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The End..

by Aastha Rudra
(Goa,India)

Noora stood there glued to the wall, her hair dangling and half of them clinging to the sweat-drenched face. She was sobbing with fear. The half clad and half naked bed has been a witness to this state of Noora and the hotel room number 110.


The hotel was located in one of the posh areas of Washington DC. Noora stood there abashed, with lowered gaze trying to stop her heart from pounding. Every sort of noise even the noise of her heart beat was scary. The door bell of the hotel room was ringing since last ten minutes. Noora's senses had gone numb.

The bathroom door opened and her husband threw the wet towel on the floor and went to open the door. There stood two huge sized men, dressed in police uniform. One of them rushed into the room towards Noora. Noora was all the more frightened for she did not know what was going to happen next. The policeman held Noora's hand and made her sit on the bed, offered her a glass of water and tried to hit a conversation.
"Hello Lady, we are here to help you."

Meanwhile, the second policeman was investigating her husband. The newly married Noora was dumbstruck and did not have the courage to ask what had happened. She wondered about what her husband was telling the policeman. After the investigation, all she could manage to splutter was, "It’s not my fault. I dint call the police."

The officer again tried to console her. The officer wanted to know everything. Her husband, Moksh had blamed it all on her. Noora and Moksh married three months back in India. Now Noora had come to the USA to join her husband and his family. Although it was an arranged marriage they had grown close to each other, and Noora thought of him as a loving husband. All the love had evaporated within days of her arrival. She realized, she was only her in-laws choice and not her husband's. And tonight in order to please his parents
Moksh had taken her out for dinner.

Noora had a sense of premonition something untoward might happen today. And the dreaded did happen. The routine fight had turned into a squall and had ruined Noora' life for ever. She was used to her husband' anger but today it had crossed all boundaries. Her husband had heard Noora talking to her father in India and as a protective father he had said to Noora, "Call 911 in case you feel threatened". The words had got engraved in her husband's mind.

After the dinner, they had gone to the hotel room. Lying on the bed Moksh started a conversation with Noora. Noora, afraid, she might land in trouble, refused to answer some of the questions he asked. She tried to divert him by saying “Its late; we should go to sleep now."

But that night it was destined to happen. The heated conversation led Moksh to break the glass vase, called 911 himself to show Noora what would happen when the police got involved. He was sure that nothing could harm him as he was the citizen of USA and she had no identity. Noora pleaded with him not to call the police, but he did. Every time he picked up the phone Noora disconnected. The Police Officer said, "There were ten missed calls from this hotel room number."

Moksh had broken the mirror on the wall, crumpled the bed sheet, shouted at Noora. She stood there watching everything fall apart. And now she had no answers to the officer's questions.

Meanwhile, Moksh' parents reached there. The policeman dismissed it as a case of domestic fight and advised Noora to go back home with her in-laws since she had nobody to support in that vast country. And the policeman suggested she fly back to her country." It was simple advice but for Noora her whole life was shattered.

Now all she wanted was to fly back home to her own people. She cried her heart out but was determined never to face verbal abuse again.

****

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Apr 02, 2014
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True
by: Megha

The story reflects how complex relationships are, especially when it comes to being a husband and a wife.Women in general face such problems but are not strong enough to break there own boundaries like the character Noora.The character seems to be real.Good work Aastha Rudra.

Apr 01, 2014
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strong
by: geetika

The story shows the true spirit of a woman..how strong we the women are.awesome.

Apr 01, 2014
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Enticing
by: pooja

Heart touching.beautifully woven web of words.actually takes the reader to the room.

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