What's her mistake ? - 22

“They belonged to some big family somewhere in the North. They wanted an heir. When they found that I am pregnant with their son’s seed, they asked me to come to their place till the delivery. I said no. But it looked as if they were not ready to take no for an answer. I argued. You were talking about I getting married to your younger son. Then get him married and I am sure he will get a son. They said that they want the son of their eldest son only. I was not ready to accept this adamant arrangement. I told them in very plain terms to get out of my house”

Dammu had continued her narration. It looked as if she had undergone a lot of uphill tasks in her life. The way she continued her story, it should have some more twists and turns.

“Nammu!” Dammu spoke to Nammu Aunty holding her fragile hand, “When you see me smiling and joking, you won’t be able to see the torture I have undergone. Since I have to come out with the whole story at least to someone before I die, why not you two become my listeners? I am sure I won’t be able to tell the whole thing again to anyone else in this world!” she declared.

After that argument, there was a lull in Dammu’s life. Her husband’s parents and the younger brother had not gone out of the house. Dammu was unable to send them away since they begged to give them two more days. She did not see what was coming.

It was on the fourth day, at the middle of the night, there was a lot of noise in the house. Dammu got up with a fright and called for her servants. Unfortunately none of them replied. “My husband’s parents had sent away all of them” said Dammu sadly.

“They had arranged a car. They used some anesthetic to make me unconscious. Those were the days when the rich people were in full swing. They could get away with anything including murder. What they did was only kidnapping”

“What?” asked Nammu Aunty in a shocking voice. Even with the slur in the voice I could detect her shock.

I was also almost in the same condition.

Dammu was very cool while narrating the incidents.

“Yes, I was kidnapped. God knows how many were there with us. May be a whole army of their people were there. I was in a car with dark glasses. I was not given any food. Whenever I woke up I was getting a few sips of water and I was made to go to sleep again. On the fifth day evening we had reached our destination I think”

She took a sip of water from the mineral water bottle which was in Nammu Aunty’s room.

“The next day morning I woke up and could see a lovely sunrise outside my window. There was a very wide vastness of empty land. I could see I was in a Haveli. I was trying to understand my place of captivity when there was a knock on the door. Someone came in. I found that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She smiled at me and sat on a chair next to my bed.”

“Sorry to have bothered to come and disturb you like this” she said in Hindi. She had a very lovely voice. I had known Hindi from quite a long time. Courtesy my husband! I had to converse with him also!!!” Dammu smiled a naughty smile.

Nammu Aunty had a faint smile on her dry lips.

“The woman came in told in very plain and unemotional voice. ‘I had married your husband before you. I could not get any children from him. It is not because I am infertile. He did not consummate the marriage. The reason...’ she smiled wryly and continued, ‘some feud between my father and his father’. I observed that she did not call our husband’s father as father in law. Does that mean the enmity is very deep? I was wondering when she continued. ‘Now he is dead. But his seed is in your womb. You are lucky I should say’ She took a deep breath and told, ‘We are going to play a drama. Your arrival here is a close guarded secret. You deliver your child and vanish from here. I will take care of the child!”