Chapter 28: Chapter 28

"What do you mean? How did you kill two people? You went to meet with your boyfriend. Then what happened?" Payal mother asked. Payal told her all the things. She saw what and what she said. Her mother said "Are you sure they died. How could they die just by your cursing?" "I don't know. '' Payal said. "But I know. They looked at the person. He was tall. He had a scar running down from eyebrow to chin. He looked dangerous. Payal mother asked "who are you? How did you get in?" But that man said nothing and them. Both became afraid. They hugged each other. The man said, " be quiet and come with me." Payal mother hugged Payal and said "who are you? Why do you want to take my child?" " because she is a witch. And she killed two people. " "witch" Payal said. "Yes you are a witch and we need you to die. We can't have a witch who is so dangerous as you." Payal started to shiver. He wanted to kill her. But Payal's mother held her tight and said "she is not a witch. She is my child. And there is no witch in this world. " "I don't have time to explain. Give me the girl. " "No " her mother shouted. The man came near them and held Payal's hand. He pulled Payal and started to walk. Payal tried to escape from his hold but he was too strong. Payal mother came in front of them and said "leave my daughter?" She pushed him. He got angry and pulled out a pistol. To payal, it played in slow motion. He pulled out a pistol and pointed it toward her mother. And bang. The bullet entered her mother's head. She looked at Payal for the last time. Said in a very low voice "Payal" and slowly she fell to the ground. Payal watched it and shouted "mummy " but her mother had already left her behind. She sat beside her and cried. With her shaky hand, she touched her mother's body. The warmth she felt for the first time when she touched her mother was still there. But there is no life in her. Her eyes were opened and blank. Those eyes which only held love for Payal were looking blank. The hand which used to hug her tightly has no power in it. The mouth which always curved in a smile when she saw Payal was open. Payal saw all this and screamed. That man said"I have to kill her. We can't leave evidence." And he hit payal with his pistol. She began to lose consciousness. And she saw she was carried far away from her mother.

She opened her eyes and saw she was in a cell. It has a single bed. And she was sleeping there. She didn't know how much time passed but she was thirsty. She wanted to drink water and saw there was a pot and glass. She went near it and drank water. Then she regained herself. She thought about where she was and started to remember what happened. How she killed two people and a man came to her home. Then she remembered her mother's lifeless body. She remembered it all. She stood up and looked around. She went near the door of the cell. It has only a little square opening. She shouted "is there anyone? Please release me. I have to go to my home. My mother needs me." But no one came. She shouted for an hour and one man came. He was wearing dark brown pants and a shirt. He said "stop shooting. No one will help you. And your mother was dead. No one is waiting for you. And you can't escape here." "No, please. Let me go. I have to meet with my mother.'' Payal begged. " where will you go? If you go out, the police will catch you and give you life long imprisonment. You killed people. " Payal cried and said "No... no; I didn't kill anyone. It was an accident. I don't know how did they die?" "Because you are a witch. When you curse from your heart and you have enough power within yourself. You can kill not two but many more just with your word. You are that much dangerous. So you should never go out. You will forever live in this cell." "No. No. It can't be true." But that man already left the place. She cried and asked "who am I ? why do they keep calling me a witch." she hugged and said "I miss you mother." she cried and finally fell asleep. But she saw a nightmare where her mother was shot to death. She woke up and saw that she was still in the cell. she couldn't tell if it was day or night. She heard the door was opening. She looked at the door and saw the man from last night entered. He said "come. Hurry. You are summoned. '' she followed him and entered a big white room. She saw that 3 people were sitting and discussing something. When they saw Payal they stopped talking and looked at her. They talk to themselves but Payal can't understand what they are talking about. Then after few minutes they said " we will keep you alive. We need you for an experiment. " and one man came to her. He pushed an injunction to her and she lost her consciousness.

She heard a beeping sound. Beep beep beep. Then she smelled disinfectant. And she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes are too heavy. She opened it and saw she was chained. Her hand and feet were tied by a belt. She tried to free herself. "There is no use. You can't free yourself. '' she tried to say something but felt that a cloth was in her mouth. She tried to remove it. But she couldn't. "I said stop it. '' Payal stopped moving. That man was so scary. He came near her and said "you are just a witch. You shouldn't even be born in the first place. Don't you read books?? Don't you know all witches are burned to death? You should be thankful that we are keeping you alive. Now be a good girl and cooperate with me. '' he went away and came with a scalpel. He cut her skin on her wrist. She screamed but the cloth on her mouth didn't let her. He cut both her wrist. She felt like she was about to die but she remained alive. He took blood from her and injected her. She again lost her consciousness.

She woke up every day and found herself in the bed tied with a belt. That man cut her hand. They don't even let her eat anything. How come she was still alive. Then she thought about injections. Maybe they put supplements by injections. As days passed by, her reason to live reduced. She has no one in this world. Now she just prayed that someone came and killed her. And after many more days, her prayer was heard. A woman came and set her free. She was too weak to even lift her hand. The tied part had already started to form blisters. That woman helped her to sit. She begged, "please kill me." But that woman said "I can't. You have to keep alive. You are our hope." Payal looked at her and asked "hope?" "Yes. Hope for a better future. Hope for freedom. Hope for our rights. Hope to live free. You are our hope" Payal wants to ask more but she was too weak. That woman helped her to stand and she said some words. A circle arrived around them and they vanished from this prison. They arrived at home. She helped Payal to sit on a sofa. She gave Payal water. Payal gulped it down. Then she asked "who are you? " "l am Katrina. I am a witch. And I rescue witches from humans. They used us as an experiment or if they are no use then they kill the witch. You are also like them. This human never tolerates us. They kill us. So we have to fight. Fight for our existence. " "but I killed 2 people. My mother is dead. I don't want to live, "Payal said. "How did your mother die?" Payal remembered she died to protect her. She said "she wanted to save me" "then don't waste your life. She died to give you a new life. You should cherish it." Katrina said. Payal nodded and said "yes. I will live and I will fight. I will survive and fight against the injustice." Katrina smiled and said "that is my girl. You are our hope." And that's how Payal got the name, Hope. And the journey of Hope began.

Hello, my dear readers. Do you like today's chapter? I felt pain when I wrote about it. Payal/hope went through a lot. She lost everything and everyone. But life goes on. And her mother helped her to move on. I never wished anyone to go through this pain. And with all of us to be happy. So be happy and be grateful for what we have. As someone is having less than us and more in pain than us. So we should be Thankful. And I am thankful to you all. Thank you. Keep smiling and be happy.