This is inspired by a true story told to me by a villager I met during one of my travels when I inquired about an unlikely couple I met in his village. Please note it's a slow burn and the sex doesn't begin up until much later. I hope it is worth it for you in the end!
"Gaurav! Gaurav!" Ruhani cried as two men carried her.
She couldn't feel her body. She couldn't feel anything except pain. From her head to toe, it was just pain, both physical and mental.
Her hands dangled in the air as cold wind felt like fire against her open wounds. Her legs were in a very strong grip but the person holding her by the shoulders was losing a hold of her time and again.
There were loud whispers all around and some turned into unbearable cries. Amidst this terror and horror, Ruhani just had one thing on her mind—Gaurav, her fiancé, the love of her life for 7 years.
Ruhani's vision was so blurry that she couldn't even discern the faces of the people who were carrying her. She had no energy to ask them where Gaurav was or try to make sense of anything that happened.
Every time she shut her eyes, a flash of a painful memory would hurt her and then disappear. She couldn't see or remember anything, no matter how hard she tried.
"You are okay,
beta!
Everything will be okay!" She didn't know who spoke those words but they soothed her soul.
"Papa?" Her father had died 9 years ago. "Am I dead?"
"No
beta!
You are fine, you'll be home in no time!"
"Papa, I miss you!"
Ruhani knew it wasn't her father but in that state of shock and misery, that comforting voice meant a lot to her. It was as if a god had come down to earth to make her transition to the world of death easier. She didn't know where her home was but that voice totally felt like home to her.
"Gaurav!" She managed to whisper, hoping for a sound from the other end. But that godly voice went silent. The grip around her feet tightened and she could hear the person's heartbeat pound harder with a wave of guilt.
Something inside her broke then. She was barely keeping alive but this deafening silence made her lose all her will to survive. She collapsed! A blinding darkness was shrouding her and soon, she succumbed to it.
A world without Gaurav meant nothing to her. And thus, she gave up her breath to the nothingness.
***
"Just sponge her! What's there to be shy about?"
Ruhani heard a familiar voice, that which had once reminded her of her dad. She thought she had finally ascended to heaven, or wherever her father was. She had no idea of the minutes, hours or days she had skipped, here on earth, lying on the bed of strangers.
"She's just like Anu. Come on, you want me to go in an sponge a young woman? You HAVE to do it!"
She could hear incomprehensible whispers that would sometimes come from nearby and other times, would feel as if they were coming from a different universe.
Ruhani couldn't open her eyes to see what was happening. Her language was footsteps, sighs and consoling tsks. She wanted Gaurav. She wanted peace.
She felt a hand on her forehead.
"She's burning up again. Goddamn, there must be a way to contact Dr. Kumar and get medicines to this side of the bridge!"
"
Chalo ji!
Clean her properly and in a couple of days, we'll have a new maid come in, just for her!"
"I don't understand
ji!
Why did you bring this stranger to our house? There's something wrong about her, I can feel it!"
"I am the
sarpanch!
The leader of our people. You expect me to leave outsiders dying on the road when they come to this village as tourists? As people expecting some decency...humanity? Poonam
ji,
sometimes I wonder if you're the same woman I married. When did you become so cold?"
"When I became a grandma. You are the leader of your people, yet you fail to understand your own woman's heart. The fear I used to feel with Anu, it's the same with Kartik, her son. Even if the wind blows the wrong way on him, I'll fear the worst. That's just how a mother's heart is. It's strong when it needs to be, but very anxious rest of the time."
"What if she's a
churail
! Maybe she's here to do some black magic on our children? On us? On our village?" Poonam finished her rant without taking a breath.
"Poonam
ji!
This woman is so young. She has most probably lost her husband. I understand your fears but what have you got to be afraid of from her? She can't move an inch, she's harmless. Let her heal, let our village get back to normal. And we shall live our old lives again!"
Ruhani let out a muffled cry and tried to turn on her bed. The old couple's attention turned towards her.
"Gauravv...dea? Dead? Gaurav nooo!" She opened her eyes for a second and her consciousness collapsed again.
***
"Will you marry me?" Gaurav bent down on his knees, a gorgeous diamond ring glittering in his hands, basking in the sun and expressing his love without any words.
"Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes!" Ruhani cried tears of joy. That moment, that scene: the love of her life right in front of her, a beautiful sun shining behind darkening clouds, tall mountains towering over them, as if blessing them for a beautiful future.
"Come here, baby!" Ruhani pulled Gaurav up and kissed him on the lips. There were people around, older couples, kids, but she had no care in the world. Gaurav kissed her back with equal zeal.
They had been together for 7 years but the last few months had been very turbulent for them. They started dating as teenagers but, now as they matured into adults, many new issues started to emerge. Finally, when their parents started pushing for marriage, the tiny crack that had been forming broke all hell open.
Gaurav's parents didn't want him to marry Ruhani. They immigrated to Canada while Gaurav was still in college. They wanted him to finish his degree and marry an NRI there. But Gaurav had other plans.
He stayed back in India. Not just for Ruhani but because of his passion of becoming a photographer. He didn't rely on his parent's money and carved a career out for himself through pure talent. His pictures, especially of his travels, garnered huge following on social media. He was being paid to travel in that point of his life.
Ruhani was also finding success in her career. As an Account Manager in a fledgeling start-up, she had risen through the ranks in no time. To top that, she was drop-dead gorgeous. White, flawless skin, long, black hair that curled towards the end. Her eyes were not exactly blue but had an enigmatic pull around them.
Although she was from Himachal Pradesh, people always told her she looked Caucasian, Greek in particular. Standing at 5'5, she was fairly tall and slender, yet was blessed with firm breasts and a round and bulky ass that made her colleagues go wild when she wore tight pants.
However, everyone around her knew Gaurav and how much she loved him. He was almost a hunk himself. 6-foot plus height, brownish beard with broad chest and shoulders. He was very smart alright but some people around Ruhani still complained. They always said she deserved better. To which Ruhani would reply, "it's not like Ian Somerhalder is gonna come and propose to me! So, till then my Gaurav is fine!"
All these conversations ran in Ruhani's mind as she closed her eyes and kept kissing Gaurav.
"Let's go to our room, baby! I want you!"
As soon as Ruhani opened her eyes, the scene had changed entirely. The sun was now hiding behind the hideous clouds. There was roar of thunder all around. Noise of rocks falling, cries of children, of women, filled the air. Ruhani's eyes were open but she couldn't see anything.
She took Sid's hand and placed it on her vagina. She made him rub it. She didn't know why but that calmed her down. Ruhani tried to open her eyes but still couldn't.
"Sid! Sid, talk to me. Fuck me!"
She rubbed his hands faster on her vagina. A wetness dripped through her vagina down her thighs.
"Fuck me na. Please!"
She managed to open her eyes. There were no mountains. She was in a wooden room, covered by blankets. A fire lit away from her feet. An old man stared at her.
"You're up! You're up! Poonam
ji
, she's awake! Come here!"
Ruhani could remember that voice! It was the same voice that carried her away from Gaurav a few days ago? Days? Months? Where is Gaurav? Where am I? Oh god, why am I masturbating?
The moistness from her dreams was real. Her entire body was wet, mostly with sweat and her genitals because of her inadvertent horniness.
"Where?" Ruhani spoke a word but couldn't say anything else. She tried to get up.
"Wait wait,
beta!
Let me help you! Here, drink some water!"
Sipping down on cool water made Ruhani feel alive. She instantly got up and drank a few more sips.
"Where am I?"
"You're in Sosan village. I am the village's leader. The
sarpanch
! You're at my place!"
Ruhani looked at the old man. He was probably in his late 60s. He was dark yet had a beaming face whose radiance was multiplied thanks to the fire. His hands were firm. He wasn't very tall but his stature as a leader of people clearly showed in his posture.
She kept staring at him. She wanted him to speak. His voice had reminded her of her father. Her memories were coming back.
"Sosan!" She whispered and went pale. She remembered.
"Yes! There has been a disaster. A cloudburst followed by the worst landslide we've ever seen."
She remembered. It happened when they were kissing. The cries, the sound of the rocks, it was a catastrophe. How did she survive? Where...where's Gaurav, where's Gaurav, where's Gaurav?
"Where's Gaurav?" She finally could speak it out loud.
"Um, your friend...um, he's still missing. We've tried searching for him everywhere but to no avail."
The
sarpanch
bowed his head down in shame.
"
Anu ke papaa, kya ho gea chilla kyu rahe ho?
