The roads were wet with rain water and sewage. It was one of those cloudy days when the city turns chaotic with traffic noise and water-logged pavements. The usual buzz in that tea stall was absent, due to the rains. However, the regular customers never let a day go without our Anna’s tea. It is that ideal tea stall we visualize, when someone mentions about an Indian tea stall. Two parallel benches with a few sets of newspapers, a boiler and a tea-master dispersing orders in seconds. Some savories and snacks laid open to consume the dust from the traffic and pollution. The usual customers were inside the stall, some with a tea glass and others with some snacks, gossiping about politics, cinema and sports. A fore thinker rightly predicted “Politics and economics in India start at tea stalls”. The one described here fits the saying, together with a few naughty comments and misleading debates.

 

Raghav was one among the persons inside the stall. He had a newspaper in his hand and seemed to be the center of attraction. As Raghav kept reading the news, the crowd responded with comments and gossip. Raghav was a clerk in a private firm with a meagre salary and often found comfort spending time in the tea stall. There he was surrounded by persons who seemed to believe him and were ready to invest their time and energy in him. The situation in his firm was the other way around. He was often belittled and made fun of. He was even threatened and abused occasionally. And the situation in his home? Well, we will get to that part later.

 

“Petrol prices hiked by Rs.2.50. To come into effect from Monday” Raghav read from the front page of the newspaper. “Fill your vegetable baskets as early as possible” commented one among the gathered. Politics and economics start at tea stalls, indeed! The crowd laughed for a few seconds and turned silent again. This seemed to resonate with the thunder outside. Raghav turned to the second page of the paper and continued reading. “21-year-old college student raped by her friend. Police have begun search for the missing accused”. As soon as he read that news, an old man near Raghav commented “Who knows what provoked the guy? Girls these days dress only to seduce boys and later complain of rape and sexual abuse.”. Raghav, along with others laughed at that cheap remark. “Even you will be provoked by the way the girls dress now-a-days" Raghav added another indecent comment for his part. As expected, the whole group laughed, showing their approval.

 

Raghav then took out his wallet, handed over a Rs.10 note to the tea-master and bid goodbye to his so-called tea stall mates. Taking an umbrella out of his office bag, he shook it off to remove the wrinkles, opened it and started walking home.

 

Raghav was a typical conservative Indian pal in his late 20s with a muscular stature and wrinkles all over his face. Ironically, he fell in love with a girl from another caste and had to elope to this city from his village, due to heavy opposition from both of their parents. Ananya was an educated girl, who wanted to pursue something for herself. Though Raghav was conservative, he never showed that attitude to Ananya. Ananya always wanted to start a career. Raghav would also accept her demand, but she knew he wouldn’t be happy about it. “When right time comes...” she often consoles herself.

 

Raghav and Ananya had nobody in the city, except Raghav’s kind uncle, who rented them a house and even took care of their finances during their early days in the city. The village that they grew up, seemed to be a distant dream now. The sad reality of many Indian couples who wish to live with a partner they actually love!

 

“I’m home” Raghav announced as he entered his house. The house was little secluded from the main city, and no public transport could have access to it. “How is my love doing today?” Raghav flirted with his wife, catching his breath at the same time. He was half wet and exhausted from all the walking he had to do to reach home. Ananya entered the hall from the kitchen, which was actually the same room, separated by a small wooden beam. She smiled and replied “Just a little greasy from the cooking oil”. He pulled her and kissed on her cheek. He knew how much she had sacrificed for him. She left all her riches, her family bungalow in the middle of the village and the wealthy life, all for him, just for him. She crossed her hands around his neck and kissed his cheek too. The two remained in that stance for a few moments. “Should we stay like this forever?” Raghav broke the silence. “I wish I could” Ananya replied and took her hands off him to get back to her chores.

 

The couple sat down for dinner. Raghav could see the smile on Ananya's face. She always had a smiling face, but today it was way too visible. He wanted to ask her about it, but decided to wait till dinner gets over. She made him his favorite Idly and Drumstick sambar. The couple usually have porridge or leftovers from lunch for dinner. But today, Ananya made something special. “What could be the reason?” Raghav’s curiosity increased. Then after dinner, he asked her “I know today isn’t either of our birthdays nor is our anniversary. What is the special occasion?”.

 

Ananya blushed; her face turned more beautiful than before. “Well. Let’s say someone else in our family will be having their birthday 7 months from now”.

