1 - VARANASI

Author P.O.V

"VARANASI", a place where life and death entwine, a place where the sun rises over sacred waters, where every Ghats Whispers Tales of devotion and the air is thick with the scent of hope and history.

The sun dipped into the Ganges, casting a warm orange glow over the ghats of varanasi. The air was alive with the scent of incense and the soft chanting of mantras.

Devotees covered the river bank, eager to catch a glimpse of the evening Aarti. The sounds of Shanka and Temple Bells filled the air, creating a sense of reverence ,peace ,devotion and spiritual essence.

Amidst the sea of devotees, a small girl,vaishu,darted through the crowd, her colorful lehenga fluttering behind her as she ran through the crowd clutching her dress to avoid falling "Anika didi !" She shouted, her voice barely audible over the noice.

As the priest raised his lamp to offer the aarti to Ganga maa, a figure emerged from the crowd. Anika, a young women with an ethereal beauty, turned around, her eyes closed, as if absorbing the divine energy. For a moment, it seemed as though the aarti was being offered to her, the flames dancing in perfect harmony with her gentle Features, her dark hair falling like waterfalls down her pale skin.

Her hazel eyes, with flecks of brown shone brightly with kindness. She wore a flowing white saree, intricately embroidered with silver threads that danced across her curves like a lover's caress.

Vaishu reached Anika's side, breathless, and tugged her hand. "Anika didi, yuktha didi is calling for you! We're already late,! You know what happens when you're late.... Uncle will be furious!"

Anika's eye's snapped open, and she looked around,disoriented ,shivji....... I completely forgot about the time! I'm dead today!" She shivered at the thought , memories of her uncle's punishments flooding her mind.

Vaishu's grip on her hand tightened, trying to provide her comfort
"Come on didi! Let's go! We can't be late! "
As Anika turned to leave, she halted in her steps, hesitating to leave.. An unsettling feeling crept over Anika as she gazed at the Ganga aarti, she couldn't explain why, but she didn't want to leave.

Though she visits aarti quite often this time felt different and she doesn't know why...... I'm already late, so a few more minutes won't make any difference, right? She thought to herself and looked at vaishu who was trying to drag her out
"Vaishu, you go ahead. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"But didi... Vaishu started to protest "I know vaishu, uncle will be mad at me for being late but I'm already late! it won't make any difference if we're here for a few more minutes.... Soo you go I'll come. Anika said, though she's scared about what's gonna happen to her once she's home something in her told her to stay, as if an invisible thread was tugging at her heart.

As vaishu disappeared into the crowd, Anika turned back to the river, her eyes locking onto the Ganges. She closed her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper, "shivji, please......... Please listen to my prayer. Let me win the dance competition tomorrow. It's my only chance to escape......... To start anew, to leave the hell of a place behind and create a life of my own. I've always wished for this, shivji......please grant me this one wish."

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As this was going on.. A man emerged, "Rudra" a stark contrast to the devout people surrounding him. Rudra stood at the edge of the Ganges, the flickering diyas and chanting of the ganga aarti creating a sense of unease within him. He hated the hypocrisy of it all - the fake devotion, the superficial prayers.

He despised the scene before him. Not even in his worst nightmares had he imagined coming to a temple, let alone varanasi.

His eyes scanned the crowd with contempt, his face twisted in a scowl
"That bastard thinks he can escape me by hiding in this temple? Does he really believe that this soo called god would save him? His eyes darkened "These fools and their blind faith... He's invoked my wrath by stealing from me, and now he'll face my cruelest form for making me witness this......... Useless skit".

His face twisted in hate and irritation, he smirked as he spotted his target, with a predator's grace, he stalked forward, his eyes burning with an inner fire. He sprinted towards his rival the world around him invisible leaving only his prey and him......

That's when anika who was practically begging shivji to save her from the hell was done with her prayers. Anika turned to leave the temple, Fate, however had other plans
in a flash of unexpected collision, Anika's gentle departure became a sudden halt, Rudra's powerful frame crashed into her's.

She stumbled and he instinctively caught her hand, a gesture that felt like alien to him. He would never have helped someone, yet here he was.

The moment Rudra's powerful frame collided with anika's gentle form, the universe seemed to hold its breath. A sudden wind burst outward, shattering the stillness. The ashes from the diyas, carrying the hopes and dreams of the devotees, were swept up in the turbulent gust, scattering like autumn leaves on a stormy day.

