I have decided to write my own story just to ease off the burden on my soul. I know my story is not going to bring any revolution in our society. But still, a tiny voice within told me that I should pour my heart out in words.








I am a child psychologist and a few years back I used to visit a girl's school to conduct counselling sessions for students. One day a girl was brought to me by her class teacher who seemed to suffer from severe depression. The teacher told me that the girl's name was Ameya and she used to be a bubbly teenager till a month ago. Now she seems lost and refuses to talk to anyone. Nobody had any idea what had pushed her into such an awful state. My heart went out for the innocent and pretty teenager and I tried all that I could do to make her talk. But the girl wouldn't bulge as if she was determined not to open up.






Finally I gave up and told her teacher, "hypnosis is the only way to find out what she is going through."




The teacher agreed and we began Ameya's hypnosis sessions. Ameya soon went into a deep hypnotic trance where I could tap into her subconscious mind to know the truth that was haunting the kid. She was left alone with me in the quiet chamber and when I was sure her subconscious mind was active, I switched on my tape recorder and started asking her the questions that needed urgent answers.






I asked her as gently as possible, "What happened to you, Ameya? Why are you so sad and lonely? Are you in some kind of... Hmm... Trouble?"




As Ameya was in a trance she replied in a low, sleepy voice, "Yes!"




I was happy that she was finally opening up.




I asked quickly, "Tell me dear... What's the matter? Your doctor Aunty will help you get out of... whatever it is!"




Ameya said in a dreamy tone, "Last month, I had to stay back at the school one evening for dance rehearsal. My parents were away on a business trip and I was left to the care of an old maid who used to retire early to bed and then sleep like a log all night long. After the dance rehearsal was over I boarded the school bus with my friends. It was already dark when my school bus dropped me near my housing society. As I walked forward somebody called me from behind.




"Hello Ameya... How are you dear?"




I turned back to see the smiling face of Geeta Aunty who was standing near the bus stop. She used to visit our house to collect donations for a local NGO. She was a sweet lady in her mid forties and my Mummy liked her a lot.




"Hello! Geeta Aunty," I happily rushed towards her and greeted her politely.




She said with eyes widened in surprise, "look at you Ameya... You are already a gorgeous young lady!"




I flashed a smile at her compliment and she pulled out a box of sweets from her car.




She held it out to me and said, "It's my birthday, Honey!"




"Many many happy returns of the day, Aunty!" I chirped as I looked at the sweet box.




Those were my favourite laddus and I greedily took two of them. As I ate the laddus she inquired about my studies, my school and friends. She was always very friendly towards me whenever she visited our place and I liked spending time with her. But a couple of minutes later, as we chatted, my vision became hazy and I staggered.




Geeta Aunty's voice was laden with concern as she asked, "oh what happened Ameya... Are you alright, baby?"




I somehow managed to say, "I'm ok.. aunty!"




She said, "Get into my car... I'll drop you home!"




I opened my mouth to say "no" but before I could react she had pushed me in and her driver sped the car. I opened my drooping eyes and realised that her car was rushing through some unknown roads I've never seen before.




My heart raced as I asked, "where are you taking me, Aunty?"






She untied my hair and gently patted on my forehead as she said, "Relax Ameya... you will know soon. Anyway, you don't have to bother about things you don't even understand. Now be a good girl and go to sleep."




I struggled with unconsciousness overpowering me and said, "no! I want to go home... Let me go!"




Geeta aunty said glaring, "it's of no use fighting to keep yourself awake Ameya... A few more minutes and then you are going to sink into a deep unconscious slumber!"




She waved a hand on my forehead and whispered a lullaby into my ears. Her words seemed to come from far away and all I could see was darkness."






Ameya fell silent after saying this. I was anxious to know more. When she didn't speak for a couple of minutes I gave a light tap on her cheeks.




And then I asked, "Ameya... Then what happened? Where did she take you to?"






Ameya said in the same dreamy tone, "when I woke up it was still pitch dark. The car was parked in some desolate forest on the outskirts of the city. An evil looking man was sitting by my side where Geeta aunty was seated earlier. His face was so frightening that I jumped up screaming.




"Aahhh... Who are you?"




I started searching for Geeta aunty but she was nowhere to be seen.




I cried out to her, "Geeta aunty... Where are you?"




I looked all around but there was nobody around. The next moment I pushed open the car's door and tried to jump out. But the man grabbed my hand and pulled me back. He held me tightly in his robust arms and I was unable to move even a bit.




My desperate screams echoed through the silence of the forest, "somebody help me... Pleee.. mmhh!"




But before I could complete a huge palm was placed tightly over my mouth that silenced me. I still struggled within his tight grip while uttering out helpless moans.




Somebody from the driver's seat ordered, "put her back to sleep!"




