|
Child Brides of India
By C. Stanton Leman
Chapter 17: Retribution (Mg, rom, no sex)
The rest of the school week for Priya and Sara was
tense,
but Priya had held her own in two verbal confrontations
with Haseeba. Priya was especially hurt by the remark
Haseeba made that Priya was able to trap me by giving up
her black pussy for money. Although defending herself well,
the other students wondered if there wasn't a ring of truth
in Haseeba's venomous words. Surprisingly, it was Sarah
that went on the offensive and began to dig out the worm
hiding under the rock.
By Wednesday of that week, Sarah had been able to find
out
that the slut in question was indeed a slut. Although only
rumors, Sarah learned that Haseeba was screwing a software
engineer that worked for an American company here in New
Delhi unbeknownst to her father. Dad relayed the info to
his henchman.
On Saturday, Dad received a package by courier. When Dad
and I opened it in his study, even we were shocked at what
this viper was really capable of. It seemed, that her
brother found out about her little trysts on the side and
wanted payment for his silence: you got it. She paid with
her pussy — in advance! We had lying before us, infrared
photos of her brother fucking her ass doggie style in one
of their father's cheap tenements. She gave it all: one
night her ass, another her pussy and once a blowjob right
on the street in her brother's car. She'd leave her brother
and go see her engineer friend at his apartment. Dad was
relieved to find out the guy didn't work for us.
Dad, with a look of satisfaction on his face, said,
"Ah,
ha. And so, the worm turns."
The sad part about it was that she wasn't even very
discreet about it. The report logs and photos showed that
this had happened three times this week. Haseeba's brother
oversaw their father's tenement slum properties, and they
just flauntingly entered and left without any inhibitions
about being caught. The investigator's report had noted
that probably because of her age, she wasn't as discreet as
a mature woman would have been in covering her tracks; it
was all too easy.
When we called Priya and Mom in to divulge the courier's
report, Mom just shook her head and said, "I feel sick,"
and left the room. Priya looked at me, and then at Dad and
said, "Like a dog, she eats her own vomit."
Dad said to Priya, "Do you know what we're going to
do?"
"No," her reply began, "Tell me what I
must do."
"First," Dad began, "We're going to load
these photos into
your computer. Then, you'll have a little 'heart-to-heart'
talk with this slut and show her the goods. You'll tell her
that she has two choices: either she leaves you, Sarah and
Sean alone and you'll keep her secret; or you'll distribute
these photos mysteriously throughout school and they might
even find their way to her father's office. Can you do this
with some discretion?"
Smiling wryly at him, she replied, "Am I not my
Father's
daughter?"
"Good girl,' he replied, "Good girl."
Dad called Adib, and asked him if the three of them could
come over for dinner and he'd explain how this was all
going to come to an end. Adib was more than happy and said
that Salima, Sarah and he would be here at seven.
After laying out all the reports and photos on the
table,
Adib and Salima where shocked. Sarah began sobbing so bad
that Mom and Salima had to take her out of the room to calm
her down.
Adib embraced Priya and said, "I am so sorry for
all the
injustice that's been heaped upon you, I had no idea that
these kind of people would go to such lengths to hurt you."
With tears in her eyes, she looked up at him and said,
"I
have a husband to protect me, Papa. All my pain and fears
are gone."
The evening ended on a somber, yet relieved, note that
Priya's torment would end next week. I told everyone that
we had Sarah to thank for Priya's defense. She had shown a
new confidence and strength that she hadn't displayed when
we first met.
Sarah beamed that ever since she had heard the voice of
Allah on her heart that night, she'd had a quiet peace and
a new sense of strength. We were all happy for Sarah's
newfound place in the world. With that, we said our
salaams, and the Haaseem's left for home.
The next day, everyone felt relieved but somber. We
played
board games and wiled the day away uneventfully and went to
bed early.
The next morning was much of the same. We all knew that
Priya would end her torment, but at a cost. A cost to a
girl who, for whatever reason, had somehow lost her way and
sacrificed herself to fulfill a dream that probably her
father had instilled in her as worth having.
When we arrived at school, we knew it would all end
right
then and there: on the school steps. Haseeba and her clique
were waiting. When Priya and Sarah got out of the car, I
kissed Priya goodbye and let her go alone to do what she
had to do. I stood by the car and watched it all unfold.
Haseeba started in on Priya, and Priya asked if they
could
talk in private. Haseeba taunted her by saying, "What, does
the little black bitch want to kiss my ass in private?"