Anika's eye's like delicate petals, closed instinctively, but Rudra saw her,his dark orbs fell on the most serene face he ever come across,a spark of fascination ignited within him, a hint of curiosity that he couldn't wipe off.

The contrast was devastating, a collision of chaos and calm, like a stormy sea crashing against a peaceful shore. He continued to stare at her as she was struggling to open her eyes.

He took a deep breath to shake off this foreign feeling, his rock like heart started to beat for the first after god knows how long, just a single glance at her made his heart race.

He snapped back to his senses, a wave of fury erupting within him, he despised to accept that she made him lose his senses for ten seconds there......"looks like I'm saved

Anika said rubbing her eyes she was about to open her eyes to thank the person who saved her just to find no one there, she shrugged off the weird feeling and looked at ganga maa for one last time anika turned to leave her mind consumed with fear and uncertainty....... The thoughts of facing her uncle's anger scared her to the core for a moment she regretted her decision....... I should've gone home sooner is the only thought that's in her mind

Rudra on the other hand stopped in his tracks in middle of nowhere bewildered and breathless... The echoes of earlier commotion still ringing in his ears, for a moment he forgot why he was here, he was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden ring of his phone he quickly shrugged off his feelings and maintained his composure "Hello, boss we found him! Said the person on the phone, Rudra smirked " Take that bastard to the basement, he's gonna recive the worst death possible!"
Rudra growled and his expression darkened with thoughts of how he's gonna kill his new prey.

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"Anikaaaaa! here.." Shouted a petite women in her 20's with a kind face and a bright smile
"Yukthaa! " Anika Wishpered and ran towards her "I'm sooo sorry for taking soo long, let's not waste any time and leave.... Come on vaishu get in the car"

Anika and vaishu sat in the back while yuktha started driving, she would be behind the bars for her driving skills but she doesn't care as long as her friend reaches on time to avoid any sort of cruelty

After a 30-minute ride, Anika finally arrived home, her heart racing with anxiety. As she stepped out of the car, she thanked Yukta, who grasped her hand and said, "Don't worry, Anika. Whatever happens now, it will be the last. Today will be the last day in hell for you. Stay strong, my friend. You will get through this." With those words, Yukta turned and left, leaving Anika to face her fate alone.

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Anika trembled as she entered the house, hoping to find no one. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she saw the empty hall. She slowly made her way to her room, but just as she reached the door, the lights flickered on, and her uncle's angry face came into view.

"Where have you been?" he thundered, his voice echoing through the hall. The sound sent shivers down Anika's spine, and she trembled with fear.

"S-sorry, Uncle," she stammered. "I went to Ganga Aarti. I'm sorry I'm late. I'll make sure to not repeat this."

But her uncle was unforgiving. His face red with rage, he stomped his foot and strode towards Anika, slapping her face so hard that the sound resonated through the hall. Anika couldn't help but let tears fall from her eyes as she crumpled under the force of his anger.

"You useless bitch, how dare you come home at this hour and ignore my calls!" he bellowed, grabbing Anika's hair and forcing her to meet his gaze. "You know better than to keep me waiting, don't you?" he snarled, his eyes blazing with fury.

Anika struggled to manage the pain, her eyes welling up with tears. "I'm so sorry, Uncle, I swear I won't repeat this," she begged, trembling.

But he didn't care. He released her hair and turned to his wife, yelling, "Come here!" She approached him, hands trembling, and handed him a cover. "This has a saree in it, take it," he said, throwing the saree at Anika.

Anika looked at him in confusion, which soon turned to shock as she processed his next words: "You're getting engaged tomorrow."

She tried to speak, but was cut off by another slap across her cheek, leaving red hand marks on her face. "Dare oppose me, and you'll be dead," he warned, before storming off. "Get ready by 10 am tomorrow. YOU ARE GETTING ENGAGED!"

As the shock offer uncle's words settled in Anika felt the weight of her world crashing down around her. The positivity and peace she had cultivated in Varanasi seems like a distant memory, a fleeting dream that had been brutally shattered.

She felt like she was drowning in a sea of despair, unable to escape the suffocating grip of her Uncle's Tyranny.
All she wanted to do was disappear, to vanish into thin air and leave behind the pain and suffering that had become her life.

She felt like she was living in a never-ending Nightmare with no escape from the horror that haunted her every waking movement.

To be continued~

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