CROSSROAD

CROSSROAD

last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-26
By:  A MaNanOngoing
Language: English
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Synopsis

Dev, a regular train commuter, falls for Bhoomika after seeing her at the railway crossroad near her house, where his train had to stop daily. Despite being married and living with an abusive husband, Bhoomika manages to leave a profound impact on Dev. She is often seen alone and sad, yet her smile never fades. Dev starts to look forward to seeing her every day and becomes a part of her daily routine. As Dev's feelings for Bhoomika grow, he discovers that she is a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her psychotic husband. Bhoomika is trapped and unable to leave due to fear of being hunted down by her husband. Dev resolves to rescue her and provide her with everything she deserves. However, Dev's decision to save Bhoomika is complicated by his family's insistence that he marry their family friend's daughter Roohi.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Woman At The Crossroad

Another Monday dawned.  

Streets teemed with men and women racing ahead of time, kids shuttling between tuitions and school, and bone-worn seniors soaking up the post-winter sun.  

At a suburban railway station, Devang Chaudhary, early thirties, grunted, groaned, and squeezed through the door of a crowded local train along with ten others. 

He was the kind of white-collar executive you’d bump into at a busy station every day – neat formals, unbuttoned collar, and a laptop strapped over the shoulder.  

“Dude! Watch it!” he snapped when his laptop crushed dangerously amidst sweaty bodies.  

He plopped in through the train’s door and grabbed the first thing he could to break his fall: hand straps.  

The train inched forward with a painful bellow of its siren.  

There was barely half a foot of standing space. Now and then, an elbow or two nudged into his sides or a stray foot over his own. Yet, he kept his cool and caught his breath. Hectic? Yes. But exciting and worth looking forward to.  

For Devang Chaudhary, fondly known as Dev in his circle of friends, family, and colleagues, this marked the beginning of a new journey in his life. It was his first day on his dream job.  

A month back, after a grueling series of tough interviews, he bagged a challenging senior role at a Fortune 500 company in the city.  

Towering at a good 6’2, Dev struggled to stand at ease in the congested train. A particularly strong-smelling passenger before him added to his woes. Restricted breaths. Turning away. Looking up. Looking down. He tried it all but alas! Nothing gave him relief. Starving for air, he gently shouldered past to the door earning many dirty looks on the way.  

He reached the door only to find it taken by a dark, balding man in his 40’s. Either way, he pushed through and hungrily gasped in a deep whiff of pure, fresh oxygen… blended with thick fumes from the train and the disgusting reek of toilets at the station. Something in his throat and stomach churned, making him gag.  

The balding man noticed. “It’ll be gone few minutes from here,” he stated.  

“Huh?” Dev looked up, breathless and puzzled.  

“The stench from the toilets,” he clarified. 

“Oh, okay,” Dev mumbled sheepishly and looked away, a little embarrassed.  

“My initial days were kind of similar. Eventually, I learned to hold my breath.” The balding man smiled and threw another glance at Dev. “I haven’t seen you around by the way. New to this part of town?” 

“Yes,” Dev replied. 

 “New posting?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Where?” 

“Bharat Industries.” 

“Oh really? Wonderful place to work.” 

“Thanks,” Dev smiled.  

“I work at Arson Smith by the way,” the balding man stated proudly. 

“I see! I have a friend who works there.” 

“Really? Which department?” 

“Engineering. Gaurav Saran.” 

“I know him! He’s your friend!” 

“Batch mates from college,” Dev answered.  

Gradually, the train picked up speed and chugged through a decent suburb lined with identical duplex houses on either side. Two rail tracks ran parallel in between.  

Dev began to enjoy the ride. He was thrilled to stand at the door, to have the wind slap through his hair and clothes while feasting on the sights outside.  

Soon, the train slowed down and came to a stop.  

Dev looked around. They were parked at some desolate place with nothing but tall grass around. He glanced at his watch. Three minutes had passed. “Are we at a station or something?” he asked the balding man. 

“Not really,” he answered. “There’s a crossing here. The express train is due any minute.” He paused to listen. “Talk about the devil. Here it comes.” 

A BLARE closed in fast and SLAPPED past.  

WHEEEEEEE-WHIZZZZZZ-CHUG-CHUG….  

CLICKITY-CLACK…. CHUG-CHUG…. CLICKITY-CLACK…. 

A never-ending blur of blue whizzed past.  

“This happens every day?” Dev shouted over the thundering noise. 

“Every day except the weekends,” the balding man blasted back

.  

