The intimacy of the moment was suddenly shattered. As Ved leaned in to grab her blouse dori, Vedita's breath hitched but didn't hitch in passion-it hitched in a sharp, jagged gasp of agony.
She doubled over, her hands clutching her lower abdomen. Her face turning a ghostly shade of white in the lamplight.
"Vedita?" Ved's voice was sharp with instant alarm. He caught her before she could slump against the bedpost.
"Kya hua? Vedita, meri taraf dekho!"
("What happened, Vedita? Look at me")
She couldn't speak. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. It felt like a thousand needles were twisting inside her. This wasn't just a normal ache; it was a violent, unnatural rebellion of her body.
"Dard... bohot dard ho raha hai, Thakur...Sha..Ahh...." she wheezed, her fingers digging into his forearms.
("Pain... it's paining so much, Thakur..Sha..Ahh..")
Ved didn't hesitate. He lifted her easily, laying her back against the pillows. When he looked at his hands and their clothes,he noticed blood...at lot of blood...
He immediately shouted for Meena. His voice booming through the small house, shattering the midnight silence.
Within minutes, Meena and Vishal entered inside the room panicked.Meena took one look at Vedita's state and shooed the men out.
Ved paced like a caged tiger outside Vedita's room. Every muffled groan from inside the room felt like a whip across his back.
Finally what felt like hours,Meena emerged out of room. She looked so shaken.
"Mahavari hui hai. Yeh pehli baar ho raha hai uske saath. Meena whispered, tears in her eyes. "Uska sharir mano jaise lad raha hai. Itna dard pata nahi kyu ho raha hai... Meri bachhi kaise sahegi?"
("She got her periods . It's first time happening to her.It's like her body is fighting. I don't know why it's paining so much,how will my child bear this much pain?")
Ved replied her question without looking particularly at anything.
"Yeh sab uss baba ki di hui dawa ki wajah se ho raha hai.. Us dawa ne uske sharir ko rok diya tha. Use saalon pehle bade ho jana chahiye tha, par isne sab kuch andar hi band kar diya.Ab jo dard ho raha hai... woh rukawat toot rahi hai... "
("This is happening because of that medicine given by baba..That medicine stopped her body. She should have come of age years ago, but this kept everything locked inside. Now that the pain is happening...those barriers are breaking")
Vishal looked at him stunned...
"Aapko yeh sab kaise pata ?"
(" How do you know all this?")
Ved sighed and responded
" Arjun ne dawaiyo ko jaanch ki thi, ussi se pata chala"
("Arjun checked the medicines, we came to know from them")
There was utter silence after that, only Vedita's muffled cries could be heard. Meena looked at Vishal but he looked away.
It was all her fault, only if she hadn't taken Vedita to that baba without his knowledge, this wouldn't have happened.
Ved was the one to broke the silence
" Mujhe andar jaana hai, meri patni ke paas"
("I want to go inside to my wife")
But Meena shook her head...
"Nahi, aap andar nahi ja sakte. Niyam ke hisab se aapko usse durr rehna hoga. Main dekh lungi usse")
("No, you can't go inside. According to rules,you have to stay away from her. I'll see her")
(Button to punch the rule makers is here👊🏻)
But Ved didn't listen to her and pushed past Meena and went back into the room.
He didn't care about the "rules" of who should be in the room during a woman's time.
Meena tried to stop him but Vishal's held her hand shaking his head in 'No'. Meena just sighed and nodded.
Ved sat on the bed and pulled Vedita's shaking body into his lap. She was shivering, her teeth chattering from the intensity of the cramps as her body finally but violently, began its first cycle...a process that should have been natural but was now a war for her.
"Shh... main hoon na. Main yahin hoon," he whispered, pressing his cheek against her damp hair.
("Shh.. I'm here...I'm here only")
He looked at her...his eighteen-year-old wife and felt a hatred for the Baba that burned hotter than the fire he had used to kill him.
He stayed like that holding her through the waves of pain, rubbing her back and whispering sweet words into her ears. Right now he wasn't her "husband" in the way the village defined it...he was her sanctuary, her nurse and most importantly her strength.
The room was now thick with the scent of cloves and the steam from the hot water basins Meena kept bringing in. Ved was still sitting on the bed keeping her in his arms. His hands gripping hers so tightly his knuckles were white.
Meena pressed the warm cloth to Vedita's abdomen. Her own face streaked with tears.
"Thakur Sahab, sek se bhi kuch nahi ho raha. Yeh dard... yeh aam nahi hai. Iska jism thanda pad raha hai."
("Thakur Sahab, even the heat isn't helping. This pain... it's not normal. Her body is turning cold.")
Vedita let out a broken whimper, her body arching in a fresh wave of agony. She couldn't even scream anymore; she was too exhausted.
