A LIVING, A WAY OUT
BGM: "Intensity" by Really Slow Motion
[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7gfDCH7FuE[/YOUTUBE]
When Bheema steps into the ring which is a raised, rectangular platform secured on all four sides with thick cables, one could easily make out why he is called so. The man is huge. And ripped. His bare, chiselled chest shines with sweat as he prances around the ring and warms up with short, sharp jabs in the air.
"He can never lose," some of them swear. "The savage doesn't stand a chance."
Backstage. On a stone bench, a man sat hunched up. Though his face is heavily blanketed under looming shadows, we can see the silhouette of his structure. It is athletic. Packed with lean, mean meat. And powerful. Thin sheets of moonlight fall upon his muscular arms. He winds strips of cloth around his knuckles. He is ready for war.
"You're still here!" A voice makes him look up. "It's high time for the fight to start. Just hurry up."
He says nothing. When he rises to his feet and steps out into the light, we see him. He is wearing a sleeveless black vest and pair of track pants. He is big, lean and muscular.
As he moves out to war zone, the intensity of the cheers and boos grow deafening.
Big he might be. But at a glance, it is clear that Bheema is much bigger and built like an ox. This guy however has a more compact frame. One has to wonder if he'd make it through one round with the other monster.
BONG! The bell sounds.
WOOSH! Bheema throws a powerful RIGHT CROSS.
The man ducks and lands a sharp blow into Bheema's midriff. But it doesn't deter him. Bheema SMASHES his knee right up into the man's jaw and sends him reeling back.
He is hurt. The extent seen as he spits out blood. Fury boils over in his eyes as he curls up his fists.
Bheema moves his huge, stocky frame in.
His contender grows nimble and quick on his feet. Bouncing on his toes and moving back and forth seem effortless as he lands blow after blow on Bheema anywhere and everywhere. The fight gets UGLY.
WHACK! POW! BAM!
f**k the rules. He doesn't' give Bheema the chance to think. To recover. He is merciless. A savage.
Blow after blow. Bones CRACK. Teeth fly. Joints shatter.
A HUGE UPPERCUT. Bheema goes down. The fight hardly lasts for a round.
Loud CHEERS explode. Those who bet on this man tonight... will take home a huge bounty. And the others... sore, hanging faces and an empty pocket.
"And the winner is... Manik... the savage... Malhotra!"
Manik doesn't hang around for another minute. He gets down and proceeds backstage where his payment awaits.
"Ten thousand. As promised."
A shady guy hands out a stack of cash to Manik who quietly takes it and slips it into his bag.
"There's a fight next week at Ulsoor. Twenty-five guaranteed if you get through one round. Forty if you win."
Manik doesn't even look at him as he pulls on his long-sleeved t-shirt. "I'll think about it," he simply says before walking away.
***
NEXT: The new neighbour.
THE NEW NEIGHBOUR
There's a new family in Vrindavan Society this morning.
A big truck loaded with cheap plastic furniture stands outside an old double-storeyed house.
Some of the neighbours are curious. They bounce on their toes and crane their necks wondering who it could be. And for good reason. "It looks like someone has finally bought that house! We thought that it would never see this day!"
One of them, Mr. & Mrs. Bansal, a couple in their mid-50's, can't contain their curiosity any longer. They set out to meet the new comers. They walk in through the gate and find the owner of the new house instructing the workers on where to place the stuff.
"'Morning," Mr. Bansal greets cheerfully.
The owner turns to them and smiles. The Bansals realize that he is a cop. He is dressed haphazardly in the khakis of a police inspector. His shirt - unbuttoned all the way down and his white vest popping out from his pants. He too, like them, shares the same age. "Morning," he returns their hello' rather coldly.
"I'm Anil," says Mr. Bansal and shakes hands with the owner.
"Manoj," he replies.
"We heard that you were coming," says Anil. "From the landlord. Quite a lot of cleaning happened here last night."
Manoj just smiles. A smile that makes the Bansals a bit uncomfortable. This man isn't really that into socializing and stuff.
"Well, we'll see you later then. Once everything settles down." Anil gives a parting smile before exiting with his wife.
Manoj looks more than happy to see them leave.
After the last piece of belonging is placed in the house, the truck clears the premises.
Manoj proceeds to a rather dull bedroom in the ground floor. The room is constructed in such a way that hardly any light pours in. On top of that, it's pretty small. Too small that one can hardly move around comfortably.
In that room, on an old wooden cot, lies a middle-aged woman whose aging factor seems to have accelerated thanks to her physical limitations and broken spirit. She is paralyzed and bedridden.
