Anya
12-year-old Anya ran, dreading for her life. The overgrown shrubs must have grown bigger. They were almost reaching her waist now.
Her worn-out flip flops were broken, so she left them behind and ran bare feet. Thorns pricking the soft soles of her feet. Pain shooting through her legs and her stomach cramping up with hunger.
She couldn't remember when she had last eaten. She fell down and tried to get up but Tatya was at her side. She sat on the rocky ground, terrified. He poured a bucket full of warm blood on her. The warm blood soaked her clothes, turning her little hands red, reeking of death. No, No, No, stop...
"STOP!!!" Shouting, Anya woke up with a start. Hyperventilating and disoriented, she looked around her, anxiously.
She was in her one-bedroom apartment. Heaving a sigh of relief she checked the time. Her mobile phone on the bedside table said 3.00 am. Feeling frustrated, she got off the bed.
This was the reason why she had decided against a roommate. With a roommate, and a rent share arrangement, she could have stayed closer to her place of work, Pune city (A bustling cosmopolitan city in Western India. Also known as Oxford of the East).
Thanks to her insomnia and bad dreams she had ended up in this tiny apartment in a suburb.
Her apartment had a bedroom with a small balcony and a kitchen with no dining area. Thankfully it had a largish living room.
She had converted a part of the living room into a gym with a training bench, some weights, her kickboxing practice material and a stationary cycle.
The other side of the living room had a desk. The adjoining wall was lined with her favourite books from literature and law.
In the middle of the room, there was a couch which she hardly used. She didn't have any friends or visitors. Sana, her only friend, was happily married and lived in Mumbai.
She walked over to her kitchen, grabbed a tumbler, opened the small fridge and pulled out the ice tray. She poured herself a whiskey on the rocks and drank it as a single shot, letting the bitterness cut the pain.
Then she wandered into her gym area and started working out with her kickboxing equipment. Channelising her anger and pain towards the innocent punching bag.
The nightmares were always on similar lines. It had been 9 years since that fateful accident, yet she smelled and felt her brother's blood almost every day.
She had no idea whether she was going to forget it or if her brain would eventually accept it. She hadn’t been around when Sana had met her brother.
Countless times she had asked Sana to repeat her version of the story. She loved the emotions that rose within her whenever Sana spoke about her interaction with Palash. She cherished the feeling that she was loved by her brother to the extent that he gave up his life for her.
Thankfully, Sana had arrived in time with her dad and the cops. She was a smart girl and had coaxed her father to go to the cops and get help. Sana had a sense of foreboding.
The cops had arrested the bastard but the others ran away. Anya’s brother was gone forever. Leaving a void in her life and her heart which constantly reminded her of her loss. There wasn't a single day that she didn't regret her decision of going to that hill.
The memory made her punch the bag repeatedly, the pain in her knuckles comfortably numbing the pain in her heart.
Holding her brother's body, she had made up her mind. She was going to hunt down all the motherfuckers. Every step she took after that day had brought her here.
At 21 she was already a Sub Inspector of Police (PSI) in the most liveable city of India.
*****
She reached her office before most people. Always early to arrive, she loved her workplace more than her apartment.
Thanks to her designation, she had a tiny cove of her own which was separated by a plywood partition from her colleague’s cabin. Her desk space was cluttered with some files stacked in a corner.
A small glass of steaming hot tea and a bun on a grubby looking steel plate was kept ready for her by chotu, the young boy who got cutting chai for all the cops. She saw her brother’s younger days in the young hardworking boy.
“Chotu, what’s up?”
“Nothing tai (elder sister). Just routine. Serving cutting ( slang for the 60 ml shot of milky tea boiled with spices) and hanging out with friends.”
“Be careful of who you hang out with!”
“You always say that.” He laughed and pranced away.
Her work was hectic and at times she wouldn’t have time for lunch so she loved her morning tea with a sweet bun. No one was supposed to disturb her when she had her tea.
“Anya,” her colleague said.
“What?” She spat angrily. She hated anyone who disturbed her routine of bun and tea.
“Sorry. There is a case. No other female cop is around. You would need to take it. Or should I ask them to wait?”
She saw a young girl, crying, height around 5 feet- 4 inches, dusky skin, dark brown eyes, curly hair, torn clothes, bruises all over the body, bleeding lip. A boy was with her, supporting her. Similar age, around 6 feet tall, mesmerising black eyes (what was that?), wheatish but tanned skin, and an athletic build. Boyfriend? Didn’t look like it. Then must be her brother or a friend.
It took her trained mind only a few seconds to take in all the information. The poor girl was in shock. She drained her tea and kept her half-eaten bun aside. A hovering fly immediately sat on it. “Send them over.”
She asked them to sit on the chairs in front of her. The girl had calmed down into sobs but the boy was still supporting the girl with his arms around her.
He guided her towards the chair. The girl meekly sat down. The boy took the chair next to her and looked towards Anya. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Hi, I am Anand Gore and this is Mia Singh,” said the boy. He tried to speak but Anya stopped him.
She spoke directly to the girl, “Don’t worry. You are safe here. Tell me what happened.”
The girl burst out into a fresh bout of crying. Anya got up. She asked the constable to get a glass of water and sat on the edge of her table facing the girl.
Resting her hand on the girl's arm she said, “I know it must be terrible, but if you want us to help, you will need to tell me what happened. Take your time and try to relax.”
“I was attacked,” said Mia, ”by my boyfriend. He tried to force himself on me.”
She was still sobbing.
