Evermore

“Mom always used to say that draping a saree is an art,” I remembered her saying. I felt like her spirit was right there with us as Vaanya carefully adjusted the pallu over my shoulder, securing it with a practiced touch.

Vaanya stepped back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. It suddenly struck me—I wasn’t the little girl she used to look after anymore. I had truly grown up. Traditionally, this saree-draping ritual was a mother’s duty on a farewell night, but in my life, it had always been Vaanya who took on that role.

She was only five years older than me, yet she carried herself with the grace of someone who had shouldered so much responsibility. I watched her reflection in the mirror, wondering how she managed to juggle everything—my endless chores, her own rising career, and the immense weight of being my only family. She was everything an independent woman should be, yet she never once made me feel like a burden.

Vaanya met my gaze in the mirror and gave me a watery smile. “Oh, look at you,” she murmured softly. “My little caterpillar has finally blossomed into a beautiful butterfly.”

I pouted playfully, trying to lighten the heavy mood in the room. “How could you call me a caterpillar!”

Vaanya gently took my shoulders and turned me towards the full-length mirror. “Look at yourself,” she whispered, her voice thick with pride. “You’ve truly become a beautiful butterfly.” I caught her own reflection in the glass, and my heart swelled with emotion.

“Just you wait,” she continued, a mischievous sparkle appearing in her eyes. “Soon, the day will come when I’ll be helping you get ready for your wedding.”

A shy smile slowly spread across my lips.

My thoughts instantly flew to just one name, just one face—Rishabh. In my mind, the future was already set: someday, I’d be his bride. Someday, our forever would finally begin.

I gave my head a shake to snap out of the daydream and picked up my purse and phone from the vanity table. “Oh, Vaanya, you’re so dramatic,” I teased, but my heart was racing with the secret hope she’d just put into words.

I was already at the main gate when Vaanya’s voice called out after me. “How on earth are you planning to ride a scooty in a saree? Let me give you a ride.”

I turned back with a smile, shaking my head. “No, it’s okay. Rishabh is here—we’re heading out together.”

Just like that, Rishabh showed up. We chatted the whole way to school, just like always, but as we stepped onto campus, a strange feeling of weight settled in my chest. This was it. Our last night here. We danced until our feet were sore and recorded videos to hold onto these moments forever, but as the party started winding down and people began to leave, I wasn’t ready to let go.

I took Rishabh’s hand and gently guided him toward the empty music room.

“I honestly have no idea what our lives will be like down the road,” I murmured, reaching into my bag to pull out two plain rings. I looked up at him, hoping to see my own feelings mirrored in his eyes. But his face was a blank slate—no emotions whatsoever. Not even a flicker of surprise.

“I got these for us,” I went on, my voice wavering a bit. “So we’ll always have something to connect us.”

I placed one ring in his palm. He didn’t put it on; he just stared at it and offered a tiny, empty smile that didn’t touch his eyes.

“Rishabh, you know I really—”

Just then, my phone started ringing with a piercing vibration. I checked it—it was Vaanya.

“Vaishnavi…” Rishabh’s voice was low, trailing off as if he were about to say something serious.

I looked up at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “Huh? Did you say something?”

He paused, then shook his head. The brief crack in his composure vanished. “Do you… wanna grab a cold coffee before I drive you home?”

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I told myself his strange, unfeeling expression was just shock—that maybe he was just as overwhelmed by the future as I was. “Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s go.”

We began walking toward the cafe, but just then, my phone buzzed. It was Vaanya. A knot of worry twisted in my stomach as I quickly swiped to answer.

“Vaanya?” I asked.

“Vaishnavi…” Her voice sounded strained, heavy with ragged, terrified breaths that sent a chill down my spine. She sounded like she was either running or hiding. “Go to… she… t-tooo—”

All of a sudden, a blinding flash of light seemed to erupt through the phone’s speaker, followed by the sickening, metallic crunch of a collision. The horrifying sounds of twisting metal and shattering glass filled my ear.

“Vaanya!” I shrieked, my hand clenching the phone so hard my knuckles turned white. “Vaanya! Say something!”

Tears started to blur my sight. I fought to hold them back, trying to stay composed, but my voice gave me away, cracking with raw emotion. “Rishabh… Vaanya… Something terrible has happened.”

He just stood there, unnervingly still. He didn’t offer a hug, not even a gasp. He simply watched me.

“I need to go home. Right now!” I choked out, the panic finally clawing its way up my throat.

“Navi, listen… we can’t go there,” he said. His voice was low and steady—almost too steady, like he was picking his words with extreme care.

I froze, looking at him through my tear-filled eyes. “What do you mean we can’t go? My sister is in danger!”

“Navi, think about this,” he said, stepping closer. His expression was impossible to read. “What if there’s real danger? Something we’re not equipped to handle? We should go to the police station first. Let the authorities handle it.”

“No! No!” I screamed,

The silk of my saree felt suffocating, like I was trapped inside it. “What if she’s hurt? What if she’s dying right now while we’re talking to the police? You called them—didn’t you call them already? But first, we have to go to her! I have to go!”

When we arrived at the house, everything seemed normal for just a second. The porch light was on, and the street was quiet. But then I saw it—a dark, wet patch of red on the white tiles of the porch. A trail of blood led up the stairs.