We see a young lady in her early twenties sitting beside the paralyzed woman to help her up. As she bends over to adjust the old woman's covers, Manoj stares at her hanging boobs with lust twinkling in his eyes.
Sensing his vicious glare on her, she quickly straightens up and shields herself. The girl is gorgeous with luscious silky hair, perfect curves and beautiful contours. Her big, nervous eyes flutters fearfully as she looks away. She does not want to meet his gaze.
Manoj smirks and licks his lips. "Have you informed the nurse about our new address?" he asks her in a seductive croon.
"Y-yes..." she stammers nervously.
"Good. I'm off to work then. Anything else you need?"
"No," she answers, still not looking at him.
Manoj exits. But not before throwing a couple of creepy glances over his shoulder.
She breathes again after a CLUNK from the front gate is heard. He has finally left!
"Try to sit Amma," she tells the old woman. "I'll bring you some food. Then medicine."
The girl helps her to sit and prepares to leave but her mother holds her back. "Nandini..."
Nandini turns around.
"Is there something you wish to tell me?" her mother asks in a quaky voice.
A brief silence with Nandini mentally speculating on whether to open up. "No. Nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Why such a question now?"
"I don't know... I... I have a feeling that there isn't much for me to go." Her mother begins to break. "I just want you to be in safe hands."
Nandini is quiet. In safe hands... is she really?
"I did a mistake my child. I regret it now. I shouldn't have... I..." She begins to cry.
"Amma. Why are you racking your brains now? It's absolutely unnecessary and unimportant at this point of time. What's important is you. Your health. Nothing's going to happen to you. Not to me either. You're just letting your thoughts get the better of you. I'll be right back." Saying this, she leaves and reappears in a moment with a bowl of porridge. She feeds her mother quietly, helps her to take a good lot of medicines and rest.
That night.
Manoj returns from duty and sits down on his cane chair to relax. It's incredibly hot and he's sweating in spite of sitting under the full breeze of the ceiling fan. He pours himself a glass of cheap whisky.
"Nandini..." He calls out.
No response.
"Nandini!" louder this time.
Nandini finally appears in the living room. She doesn't want to be there. It's clear. But she has to.
Manoj throws a dirty look. "Didn't go to college today?" he asks as he corks up the bottle.
"No. Tomorrow onwards..." she replies quietly, making sure to maintain a good distance from him.
"Hmm. It's the start of a new year. Make sure that you're regular unlike last year."
"Hmm," she acknowledges his advise' with a slight nod of her head.
"Anyways, it wasn't your fault. You did it for your mother. And you did a good job at that. But if you go on like this, then your studies will be in trouble. Which is why I've hired us a home nurse. And by God, she's taking care of your mother really well."
Nandini just listens without a word. Her head hangs low. She doesn't even dare to look at him or get close to him.
"But you shouldn't worry too much. Your mother will be fine. I'll make sure that she gets the right and best treatment."
Nandini still doesn't look at him. His words are a sure cause for joy and hope. Something to cheer up about. But Nandini looks as dead as ever.
"Why don't you smile dear?" he asks her. "You look so beautiful when you smile. Do you know that?"
No response. No movement or speech from Nandini. Until... Manoj rises to his feet and slowly closes in on her. She begins to grow distressed, slowly taking a step or two back to widen the gap between them.
"I've only seen you smile once or twice. After that..."
... He draws closer.
"After that... it all just... began to fade away."
He reaches out and brushes his sweaty hand against her cheeks.
She shudders with fear and disgust in her eyes.
"Why is it so? Has it got something to do with me? If I've done anything wrong, let me know. I promise. I promise to straighten it out. Trust me."
... His hand begins to crawl down the nape of her neck to her fresh, plump breasts.
"No... please..." she whimpers and backs into the wall, wishing that she could simply disappear into it.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle. I always am. Isn't it?"
... He twists a nipple and makes her shriek.
"Shhh... it's okay... it's okay..." he covers her mouth.
"Nandini...?" Her mother's voice floats out from the room and into the living room.
Manoj looks a bit worried at the sound of her mother. "Now look what you did," he whispers fiercely. "You woke her up. Why do you have to create such a frenzy? Just be in the moment. Enjoy yourself. I'll give you a tip. How about imagining some hot guy in my place..."
"No..." she begins to hyperventilate.
"I'm not that bad either," he states. "You should have seen me two decades ago. I was really something." Saying this, he snickers proudly.
Nandini slowly begins to space out as one of his hands travel down to her groin to grope her. In time, she had learnt to dissociate from this terrifying experience.
