Chapter 4

*Premila Pov* 

“We will find him, Mom.” Dileep said holding my hands. 

“It’s been one week, Dileep. He didn’t even go back to his work as he already gave his resignation. I don’t know anything about that girl except her name.” I said, trying to hold the tears. 

“Each and every police is searching for him for the past two days.” Aahil said nodding at me. 

“They should have been called on that day itself.” I said, glaring at their father who is talking on the phone. 

“He left on his wish, Mom. He is twenty seven. They wouldn’t have treated the complaint with correct effort.” Dileep said rubbing my hands. 

“Shall I call Mridula here? She will be there with you.” He added taking out his mobile. 

“No! She has exams this week. Let her concentrate on them.” I said, stopping him, to which he sighed. 

“Premila! They found him.” Abivanth said, hanging up the call. 

“Found him? He is fine right?” I asked him getting up. 

“We need to go.” He said, holding my hand and walked near to the door. 

“He is fine right?” I asked him again. 

“He is alive!” That’s all he replied and we got inside the car before reaching the place he asked the driver to. 

“Hospital?” I asked him, frowning, but got down without saying anything else. 

“Oh god!” I mumbled when we reached operation theatre making me wish everything is fine with him. 

“What happened to him?” I asked, holding Abivanth’s hand tightly, shaking my head not to hear anything bad. 

“I don't know too. Someone kidnapped him all this time along with the girl. Police are trying to find them.” He replied, and I couldn’t stop the tears anymore. 

“Where is the girl?” I asked, staring at him, to which he looked away. 

“Abivanth! Where is the girl?” I asked again. 

“She is dead!” He replied, and I stumbled back falling into the chair. 

“Mom!” Dileep and Aahil shouted, but I couldn’t hear anyone else. 

“Her family?” I asked in a whisper. 

“They are finding about her.” He replied, and I nodded before covering my face. 

“Doctor!” All three of them said, and that’s when I opened my eyes to see him coming outside. 

“He is fine! But I need to talk with his family.” He said, nodding at us and walked away. 

“You both go and talk to him. We will be here to look after the fees and everything.” Aahil said, and we nodded before reaching the Doctor’s cabin and waited until he reached his chair after removing the scrubs. 

“This is a police case, and I can understand the severity of it. He is out of danger, but is really punished severely.” Doctor started saying while I gripped the chair. 

“He got cuts on major places of his upper body and numerous bruises all over the body. He lost a lot of blood and was seemed to be on the verge of dying with no food and no water.” He added, and I felt sick in my stomach. 

“And the girl?” I asked him remembering her. 

“Throat slicing! Except one or two places with a small knife wounded lines there are no torturing things happened to her.” He replied, and I understand his other meaning too. 

“We will put him in observation for a few days even after his wounds got cured. He will be in pain so will be given painkillers. But if he seems to have got affected by trauma in a severe sense in his mind, then we need to see another medical treatment." He added carefully. 

I understood, and we both nodded before getting up and walked outside the room. I shook my head and glanced at my husband to see that he is shaking. 

“I will not let them go.” He said in a determined tone, and I couldn’t agree more. 

“Mom! He woke up.” I felt someone shaking me along hearing the words. 

“He did?” I asked, standing up and rushed inside his room with Aahil trailing after me. 

“Tajwar!” I mumble seeing him while he lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. 

“I don’t want to meet anyone.” He said not looking at us. 

“Tajwar!” I called again, but this time he shouted, saying, “I said I don’t want to meet anyone.” 

“Why is he not meeting us?” Dileep asked when Tajwar rejected to meet us even after a whole week. 

“I don’t know!” I replied, but know that he is angry at me for rejecting his girlfriend, and I hope he listens to me. 

“He needs to be sent to the psychiatric hospital.” Doctor said when Tajwar recovered from his wounds. 

“We can take care of him.” I said shaking my head. 

“He is angry at everyone, Mrs.Vishwanth. He needs to go through this.” Doctor said and we nodded, knowing full well what he is saying is right. 

“Aunty! Did something happen?” Mridula asked returning home from college, and it is already two weeks since Tajwar was sent away. 

“Nothing is wrong.” I replied and glanced at Dileep to see him glaring at me remembering how I made everyone promise not to say anything to her knowing full well, Tajwar will not like it as he doesn’t know her. 

“You all are sad! Something happened.” She said, frowning at us. 

“Can’t you understand that nothing happened? We all are busy with our lives, and you need to concentrate on your studies more without barging here every week.” I shouted getting up feeling all the exhaustion hitting me. 

“Premila!” Abivanth shouted, but I didn’t care about anything now. 

“I am sorry!” She mumbled getting up and walked away. 

“Mom! You should have told her.” Dileep said, getting up to follow her. 

