Broken Prologue By Karisma Romance, Alt. Rating: PG-13 Karisma456@hotmail.com Standard Disclaimers Apply May 2001 Bombay, India 1994 Serena Corday laughed, her delicate features lighting up as she ran around the large yard, a clump of red powder in her hand. Her sandaled feet slapped on the cement in an offbeat rhythm, adding to the loud chaos that was erupting the Khan’s usually peaceful home. “Serena!” Neha’s slightly accented voice trailed behind her as a cloud of green powder was smeared all over Serena’s white Punjabi. Serena giggled in defeat, but not before flinging her own fistful of colored dust on her friend’s cheeks. Neha squeaked in outrage before erupting into peals of laughter. Serena scanned the horizon for her sister, Raye, wondering if she was having half as much fun as Serena herself. They were celebrating the Festival of Holi, a party where all the neighbors got together annually to dress in white and smear colored powder and water on each other. It was a festival held in March to celebrate the spring with colors. The mythology behind the gaiety was told as a legend. A long time ago, a cruel king had a son. One fortune-teller told the king that he would be killed by his own son. However, the king was given a boon that he would be killed by neither man nor beast. For this blessing, he grew too arrogant while his son was pious and good. The king decided to kill his son before his son could try. His attempt failed when a god came to save the good son and kill the king. The god was half man and half beast, eradicating the complicated blessing placed on the king. The next day, the village came to celebrate the death of their despotic king, and thus Holi began. The merriment lasted for the entire day until the small neighborhood was too tired to move, much less chase each other. She finally caught sight of her sister’s small frame, smiling vividly as Raj, Neha’s younger brother, sprayed pink water on her similarly white dress. Serena grinned, happy her usually reticent sister was happy amidst the joy and celebration. Raye had been shy since birth, opting to stick behind her older sister in conversations and not add her quiet piece until she was spoken to. However, the trip to India had done Raye a world of good. Practicing her Hindi with ease, Raye had made dozens of friends, making Serena glad she had picked up the flyer concerning the foreign exchange program. They were learning in India for a year, testing their social and learning abilities in the third world country. The sudden change from America to India had stunned her at first, the level of modesty and culture had been a shock to her system. Raye had adjusted beautifully, fitting it with such ease it had startled Serena. But seven months later found them deeply rooted in the small community, knowing all by name. They were greeted by name, shared smiles and jokes, and accepted with such warmth, it made the looming departure date painful to think about. There had been only one incident that had dampened the wonderful experience. Toward the beginning of their trip, Serena and Raye had gone to a nearby market to pick up some routine items. Upon naming the type of bread she wanted, Serena had caught a group of young, dirty men leering at Raye’s shy form. Immediately growing protective of her younger, half-sister, Serena had grabbed the bag of eggs and bread and led them out the small shop’s door. The group’s leader smirked at them as they walked past him, whistling lowly while uttering a few choice phrases that were meant to be insulting to a lady’s honor. Serena had stopped in her tracks and looked at him with contempt that was unusual coming from a woman. She then spoke three terse words that called him an animal that was unworthy of living among humans. A scowl had swept across his dark, stubbled face as his friends howled with laughter and slapped his back. And Serena knew she would never forget the hatred etched into his tan face as he spat tobacco on the dusted road near her sandaled feet. Serena shook her blonde head, aware that she was staring at her dark-haired sister with an intention that was worrying her. She smiled and shook her head the negative to assure the younger woman that nothing was wrong. Raye grinned beautifully, her normally stoic face radiant with sun and life. She settled to the task of seeking revenge on a ten year old Raj. Serena had just gotten shot with a blast of bright blue powder when she looked across the way to see the man from the small shop a few months back. Her smile faded as she caught his intent gaze on Raye’s lithe form. Narrowing her eyes in anger at Ajay’s obvious appraisal of her sister’s figure, she crossed her arms over her chest in a militant pose. The action seemed to catch his attention as his brown gaze swung over to her. Smirking, he blew her a kiss and then winked insolently, sending nausea running through her stomach to her throat. Suddenly feeling ridiculously protective of her half-sister, Serena ran over to her, hugging her tightly to her in a seemingly teasing action. Raye squirmed, laughing loudly as she smeared powder all over Serena’s waist length hair. Serena giggled, her tension temporarily forgotten as she rubbed the dust out of her eyes, trying to discern where Raye went off to. When she was finally able to see, her heart landed in her throat with a resounding thump. Raye was nowhere to be found. **** Raye Corday chuckled at her sister’s attempt to clean herself up. She walked backwards for a bit, not noticing the distance she was effectively putting from herself and the boisterous