A man sitting next to him turned back to me and sprayed some foggy fumes over my face. And when the fog settled down it was darkness again.




Ameya fell silent again. She appeared to be exhausted by the severe trauma she had suffered and I decided to let her take some rest before proceeding ahead.




I took time to ponder about that cunning lady Geeta.




"She was a fraud! She had befriended Ameya's mother on the pretext of charity only to keep an eye on the girl and her family." I muttered to myself while sipping my coffee. "And then she kidnapped the hapless girl as soon as she got a chance. She must have sold Ameya to those men and left while the poor kid was still unconscious under the sedation of drugs that Geeta had mixed with the sweets."




After letting her rest for a while I gently patted Ameya's face and asked, "Ameya... You have to be bold and tell me the truth. Where did those men take you?"




Ameya replied in her usual sleepy voice, "the next time I opened my eyes I could see tiny stars twinkling in the dark sky. I realized that I was lying on a moving vehicle... A huge open top truck... The next thing I saw was my shoes, socks, my school uniform and... even my undergarments... scattered all over the truck... I was lying there helpless and hardly consciousness... surrounded by a group of men!"




I gasped as she uttered those words. But then I told myself to be strong. The girl must vent out whatever she was holding back so that her sanity could be restored. And also for the culprits to be punished.




I asked, "Ameya.. how many of them were there with you that night? Can you identify them if you see them again?"




Ameya said, "there were many... I couldn't see their faces properly... I was sleepy!"




I asked again, "Could you make out whether they were young or old?"




She replied, "they were much older than me... Around my Papa's age!"




I said as tenderly as I could, "Look Ameya... You have to tell me everything that happened to you that night. Your statement is very crucial to punish them. Now tell me exactly what happened?"




Ameya's sleepy voice sounded again, "I was thirsty... I asked them... Water... give me some... Water... "






Ameya's face was drenched with sweat as she recollected the nightmare that those men had subjected her to.




I patted her reassuringly and said, "It's okay Ameya... Please go on!"




Ameya replied, "then an uncle tried to touch me down there. I pushed him away and told him that my teacher had taught me not to let anyone touch my private parts. It's a bad touch. At this, one of those uncles asked what else your teacher had told you about the bad touch. I said that my teacher had warned us girls not to roam around alone, especially when it is dark. Or take chocolates or drinks from strangers. They might drug you and kidnap you.




At this point a thought crossed my mind, "I wish your teacher had told you to watch out for fraudsters like Geeta who would first win your trust and then cheat you!"




Ameya went on, "but then the uncle became mad at me and tried to forcefully pull my legs apart. I kicked him with all my might and crawled to grab my clothes even though I was feeling very... very dizzy!"




Ameya appeared very much disturbed at this point.




I kept a hand on her shoulder and asked, "are you alright Ameya?"




Ameya said, "Then... somebody among the group whispered... 'It's better to put her to sleep! Things would be easy that way... All of a sudden an uncle grabbed my wrists and pinned me down to the floor. The next moment a damp cloth was held tightly over my face. The obnoxious odor emitting out of it knocked me out of my senses. But I do remember... that night, I was woken up several times by a sharp stabbing pain between my legs that seemed to rip my waist apart. When I finally woke up at the hospital, Geeta Aunty was sitting by my side. She warned me that if I told anyone about this incident, she would kill my parents."










I consoled Ameya in the best possible way and let her take a rest. As I walked out of the school, I had made up my mind to put those culprits behind the bar. I took the recording to Ameya's parents in the evening. But to my surprise they were not at all willing to file a case just to save their family's reputation.






Ameya's mother Ajita said sobbing, "Who would marry our daughter if they come to know that Ameya was raped by several men."






Her father Gireesh sighed, "this is the only crime in which the victim is punished by our society."






Ameya's grandmother Bhavani concluded the discussion saying, "Ameya is just a kid. She is not even sure about what had actually happened to her. It's a good thing that she was barely conscious when those men were raping her. And I'm sure she will forget everything as she grows up. So it's better to let the sleeping dogs lie."






My eyes turned to her in utter disbelief. I wondered how she could even say such nasty things!






I suppressed the anger building up inside me and asked, "don't you want justice for your granddaughter?"






Bhavani retorted, "punishing those men would not bring back Ameya's virginity that she has already lost that night. Am I right?"






I was left stunned by her question and preferred to respond with silence.






Gireesh joined in, "don't you know what kind of questions they ask in the court during the trial? It would only add insult to injury. I don't want Ameya to go through all this!"






Ajita looked at me with folded hands, "It's my humble request to you that please don't tell anyone about this incident and let us live in peace."






At the end, I was left with no other option but to let the criminals escape yet another time! I turned to look at Ameya who was sleeping quietly under sedation. A question popped up in my mind as I stepped out. Who was actually right, me or them?