TRISHA

Thunder roars, drowning out my pleas.

"W-who are y-you?"

"Wh...what do you want?"

"D-don't touch me."

"N...No... no... NO!" I scream.

Snap.

Life takes brutal turns. Mine took one from which there is no return.

I had everything - a perfect life. A caring father, a loving mother, and a doting brother. My passion to become a lawyer burned brightly within me, and for that dream, I

run away from my perfect life to study law in London.

My parents didn't want me to go. I should have listened to them like a good daughter. But I was stubborn. I wanted more. With a heavy heart, I left my family behind to pursue my career.

I thought I would make them proud.

There were only two months left before I would receive my degree and return home.

Two months.

But everything changed - damaged beyond repair. My aspirations, my work, my passion - they now feel like shattered pieces of myself.

I sprint barefoot through the streets of London in the middle of a stormy night, running like something hunted. The rain washes my tears away, but it cannot stop them. Nothing can.

Cold droplets merge with my freezing skin, burning against the bruises scattered across my body - refusing to let me forget.

The rain washes away the evidence.

But not the crime. Pain claws at my feet. I want to stop. But I don't. Because I know he must be out there.

Searching. Hunting.

Fear is the only adrenaline keeping me moving.

The city lights I once admired now make me feel exposed. I fold my arms around myself, trying to hide my torn clothing. For a second, I wish all the lights would go out so I could disappear into the dark.

But darkness wouldn't heal me either.

I keep running until I reach my dormitory. I take a few shaky breaths before unlocking the door with my spare key. My fingers shake with the tremors of the agony that just unleashed like the worst nightmare on me.

The room is dark.

Seeing my best friend asleep, a silent sob breaks free. I close the door carefully, praying I won't wake her. I don't want anyone to see me like this.

But fate betrays me again.

The click of the lock wakes her.

She switches on the bedside lamp.

The light blinds me for a moment.

"Trisha, you came back?" she asks sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Our gazes meet.

Her eyes widen. Her pupils shrink in horror.

I rush to the bathroom and slam the door shut. Sliding down to the floor, I finally break.

She starts knocking.

"Babe, what happened?" Her voice is soft, but laced with fear.

"Leave me alone. Just for a moment... please, Annie."

"I'm always here for you. You know that, right?"

Annie has been my closest friend for three years. The first and only friend I made in this country. We share everything.

Almost everything.

Her voice is warm. Safe. It makes the walls inside me crack.

I wail like there will never be a dawn for me again.

I sob until my body shakes violently.

Hours pass. I don't open the door. I can't.

When sunlight filters through the small bathroom window, I realize it's morning.

My limbs are stiff from sitting in one position for hours. I try to stand. A painful shriek escapes me. My insides ache - especially between my legs. The pain drags me back.

Back to how viciously I was raped.

How brutally I was beaten. How helplessly I was forced.

Fresh tears rise, but I swallow them down.

Crying won't undo it.

I turn toward the mirror.

For a moment, I don't recognize the girl staring back at me.

It cannot be me.

My lips are split. My eyes are swollen and red. My cheeks are puffed from slaps and punches.

I wash my face again and again.

The bruises remain.

Unapologetic.

I step into the shower and turn on the water. My body trembles as I undress, wincing whenever my fingers brush against wounds.

I grab the loofah and pour body wash onto it.

I scrub.

Hard.

Again.

Again.

As if I can erase what happened.

But the bruises remain.

Still there.

Mocking me.

A scream rips out of my chest.

"Why?" I choke. "Why me, God? What did I do?"

Annie knocks again, more urgently now.

"Trisha, what is wrong with you?

Open the door."

This time, I do.

Wrapped in a towel, I step out.

She looks at me - and her face drains of color.

"Oh my God... how did this happen?"Her voice trembles.

"Wait. You went to meet Ben. Where is he? No - forget that. I'm calling a doctor."

"No. I'm fine."

"You are not fine. Tell me what happened."

"I was r-raped."

The word nearly suffocates me.

That's all I can say.

I don't even know who he was.

A mask. The smell of smoke and alcohol. That's all I remember.

Silence fills the room.

Then Annie's voice hardens.

"We're going to the police."

She storms toward the closet.

"I won't let that bastard walk free."

"No!" I shout.

"Why?"

"If this reaches India... my family's reputation will be destroyed."

Annie isn't Indian. She wouldn't understand. In my country, I won't be seen as a victim.

I'll become the stain.

My father built his name with years of hard work. I cannot shatter it because of one reckl

ess decision - meeting a boy at a bar.

And the truth?

I am a coward.

I cannot face the world.

I will bury this. Deep inside my heart.

Where this secret will never see the light.