group. She sighed in content before pausing at a slight sound. She whirled around to find a small dog whining in an alley. Compassion welled up in her heart as she cooed to the three-legged animal. Animals such as these were abundant in India, yet Raye never lost the sympathetic feeling rise in her throat every time she saw such a despondent creature. Against all sanitary rules, she petted the tiny thing, not noticing the dark shadow cross her back until a large, dirty hand clamped over her mouth. **** Serena ran around in panic, searching the house first before she ventured off alone to find her misplaced sister. At seventeen, she felt she had a good head upon her shoulder. Raye, a good two years younger than her, had the trust of a Labrador, feeling every man had a bit of good inside him and that the world was just as kind as the home she was brought up in. these realizations of Raye’s naiveté only served to heighten Serena’s anxiousness. She ran through a dark alley, her multi colored dress flowing in the breeze behind her. Panting heavily from exertion, she came up to the beginnings of a place she did not recognize. It was a remote village, with small thatch huts and dust for streets. Relying on nothing more than instinct, she ran through the seemingly deserted place. Giving up all hope, she began knocking on doors with strength she did not know she possessed. Confused as to why nobody seemed to be home, she caught a glimpse of a pale woman in an old sari looking at her panicked face through an open window. Serena stared in puzzlement, if this woman and all the other villagers were home, why were they not answering? The response to that question came soon enough when footsteps fell behind her. She spun around to see Ajay coming toward her with a sneer firmly planted on his snide face. She took one look at him and the quiet town and knew instinctively what was going to take place. She shook her head in denial and ran toward the town wildly. The Embassy was there. The United States Embassy. She heard Ajay take off behind her, his heavy footsteps much to close for comfort. When she saw the gates loom ahead, hope sprung deep within her. Screaming, she cried out in joy and panic; “I’m an American Citizen! I’m an American Citizen!” When the guards’ reaction was that of indifference, Serena realized they could not hear nor see her above the crowd of festive people between them. Before Serena could run further and alert the townspeople, a hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of her hair. A band of steel came around her waist and dragged her closer to the hard impact of a body. Fighting and kicking did no good as Ajay hauled her back to the deserted town where villagers turned their cheeks and looked the other way when told. **** Serena’s shock escalated to another level when she realized they had Raye as well. Crying out her sister’s name in fear, Raye was held in place by two of Ajay’s lackeys. Serena tried to struggle once again to reach her frightened sister. Ajay held on tightly. Screaming in Hindi, Serena did everything from cursing him to begging that they be released. Ajay seemed implacable as he held her roughly through her tirade, flinging her to the ground when she dissolved into sobs. He jerked her up by her hair and slapped her across the face. Her head flung to the side from the force, Serena tasted the metallic tang of blood in the corner of her mouth. It was a taste she was soon to know familiarly as Ajay’s fist came crashing where his palm had left. After a few more minutes, Serena was filled with an uneasy sensation of blessed numbness as Ajay’s hands ceased their cruel acts. She coughed violently, her cheek pressed against the dust. Her stomach burned from the rough treatment, her throat ached with the taut wire he had pulled against it mercilessly. Floating on the cloud between consciousness and darkness, Serena closed her swollen eyes. She was jerked up again and came to meet Ajay’s menacing face. Ajay brought his head close to her ear and whispered in perfect English. “I want you to watch.” He smiled at her eerily before kissing her cheek tenderly. His next word completely belied his seemingly gentle action. “Cutra.” It was the English equivalent of bitch, but the word did not sting her as much as her awareness did. The question of watching what never occurred to her. She immediately knew the answer when she saw Ajay’s lascivious gaze swing to a trembling Raye. At that moment, her battered state was nothing. Because as Ajay strolled over to where Raye was curved into a little ball, Serena knew she would be spared the awful degradation—her sister wouldn’t. He pulled off his sweaty shirt as his men stripped the clothes of Raye. She screamed in fright and tried valiantly to keep her Indian outfit on, but it was futile. The men were stronger and brutal as the vested off Raye’s clothes and pride. She screamed for Serena as Ajay unbuckled his belt with deliberation. Serena couldn’t watch, but had to as tears blurred her eyes. