Ranjeet was forcing a kiss on her lips when her parents had gone out of station leaving her alone.

" I should have missed my classes and tuitions in college and just gone with my parents, why did my parents always have to put studies ahead of me ?? Why?? " She thought for the thousandth time as Ranjeet had just tried to grab another opportunity knowing fully well that she was alone and helpless.

 

She sat down shaking...her blood boiling, her body trembling thinking of the past ten years that Ranjeet had time and again abused her. All the memories came back like a nightmare.

Roopa couldnt even remember how old she was when the first episode happened. Was she five or was she six. As time flew by and she tried to recollect more of these events she remembered how caring her aunt and uncle were. Her parents too thought that she was safe with them. 10 years have passed and still her aunt basks in the happiness that Roopa had lived with them and had filled the void of not having a daughter in her aunt's life. Her parents had sent her to stay for a year at her aunt's place for schooling thinking that she would be safe with them.

But Ranjeet, he was a different story altogether. He was 12 years older than her. Maybe he was at an age where he was curious about the opposite sex though Roopa kept thinking that she was only a little girl. But then curiousity or not he was unfair and mean. Roopa was a happy and mischievous girl and Ranjeet had totally changed that. He never did let go of an opportunity. He would touch her at places that she knew was wrong and he forced her to touch him at places that Roopa knew were wrong too. There were times when she refused to touch him, at which she would get a sound thrashing from Ranjeet and then he would make her do what he wanted.

She knew this was incorrect, she was scared too. Her parents were thousands of miles away and she did not know who to tell. A year flew by and Roopa left her aunt's house and went back to her parents place. Occasionally Roopa would go on summer holidays to visit her aunts along with her parents. Ranjeet amidst all these people tried to do the same things as and when he managed to find Roopa alone.

Roopa had now got used to this abuse. She was growing up too. She now knew this was totally wrong but she didnt have the courage to tell her parents about Ranjeet. One episode kept flooding back to her. All the relatives were sitting watching television at home and Ranjeet walked in making himself comfortable next to her. All of a sudden the electricity went off and Ranjeet just pounced on her. He was like a hungry lion and she was his prey, always eyeing her so as to grab and destroy her at every single opportunity.

Roopa had her own way of dealing with it. She would get into fights with Ranjeet, be sarcastic and rude to him. This only backfired on her as her aunts and parents kept thinking that she had become such a ruffian. "What did they know!! How could they know? not until she told them" She really didn't know how to open up and tell them.

As time flew by Roopa dreaded going for holidays and avoided such events as much as she could.

She brought herself back to what had happened today. Ranjeet had got married three years back. He had a pretty wife and a lovely daughter and inspite of that he had tried to force himself on her. This was not a curiousity for opposite sex anymore. He was just sick mentally. He was abusing her as and how it was possible for him to do so. The only difference was today Roopa had finally gathered the courage and asked him to back off. She had finally done it. She could do it as she had confided in her friend Radhika in college who had comforted her and told her never to feel like a weakling. Maybe Radhika had given her that strength by supporting her.

For a moment Roopa felt victorious. Then tears started trickling down her eyes onto her cheeks, was she really victorious..... She didn't feel that way. She knew she was scarred for life and the damage that Ranjeet had done to her soul was irreparable.

 

She was sad but she decided to take a grip on herself and move forward. She knew the demons will have to be faced time and again and she had to prepare herself for that.