47 What Is Your Take

'I know their motive. Now I have to know who are they.'

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9 AM

RISHI'S ROOM

Some aureate rays of sun came through the white curtains of large windows, falling on 'sleeping beauty' Aliya's face. After a few moments when she felt her face warm, she opened her eyes. Stretching her arms up in the air and rubbing her eyes to have a clear vision, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. When she looked around she realized that this was not her room. As she returned back to her senses, she heard some weird noises repeating in a pattern. At first she was scared , but then she scanned the whole room, her eyes became fixed at one snoring soul. He was a man with his upper body naked, and sleeping soundly. She couldn't see his face as his back was at her side. She gulped at this sight. Her mind had already started of deriving conclusions. When she moved forward, she found it hard to climb down the bed as it was too bouncy and soft. She tip-toed towards the man and leaned forward to take a look. And then her eyes widened.

"WHAT THE HELL?!!"

As this yelling reached Rishi's ear drums, he was alarmed. In a glance he jumped on the sofa making his back pain a little by this sudden jerk. He opened his eyes slowly and saw tomato-like red face glaring at him. Seeing Aliya fuming with anger he couldn't think of any way to calm her down. She was about to curse him but he quickly stood up, placed one hand behind her head and the other to cover her mouth. She struggled to escape from him, but all her efforts were in vain. "

"I am not strangling you to death. Just listen to me first."

"Fefofe fo fan."

"What? Wait!"

Rishi removed his hand and let her to talk. Aliya was stunned by his sudden reaction. She was breathing rapidly as his hand almost blocked her nose for a few moments. After taking in some air, Aliya frantically searched for bathroom. As she found it in the left corner of the room, she rushed inside. Banging the door shut, she checked herself in the mirror. While doing so, she found her right hand's fist swollen. And something was missing.... Yes! Her chain with a locket was missing from her neck, which she never removed.

"Where is it?"

Caressing her neck she started checking every corner. And yes! She found it behind the door.

*bang*

Still anticipating what was she doing inside, he heard this huge sound. He saw Aliya striding towards him with narrowed eyes. He was already alert of this thing. Before she could attack, in a second, he grabbed her left fist, twisted around her back and pulled her towards him. With his right hand, he again pressed her mouth against his palm.

"Don't.you.dare to do any mistake Aliya. It is not what you think."

Despite of his clear warning, she kept struggling. It was clear that he can't talk to her in a peaceful manner.

"You were drugged."

As she heard these three words whispered in her ears, she froze. The whisper was in serious tone evident that it was not some prank. Her eyes were wide and still. Her body which was trembling like a fish caught from the sea, striving to survive, was now motionless.

"Do you remember anything about last night? You were eating dinner right? Can you recall what happened next?"

As he asked her these questions, he knew she won't have answer. So he released her. She was still in shock. Not able to comprehend anything, her mind kept repeating the things she did after returning to her room till the incident in which she fell asleep while eating; just like a damaged video tape. She was literally blank. Yes! This was not prank. Seeing her like a living dead body, he sighed and held her shoulders in order to make her sit on the bed. She had no balance, neither physically nor mentally. How can a girl be normal after knowing that she was drugged? After all, the whole world knows what filthy intentions criminals have behind this illegal and immoral act. Rishi could understand her state of mind, as he had seen his sister reacting in a little similar way but in a much worse situation. He knelt down in front of her and continued to throw some light on her memories.

"I found you murmuring outside my room. You were looking exactly like a drunkard. But before I could take any action, you were unable to handle for me. You kept moving to and fro like a pendulum. The most necessary thing at that time to do was to not let you wander around like a lost child. Moreover, I wasn't even sure if you actually drank alcohol; knowing that you didn't like it. From your outer appearance, you seemed okay. So I thought not to jump on any conclusions. For a few hours you kept babbling in my room. Eventually you recalled some events happened in the previous night. Analyzing the whole situation, I was confirmed that you were drugged. Immediately after that, as I was leaving to bang the heads of those who did this, you were the one who stopped me. Even in that condition, you gave me a piece of advise. Not to take actions when angry. So I did. I have already ordered the manager to show all the CCTV footage to us. We can plan and do this. Also to take any further actions or to file a police complaint, I needed your consent too. And you were not in that condition to say anything relevant. After chit-chatting and dilly-dallying some time, you felt sleepy. I placed you on the bed. And I slept here on this couch. Nothing else had happened. Now you take your time and think what to do next. What is your take? Do you want me to call the police?"