Undying Love |✔

Chapter 42 - After Dusk, Approaches Darkness

Two weeks had passed after the Sabha incident, without occurring of any other stressful situation.

Avni was careful not to do anything where she put herself and Amit both in limelight.

It was difficult for her to be in public after the firm decision of Panchayat Sabha. Most of the clothes that she had packed in a hurry were not appropriate for this village, and she had trouble walking down the streets freely. Whenever she wanted to meander through the same hill that had become her favorite spot, she had to struggle to find something suitable.

It was on times like these she missed Delhi. No matter what the state of her city was, she had a few liberties she had neglected before. Choosing what to wear was one of them.

The way Karma ogled her whenever she passed him; he made a big show of looking at her clothes minutely. He was looking for something out of order so that he'd have a chance to throw her out of Unnao. She was aware of it too, and so ignored him every time she crossed him.

Apart from this, she wasn't allowed to take part in Amit's mission, and that was making her feel worthless. He shared his plans with her, sure, but the way he was progressing toward his planning; she knew it was going to take him a long time before he reached any decent conclusion.

Seeing that her Nanny was all alone in Delhi, she often asked him to speed things up so that they could be back at a place that was away from people like Karma. But all he said was, "It's going to take a bit more time, Avni." He was convincing those people every day, and bit by bit he was coming near to crack them.

Her talks with Meera were short too as she didn't want to reveal anything on the phone and cause her to worry. It was the last thing she wanted. But apparently, Meera was quite experienced in reading between the lines, and she asked her to stay for as long as it took for Amit to get over his grief.

During a time when she was feeling like a burden to Amit, she had met Vishnu sitting gloomily on the side of the road. When asked for the reason, she'd gotten to know about his inability to study because of lack of money. That's when she had gotten the idea to teach him. From that day on she promised to give him the basic education that he had a right of. The bright smile on his face had made Avni bloom with joy.

His education happened on the confines of the hill; it was the safest place, as villagers never made their appearance.

It was also admirable that Vishnu was having fun in learning; with his innocence, he made her life in Unnao bearable.

On one of these days, after Vishnu had tottered to go to his home, Avni had stayed back for the sunset. Amit had made her love Nature, and whenever the opportunity arose, she admired the sun when it dunked into the horizon. Today, it was a mixture of color orange and yellow, making the sky look like a giant Alfonzo.

She was busy admiring the view when all of a sudden she heard crunching of leaves beneath someone's feet, and a sudden movement caught her eye.

Not wanting to be seen, and creating an opportunity where she'd be questioned, she took refuge behind a thick shrub on impulse and watched as some men made their way forward. 

It was surprising as no-one had ever passed by the hill in the days she had started spending her peaceful evenings here. Usually, it was the only place where she felt calm and now knew why Amit teased her of occupying his favorite spot.

What she thought to be some men passing through the hill wasn't all correct.

A girl was being dragged by her hair and a gun was stuffed in her mouth so that she was unable to make any noise. This tugged strings of Avni's heart, and a sudden rage engulfed her mind.