briefly before adding, "You need to accept your past as it is, and learn to deal with the painful memories."

Priyasha looked outside the cab's window and remained silent. Her eyes stung but she couldn't bring herself to the point of breaking down. She only blinked and nodded.

Sonya continued, "You know, I am not saying this out of empathy, but you need to focus on your present. What you're basically doing is, escaping. Escaping from your past, your present and somewhat from your future too. I understand that escaping always seems easy, but it forces you to remember everything you desperately want to forget. Escaping your fate won't ever help you, it will only make things worse. It won't change anything. The same old hurt will always remain inside your chest, ready to explode. Stop escaping, Priyasha, and face it."

Priyasha tucked a loose strand behind her ear while listening to her friend. Her eyes stung from those unshed tears. Yet, she couldn't cry.

Sonya observed her reaction and kept going. "Memories never give you happiness. Whether it is a good or a bad, memories always hurt. What you can do to cope with it is, replace them by engaging yourself in something better today. Engaging yourself in a more beautiful way of living will help you with your depression. I know they depress you, but hey, this state of depression can also be your memories one day. Why not start making it happen? Face your fears, they can either make you cower away or they can mold you to be a courageous hero."

Priyasha heaved a sigh without making eye contact with her compassionate colleague. Their cab ran through the busy streets until a traffic signal turned red bringing the cab to a halt. Before Priyasha and Sonya could grasp on what was happening, four people opened the doors of the share cab and hopped onto it. All of them had a piece of cloth tied around to cover their nose and mouth. Two of them entered from both sides of the back seat, pushing the girls further inside and two of them in the front, one claimed the driver's seat by pushing him inside and another at the passenger seat.

"Hey, what's happening?" Sonya yelled out.

Before Priyasha could scream out for help envisaging the danger, a hand raked around her head from behind and covered her mouth tight. Priyasha struggled to get out of the strong grasp, but the person held her close. Although she only had some seventeen hundred rupees in her purse and two debit cards, what she was more scared of losing was the most important treasure a woman could have. Dignity.

All over again.

Her friend was also protesting but to no avail. The men started threatening the driver. Priyasha complained more furiously by elbowing her captor with force, but the man caught her hands and twisted them behind her back almost immobilizing her. She saw a traffic constable standing on the street. She shouted to him for help, expecting to gain his attention. But instead of catching the muggers, he asked the taxi driver to go ahead. What was wrong with that policeman? Didn't he see their masked faces?

The car went on as the muggers snatched the gold chain around Sonya's neck, their bags, even took away their phones. By the time, the cab reached the next traffic signal sign, Priyasha shouted aloud for help. The four men tried to escape and three among them successfully fled. However, the one on the driver's seat could not.