“I am now only the mother of my kids and will do what they wish. I know Tajwar will hate us if someone other than us knows about the incident. If you love your brother, then don’t tell her.” I said in a warning tone. 

“I will not return here and even stay here at all.” He said walking outside the house, and I sat down rubbing my forehead. 

“He is very stubborn in taking the treatment, but we tried. How about you guys take him home for a few months and then return him if there is no change?” Doctor said, and we nodded doing as he instructed. 

“They all got arrested and were given life long suffering to live in jail. Isn’t that good?” I asked him while traveling towards our house. 

“It would be better if I could kill all of them myself.” He replied, walking towards the stairs after staying silent all this time and climbed the stairs to reach his room. 

He will be fine soon! I thought assuring myself along with Abivanth. I just want him to get well soon and be normal again. 

“No!” I suddenly heard the shout and opened my eyes to see that it is midnight but again heard the shouts. 

“Abivanth!” I said waking him up, to which he immediately woke up and we reached Tajwar’s floor to see him having a nightmare. 

“Tajwar!” I said, shaking him, to which he immediately opened his eyes. 

“Get out!” He shouted, seeing us and we did after he repeated. 

“What should we do?” I asked my husband, and he seemed to be in confusion too. 

“We will take him back.” He replied and we did, but brought him back after a few months. 

After he returned, one day he suddenly disappeared, but returned home in the afternoon only for saying to Abivanth that he joined in his new job in the city and immediately left after saying not to call him again. 

We thought he was making progress by working, but we all can see his exhaustion in his eyes and his leaving the house in the early mornings and returning home at night. 

Even after my shouting, Mridula continued to come home every week, even in her last her, but didn’t cross any of my paths. She managed to take care of everything and just hid in the guest house. 

I wanted to go near her and hear her say that everything will be fine after I explain her what happened, and I know I shouldn’t. However, she knows he was kidnapped and was hurt, and that’s all. 

“Tajwar! It will be better if you return to the Institute." I said entering his room one day not being able to bear this anymore. 

“I will not go anywhere.” He said not even looking at me, but just started looking at his files. 

“Why are you so angry at all of us, Tajwar?” I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder which he pushed away immediately. 

“She died because of you, Mom. She died because of all of you.” He replied, turning around with anger in his eyes. 

“What?” I asked him in shock. 

“She died because you rejected her with which she had to go to other insecure places. And you all were late to search us.” He replied shaking his head. 

“Everyone did every single thing to make sure you are found. We don’t even know about the kidnap.” I said not accepting his anger on the family. 

“I don’t care! She is no more in this world.” He shouted fuming to himself and asked me to walk away, and I did as he wished. 

“It’s been two years since the incident, Tajwar. Will you continue to be like this or will you try to get better?” I asked one day in a hard tone hating his idea of playing the stereo in a high volume, making it impossible for us to know whether he is having any nightmares or not. 

“I am not a kid! I am twenty-nine and, no one can force me to do something which I don’t want to. I will live here only to show you how your decision affected me.” He said still with no anger reduced in his tone for me. 

“What are you doing?” I asked Mridula entering the hall to see her giving away sweets. 

“I got a job, Aunty.” She replied, looking down and took a step back. 

“Give me one.” I said forwarding my hand to which she grinned and gave me one sweet. 

“I always know my best friend is intelligent.” Dileep said grinning at her. 

“Atleast one thing is going in a right way.” I mumbled and talked to them about how well it went with Tajwar not knowing what to do. 

“Sweet?” We heard Mridula’s voice and turned to see her offering it to Tajwar, who is climbing down the stairs. 

“Thanks!” He replied in a normal tone before taking one, and I stilled in my place. 

“What is the occasion?” He asked sarcastically and I flinched, but however, Mridula didn’t get it. 

“I got a job. I didn’t think I would, but I actually got a job.” She replied freely even though this is the first time she is talking to him, which is still a surprise with her living in this house for nearly ten years. 

We all thought he would lash at her, but all he did was a single nod and mumbled the best of luck wishes recovering from the shock with her reaction to his words, and he walked away. 

“I always know my best friend knows black magic.” Dileep said, trying to get the atmosphere into normal while she didn’t even feel the awkwardness and just continued to give the sweets for the maids. 

“Mridula! Come to my room for a few minutes.” I said walking inside the room and waited for her. 

I am going to be the selfish person in the whole world, but I need to do this for my son. I already did a wrong thing in his life, and I want him to return to normal soon, which can be done by a single person. 

I will think only as his mother, and I will not care about anything else by turning a blind eye to it. 

I glanced up to see Mridula entering the room with a big smile on her face, and I thought about the pain and exhaustion in Tajwar’s eyes before uttering the next words to her.