Love Story 1> Part 2

They both landed their right legs simultaneously on the platform. Her leg was completely bright woven with anklets. Anirudh noticed this and his heart sank further, for the mission he was about to take in due course of time. 

“Where do you plan to meet him?" Anirudh asked hesitantly. 

"I don't know. He said that he would call me and confirm." She said a bit anxious, a drop of sweat was about to fall on her eyelids.

They both walked together. Anirudh accidently touched her hand. His heart sank a bit further, missing a beat this time. Soon they were out of the platform and she was looking here and there with revolving eyes. 

With the sensation of touch, Anirudh was trying to forget, he asked her, "Do you know this place? Otherwise in this new town, we don’t know anybody." Anirudh felt as if he has taken up a risky affair. 

"Wait, I try to call him" She said ignoring his questions. 

The phone rang and someone picked up the call. 

A very rough voice called on the other side, "So you are the one, who is responsible for all this. We will kill you too"

"Who are you, where is Sid..Siddheshwar?" Her voice as soft and supple started quivering. 

The other person hung up the phone. She looked at him in utter confusion, her facial expressions only to change soon to be filled with grief. Tears rolled down her eyes, on the cheeks, and down through her chin. Anirudh could not even wipe her tears. He felt too helpless to do so. 

However, he mustered courage to ask her, "Is everything all right?"

"Run, we need to go to his place, I don’t worry about my life, and his life is in danger." She pulled his hands towards him, and waved for a rickshaw. She gave him no time to ask further questions. Rather he kept silent and sat with her on the rickshaw. She tried to keep her legs away from him, on a small seat the rickshaw had.

She knew his place. So the rickshaw guided them through the cramped gully, as if it was a slum area to a decent middle class township. Besides township were many one floor houses. And in between ran a 12 feet road. There were a lot of people gathered at one of those houses. 

"Stay away, go aside" Anirudh broke silence, as he shouted, trying to filter through the crowd, like forward stroke a swimmer does inside water. 

She broke heavily as she saw him tied to a bench, being beaten ruthlessly by a few shoddy outlook men. She asked them to leave him. She even made an attempt to unlock his arms tied by the rope. She was completely unaware if Anirudh was beside him. 

Doubting her potential to free him from the tied ropes, Anirudh ran towards the wall, took up a long bamboo pole and asked everyone to keep apart, from the boy. He shouted and growled like a wolf. He warned everyone, if anyone came nearer to him, he would take less than a minute to strike a blow. 

 This created a tensed environment. The boy was wilted. Blood was running through his head down his swollen eyes. Anirudh's attempt to create a fear was successful. No one further dared to come near to him. He opened the rope, while the girl attempted to give him water lying on the pot nearby without worrying whether it was potable. 

"Listen, you marry someone else." He asked, trying to straighten his head in order to speak to him. Anirudh kept standing and the boy was leaning on the bench on which he was tied with many physical bruises on his face.  

"This is not worth it. In future no one will approve us." He continued slightly looked at Anirudh standing and panting. 

"And who is he? He seems to be caring for you. Why don’t you marry him? Have a settled life." His wounds were hurting him more as he proclaimed. She continued sobbing. 

Soon an ambulance dived in informed by a local onlooker. The body was kept on the stretcher for medical examination and hastily entered into the ambulance. He was too tired to open his eyes, but was alive. 

Anirudh asked her, as the ambulance left and the crowd dispersed, "Let's go from here. We should file a comprehensive FIR on the incident."

She held his hand with a firm grip and asked him to come with her to the station, without paying heed to Siddheshwar's suggestions to marry Anirudh. They both filed the FIR in a nearby police station beside the railway station. The incidence took place within its jurisdiction as it was nearby to him. 

They both sat on a public bench at the railway station waiting for the train to board. It was the evening time, and cool. Wind ruffled her outfit and hair. Anirudh was silent. Both were filled with grief. 

As he was trying to avoid looking into her eyes, she asked trying to wipe her tears, "What caste are you?"

"I am a Scheduled caste too. Please do not say that you want to marry me." 

She sat on the bench wiping the blood stains on her face. 

"I want to elope with you."

"He will be soon healthy and fit. Wait for him. Why do you want to lose him?" Anirudh looked into her eyes. 

"No, I want to repeat the mistake again by losing him and falling for you" The girl did not know why she was following Siddheshwar’s words. May be because it was in the good interests of all the three, Anirudh, Siddheshwar and the girl. 

They both ran to the same police station and filed for preventive FIR so that both lives are saved. 

The police asked the girl, "What's your name?"

Anirudh did not know her name and so he lent his keen ears to listen to her name from her.