 

Raghav was on cloud nine. Yes, it is going to be super expensive months or even years ahead. But who cares? Raghav’s idea of a complete family always had a kid in it. Ananya also dreamt of having a baby. After all, she was all alone in their house. Raghav’s smiles and happy tears seemed to compete with each other to expose themselves first. He hugged Ananya and lifted her up. Then they started talking about several things regarding the baby; names, dresses and more such things before going to bed. The couple slept happily after several years.

 

From the very next day, Raghav cared for Ananya like she was the baby. Many evenings, he sacrificed his tea stall chit-chats to reach home early. On the other hand, he also worked multiple shifts to save money for his future child. Raghav was always responsible, but now he is becoming a responsible father. Ananya started a small tailoring job and saved money from her end too. The couple was busy, but their love and happiness never faded.

 

Two months went by. By that time, Ananya was a healthy pregnant woman. The baby had turned into a football-sized fetus. That day, as usual the couple went to sleep after completing their chores. It was a little past midnight. Ananya was having her iron tablets and Raghav stood there with a glass of water. Suddenly, he heard a loud bang on the door. His uncle was shouting from outside “Maapla (son-in-law), open the door!”. Raghav rushed towards the door and opened it. “Your mother... Your mother...” Raghav’s uncle was desperately out of breath. Raghav gave him the glass of water that he was holding in his hand. His uncle refused it and continued “Your amma seems to be in a very serious condition. Your thangai (younger sister) called me and asked me to inform you. Your amma wants to see you!”

 

Raghav had not contacted his family or any of his relatives after he ran away. His uncle updates him about the happenings of his village that he receives through Raghav’s sister.

 

“But how can I take her with me, mama?” Raghav asked, with apparent pain in his face.

 

“I will stay here, Raghav. If there is any emergency, aunty is there to take care of me. You go visit your mother. Don’t worry. She will be alright” Ananya replied, trying to console Raghav.

 

Raghav quickly packed his bag with any clothes that reached his hand. He and his uncle left his house early in the morning. He was worried about both his mother and his wife.

 

After Raghav reached his village, he rushed to the hospital. He saw his sister standing there. She embraced him with all the love she had for him. She missed him all these years. Raghav kissed her head with tears rolling down his chin. Then, out of nowhere, she gave him a tight slap. “Couldn’t you contact me, at least?”. Raghav felt her love in that slap. He again embraced her and asked about his mother.

 

“How is amma? What happened to her?”

 

“She is out of danger for now. But doctors said that she had a minor stroke yesterday. From then on, she kept uttering your name. Even now, she was asking whether you have come to see her.”

 

Raghav ran inside the hospital and went straight to the ward in which his mother was present. The whole room seemed silent. Or maybe that was how Raghav felt. The hospital had a pungent smell. Doctors, nurses, patients and visitors made a commotion that made the hospital feel like a bazaar. But, to Raghav, the room was silent. His mother, the woman who had given her everything for her children, was lying there. He was ashamed and felt a pinch of anger in a corner of his heart. “If only she had agreed to our marriage...” was one of the many thoughts that crossed his mind at that time.

 

He took baby steps towards his mother. She looked at him with tears and love. She was weak and thin. Raghav felt delicate seeing his mother like that. But he gained courage, went near her and held her hand. “Raghav...” she said in a faint voice. It was this voice, the voice of the angel that he longed to hear. “Yes, amma” he replied.

 

“Is that really you? Have you really come to see your amma?”

 

“Yes, ma. Please don’t strain yourself. Take rest” Raghav replied as he noticed how hard his mother was trying to talk.

 

“Please don’t leave me again” his mother cried with tears in her eyes now rolling down her ears. “No. ma. I will not.” Raghav assured.

 

“Where is she? Where is Ananya?”

 

Suddenly, Raghav’s anger turned into fear. His face and palm started sweating. His mother on one side and his wife on the other. What if his mother asks him to leave Ananya and be with her for the rest of her life? What if he said no and it worsened her health? These thoughts kept flashing in Raghav’s mind like flickering stars. Suddenly his amma’s voice brought him back to reality.

 

“Did you not bring my daughter-in-law to me? I wanted to have a last glimpse of her.”,

 

Raghav was surprised to hear that. His mother continued.

 

“I really don’t know if I could accept your marriage. But, trust me. I want to. I want to see you live happily. It’s just... just that I have seen the society around me like that. We were bound by many things. We know only that world.” his mother said with a small guilt and remorse in her words.

 

Raghav was happy again. His face was filled with tears again, this time it was out of happiness. His face turned bright. He laid near his mother’s shoulder like a child. He was weeping. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he jumped up and said, “I will be back tomorrow with her, amma”, as he left the room in a hurry.