Ved looked at her pale face and felt a cold dread he hadn't felt even in the most difficult situations in his life.
He can see that the "Baba's medicine" was a slow poison that had choked her system for years.
"Bohot ho gaya," Ved snapped. His voice rough with desperation. He reached for his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed.
("It's enough")
"Arjun! Kahan hai tu?" he barked the moment the call connected.
("Arjun! Where are you?")
On the other end, Arjun's voice was calm but alert.
"Jeep mein hoon, Haveli ja raha hoon. Kya hua, Ved? Teri awaaz..."
(I'm in the jeep, just returning to haveli. What happened,Ved? Your voice...")
"Vedita ke ghar aa. Abhi. Uski jaan nikal rahi hai dard se. Woh Baba... us kutte ne jo uss zeher khilaya tha saalon se...Uska asar khatam ho raha hai.Uska jism lad raha hai par dard bardaash ke bahar hai. Tu bas jaldi aa!"
("Come to Vedita's house. Now. Vedita is dying of pain. That Baba... The poison that dog fed her all these years is now fading it's effect. Her body is fighting but the pain is beyond endurance. Just come fast!")
The roar of another engine soon tore through the midnight silence of the village. Arjun burst into the house looking at Vishal outside the room.His medical bag was in his hand, he was still wearing the dusty clothes from the confrontation earlier at the village square.
He didn't waste time with formalities and entered inside the room. He saw Ved's shattered expression and Vedita's limp form and went straight to work.
The room felt smaller as Arjun worked. His medical bag was open on the floor. Ved stood like a stone statue in the corner with his eyes fixed on Vedita's face, which was twisted in a grimace of pain.
"Ved, humne us din sahi kiya tha,"
Arjun muttered, his voice low as he prepped a syringe.
("Ved, we did the right thing that day.")
"Us saale ne sirf dimaag mein zehar nahi bhara tha, inke jism ko qaid kar liya tha woh toh accha hua maine pehle hi dawa mangwa li thi"
("That bastard didn't just put poison in their minds; he had imprisoned their bodies, it's great that i already brought the medicines")
Ved didn't answer, he already knows that.His gaze was fixed on the way Vedita's fingers were digging into the bedsheets.
Arjun stepped forward, his movements precise.
"Vedita, thoda sa dard hoga... bas ek second."
("Vedita, it'll hurt a little... just for a second.")
He administered the sedative and a heavy-duty analgesic. Slowly, the arch in Vedita's back relaxed. The shallow, panicked breathing slowed into a steady rhythm. The medicine was finally winning the battle against the years of blockage.
After an hour, Arjun packed his tools. Meena had already cleaned the basins and now she was sitting by the door. Her eyes were tired but relieved.
"Ab so rahi hai,"Arjun whispered, looking at Ved.
("She's sleeping now.")
"Dard kam ho jayega, par agle do-teen din uske liye bohot mushkil honge. Uska sharir woh sab jhel raha hai jo use pichle teen saal mein jhelna chahiye tha."
("The pain will lessen, but the next few days will be very hard for her. Her body is going through everything it should have gone through over the last three years.")
Ved finally moved, his shadow stretching across the wall. He walked Arjun to the door.
"Tu wapas ja, Arjun. Teri zaroorat haveli pe hogi," Ved said, his voice a dry rasp...
"Aur bhabhi aap aur bhaiya bhi ab aaram kijiye, main hoon Vedita ke paas"
("You go back, Arjun. You'll be needed at the haveli. Aand bhabhi you and bhaiya always go and rest, I'm here with Vedita")
Meena hesitated but then looked at Vedita's sleeping face and went silently.
Arjun looked at his brother, noticing the way Ved's hands were still trembling slightly.
"Woh theek hai, Ved. Humne use us jahannum se nikal liya hai. Aaj se sahi mayno mein uska naya janam hai."
("She's okay, Ved. We've pulled her out of that hell. Today is her rebirth in the true sense.")
Arjun left and the sound of his Jeep faded into the distance. Ved didn't go back to the bed. He pulled the low wooden stool close to the bed and sat down. He didn't want to sleep; he wanted to be there the second she opened her eyes.
The moonlight filtered through the small window, hitting the silver of Vedita's anklets. They were so silent now.
Ved reached out and gently took her hand. It was finally warm again. He remembered her innocence from earlier-her fear that marriage was just a "purpose." He felt a surge of protective fury but he forced it down. She didn't need his rage; she needed his presence.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently whispering so softly that even the shadows couldn't hear.
"Ab se koi tujhe 'adhura' nahi kahega, Vedita. Tune bohot bojh uthaya hai... ab thak gayi hogi. Tu bas so ja... main yahin hoon."
("From now no one will call you 'incomplete,' Vedita. You've carried a heavy burden... you must be tired. You just sleep... I'm right here.")