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was suffering from what she would later learn as a broken leg and ribs. From the dusted ground, she screamed at him as he dropped his pants. “No! God, no! Please don’t!” But he did. **** The sky cried for her; the clouds loomed over, their dusky wisps sobbing for her plight. The normally hot climate was replaced by a dismal rain, misting over her collapsed figure. The blonde enveloped in the vapor looked like a fallen angel in her dirty white garb. If not for her innate need for survival, part of Serena would have curled into a ball and waited until starvation or degradation killed her. But the sense of anger overcame her despondency. The need to see her attacker’s receive the punishment they deserved convinced her to move. Serena squirmed on her belly, gathering up the strength to wriggle the yards to where Raye’s still body lay. Praying that she was alive, she wriggled on her stomach, willing her legs to move. When they did not respond immediately, Serena bit her lip, rejecting the overwhelming urge to cry. She sank back into the dust, her hand shaking uncontrollably. Rain fell all around her, enclosing her in a hopeless pit of despair. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, keeping her gaze firm on the motionless lump ahead of her. Her slender arms shook as she lifted herself up on them, her lower body refusing to move regardless of the stabbing pain her right leg brought her in its twisted position. After a few awkward moments, she finally settled her body into a perverse rhythm. Right arm, drag, left arm, drag, right arm… After the most excruciatingly painful and slow minutes of her life, she finally collapsed near Raye’s bleeding naked body. Gripping the ripped dress that fell down to Raye’s knees when she was wearing it last, she managed to awkwardly cover her sister’s violated body. The tears that soaked her cheeks fell, creating dark drops on the sullied material. Serena checked Raye’s creamy wrist for a pulse and found a faint one. She fell on her back next to Raye’s still body. She was thankful Raye had passed out of fear when Ajay had penetrated her. She was saved the humiliation of knowing him as he was inside her. She coughed and cried alternatively, the gasping noises disturbing the still air. Knowing full well she was incapable of getting help by herself, she resorted to the only tactic she had. “Somebody,” she croaked, pain rising in her throat as the words came out harshly. Her voice sounded wheezy and weak, as if she was asthmatic and sick. She licked her parched lips and tried again. “Somebody!” It was louder this time, though it hurt like hell to get her pitch that high. For all the pain it caused her, it did no good. No one came. And finally, somewhere in between when the festivities ended and dinner began, Serena Corday passed out, collapsing her exhausted, battered body next to that of her sister’s. **** “Miss Corday?” A small, dark haired nurse inquired, her white uniform matching the impeccable walls of the monotonous hospital. She spoke clearly and in English, her accent slight as she walked over to her second patient. When she entered the small room, she was struck by the dreariness of it. As a nurse, she had seen the worst of human nature and the consequences, but she had also witnessed bright rooms full of cheerful family members and bright flowers. This particular room, however, was dark, the lights off and the blinds closed. She made out a figure on the bed and another one slumped in a chair. She remembered when the two girls had been rushed in, both bleeding heavily, though each from much different wounds. She walked in closer, her eyes adjusting to the dull room, she hated bringing more bad news to the slip of the girl who seemed to have taken on the role of being the younger girl’s mother. The poor dear barely seemed sixteen. At the sound of her name, Serena tore her glazed eyes from Raye’s sleeping form to the small nurse. “Yes?” She answered, her voice hoarse with emotion as well as physical injury. “Miss Corday, the doctor finished the labs on your sister. It seems too much tissue damage was done in the…” The nurse trailed off, unsure to continue, not wanting the ugly word to set off the fragile, tenuous girl. “Rape.” Serena whispered fiercely. Taking her sister’s cool hand, she firmly pressed her lips to the back of her hand in comfort and desperation. “It was rape. She was raped.” The nurse nodded, her heart going out to the blonde girl. “Yes. The rape. The tissue was ripped, causing her uterus to suffer irreversible damage.” She cleared her throat and when she spoke again, her tone was filled with sympathy. “I’m afraid Miss Corday won’t ever be able to bear children.” She had expected rage or a bout of tears. That she was certified to handle. Emotional outbursts were expected and controlled by nurses. But she had not anticipated this girl’s reaction to the horrendous news. Serena sat silently for a moment before nodding and turning back to her sister’s pale body. Her silence had politely dismissed the nurse and dispelled all her official duties. Sighing silently for all that she could not do, the nurse turned silently on the shiny floor and closed the door softly behind her. A good few moments after the nurse had left, Serena calmly hurled a small white vase against the opposite wall, watching the shards skitter around the floor in a crazed dance. She sat in complete silence for a moment, not so much as a tear streaking down her pallid face. Then with a deliberation that was as frightful as it was dangerous, Serena Corday hobbled over to the mess and swept up the pieces of white porcelain, spilling them into the garbage can with slow reflection. Serena thought how symbolic the vase was of Raye. Her innocence, her womanhood, her self-respect, her future was broken irrevocably in one, horrifying moment. And nothing, nothing could bring any of it back. That night, a janitor came to dump out the trashcan next to Raye’s hospital bed. The broken shards of the vase were dumped into a larger can, and with it, went something that died within Serena that very day.