 

He wanted to bring Ananya to his mother. He didn’t know how he was going to do it. Maybe through a taxi or some other means. He wasn’t sure. But it has to happen. And the sooner, the better. He kept calling Ananya, but she never picked the call. “Her medications. They must have made her tired. But can’t the medications wait till I tell her the happy news?”, he blamed her medicines.

 

He even forgot to take his bag from the hospital ward. He just wanted to reach the city and bring Ananya to his amma. He met his sister on the way back, grabbed her hand and promised her that he will be back with Ananya. He even took his wallet out and gave her some money to take care of their mother. His sister was happy to see him like that. He bid her a goodbye and was actually ready to run back home.

 

 He boarded the next bus to the city. It was the only way he could reach his home from the village. Each second passed like a year. He even approached the driver twice to raise the speed. Crazy, yes. But that’s how excited he was to make his two favorite women meet. And when his mother comes to know that Ananya is pregnant. How happy that would make her! How she would arrange for a baby shower and make Ananya wear all types of bangles and smear sandal paste on her face. Just these mere thoughts made him go insane.

 

At last, after what seemed like ages, he reached the city. He quickly boarded an auto rickshaw and reached his home. As said earlier, his house was in a secluded area in the city. The driver charged nearly twice the normal charge. Raghav didn’t care even to argue with him. He was actually surprised to see the gate and door wide open. It didn’t matter. He wanted to share the happy news with Ananya. He stormed inside his house. He shouted “Ananya. Where are you? Leave whatever you are doing and pack your bags. We are going back to our village. Ananya...” he continued his call

 

He searched the entire hall and kitchen. She was nowhere to be seen. “Where has she gone leaving the house wide open?” Raghav murmured to himself. He went through the back door of his house and shouted the same call again. Still no response. He went to his uncle’s house and kept ringing the bell. No response there either. Suddenly, he was angry at Ananya. Probably it was the first time he was angry with her. “The news I’ve brought. How exciting it is! And where is she?” he kicked his front gate in anger.

 

He quickly noticed the trail of blood in his front porch. He was shocked. “NO!” he thought to himself. He followed the blood trail. It went from his front porch, through the footpath laid around his house and reached the backyard. His hands started to shiver, his fears shot up to sky level and his forehead sweated profusely.

 

The blood trail continued till a small distance away from his backyard. It was a no man’s land, filled with some trees and bushes. He searched around the point where the blood trail stopped. “ANANYAAAA!!”, “ATHAIII!!” he called out continuously. Suddenly he heard a low voice responding to his call.

 

“Raghav!” He realized his aunt’s voice. She laid at the bottom of a tree covered by bushes. She could barely talk.

 

“Are you okay, athai? Where is Ananya?” Raghav asked in a shaking voice. He imagined several thousand scary scenarios in his mind by that time.

 

“There. Behind the bushes” his aunt showed a direction towards another bush a little away from them. Raghav didn’t want to know what was behind the bushes. He was afraid. His legs trembled. His voice broke and made him speak words that nobody understood. He started walking towards the bush, each step increasing his heartbeat by ten times. He finally reached the bush. He started removing the leaves and fell on the ground on seeing Ananya there.

 

She was unconscious, drowned in blood. A log covered with blood lay near her, but Raghav couldn’t look at anything but her. He couldn’t move from there. She was bleeding out of her private parts. He saw scratch marks all over her body. Her pregnant belly, which Raghav kissed every day since he knew she was pregnant, was covered with scratches and blood. Her soft fingers, which ran through his hairs whenever he slept in her lap, had scars with skin peeled off. Her forehead, which he kissed everyday, was covered with blood and mud

 

After a few minutes, as if a fire startled him, Raghav started to act. He quickly checked her pulse. He was able to feel it. He immediately called an ambulance and went to his aunt. He gave her some water and carried Ananya and his aunt to his home. He tried to wake Ananya by sprinkling water on her face, but in vain. He was broken completely and only Ananya could fix him. There were several questions which hovered his mind, but none of them dared to reach his tongue at that moment. All he wanted now was to hear Ananya’s words, to see her eyes look at him, to feel her touch on his hand.

 

The ambulance arrived in about an hour. Two stretchers were unloaded quickly and some paramedics carried Ananya and Raghav’s aunt in the stretcher to the ambulance. Raghav didn’t even care to close the door of his house. He quickly boarded the ambulance along with the others and held Ananya’s hand throughout the way towards the hospital.