"Relax. I won't hurt you." He kisses her deeply on the mouth and cuts out her cries.
"God..." she whispers under her breath. Words of ecstasy it may seem... but rather... these are words of a girl's desperate cry for help.
LOUD ANGRY VOICES outside distracts Manoj. He stops to listen, allowing Nandini the space to breathe and pull herself together.
The voices grow louder.
.. Followed by intermittent THUDS.
"What the hell is going on?" Manoj steps away from Nandini and peers out the window.
Nandini takes this opportunity to rush upstairs to her bedroom and lock herself up. She crumples down in a corner of the room and huddles together, taking deep breaths, embracing and rocking herself to calm down.
THUD! THUD! BAM! CRUNCH!
The sound of bones meeting flesh.
The noise grows louder outside. From the looks of it, it's a fight.
Nandini crawls to her bedroom window and peeps out.
Out on the streets of the society, she spots Manoj struggling to pry a seemingly drunk man loose from another's back.
"Get off!" Manoj orders sternly and pulls off the old drunken man.
The drunkard hobbles on the spot for a moment before lunging at his younger victim.
Nandini grows curious. She gets onto her feet to get a good look. What the hell is going on?
The younger guy bleeds from the cuts on his face, possibly from the blows of the old man. He is hurting but does nothing. He doesn't retaliate. Instead, he just stands there and allows himself to take the hit.
Two of his friends, a guy and a young lady try to shield him from the old man's blows.
"Come here you! You're going to jail for this." Manoj drags the man away.
Nandini watches Manoj's police officer instincts kick in. Is he like this at work? Or is he taking out his frustration of rejected sex on the older man?
The younger guy's friend's stand around him, concerned. They dab at his wounds with a kerchief. "Manik... are you okay?" asks his friend.
"Shit. You're bleeding," says the young lady.
"Navya, you go in and get some ice ready," says the friend.
"Okay Cabir," she responds and hurries in.
Manik Malhotra. The younger guy who had been taking all the hits stands there without a word. His face is expressionless. He says nothing, but simply turns around and disappears into his house.
People in the society stand around and talk. "Not this guy again. He's such a nuisance. Why can't he leave that kid alone?"
"Why doesn't he just fight back? I know... the guy is old. But how many can a person take?"
"Incidentally, that old guy is the boy's father. I pity his fate. It's the same old story. The old guy earns a coin. Spends it on cheap rum. Gets drunk to the bone. And takes it out on the boy and his mother."
"My-oh-my."
For a moment, Nandini forgets her own pain. From her own window, she spots the guy, Manik, pace up and down in his room for a moment before settling down on his bed. She sees him wipe a rough hand over the blood oozing down from the cuts on his face.
Is he sad, she wonders? Earlier, he looked so dead when he stood before everyone, as if he didn't give a shit about anything, but now, a hint of pain and anger shows up on his face.
He grabs whatever he can lay his hands on and FLINGS it furiously. Whatever it was, it SHATTERS with a loud noise.
Soon enough, she sees Cabir appear in the room. "Dude. Buddy. Relax. We're here."
"f**k OFF!" he barks at them.
"Manik..."
"I said f**k THE f**k OFF!!"
Nandini shudders at his fury. She could swear that his angry bark sounds more like the growl of a pissed off wolf.
Cabir stands there for a moment. He looks hurt at Manik's angry outburst. Without another word, the poor guy exits the room and leaves Manik to deal with own demons.
Manik regrets taking out his anger on his friend but he didn't want to do anything about it. So he turns around. And when he did...
... He finds someone from the neighbouring house watching his every move.
Nandini Murthy.
Nandini freezes. She didn't expect this to happen so fast. A meeting. And like this...
Manik didn't seem to take her friendly intrusion so well. He glowers at her before SLAMMING his windows shut.
***
NEXT: Nandini bumps into Manik.
I think that Nandini getting molested regularly, perhaps even raped did not appeal to most fans. Also, this is the exam season, so fewer people on the forum. But they willcome back once the exams are over.Originally posted by: diehardhrfan
Is this forum always like this? Or does the story look boring? Just curious. Show me some love guys. I might seriously consider giving up on this story if the responses are this poor. Doesn't make any sense for me to keep writing like this. ðŸ˜
I think that Nandini getting molested regularly, perhaps even raped did not appeal to most fans. Also, this is the exam season, so fewer people on the forum. But they willcome back once the exams are over.
Please try to pm me when you update.Thanks.Originally posted by: diehardhrfan
Since the response for this story is really poor, I won't be notifying each one of you when this gets updated. If you'd like a PM from my end, do drop me a message. Will post you once the next part is up.
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