After the last bit of the express train chugged out of view, their train began to roll when his eyes fell on the house across the empty track – a decent, single-story with a dainty vegetable garden. It had its back to the passing trains. What caught his attention was something else.

In the backyard was a beautiful young lady, a chiffon saree wrapped over her slender frame. She looked like early twenties and had big, sparkling, expressive eyes and soft, flowing hair as lush as silk. She crouched and sprinkled a generous handful of grains for her pets – a couple of chickens and a rooster. They picked furiously with one of them even stopping to give her a playful peck. She giggled, bringing a smile on Dev’s lips without him even knowing it.  

Despite her smile, the profound sadness that consumed her didn’t fail to make its mark, one that seemed as though she was drowning it all in the only world around her – the chickens.  

I wonder what it is; he thought and scanned the surroundings. Does she live alone?  

He craned his neck to get a better look, but the house looked empty. The only part which gave an illusion of life was the kitchen at the back. But that could probably be so because of her presence in there.  

Absentminded, he set his empty gaze on her beautiful smile and expressive eyes. 

She’s actually cute, he thought with a soft grin. Her smile is so innocent… her eyes are so bright, her hair so silky… her… hang on, Dev. This is so not you. Since when did you engage in bird watching? Dev had always been the studious type who dared to dream and take calculated steps in reaching his goal. 

They started to pull out, but Dev couldn’t take his eyes off her. Something about her kept pulling him back like a magnet, tempting him to turn around over and over again, he simply couldn’t figure out what. 

Soon, they were zipping over a single track and closing in on the next station. Minutes later, Dev alighted at his stop.  