 

Several memories began flashing in his mind. The first time he saw Ananya in college, the moment he proposed her, the silly things they did together in college, the time they decided to elope, the situations when she stood by him, the way she spoke against her father for him, the dinner she made before revealing her pregnancy, all the happy and sad events crossed his mind. He smiled, cried and shivered at the same time. His mind seemed to defy all humanly possible emotions during that trip.

 

At last, they reached the hospital. Raghav rushed to the receptionist with his hands and clothes covered in blood. The receptionist put together his vague words and arranged for an immediate emergency room. His aunt was taken to an ICU and Ananya was taken to another one. Raghav was given an admission form. He filled it out with what little he remembered in that panic situation.

 

It took nearly three hours for the doctors to come out of Ananya’s ICU room. Raghav quickly visited his aunt before returning to Ananya’s room. The doctor called Raghav inside his room. As Raghav entered his room, he gestured to Raghav to sit down and he sat in a chair adjacent to him.

 

“I will start with some positive news. Ananya is out of danger. She needs complete rest and some medication for a few days. However, she is out of danger”

 

Raghav breathed a sigh of relief. “But ‘start with positive news’? Means there is bad news too?” he thought to himself.

 

“And coming to the bad news. Sorry Raghav. We tried our level best. We couldn’t save your child. There was no way out other than abortion.”

 

Raghav’s world seemed to stop. All the things he and Ananya planned for the child crossed his mind. Picking names, picking schools, planning for a bigger house with a separate room for the child, and hundreds of other things they discussed crossed his mind in a fraction of a minute. And before he could even stop those thoughts, the doctor continued,

 

“And one more sad news, Raghav. We were able to see signs of brutal rape by more than one person. She tried to resist and they hurt her badly. And they also used metal instruments in her private parts. It was the primary reason for the abortion.”

 

Raghav broke down after hearing this. He seemed to have run out of tears. He couldn’t hear anything which the doctor said after that. He seemed to have gone insane. He didn’t reply to anything the doctor said. Suddenly the doctor shouted

 

“RAGHAV! RAGHAV! I’m sorry for what happened to Ananya. But you should stay strong at this moment. There is no other way. You have to be there for her.” Raghav nodded his head, without uttering a word.

 

After a few hours, he reached Ananya’s ward and held her hand. He should not cry in front of her. He had to hold his tears at least till he leaves the room. “RAGHAV! Our baby! Our precious baby” Ananya shouted. Raghav lost his resolve. He embraced her and tried to console her, though he was himself crying. He had no words to console her. He kept hugging her till she fell asleep. He then lay on the bed beside her. Suddenly Ananya shouted “PLEASE NO. DON” T HURT ME. I WON’T. PLEASE”. Raghav jumped out of his bed, hugged her and consoled her.

 

After a few weeks, Ananya was discharged. She wasn’t back to her normal phase of life. She had bad dreams, fell sick almost every day and even tried ending her life a few times. ‘After all, I lost a life within me. Losing my life wouldn’t be worse’ she often thought. Raghav was there for her. He took care of her for several days after. He did all the chores as much as he could. This continued for a few months.

 

Ananya went through multiple rounds of counselling before she was able to be back to be herself. And herself, doesn’t mean the old dynamic, energetic, ever smiling Ananya. She became dull and seemed to be lost. Raghav was lost too but he had to be there for her. He tried whatever he could do to make Ananya’s life a little bit better. He too knew that she could never move past what had happened. But he had to keep trying. Luckily, Raghav’s insurance policy covered Ananya’s treatment.

 

Time flew by. The police took DNA samples and started an investigation. Three years went by. Raghav took Ananya to their village. He thought a change of place could do her some good. And it did. His family was supportive of her and did everything they could to make her happy. Little by little, the wounds started to heal. Life seemed to turn to its normal side.

 

The police completed their investigation. Three men of the same locality were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Though the judgement had no effect in Raghav and Ananya’s life and meant nothing to them, they were happy to hear something positive after a very long time. While returning home from the court, Raghav stopped at the tea stall and ordered two special chai. It was his way of celebrating the victory.

 

Inside the stall, he was able to hear some laugh riots. “Final verdict in the gang-rape case today. The brutal incident happened 3 years ago” he heard a voice. “Who knows what she did to provoke them?” shouted another voice. Raghav looked at Ananya. Her expression changed, showing that the verdict was no longer a victory. Raghav put his head down too, but for a completely different reason. Shame and guilt took over other feelings inside his mind. They kept the glasses down and started walking towards home.

 

“Faith in justice restored. All convicts of the rape case granted life sentence” Raghav heard a news anchor shout from a salon.

 

“Justice succeeded. But society failed.” Raghav thought to himself and grinned.