The Hidden Strength (936 words)

 

The train slowly departed from the bustling junction. It was past 10 pm. The compartment was quiet with the passengers settling down to sleep. Some lights had been switched off leaving a dim glow in the compartment.

Three rough-looking young men who had possibly boarded the train at the junction walked through the aisle with their eyes darting around in search of empty seats. They were in tight black T shirt, red scarf around their necks, tattoos in their forearms and metal bracelets on their wrists.

In one of the bays, they found a young woman in her early thirties lying on the lower berth with her body fully covered by a bed sheet except for her face. Two passengers were sitting on the lower berth opposite her. The ruffians stopped there staring at her and the two passengers.

“Go to another bay. We intend to sit here. Do you get that?” barked one of them at the two passengers.

“These are our reserved seats and we have been here from the starting station,” replied one middle-aged passenger, somewhat nervously.

Even before he completed, one of the ruffians pulled out a gleaming pen knife while another restrained his hand with the third fellow handing out a hard slap at the passenger who demurred. He was lifted by his collar and pushed out of the bay.

 The other passenger stood up trembling in fear.” You better move fast if you wish to remain unhurt” bellowed one of the evil men. Both passengers collected their things and scampered fast to another part of the train.

A few passengers on the side seats and from upper berths who witnessed the happenings were shocked at the rude and violent behaviour of the ruffians but had not the nerve to question them. Some of them pretended to be asleep while many others kept silent.

Emboldened, the three bad guys sat on the berth before the woman and started talking among themselves while one of them lit a cigarette and blew smoke at her. They were all the time eyeing the woman making small talk among them and passing lewd comments obliquely at the figure opposite to them. She seemed to ignore them completely and appeared asleep with her eyes closed. One of them lifted a bag and “accidentally” brushed her with the bag. Startled she opened her eyes and glared at them.

“Sorry, madam, the bag came into contact by accident. I did not mean to wake you up.”

She just ignored him. Irked by her silence, he said “You seem to be upset. It was not deliberate. Anyway, how far are you going?”

She stared at him still in anger but chose not to answer. The guy, determined to provoke her, said, “You look prettier when angry. Sit up, we can while away the time chatting. I am feeling bored” The other two companions chuckled loudly, with other passengers listening silently to the one-sided conversation.

When she adjusted her bed sheet to cover herself fully, the hooligan stood up and shook her shoulders to ask “Are you deaf-mute? I have been talking to you and you are indifferent”

“I warn you and that too only once. Do not mess with me. You will regret it,” she spoke softly but firmly.

There were muted giggles accompanied by apprehension of what was likely to follow from the other passengers. This infuriated the guy. He said to her “Look here, you common slut. It is you who is going to get hurt when the train stops at the next station. Mind what and how you talk to us” and tried to lift her into a sitting position by clasping her shoulders.

In a blip of a moment, her leg shot out and hit hard his head like a sledgehammer with the man crumpling on the floor. When another hooligan rushed towards her, she dealt with him a similar blow with her leg around his shoulder and neck region. This man too folded on the floor shrieking in acute pain. Dazed at the sudden onslaught from someone he considered a frail woman, the third hoodlum was cautious in approaching her. She was still lying on the berth and beckoned him to come closer if he had the guts. He looked around at the smirk on the faces of other passengers, his ego would not permit him to retreat leaving his companions on the floor.

In a fit of bravado, he approached her pulling out a pen knife and screaming with his hand raised “You common whore, you will pay dearly for this defiance.”

In a quick movement of legs, she hit his hand that held the knife with one leg and the other leg whacked his back. The onlookers heard a slight cracking noise as the man doubled in pain on the floor.

The other passengers rose immediately from their seats and tied their hands and legs tightly with clothes, scarves and ropes on which they could lay their hands. A few dared to box their faces and slap them too when they were immobile. Someone went in search of a policeman and the attendant allotted to the compartment.

One old person asked her” Are you trained in any martial art? How bravely you immobilized them with your deft and quick attack when all of us were frozen in fear. Do you belong to the police?”

“No uncle. I am an ordinary woman”, she replied, as she lifted the border of her saree and added,” Look here, I am handicapped too,” to reveal two prosthetic Jaipur legs made of wood attached to her knees.