He sat there beside her whole night,the "Fearless Heir" reduced to a man who was simply grateful for his wife's steady breathing.
The sun had barely begun to touch the courtyard of the house when the quietness was shattered by the sound of glass bangles and sharp, hushed whispers.
The air was still heavy with the scent of medicines inside the room.Vedita was still in a deep sedative-induced sleep.Her face finally free of the agonizing tension from the night before. Ved hadn't moved from his spot on the stool beside her bed. His eyes were bloodshot and his hand still resting near her face, caressing her gently.
"Arre, koi hai?" A sharp, high-pitched voice drifted through the door.
Ved's jaw tightened. He knew that voice. It was Sarla Chachi.
He stood up, his joints cracking from the long vigil and he stepped out into the verandah.
There was standing his mother, Rajshree, her face etched with genuine worry and Dadi Sa who wasleaning heavily on her walking stick. Behind them was Sarla,adjusting her pallu with a smirk that didn't match the situation.
"Ved!" Rajshree rushed forward as her hands trembled.
"Kaisi hai woh? Arjun ne bataya ki tabiyat bohot bigad gayi hai."
("Ved! How is she? Arjun told us that her health worsened.")
"Sone dijiye use, Maa. Abhi thik hai," Ved said, his voice low and raspy.
("Let her sleep, Maa. She is fine now.")
Sarla Chachi stepped forward, covering her nose with a corner of her saree.
"Thik kaise hogi, beta ? Pure gaon mein khabar fail gayi hai ki bahu 'un dino' se hai. Aur tum? Tum kamre ke andar kya kar rahe thhe?"
("How will she be fine? The whole village knows the daughter-in-law is in 'those days.' And you? What were you doing inside the room?")
Ved's eyes turned into cold flints.
"Chachi, dhyan se boliye."
("Chachi, watch your words.")
"Dhyan toh tumhe rakhna chahiye, beta," Sarla scoffed, looking at Rajshree. "Dharam-karam naam ki bhi koi cheez hoti hai. Mahavari mein aurat ashudh hoti hai. Aur hamara Thakur kamre mein ghusa baitha hai? Chua-chut ka dhyan nahi hai? Haveli ki maryada mitti mein mila di."
("You should be the careful one. There's something called religion. A woman is impure during her period. and our Thakur is sitting inside the room? No care for touch? You've dragged the Haveli's dignity through the mud.")
Rajshree looked conflicted but Dadi Sa's eyes were only on the door, they were filled with pain for her bahu, she already had a soft corner for Vedita.
Ved took a step down from the verandah, looming over Sarla, he already knew that she came here for drama. The same fury that had fueled him when he killed the Baba began to simmer.
"Maryada?" Ved's voice was a dangerous whisper that made the ladies flinch.
"Jab woh Baba use zehar khila raha tha, tab kahan thi yeh maryada? Jab woh dard se cheekh rahi thi aur uska sharir thanda pad raha tha, tab kaha the aapke yeh dhakeanuse vichaar?"
("Dignity? Where was the dignity when that Baba was feeding her poison? When she was screaming in pain and her body was turning cold, you didn't remember your so called thinking?")
He looked at his mother and Dadi Sa. "Maa, Arjun ne aapko bataya hai ki uske saath kya hua hai? Woh bimaar hai. Use bimaari mein pati ki aur pyaar zaroorat hai, kisi ki ghatiya soch ki nahi."
("Maa, Arjun told you what happened to her. She is sick. In sickness, she needs her husband and his care not someone's ugly thinking.")
Sarla backed away as her face reddening but she didn't back away
"Yeh toh shuru se hi manmani kar raha hai. Shaadi bhi zabardasti ki, aur ab dharam bhi bhool gaya."
("He's been doing what he wants from the start. He forced the marriage, and now he's forgotten his religion.")
"Haan, bhool gaya!" Ved roared, making the crows fly off the roof. "Aur agar uski seva karna paap hai, toh main woh paap baar-baar karunga. Aaj ke baad kisi ne bhi use 'ashudh' kaha, toh yaad rakhna-main vahi Ved hoon jisne Thakur Pratap Singh ke khilaaf bagawat ki thii."
("Yes, I forgot! And if serving her is a sin, I'll commit it again and again. If anyone calls her 'impure' after today, remember-I am the same Ved who rebelled against Thakur Pratap Singh.")
He turned his back on them, walking back toward the door.
"Maa, Dadi Sa... agar aapko milna hai toh aaiye, par sirf sukoon dene ke liye. Sarla Chachi, aap bahaar se hi pranaam kijiye. Iss kamre ki mitti aapke liye zyada hi 'ashudh' hogi."
("Maa, Dadi Sa... come in if you want to give her peace. Sarla Chachi, you greet from outside. The dust of this room will be too 'impure' for you.")
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