Firstly, Eid Mubarak! I hope my fellow Muslim readers had an Eid filled with happiness & joy!
So it seems most of you have read Jane Eyre, but this fanfic will have my own twist to it, so there are many surprises in store.
For now, enjoy Chapter 1 & do comment, your insight is invaluable.
Chapter 1 - It Feels So Cold
As she stood beside her dear friend Meera's grave, Geet's mind cast back to that dreadful night, when her life had been undoubtly turned upside down.
The overpowering stench at the school of ill, dying bodies almost choked Geet's lungs as she ran back to the dorm rooms, a glass of water shaking in her hand.
She had to use her dupatta to cover her mouth, so that the smell wouldn't make her vomit.
Bursting through the door, Geet sank down by Meera's bed as she touched her friend's forehead lightly.
Meera looked a ghastly white, dark black circles under her eyes, her bones pertruding from her body.
"Meera, I brought some water," Geet whispered, fighting back the tears in her eyes.
Meera shook her head, her eyes beginning to open & close. Geet slammed the glass down on the beside table & edged closer to her, pulling her into her arms & letting Meera's head rest on her shoulder.
"Please don't leave me," Geet whispered, her eyes tightly shut. All around her, she could hear the sound of gasps & cries as more girls fell victim to the plaguing disease.
Meera mumbled something incoherently, then her body fell limp in Geet's embrace. Geet felt her entire body shake as she slowly pulled Meera away, to find her friend's lips blue & her eyes out cold.
"Meera."
She sobbed as the huge clock outside in the dull hallway of the school struck midnight.
A frail hand on her shoulder brought Geet back to life. She turned around to see Sophia stood there, looking solemn. Her blue eyes were swollen & puffy due to the crying.
"I'm leaving, Geet," she sniffled as she looked down at the muddy ground.
"Where to?"
"Anywhere. I cannot stand that place."
"But what if-"
"They will not find out. And they never can." Sophia took Geet's hand into her own. "Promise me, you will not tell."
"I-"
"Promise me."
"I promise," she replied, feeling her heart go heavy. "When will you leave?"
"Tonight. I am telling you for a reason."
Geet looked up at her face, waiting for the reply.
"One day, I want you to escape like I have done."
Geet's expression turned from confusion into a forlorn look.
"You hate the place as much as I do. Even worse."
"I can never dream of an escape. I have lived my whole life dreaming useless dreams which always seem that God did not write them in my destiny."
"It's not a dream. It will be reality."
"You seem so sure."
"Because I am. I plead of you not to inform anyone of this, but a teacher at the school, Mrs Hayworth. She is helping me to escape."
"How is she... What if she gets caught? The punishment would be on our heads Sophia, God would never forgive us."
Sophia used her remaining hand to rest it assuringly on Geet's shoulder. "That's not our problem. If she gets caught, that is her fate. We will be long gone by then."
"Would you feel no remorse for your actions?" Geet questioned. Being a strict & firm believer in God, she wondered how one's actions could be so ruthless & selfish that it would be acceptable to place another's life in danger.
"And do you not feel trapped, lonely & suffocated in that hell? I am informing you for your own good, Geet. Most of the girls there are perfectly willing to accept their life in that dungeon. But I saw something in you. You have determination, the desire, the want & need to be freed. I am offering you a platform to freedom. It is up to you whether you take it or not."
She retracted her hands from Geet & folded them in front of her. "If we do not meet again before tonight, then all the best. I sincerely hope you take my advice on board, because you deserve better than that."
Sophia turned to leave.
"Wait!" Geet called out.
She turned back & Geet ran to her, hugging her tightly. "Be safe," she said softly.
Sophia pulled away. "You are just like me. You are a wild horse. I will roam the world with the assurance that you will be free too one day. Maybe our paths will meet," Sophia stepped away, wiping a tear from her eye. "Goodbye, Geet."
A 13 year old Geet Handa watched as yet another friend left her life, but leaving her with words that would affect the rest of her life.
5 years later
Wrapping a shawl across her body for warmth, Geet rubbed her hands together as she eyed the cold snow falling outside.
"I would tell you to stay dear one, but it truly is now or never," Mrs Hayworth said as they stood on the top floor balcony of the school, overlooking the courtyard.
"I understand," Geet replied, picking up her small brown suitcase.
"Take care my dear, may God be with you," Mrs Hayworth replied, patting Geet's head affectionately.
Geet smiled in response, then braced herself for the world ahead. Using the small staircase situated at the balcony, she hurried down, her heart beating fast so she didn't get caught.
She reached the bottom of the stairs & hurried towards the gates, her boots crunching under the gravel.
Once she left the school gates & was a safe distance away, Geet sighed, feeling a burden off her shoulders already.
The clean, crisp air felt unbelieveably good. She inhaled generously, wanting to savour every experience she now had with the outside world.
It had been a long walk, & Geet found herself walking to nowhere. She was now in the dark pits of the jungle, & felt incredibly uneasy.
She had always been afraid of the dark, ever since her step-aunt had locked her in the confinements of their basement many years ago.
Her father had died before she had been born, her mother during childbirth. Her paternal uncle had taken it upon himself to look after his niece & so he did.
But his tragic & sudden demise when Geet was 6 years old had left her at the cruel hands of her uncle's second wife, who regularly subjected her to physical & emotional abuse.
When she grew tired of her, Geet had been sent off packing to a boarding school at the age of 10. At the time, she thought the school would be her escape from her cruel life but even her expectations of happiness there had let her down.
Now, finally, after all these years she was free from what she envisaged a cage, permitted to do whatever she wanted.
And she was afraid.
She stumbled amidst the trees, feeling the ground beneath her feet when she faintly saw a log. She perched down on it, hugging herself as a cold ghastly wind blew, biting at her pale cheeks.
Geet rocked back & forth, praying silently to God when the sound of hooves came from afar.
She jerked her head up, listening out. The sound began to get closer & closer.
Geet stood up, grabbing her suitcase, unsure of whether to run off or ask for help. If the person was kind enough, they may assist her in her time of need.
With that hope in mind, she nervously stood against the log, biting her bottom chapped lip when the sudden flash of a dark horse whizzed towards her.
The horse was out of control.
Geet gasped with shock as she watched the rider topple to one side, then the other, then eventually fall onto the ground sharply.
SCROLL DOWN FOR CHAPTER 2
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