As you sow...
The rain had stopped by the time he woke up. The convict stretched himself, wincing a little as the stiff bones in his back complained. He cursed, then remembered he was in the solitary confinement cell. He thought back to the time of his arrest, just a few days ago, followed by rejection of his bail petition. He was in solitary for his 'own protection', his lawyer had told him. "It will be over soon," the lawyer had said. "Your bail had been rejected because of the public outrage and the protests, but the public will have something new to focus on very soon. The evidence won't add up, and there were no witnesses who will speak against you."
He remembered the night of his wedding as if it was yesterday. His dowry had arrived the previous day, and he had spent the night partying with friends. He went about the ceremonies piss drunk, glad for the flowers hiding his bloodshot eyes. The bride's face was hidden, but he ogled at her body through his headgear, eager for the night that followed. After promising to fulfill her needs and protect her for the rest of her life, he took her home where he had his way with her. She screamed, begging him to be gentle, but he ignored her. When she showed up the next morning with bite marks all over her face, his mother called her a witch who was too ugly and had come cheap. Daily thrashings and extortion threats followed from the mother, leaving her meek at night. Ten days later, the bride pulled out the gas pipe from the kitchen cylinder, waited 30 minutes, lit a match and then gave herself up to the fireball that followed. He did not know what the fuss was all about. She had come cheap and she had been 'his' to do with as he pleased. The bride's family did not care, as they considered her 'paraayi amaanat' after the marriage. He yawned, then heard the key in his door and grinned, knowing it was time for his biryani.
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She had dreams. She had topped her school, and wanted to be independent. She had studied for her entrance exams by borrowing the neighbor's books and reading them under torchlight in bed. When her father told her a month before the results that she was to be 'married off' in a week, she had been shocked, but had trusted her parents's decision. "It is a modern family, beta. The boy is a graduate. They are not asking for much, and you can do your studies after marriage." She did not want to rebel, so she had agreed. The boy looked cute too. She had looked forward to looking him eye to eye when he gently took her 'ghoonghat' off. She realized her naivete the moment he ripped it off her head and gazed into her soul with eyes filled with lust and evil. As she struck the match, she prayed to God for an end to her suffering.
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The politician squirmed in his seat as he read the medical report. If this got out into the open, riots would ensue. He nodded to his aide, who already had the false statement prepared and ready. He could not let the son of his close friend go to prison for such a small thing. The girl's old neighbors had already been paid off to deliver false statements blaming her character. He anticipated the matter to die out within a week.
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The door opened. "Time to go," the man who entered said. "That was quick". The convict put on his shirt over his vest and walked out. The man led him down a series of corridors until he was completely lost. "Where are we going?" "We cannot let you out the front door so soon. We have arranged for more comfortable lodgings until then". The convict was led into a room with a TV, plush sofas and a bar set. "All yours, and the bedroom is through there. Relax here until you are free to go eat your 'maa ka khaana' again." He threw himself at the bar and downed a bottle of whiskey in no time. Sated, he decided to sleep. He opened the bedroom door and walked towards his bed. He heard a soft moan from the bed and smiled. This sure was 'comfortable lodgings'. He took his clothes off and jumped onto the bed.
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The courtroom was full. Everything was in order - the 'false' witnesses, the medical reports, the evidence. As the convict was led in, his friends were relaxed, but they realized something was wrong when they saw his face. As the judge began proceedings and asked the convict whether he had done the crime, the convict said "Guilty" and recounted all his doings. It took little time to sentence him as no other information was needed.
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The man sat on the park bench, staring up at the politician's statue. He spat at the ground in front of him, then watched as the person he awaited walked up through the crowd and sat next to him. "It has been done," the newcomer said. "No more red tape. No more mud slinging at victims. The message will be clear. All perpetrators have been punished." The man acknowledged the update and got up and left.
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His lust fulfilled, the convict lay on his back in the dim bedroom, then winced as the lights suddenly came on. As his eyes adjusted, he looked at the woman next to him, then retched violently as he recognized her. He spent the next hour retching onto the floor until they led him back to his old cell.
