Her Wounds Hurt Him

Chapter- 03

After dropping her, he returned home, grabbed his laptop and searched for Dhani Singhania. Her profile opens up. The last update is around four years ago. There was a photo of Dhani with another girl. He was sure it wasn't Mahika and she didn't look like her mom. He saw that it was tagged as 'Preeti'. He opened her profile; her last update was also four years ago - the same day. It read "Fun time begins".Four years, no social media, no friends, no social life. Something must have happened four years ago on that day. And he needed to find out.The next day at the rehearsals he was waiting for her. She came in wearing a sky blue suit and blue earrings. He wondered how she could make him fall for her every time he looked at her. As she entered Akash asks her that he would like to take her someplace. Dhani was scared, he was practically a stranger. She refuses to go with him and starts rehearsing. They were just a week away from the final competition. After practicing for hours they both were tired. He asks her to join him for lunch, she refuses again, but after requesting a few times she agrees and they go to a nearby Dhaba. The owner of the Dhaba instantly recognizes Dhani. She touches his feet for blessings; he told her how much he had missed her childish ways. He told her that he heard about Preeti's death and how much of shock it was. She just nodded. He got them seated and asked the waiter to get the menu. Akash had a lot of questions he wanted to ask. But he couldn't just ask her. They had their lunch in silence and returned to the dance studio. During rehearsals, Dhani bursts into tears all of a sudden. Without saying a single word he let her cry her heart out. He went back home, still clueless about what had happened four years ago. He had to find out.

He called Mahi and asked if she could meet him tomorrow after the rehearsals. She agreed. He decided to meet her at a nearby coffee shop. Mahi had an inkling of what he wanted to talk about and she wanted him to know what had happened four years back. She reached there and found Akash waiting. He asked her to order something; she said milkshake would be good. She asked him not to beat around the bush and come to the point directly. He didn't know where to start. He asked why her sister was so reserved and quiet. Her last post was four years ago. Mahi's eyes filled with tears. She told him he would not be able to listen to what had happened back then. He insisted that he wanted to know and he couldn't see her dying on the inside every day. He didn't know what had happened but he could feel her pain.

Mahi agreed to tell him the story.

"Dhani was the most cheerful girl you could have ever met. She was just so full of life. She was the heart and soul of our house. She made our house "home". She was the complete opposite of what you see today. Every Sunday she would go to some old age home or orphanage and give out gifts and funds to them. She had a golden heart. And Preeti di was her best friend. They were soul sisters. They were in their last year at college. Dhani had met a guy at college - Ankit. He was just like you, charming, rich and heartthrob of every girl around. But from the first day of college, he wouldn't leave Dhani alone; always trying to pursue her. But my sister never liked him that way. He was just a close friend to her; her 4 am a friend. He always tried to get close to my sister. Nobody expected it to go this far.

It was her birthday; her favorite day. She was very happy. Dad was throwing a huge party. Our friends, relatives, everyone was there, except for Preeti di. Dhani Di had gotten ready in her beautiful new gown. I still remember how much I envied her. She was beautiful, talented; she was the best dancer. She also had the most beautiful heart. She was beautiful inside out. It was time for the cake. She was waiting for her best friend to arrive. Preeti didn't come at all. Di kept waiting for her and slowly people started to leave the party. She was sitting alone in her party with her cake, waiting for her. Her heart knew something was wrong, she kept calling Preeti di, and the call was not getting connected. At last, she decided to visit her home.She was angry at her but she was also worried. She asked me to go with her. We asked the driver to take us to Preeti di's house. We reached there and she almost smashed the doorbell. Preeti di's mom opened the door and was shocked to see both of us. Di asked her about Preeti di and the reply shocked us. She told us that Preeti di had left the party early. Preeti Di wasn't someone who lied to her parents.

Di immediately called dad. Dad did his best and used his influence to find Preeti di. Di decided to walk to our house, in case she could find any clue. She asked me to go check every hospital and police station. I did what she told me to do; I was in the city hospital looking for Preeti di when I got a call from di. Her voice was shaking, she had found her. Somehow, I managed to get her location. She was at some roadside close to the jungle. The police, my parents, Preeti di's parents, everyone was already there. There was a huge crowd. I saw Preeti di's body. It was almost naked, soaked in dirt and blood. Her body had been ripped apart. Her mom was crying sitting beside her body but di, she was just sitting there, like a statue. She hadn't shed a single tear. The police said they had to take the body for post-mortem. Di was in trauma.The post-mortem report came; she had been raped by four guys. My dad put all his connections to use to get the culprits behind the bars. Di was still in shock. She was neither eating nor sleeping and the scariest part was that she wasn't crying at all. Preeti di's mom and my mom almost begged her to cry her heart out. Nothing worked. After the funeral, di used to lock herself in her room all day.