Anya cursed under her breath, “mother*fuc*ker!”
She shouted at the constable, “Can you get the water quickly? And get the First Information Report (FIR) register too.”
She sat back in her chair. Picking up her pen with determination in her eyes, she declared. “Tell me all about it and I will personally put the bastard behind bars.”
The sweet bun was forgotten.
*****
Anand Gore (Andy) Andy received a call early in the morning. His best friend Mia was crying hysterically. “Babe! What happened? Why are you crying?” “He tried to rape me,” she managed to splutter through her sobs. “What the fuck? Who? Where are you?” She was his best friend. They were together in junior college. After 12th grade, Mia had decided to become an Ayurvedic doctor while he had taken up Engineering in the Information Technology (IT) field. “I don’t know. It is some road near Sushant’s house,” she said. “The bastard did this to you?” “Yes” Andy cursed, “Babe, listen! Are you in a safe space? Is he following you?” “No. I broke a vase on his head. He is knocked out.” “That’s my girl! Now walk towards the police station. I am on my way.” He rode his Royal Enfield motorbike like a maniac and covered a distance of 30 mins in 10. Mia was still sobbing when he found her. She hadn
AnyaThe girl Mia was clearly in distress and it only triggered the anger inside her. Such cases affected her a lot. They increased her nightmares and she felt like beating the shit out of the assholes who tried to sexually assault anyone.Bloody motherfuckers! She totally hated the rapists and people who attempted rape. According to her they were the scum of this planet, lowest of the low!!Once Mia’s medical report was in, they arrested Sushant. The guy was pissed off. Apparently the guy’s dad had some very strong political connections. Bloody rich assholes!!She needed Mia to come in for some questioning. She called the number given on Mia’s file but the phone was switched off. She called Anand (Andy).“Hi!” Said Andy.“Hey! Is this Mr Anand Gore?”“Yes!”“PSI Anya here. We have caught the culprit.”“Wow! That was quick. I thought our cops were sl
"Time to go babes". Andy sat ready on his black Royal Enfield classic bike with an extra helmet.Since the day Mia had stumbled across her boyfriend Sushant fucking one of their seniors a few months back, Andy had remained a solid support for Mia. They were best friends since their junior college and nothing could stop them from being there for each other.He knew what a fuckwit Sushant was. He would give Mia a lot of grief over continuing to be friends with Andy. Her personality had changed into an introvert but this is one thing that she thankfully did not give up. She stayed in touch with Andy, albeit in secret without letting Sushant know.Whenever Andy recalled the latest incident, he would feel like bashing the bastard up but he controlled himself knowing that the case was in the hands of the cops.Mia came out of her parents house looking as beautiful as ever in her blue denims and a yel
AndyNext morning when Mia came downstairs her eyes looked tired. “Hey babes, how are you doing? You look terrible.”“I feel terrible,” she said massaging her neck instinctively, “my head hurts and I haven’t been able to sleep properly in spite of medicines. I hate this. Hate being a weakling.”“I know. It’s a lot to face your attacker everyday!”Mia sat down next to him and took the mug of coffee that he offered. “What do I do Andy? I can’t carry on like this. I have 3 whole semesters to go and my work is important for me.”“I know sweetie, but he is a senior, isn’t he? He will be gone doing his internship after his finals in O
AnyaShe reached Andy’s college a little after the event had already begun. Unlike the horde of students milling around, she was a professional and had a job. A last minute case had held her back. She had to wrap up her work and rush to the college in a tuktuk (a yellow and black three-wheeled motorized vehicle used as a taxi in India).After haggling with the tuktuk driver and paying an obscenely inflated fare she thought to herself, 'I really need to get a vehicle for myself. This daily haggling is a pain in the ass. Once the EMI (Equated Monthly Installments or mortgage) for the gym equipment is done, I should look for a motorbike.'
AndyThey walked to a restaurant that was frequented by the college students. It was a pocket-friendly place with a warm vibe to it. The walls were painted yellow and the place was decorated with cheap roadside paintings. Wasn’t very well lit, but the tables and cutlery were clean.“This place isn’t much but the food is good,” said Andy, a little embarrassed by his choice of restaurant.“It’s perfect! It's nearby too! Let’s order,” said Anya. “What would you like to have?” she asked, checking the menu out.“Paneer tikka masala (cottage cheese curry with spices and veggies) and roti (Indian flatbread made out of whole wheat flour),” said Andy, happy that Anya wasn’t stuck up on material
AnyaHer phone showed a few unread messages and missed calls from Andy. She had put her phone on silent mode during the fest and then forgotten about it. She scolded herself. Thankfully there were no calls from the station.<Andy> 12.05 am Hi. Reached safely. Sorry to leave in a hurry.<Andy> 12.20 am Sleep well. Good night :-) (smile emoji)<Andy> 2 am I have beaten up the bastard since you didn’t attend your call. What should I do next?She immediately dialled his number. He attended the call in the first ring.“Hi. Thanks for calling, “ he said. He sounded angry.“I was asleep
Anya had a busy day. She reached the station after visiting Sushant’s place, just in time for lunch.Before she could settle down for her meal Eknath, her constable knocked at her cabin door and walked in.“Sorry Anya, I know you haven’t had lunch yet but we need to go to KEM hospital urgently,” he said.“What happened?” Anya pushed the plate of food aside, picked her baton and cap. They headed out in a rush.“A 14 year old junkie is battling for life. He was found in a gutter in the Janata Vasahat (name of the slum) slums,” said Eknath as they drove towards the hospital.“What else did