Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

 5) Unsavoury Intentions

"Dharma, who is she?" Garima asked her.

"Her cousin Seema!"

A stunned Garima questioned timorously, "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes! It is her cousin. But why would she do it, Garima? She was here all along during the surgery," Dharma quizzed, dismay and anxiety weighing upon her heavily. She recalled an old conversation with Kamya from their school days. Dharma had been upset about a fight between her and a classmate who, in a fit of anger, had taunted Dharma for not remembering her life before coming to Mohandham. Kamya's assurance had comforted her with its logic, "Dharma, it is much better to not remember your life than knowing that your mother abandoned you when you were born. At least, you don't have a family but I do have one, and yet they don't care. Isn't that more painful? That girl who taunted you; was born after four girls and her father wanted to smother her. Her mother wrapped her in a piece of cloth and left her here. You are in a much better position than most of us. I think that is why she taunted you, probably because you are not bitter about your life!"

Recollecting her friend's reasoning, Dharma worried about Kamya's reaction when she would learn that it was her cousin Seema who had tried to hurt her.

'But why Dharma? What is her enmity with Kamya?"

"Don't know, beats me. Kamya always spoke of Seema affectionately."

"Do you think it is possible that Seema lost control of the vehicle?" Garima pondered aloud.

"You showed me the car waiting in the background. Clearly, she had evil intentions."

"Dharma, we should tell this to Guruji."

The current head of the institution was called the Guru.

"Maybe we should hold back till Kamya is awake."

"Seema is here. What if she tries to harm Kamya again?"

"I will keep a watch over her."

Garima checked her wristwatch, "Got to go, Dharma. Talk to Brahim and then decide."

Dharma nodded as they entered the hospital corridor and saw Seema and her family. The mere sight of Seema made Dharma see red but she suppressed her rising fury. To her relief, she saw Brahim. It was not the right place to tell him about Seema. He would not remain calm learning that the woman who caused the accident was here with a guilt-free mien that was inconceivable to Dharma and Brahim. She wondered if Chaitanya was aware of his wife's erratic behaviour or were the couple involved in the misdeed together.

The doctor breezed in to check on Kamya. It did not escape Dharma that Seema was unusually tense. Seema asked a nurse if she could talk to the doctor alone. To Dharma's relief, the nurse refused and Seema wore a sullen look.

"Want to tell you something important but not now. It is imperative that we don't leave Kamya alone," Dharma told Brahim under her breath.

They surrounded the doctor when he came out of the room, "She is fine but we are afraid that there is a clot inside her brain. Only a neurosurgeon can decide whether she needs a burr hole drainage surgery or a craniotomy. She has to be taken to Delhi," and he named a well-known hospital in New Delhi.

"But how will she be taken there?" Brahim asked

"That can be arranged. A donor has volunteered to bear all the expenses. A paramedical team from the Delhi hospital will arrive here shortly with an ambulance to take her. One of the family can go with her,"

"I can go with her," Seema volunteered but Dharma burst out, "No..." All, including the doctor, gave her varying degrees of looks.

 "I think only her fiancé should go with her," Dharma added.

"Fiancé?" Seema's mother asked in suspicion.

"Yes! Brahim is her fiancé and they were planning to make an announcement soon. So, I think he must go with her," Dharma ignored Brahim's frozen face and looked at the doctor questioningly.

He nodded, "Fine, Brahim, come with me. The ambulance will be here soon."

"Who is the donor, doctor?"

The doctor smiled, "Can't reveal the name, Dharma."

As soon as the doctor left, Seema's mother pounced on Brahim, "You didn't tell me about your relationship with Kamya. Don't we ought to know?"

Brahim directed an irritated glance at Dharma, his look promising that he would deal with her later for putting him in such a position.

However, he managed to give a reasonable answer, "We were planning to tell you soon auntie."

"You should have told me earlier. Anyway, it is time to go, Seema," she urged her daughter.

"Ma, there is something I need to do. Why don't you and Chaitanya go? I will follow you," Seema's suggestion rang warning bells in Dharma's head. She sent a quick message to Garima who followed Dharma's instructions and went in search of the Guru with the video footage.