*** 

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15 Chapters
Chapter 1: The Woman At The Crossroad
Another Monday dawned.   Streets teemed with men and women racing ahead of time, kids shuttling between tuitions and school, and bone-worn seniors soaking up the post-winter sun.   At a suburban railway station, Devang Chaudhary, early thirties, grunted, groaned, and squeezed through the door of a crowded local train along with ten others.  He was the kind of white-collar executive you’d bump into at a busy station every day – neat formals, unbuttoned collar, and a laptop strapped over the shoulder.   “Dude! Watch it!” he snapped when his laptop crushed dangerously amidst sweaty bodies.   He plopped in through the train’s door and grabbed the first thing he could to break his fall: hand straps.   The train inched for
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-13
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Chapter 2: Dev's Life
The day started with Dev taking charge as the company’s IT Project Lead. He introduced himself to his team and spent a while getting to know them in return. He laid out plans on how to get things moving.   ***   Past noon, Dev exited the conference room after a long session with his team. He ordered lunch on his way to his cabin and was about to enter when his phone rang.     “Hello beautiful,” he answered as he walked through the door.     “Busy?” A sweet voice responded from the other end.    “I was, just got free. And now, I’m waiting for my lunch. You?” He plopped onto his chair, making it creak.    “I’m done long back, you know me.”    “Of course, we’ve been on countless breakfast, lunch, and dinner dates together.&nbs
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-13
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Chapter 3: Meeting Ruhi
Over the next few days, the same routine played on like a broken record. The door turned out to be Dev’s favorite spot in the day. Though the vile, disgusting stench hung around for a couple of minutes, the rest of the journey was enjoyable.   As for the balding man, he’d become less cold than their first meeting. He bore his large, white, horse-like teeth and chatted to glory with Dev. His dark skin, dazzling white teeth, and warm, kind eyes were intriguing. To top it off, he had a funny voice, like he had a mouth full of hot potatoes.  “Kamal is the name,” the balding guy stated proudly, “what’s yours?”  “Dev.”  Like always, the train pulled up at the crossing. Dev peeked out of the railings, searching for t
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-13
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Chapter 4: First Sight
The first day of a new week started on a low note with Dev being late and missing his usual train to work. He’d reached his rented place quite late the previous evening, and after attending to a couple of chores and dinner, it was way beyond his normal schedule.   This morning, he felt zapped out. He was groggy and yawned every now and then. How he wished he could have slept some more! The meeting with the Saxenas was a pleasant one, especially seeing Ruhi after so long. She had transformed from a cheesy, irritating girl to a gorgeous, smart, intelligent and decent, independent woman. With all her class and elegance, she kind of made him nervous.   “Whoa!!!”  A voice shot into his ears. Dev tore his eyes open. He’d dozed off and almost fallen off the train when a fellow passenger caught him just in time and broke his fall. “Brother, you had fallen asleep, you nearly fell off t
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-13
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Chapter 5: Affected
From across the track, she glared at him, a thousand questions in her eyes.    He swallowed hard, struggling to hold her gaze.   She fiddled with a wet shirt, unable to do anything other than attempting to discourage him with a hard, deadly stare. To say that she was petrified would be an understatement. The phone in his hand freaked her out. Clearly, he was shooting her; just like the many perverts she had seen and heard of. Eyes deadlocked on him; she wrapped her pallu around her bare waist.   Gingerly, he turned off the cam and lowered his phone, feeling sheepish. The battle of the stares was cut short when the local train slapped past from the opposite direction with a loud bellow of its horn.   He fought to see through the blur, but he could see nothing.   When the train passed, she was gone, and they were moving. &n
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-13
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Chapter 6: Conversations
Dev stood at the door of his train and gazed longingly across the track. Unlike other days, Murgi’s backyard was littered with dead leaves. The kitchen door was closed, and the chickens weren’t around. This was how it has been for the past three days.  Three days! Three days since he last saw her, and he felt very disturbed. This was so unlike what he was used to every day, scenes that teemed with energy and life.  What if something happened to her, he wondered anxiously. His guts were in knots, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong.  She may be out of town, he reasoned with himself, or she’s probably keeping a low profile after your little video stunt. Dev sighed. He considered how she’d reacted to him filming her the other day. She was freaked out. Who wouldn’t be, considering circumstances these days?  
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-17
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Chapter 7: Trouble
Today, Dev was in exceptionally high spirits. Things at the workplace took a 180-degree turn from awful to awesome. Deals fell in place just like that, all obstacles magically vanished, superiors were pleased with him, and ‘funny’ people became extremely cooperative. Weird, isn’t it? He could only pinpoint his good luck to one factor: the Murgi.    Something about her was extremely auspicious. Getting a glimpse of her early in the day seemed to work wonders, at least for him, or was he just being ridiculously superstitious?  *** Bhoomika stepped out into the backyard to pluck some vegetables for lunch. Yes, that was Murgi’s real name, something which Dev didn’t know yet. She spotted a neighborhood woman and gave a sweet, inviting smile, but the woman simply scooted back into her house.   Her face dropped. She was trying to get used to this… people not returning her smile, not responding to her, avoiding her, but it
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-18
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Chapter 8: A Warning
Bhoomika toweled her hair before the mirror. She’d just finished a quick shower. It was her habit to do so before bed.  The rain was deafening with occasional flashes of lightning flooding the gloomily lit room. Yet, Bhoomika wasn’t aware of the man’s reflection in the mirror. She was standing with her back to the door. It wasn’t until the stench of cigarettes hits her that she realized she wasn’t alone. When she caught his steely gaze in the mirror, her heart lurched in surprise.  She dared not turn around. There was something very intimidating about him that she couldn’t hold his gaze. Was it his piercing stare? Or his overbearing masculinity? Or something much more terrifying? Smirking back at her through the mirror, he quietly slipped closer, making her heart beat harder and her breaths shallower. He wrapped an arm around her soft, cold waist, tipped her chin towards him, and planted a gentle ki
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-19
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Chapter 9: Missing
Being the weekend, Dev hit the tracks on a different train. It had more standing space than the usual ones, yet, he chose to stick around the entrance and savor the cool breeze whipping against his face.  All night, the rain had drenched the thirsty earth to its heart’s content. It was a cozy morning, the perfect day to be in bed tucked under warm covers, wake up to a late coffee, and have a lazy brunch. But here he was on his daily routine. The fact was he was in no mood to stay under the blankets. On one end, he had his job to look after, and on the other, there was this large chicken that he was looking forward to seeing.  He had become so used to seeing her that a single day without it never felt right. There were two real reasons for him to hit work on a weekend. One, he can save himself from his mother’s nagging about marriage and anything and everything to do with marriage. Two, he also wanted to see her. He had no clue why
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-20
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Chapter 10: Her Life
Bhoomika raked her wet hair before the mirror in the kitchen veranda. She’d just finished her morning shower. It was a routine that she stuck to religiously. In a way, it helped her to relax.  Despite the mirror being smaller to the one inside, she preferred it over the other, mainly because there was plenty of light outside compared to the dark and dingy room. She also felt more secure. Her creepy husband, Anand, had the bad habit of sneaking up on her almost all the time. She loathed him for that besides a lot of other things. The very thought of him led her eyes to rest on the purplish bruises around her neck, that of fingers. The night before, he had strangulated her to the point of death.  ***Flashback*** Bhoomika struggled hard, fighting to pry open Anand’s iron clutches around her neck, wheezing through the tiny gap that was left in her throat. The pressure built to dangerous levels so much that her
last updateLast Updated : 2021-09-21
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