Priya said, "No, but I have something you should
see, and I
feel you have a right to privacy."
Playing up the bully role, Haseeba spat, "I have
nothing to
fear from a little, black Muslim whore who spreads her legs
for money." Everyone was gasping waiting for a fight.
Priya looked at her defiantly and said, "We'll see
if you
don't regret those words. I ask you again, do you wish to
discuss this in private, or do you wish me to expose you
right here on the school steps?"
Leaning into her face, Haseeba taunted, "You can't
scare me
with your idle threats. What have you got? Pictures of you
sucking you white husband's cock?'
Priya calmly opened her laptop and booted it up. She
turned
to Haseeba and said, "I open my legs for my husband out of
love, but you are a whore who fucks her own brother!" She
then opened up the file of pictures, set it on slide show
and stepped back.
Everyone took turns looking as the photos ran through
about
five times, with Haseeba silently crying as she viewed her
own debauchery over and over along with everyone else.
Priya then shut her computer down, packed it up and
walked
into school. The crowd, now deafeningly quiet, dispersed,
leaving Haseeba sitting all alone on the steps in ruin.
I got back in the car and left.
When I picked up the girls after school, they were both
quiet and morose. Priya only said that she regretted not
controlling herself and showing the photos in public, and
that she had a terrible feeling that the result would be
the ruin of a person's life.
After we got home, I removed the photos from Priya's
laptop
and tried to console her, but to no avail. Haseeba didn't
show up at school the rest of the week, which made Priya
and Sarah feel even worse. Priya had withdrawn into herself
and had remained that way the rest of the week.
We heard the following week that Haseeba's father had
sold
her to a brothel. Her brother was found a week later in his
car with his throat slit.
For two weeks following the rumors of Haseeba's
downfall,
Priya and Sarah were completely despondent and withdrawn.
They said only what they needed to and without any emotion;
even Priya's studies were beginning to suffer. Priya
basically shut me out and wouldn't talk to me about it,
although she'd talk to Sarah every night on the phone in
Tamil. When we went to bed, she'd just roll over in a fetal
position away from me and quietly sob.
Finally, at dinner one night, the silence was so
deafening,
I dropped my fork in my plate and turning to Priya said,
"That's it! Talk to me! Say something! You've been
moping around for a week, ignoring me and refusing to talk:
it's gone on long enough! No matter what it is, tell me
what's bothering you!"
While I spoke, Priya just looked down at her plate,
picking
at her food. Mom, Dad and I just looked at her, waiting for
a response.
She dropped her fork in her plate, put her hands in her
lap
and looking up she started to cry. She wept out, "I have
sinned against God! In my need for revenge, I have
extracted a life from another. I should have held my anger
and taken the sting of her insults, knowing in my heart
what is true. I can't live with myself knowing her life is
ruined and her brother is dead. Sarah feels as responsible
as I do, if not more."
Dad looked at her and said, "A snake cannot change
its
nature. No matter how much compassion you show it, it will
only bite you in the end, dear"
Priya looked at Dad and replied, "Yes, but her
venom
couldn't hurt me. She would have only caused me discomfort.
She couldn't destroy what I have with Sean or ruin my life.
Her true nature would have been revealed eventually without
the loss of life."
I turned to her and said, "That's not entirely
true. The
investigator's report said the she and her brother were
indiscreet about their relationship. Her father would have
found out sooner or later anyway, and the results would
have been the same."
"Maybe so," Priya responded, "But his
blood wouldn't be on
my hands. In the end, I stooped below her level and am
worse than she ever could've been. She had nothing but idle
threats and insults, with which she lashed out at me. I
realize that she really couldn't hurt me except for my
pride. I have to make this right! Please Sean, help me make
this right."
I asked her, "How do you propose to do that?"
"Give her back her life. By buying her out of
slavery and
helping her get her life back. I will use all of my dower,
if necessary, to do it."
"You're right," I answered, "It was my
idea to do this, and
I share most of the responsibility for it. You don't have
to use your dower; I'll help you do whatever is necessary
to set things right."
"Will you buy her freedom?" she implored.
"Yes," I responded, "And whatever else
she may need to get
a new start on life."
"Thank you," she said, "If you do this
for me, I can live
with myself again."
"I'll start tomorrow, OK?"
"Thank you," was all she said and slowly began
to eat. We
finished dinner quietly, said our evening prayers and went
to bed.
That night, she melted into my arms and cried herself to
sleep.
Continued in Chapter 18…
|