Rajalaxmi's Finale

Rajyalaxmi opened her eyes to utter darkness.

She tried to move her arms, but they were restrained. She wriggled her legs and felt the tightness in them as well. She could not hear anything, not even the sound of her own breathing. Swallowing hard, she tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was walking out of her apartment with Sudha. It had been a fine, sunny day...

She jerked suddenly, trying to free herself from whatever was holding her down. For a moment she thought she could feel something move or slide under her body as she moved about, but there was nothing else. She lay still for a few seconds, wondering how in the world she'd gotten into this situation. What kind of nightmare was this?

Suddenly Rajyalaxmi heard a soft sound from the direction of the door-- a rustle. Somebody was coming!

Rajyalaxmi closed her eyes tightly and waited for whoever it was to come into the room and release her from this prison. She breathed deeply and prayed that whoever it was would be human-- an angel sent to rescue her from whatever hellhole she was in.

Footsteps stopped right by the side of the bed where Rajyalaxmi was lying down on. A hand brushed against Rajyalaxmi's shoulder lightly, but she did not move-- she wanted whoever it was to know that she was ready for anything.

The footstep continued towards her feet, then up again towards head, then stopped again at her shoulder once more. Rajyalaxmi felt something brush against her cheek lightly-- a gentle caress that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Then it was gone and Rajyalaxmi heard footsteps recede slowly towards the door again.

A moment later, Rajyalaxmi heard a creaking sound-- the door opening! Someone had finally checked on her; someone had finally noticed that something wasn't right! With renewed hope Rajyalaxmi kept still and listened carefully as footsteps entered the room and approached the bed where she lay trussed up like a chicken ready for cooking. Closer and closer came those footsteps until they stopped just next to the headboard where Rajyalaxmi laid bound and helpless. She found herself praying harder than ever before-- if only whoever it was would free her! If only....

"Sudha," whispered a familiar voice somewhere above Rajyalaxmi's head. The voice sounded as if it were full of tears as it pronounced its long-awaited name one last time before going forever silent.