After a lot of persuasion from Seema, Chaitanya left with his mother-in-law. The outrage that had been building up in Dharma over Seema's remorseless act, reached a boiling point, "How can you so carelessly knock down your own cousin like that? Have you lost all your senses?" Dharma's sudden attack took Seema by shock and her face flooded with colour.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh! don't act so innocent! Kamya loved you like her own sister. You are such a heartless bitch to try to kill her. If she does not recover soon..."

Seema exploded angrily, her scorn and fury blinding her, "Or what Dharma? What will you do? You slimy man-eater!"

"What?" Dharma stared at Kamya's cousin in confounding shock, wondering if Seema was mentally ill. The woman had an unhinged look about her and she had turned from demure to a raging frenetic. She continued with her vitriolic outpour, "If Kamya had not brought you to my house that day, I would have got married to Chaitanya and enjoyed his love."

"You are married to him. Have you forgotten that?"

"Yes, but he wants you, not me...!" Seema abused her loudly, calling her names, and some of the nurses who were close by stopped.

"If you hate me, then why did you attack Kamya? You should have aimed for me."

"Oh, I will! Don't worry! I am going to hurt you so badly that no other guy would even look at you. But first Kamya, for bringing you along! I won't spare you either..."

The nurses were shocked at Seema's profanities and Brahim who had returned, asked in awful realization, "My god Dharma, she is the one who hit Kamya?"

"Yes, and intentionally," Dharma replied, certain that Seema had lost her rationality.

Someone quietly asked from the door, "Did you intentionally harm the child?"

Seema swivelled around and saw the Guru, with a coterie of men around him.

She raced ahead to explain but Guruji's assistants held her back, "We have to take you to our office."

Seema threw a violent glance at Dharma, "You will pay for that!"

A couple of head nurses took her away and the Guru approached Dharma and Brahim with kind eyes, "I am grateful Dharma that you and Garima found out the truth before it was too late."

"What will you do with Seema, Guruji?"

"We will have to talk to her first, then her husband and her mother. Maybe we will do a mental health check-up."

"I really hope she does not end up in a police cell, Guruji. Kamya wouldn't want that," Dharma appealed.

"No, that will be our last resort but the safety of Mohandham children is our first priority. So, we will take care of that first. You and Brahim take Kamya out of this place. Rest, we will do as per the law."

"Thank you!"

Dharma recounted the whole episode to a stunned Brahim including the part about Seema's outburst when they were alone.

"The woman is sick, Dharma."

"God knows! You will go with Kamya?"

"Both of us can go with her," Brahim suggested.

"Ok, let me pack up. And if Kamya gets up, call me."

It was a long walk from the hospital to the hostel, although both were part of the campus. She strode swiftly, walking past many buildings that were bustling with activities. Dharma was too preoccupied with Seema's abuse to pay attention to the man following her. The avenue with the canopy of trees was a welcome change from the dry heat and when Dharma heard the sound of gushing water, she was tempted to visit the stream one last time, before she left for the capital city.

Standing on the paved bank of the stream, she watched the water flowing in a steady motion. The florescent water carried pebbles, fallen petals, and leaves. While she stood watching the water, she heard muffled whispers. Alert and alarmed, Dharma ran her eyes around the garden, searching for the source of the whispers.

"Danger here. Go back to him..." the whispers became more audible and she went motionless as their meaning sunk in. Pivoting sharply to return to the hostel, she lurched to a stop as she saw the figure at the end of the garden.

**************

The birthday lunch was arranged for Rashika's maternal aunt and the family had assembled in the fine dining restaurant to celebrate. Maurya was the last one to arrive but the gorgeous bouquet and the expensive bottle of red wine he carried made up for his lateness. As the party progressed, Vasukinath greeted Maurya and patted his shoulder, "I heard that you arranged emergency medical care for some poor girl."

"Where did you hear that?" Maurya asked, feigning surprise. He knew that the dean of the hospital was a close friend of Vasukinath and his request for help would have reached Vasukinath.

"K.P. Sinha told me. He was very impressed with your appeal for the helpless."

"They were not helpless but a little bit of help was needed," Maurya dismissed the topic.