“Vaanya!” I shouted, flinging the door open.

The hallway was empty, but the air felt thick and wrong. I turned to Rishabh, my hands shaking so badly I could barely stay on my feet. “Did you call them? Did you call the police?”

His face was deathly pale. He looked terrified, but when I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t tell if he was scared for Vaanya or scared of something inside. He didn’t answer. He just stood by the door, his shadow long and thin on the floor stained with blood.

I ran. I checked the kitchen, the living room, her bedroom—everywhere felt empty. My heart pounded like a drum against my ribs. There was only one place left.

I reached my parents’ old room. I froze, my hand hovering over the doorknob, my breath catching in my throat. From behind the door, I heard it—a muffled, broken scream.

Vaanya was in there. She was crying, her voice a ragged whisper as she begged for something I couldn’t make out.

I burst into the room, and it felt like my world came crashing down around me. There, on the floor, was Vaanya. Her beautiful face was marred by bruises and blood, her silk clothes torn. Standing over her was a man in all black, his back turned to me. His voice was a low, eerie rasp. “Let’s die together, Vaanya... or marry me and live.”

His words sent a chill through me, freezing my blood. But just then, I felt a sudden, violent pull on my shoulder. It was Rishabh.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” I yelled, fighting against his grip.

“We have to wait for the police, Navi,” he hissed. His face wasn’t pale with fear anymore; it was hard, like flint.

“Wait for the police?” I looked at him as if I didn’t know him. “She’s going to die! That man is going to kill her! You want me to just stand here?”

I didn’t wait for his answer. I rushed toward the window, grabbed a heavy metal curtain rod, and ripped it from the wall with a strength I never knew I had. I turned to charge at the man in black, ready to save the only family I had left.

But I didn’t get far. A hand clamped around my arm like a vice, leaving bruises. Rishabh held me back, his grip unbreakable.

“I told you,” he whispered, his eyes dark and empty. “Stop.”

I tried to lunge forward again, but the world spun as a stinging slap cracked across my face. My head snapped back. Rishabh had hit me.

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I scrambled toward the bed where Vaanya sat, her body trembling, her face a mask of agony.

The man in black wasn’t threatening her anymore; he was hovering over her, trying to apply medicine to her injuries with hands that trembled.

“Kill me,” Vaanya whispered, her voice like a sharp, broken piece of glass. “Just end it.”

“Vaanya!” I yelled.

They both turned to look at me. The man’s eyes were wide with a terrifying, all-consuming grief. “Kill you?” he gasped, his voice breaking. “You know how much I love you. My... my Vaanya...”

“Then why?” she sobbed, her strength fading. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“I don’t know!” he roared, and in a moment of uncontrollable rage, he hit her. The blow knocked her off the bed and onto the cold floor.

I rushed to where she lay, my hands shaking so badly I could barely touch her. “I... I called the police,” I stammered, trying to help her up. “They’re on their way, Vaanya. You can do it. Please, just get up.”

She looked at me, her eyes empty as the life started to leave her. “Vaishnavi... go away. Run.”

“I won’t leave you!”

“I can’t stand,” she whispered, her gaze falling downward.

I followed her look, and my heart stopped. The white silk of her saree wasn’t white anymore; it was soaked through with a deep, frightening red that was pooling between her legs. Istared, the horrifying truth hitting me like a physical blow. She was pregnant.

“Vaishnavi...” her voice faded, her eyes fluttering shut as she slipped away into darkness.

I scrambled towards Rishabh, grabbing his shirt, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Look, you can drive, right? We have to get her to the hospital now. My sister... she’s going to die.”

That was the first time I’d ever called her Didi. She was my sister, my mom, basically my whole world. Now, the two most important people in my life were right there in that room: one was bleeding out on the floor, and the other was just frozen, like a statue carved from ice.

Rishabh didn’t even glance my way.

The man in black bent down and swept Vaanya’s limp body into his arms. I darted towards the door, throwing myself in front of him. “Where are you taking her? Put her down!”

He didn’t so much as flinch. He didn’t even seem to notice I was there. He just looked at Rishabh and gave this cold, short order: “Move her.”

My heart broke right then. I looked back and forth between them, my head spinning. “Rishabh? Do you know this guy? Why is he doing this? Please, stop him! If she doesn’t get medical help, she’ll die!”

I collapsed onto my knees, grabbing onto Rishabh’s legs, sobbing into the fabric of his pants. I begged him. I pleaded with him. I was such a fool, still waiting for him to reach down, pull me into a hug, and tell me it was all just a nightmare. I was waiting for the man I loved to save us.

But instead, he just took a step back, carefully unwrapping my fingers from his clothes like I was nothing but an annoyance. Then he turned and started walking out, following the man who had just taken my sister.

“Why are the police still not here?” I yelled at them, my voice hoarse and cracking. “Where could they possibly be?”

Rishabh paused right at the doorway. He didn’t face me, but his voice was steady, yet chillingly calm. “They’re not coming, Vaishnavi. Because I never made the call.”

Everything just stopped. The air seemed to vanish from my chest. He’d known all along. He’d known everything from the very beginning. As their shadows faded away into the dark night, my sight went blurry, and the part of me that knew how to love just died right there on that floor covered in blood.