Escape

“We can no longer hope for any help from this country.”

…

“Rudra hurry up; there’s only an hour left till takeoff.”

Seeing the cheerful girl in front of him, his guilt for abandoning the idea of revenge subsides.

Even though it hasn’t been long since the genocide, their experience during this time wasn’t smooth.

Back then, waking up alive the next day was excruciatingly painful for both.

They were both hot-blooded youths who had seen and experienced war; things like swallowing their anger weren’t their deal.

However, he suppressed his irrational thoughts whenever he thought of what would happen if he also died.

He shook his head and then ran behind Zindagi with a smiling face.

Rudra hugged Zindagi back and buried his face in her hair.

“I just can’t believe it’s come to this, Zin.”

“Abandoning everything, we’ve known and loved, running away like cowards.”

“It’s not cowardice, Rudra.”

“It’s survival.”

“And we’re not alone; Brahman is still out there.”

“We’re not alone, and we’re not cowards.”

“We’re survivors who will rise again when the time is right.”

Rudra nods and pulls away, wiping his eyes.

“You’re right, Zin.”

“I just need to remind myself of that sometimes.”

“Let’s get ready; we don’t want to miss our flight.”

They both quickly get ready and head out the door, the weight of their past heavy on their hearts.

However, they know that they can’t look back, and they have to keep moving forward. Together they walk into the bright sunshine, their heads held high, ready to start their new lives.

…

Three Months Ago

“Wake up, Honey; we gotta go.”

Rudra opens his eyes and peeks outside the window.

Bright sunlight enters the house in stark contrast to the dark nightmares he suffered all night.

Slowly he puts on his spectacles and finds Zindagi carrying the documents they need to get their new IDs.

In the past sixteen months, they have already prepared for this.

They spent weeks before they began to implement their plan.

However, his anger never died. It was just suppressed.

“It’s been over a year, and they still haven’t given up finding you.”

“What’s worse is that our people stopped searching for you a year ago.”

“What an irony!”

“It is our enemies who believe that you can survive.”

As he stops, Zindagi walks up to him and hugs him.

“I know it’s been hard.”

“However, we knew this would happen, which is why we took this step isn’t it.”

“If those politicians made even the slightest effort to save me, they would be able to locate the clues we left; however, what was the result.”

“Those people made next to zero effort to locate us, which is why we decided to abandon our past lives and start anew.”

Rudra and Zindagi sat at their small kitchen table, surrounded by documents and legal papers. Zindagi shuffled through a stack of papers before finally pulling out a birth certificate.

“We need to decide on new names for our IDs,” she said.

“Right,” Rudra nodded, “let’s make sure they’re not too similar to our old names.”

“Hmm, how about Suresh and Rina?” Zindagi suggested.

“I like those names,” Rudra agreed, “but let’s ensure they’re not too common.”

As they discussed and debated, the hours ticked by. Finally, they settled on their new identities and completed the necessary forms.

“This is it,” Zindagi said as she affixed their passport photos to the documents, “the last step.”

Rudra’s heart raced as he watched Zindagi slide the papers into an envelope and seal it. It was their new life, free from the threat of their enemies.

They sent off the documents and waited anxiously for their new identities to arrive. Weeks passed, and they began to lose hope.

“Maybe we should have used a different mailing address,” Zindagi fretted.

“No, it’s just taking longer than we expected,” Rudra reassured her, “we’ll get our new identities soon.”

Finally, the day arrived when their new IDs came in the mail. They sat together at the kitchen table, staring at their new passports in awe.

“We did it,” Zindagi breathed.

“We did,” Rudra agreed, “but we can’t forget the past.”

“I know,” Zindagi said, “but we can move forward and create a better future for ourselves.”

Rudra nodded, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. They had escaped the threat of their enemies, but the memory of the Bali family genocide would always be with them.

The only reason why he could move forward was because of Brahman.

“It’s not that peace has arrived; it is just that someone somewhere is fighting hard for your peace.”

…

Brahman

“Captain Raghav, what is our next plan?”

Raghav looked at Hasth and motioned him to take a seat.

“Wait for everyone to arrive.”

Three minutes later, everyone is seated.

“Everyone, our plan is now entering the execution stage.”

“Our next actions will involve many risks and maybe even deaths.”

After saying this, he gently taps on the table a few times and then gently whispers to the sky, “It’s time for payback.”