'What are you doing, Bhaiya' a scared four-year-old Eifad trembled standing in the dark corner on the terrace of KV apartments with her thirteen- year old cousin. He had brought her up here in pretense to show her a shooting star but instead had cornered her in a dark corner. Eifad is getting scared. She trembled feeling his hands moving up her thigh

'Nothing...just stand still...' her thirteen-year old cousin said softly

'Bhaiya...please don't touch there....'

'Relax...Eifad'

........

'What you are doing here?' a fifteen-year-old Eifad asked frowning looking at her twenty-four-year-old cousin. She tried her best to look confident but inside she is as scared as she was when she was four, in fact even more. Her cousin's eyes turn dark as he eyed her.

'Shh...' he said placing his index finger on her lips. She froze

'Stay quiet, else I will tell everyone what you did that night up at the terrace' he said darkly. He held her hand and she trembled.

'What? I did nothing...I was just four...you did...'

'No one will believe you....' he replied menacingly. She gulped

'I will also tell everyone that you and Shad have been doing little cho chi cooing secretly.' He smirked. Eifad's mouth dropped open.

She wanted to protest, and say confidently that she will tell everyone what dirty things her cousin does to her but then will they trust her? Her father might but Aisha wouldn't.

'Bhaiya please...' Eifad pleaded but it goes unheard.

'Bhaiya!' she gasped as he pushed her on the bed.... she fought, she protested, she begged, she pleaded, she screamed but it gets muffled....

...................

Eifad woke up in the middle of the night, her breathing uneven and sweat beads formed on her forehead. Today's encounter with the ladies in the washroom opened old wounds. Eifad picked up the water jug.

'****' she cursed smashing the water jug on the floor when she realized the water jug is empty. She leaned forward and clenched her hair tightly, she rocked on her seat for few seconds trying to push back the dark memory of her life, a memory that traumatized her and turned a happy cheerful Eifad into a dark Eifad.

She took the glass from her bedside table and hurried to the bathroom. Her hand shivered as she filled the glass and goes back into her room. With trembling fingers and uneven breathing, she took out sleeping pill from top drawer of her bedside table.

She popped a pill and gulped the entire water in one go. She sat up straight on the bed. Jeana had said all men want it, Shad said he wants it too. Eifad wants to make him happy, but she can't...the thought of having a man touch her intimately sends shiver down her spine, scaring her. The incident all those years ago, still hauting her.

She won't be able to take that step even with Shad- a man she is so in love with. She had wanted to talk about her ordeal to Shad but couldn't fearing she might lose him. He will leave her thinking her to be dirty.

But then what if some other girl comes along and gets intimate with Shad? Will she lose him then?

Her mind wandered to Rhea, she had seen her photo in her bio-data. She looked beautiful and young; also, the way Shad was talking about her. All this is scared Eifad. She feared losing him forever.

'No...No...NO!' Eifad screamed throwing the night lamp.

Aisha had been fast asleep in her room which is next to Eifad's. She woke up on hearing things getting smashed and Eifad's screams from the adjacent room. She sat up straight on her bed. There is a sound of a vase smashing and Aisha jumped out from the bed. Quickly she wore her night robe and hurried from the room.

'Bacha, what happened? Open the door?' Aisha asked knocking the door frantically. Eifad rolled her eyes, fake concerns. She doesn't need them, she needs no one.... no one but only Shad.

'Arghh...' Eifad pulled out the curtains of her room. Aisha started to panic, she rushed back into her room and grabbed her phone. Her fingers shivered as she dials Shad's number.