Running Away...

Hit by a car, she lay there. Still, with her mouth bleeding and eyes crying. Bruises all over her body and strangle marks on her neck. A crowd gathered around, screaming and yelling was all she could hear. A man called the hospital, asking them to hurry. “It’s a hit and run!”, he yelled.

The ambulance and police van came over. Police said it was an accident. Her bruises and strangle marks said otherwise.

---

3 years earlier

Red cheeks and pretty eyes. Her mother yelled, “Too much makeup! Be careful.”

“Don't worry, mom! No Prince Charming can take your daughter away. Bye, love you!”, replied the 24 year old Tania.

“Oohhhhh, a lot of cute guys around here. Hey Tania, I dare you to go kiss that cutie right there.”, teased her friend.

“I can do anything. I'm the brave one. Watch and learn ladies!”, she laughed and went to him dancing.

“Hey, I'm Tania Jaiswal.”, she moved her hand forward.

“Abhay Sharma. May I buy you a drink?”, he replied.

“Sure!” He went to get her a drink. He came back and said “The music is too loud! Want to go out?”

“Yes, it is indeed. Let's go elsewhere. Where to?”, she asked.

“Any place where I can hear that soothing voice of yours.”, he replied.

“That one was cheesy. Don't worry, I'll teach you how to flirt.”, she laughed.

They went away on a drive, to the top of the mountain, the quietest place they could find.

“So where are you from?”, he asked her.

“Oh not the same old first time talks. How about Arrow or The Flash?”, she laughed.

“I guess you use that as a way to judge whether a guy is cool or not. Well, I choose Arrow.”, Abhay replied.

“Oh, thank god you're cool. Arrow is way cooler.”, she said in great relief.

They spent the whole night talking and laughing, till one thing led to another, and they kissed. It was the most wonderful kiss she ever had, it felt so perfect. The next day, she introduced him to her friends. They went around kissing and dating, sneaking around and having fun till one day,

“Will you marry me? I'm in love with you. It's been a great year and I want you to be around forever. I want to lock you in a ring and call you mine.”, he proposed.

She said yes without a second thought. The happiest couple ever. The perfect couple. Her life felt like a fairy tale. The one she wanted to be in forever. A happy ending to a perfect tale, right? That's where stories end. The wedding. But that's where the story starts. Facing the hardships and living through them.

They spent their all time romancing. Ah the travelling and the fun we had. It was amazing. They couldn't stop. They didn't even want to. Their careers were great too. The richest in the town, the best car with the biggest house. The beautiful interiors. The money one of them earned was enough for one lifetime itself. But happiness life doesn't last forever. Does It?

Hardships took over. Abhay lost his job for not performing up to the mark. He took it pretty hard. He drifted away to drinks and drugs. Tania tried to stop him, but he didn't listen. She wanted him to take other interviews, but he didn't want to go anywhere. He wanted to be loyal to his alcohol at all times, no matter what. One day, Tania took his glass away, and that's when it happened.

He was agitated, he wanted his drink back. She was pouring it away In the sink, he came and slapped her. Her cheek turned red and her eyes were filled with tears. She never saw him do something like this ever before. He tried to snatch his glass from her hand, but she wouldn't let go, so he stepped on her hand for her to leave it.

Next morning, he asked her how did she get those marks. When he learnt the truth, he apologised to her. His voice filled with regret and eyes filled with shock, he begged her for forgiveness and assured her that it wouldn't happen again. She trusted him.

But it became a regular thing now, he hit her and she kept on forgiving him. She kept on believing that it wouldn't happen again. But it never stopped. She didn't even realise when a year passed by. Her body was filled with bruises.

One day, she went to him with a document. Her sign on one side, it said “Divorce". She asked him to sign on them. His ego was hurt. His face turned red with anger. With a want to hurt her real bad, his hands reached her neck. She started to cough and cry. She tried to scream for help, but couldn't. Her hands reached to his whiskey bottle on the table, she smashed it on his head. He left her and screamed in pain. She ran away from there. Running on the road, turning around to see if he was chasing her. To make sure she is safe now. She didn't stop running, till she heard a car honk. She stood there scared, the car lost control and ran over her. She fainted, couldn't see most of It, but a crowd gathered around her.

The next time she came into senses was when she was on the hospital bed, and the doctors said “She has lost a lot of blood. We need to hurry”…

But she couldn't make it. The doctors said “Time of Death 1.07 a.m.”.

She had no identity. The doctors never informed anyone about the death. No one waited outside the room for her. She was all alone. What would you call this? The perfect ending to a miserable life or the miserable ending to a painful life?

It's high time that men realise that hitting women doesn't make them more of a man. It just makes them a good for nothing coward. How many more Tanias are surviving with their Abhays?

Don't bear the torture, life can get better. Raise your voice against domestic violence.