Meanwhile, the band had begun to play and a few of the couples moved to the floor. Drawing Maurya playfully to the floor, Rashika enticed him to dance with her. She revelled in the physical proximity that the opportunity gave her. She placed her cheek on his chest and wrapped her hands around him, drinking in the moment. She began to sway to the music. Maurya moved in step with her, his thoughts far away, in a distant land of mountains where the scent of the coral jasmine held the visitor spellbound.

"Arya" Rashika lifted her face and gazed at him, breaking his train of thought.

"Hmm..."

"I told you Arjun wants us to spend a weekend at his farmhouse. Shall we go?" her gaze reflected her yearning and the soft tips of her fingers caressed his clean-shaven jaw with unconcealed desire. The force of her feelings made her tremble in his arms. With a wistful sigh, she snuggled closer to him.

Maurya's eyes skimmed over her flushed face.

"When do you want to go?" he asked softly, the complex trajectories of his mind once again working in tandem.

Rashika asked eagerly, "You will come?"

At his nod, she beamed, "Oh I will tell Arjun that we can make it this weekend. He will arrange for others to be there."

"Exactly, how many are going to be there?"

"Other than Arjun, there will be four more. They are couples."

"Why is Arjun still single? He is the only one, isn't he?" Maurya knew the answer but he still wanted to hear it from Rashika. He had seen Arjun following Rashika like a lapdog.

Rashika blushed before replying, "I don't know. I guess he hasn't found the right girl yet."

"Or the right girl slipped out of his hand long ago and he has not got over her yet," Maurya suggested but Rashika refuted vehemently, afraid that Maurya would not turn up if he knew that Arjun was still hoping for Rashika to change her mind.

"No, it is not true. He has gotten over her long ago. It is just that he is tied up with work now," Rashika explained, unaware of the fleeting smile on Maurya's face. She was overcome with excitement by the way Maurya questioned her about Arjun. Her infatuated mind concluded that it was Maurya's jealousy but somewhere along the same line of thought, she was apprehensive that Maurya would refuse to accompany her to Arjun's farmhouse.

"I know you think he has feelings for me but I don't care Arya. You need not be jealous. I love you too much to even consider his feelings," her impassioned confession made Maurya uneasy and he led her back to the table where everyone was getting ready for cake-cutting.

As the celebrations grew louder and gay, Maurya sensed a strange emptiness in him, a growing ache that refused to be assuaged. He felt like an interloper amongst the family, a mounting aloofness to the celebration around him. He thought he had mastered the art of being lonely but somehow at that moment, a corrosive pain was gnawing at him. While the family clapped and sang joyously and Rashika took his hand in hers possessively, he realized that he was getting immune to her exuberant expression of feelings. A bleak coldness that had always been at the periphery of his disposition enveloped him, leaving him adrift.

***************

Chaitanya had tried to gain her attention in the hospital but she had ignored him blatantly.

"Why the hell are you following me like this? You were in Delhi also last week, weren't you?" at his nod, Dharma lost her patience. She wanted to slap his smirking face. Because of that weasel, her friend was lying in the hospital helplessly,

"Dharma, I told you I wanted to offer you a job," he began but Dharma cut him short.

"Cut the crap ok. Do you know that it was your crazy wife who caused the accident?" Dharma's voice rose furiously as he came closer.

"What are you saying?" he asked with a scowl.

"That your wife knocked Kamya down intentionally and she is now in the office answering questions. For god's sake, go back to your wife and get her some help."

To Dharma's discomfort, he came closer and appealed, "Don't you see Dharma? I can't. It is you that I care about. I can divorce her for you. Please Dharma, listen to me," he tried to take her hands but his touch repulsed Dharma and she snatched her hand away in disgust.

Taking a step back, she thundered, "I despise you. Do you understand? Leave me alone."

Her words of dismissal enraged Chaitanya and he grabbed her hand, "If you are not mine, then I will not allow you to be with anyone else. We will die together."

An infuriated Dharma slapped him hard and pushed him away. He staggered back. She began to run towards her hostel. The first stirrings of panic and disquiet impelled her to run faster.