Snooze?

“Riiiiiiiiiing”

I clicked snooze and continued to sleep.

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“Wake up!”

My mother yelled from the kitchen. Eyes still shut, I searched for my phone & grabbed it from under my pillow. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. It was 8.15. I quickly got up & brushed my teeth. My mother gave me my morning tea and as I was sipping it, I was going through Football updates.

I received a notification – “Nine year old raped, murdered & mutilated by neighbor”

I touched it and the report opened.

The body of a nine year old was discovered by a passer-by in a dump yard after he got suspicious of dogs fighting over it. He informed the local police who identified her as ‘Another Girl’. Investigations revealed that she had been abducted, raped and murdered by her neighbor. Forensic reports state that her body had been mutilated to prevent identification. The neighbor has been apprehended and has confessed to the crime.

I was wide awake in shock. Was such cruelty humanly possible? I needed to read more. The gruesomeness of the act seemed questionable. I scrolled down to read the detailed report.  

I was viewing a matrimony ad. I do understand it is business, but this was downright inconsiderate. Ethics and sentiments being compromised when money comes into play. I just scrolled down.

Three days after reported missing, the body of ‘Another Girl’ was found in a dump yard, when a man passing by, grew suspicious of dogs fighting over what seemed like a severed hand. On closer inspection, he found the rest of the body buried under garbage. He immediately informed the local police who secured the area and sent the body to forensics. They were unable to recover the hand.

“It looked like the dogs were tugging at a hand. So I went to get a closer look, but the dogs ran away. Just when I was thinking I was imagining things, I spotted hair in the garbage. It was nerve-racking to clear the waste, but I had to make sure. I cleared enough to get a look at half the face. I wish I hadn’t”, said the 45 year old.

Autopsy revealed the nine year old had been sodomized. Broken fingers and lacerations suggest she was tortured before being strangled to death. In an attempt to prevent identification, the face had been disfigured and the private parts mutilated.

The parents of missing children were called and the father recognized his daughter. The mother refused to look at the body.  

Female lips, bright red in color, smiling. Another ad, for a lipstick.

Investigations revealed that ‘Another Girl’ had been a victim of her neighbor. The 17 year old confessed to luring the girl to his car after which he took her to a secluded place where he raped and killed her. He has been arrested and will be produced before the court on Friday.

 

 

I was enraged, at everyone and everything, at the parents of the little girl who could have kept a closer eye on their daughter, at the parents of the murderer who could have spent more time with their son and got to know him better, at the society that failed to protect many more like them. And at those individuals who chose to abandon their humanity.

The act of rape is a sickness that needs to be cured at the root. These ‘men’, should have their manhood stripped off them. They should be subjected to the same experience they dealt – penetrated physically and mentally. They need to be publicly disgraced – name and face, what they sowed and what they reaped. Such stringent measures will make the very thought of rape, a fearful disease requiring an immediate cure.

I was now livid because I knew none of this was going to happen. Not in the slightest. The beasts will continue to be a part of society and society will continue to turn a blind eye to them. The girl’s family will suffer for the rest of their lives. Something had to be done. This has to stop and fast. My anger was that of many and together we may be able to make a difference.

I had to do something. What if something like this happened to…

“Time’s 8.50”, my mother shouted.

I looked at the clock. Damn! I was late. I grabbed my towel and rushed into the bathroom.

 

*************************************************************************************

I rang the bell. My mom opened the door. I sunk into the sofa, exhausted. I looked at the clock – it was about to be nine. I slowly removed my shoes and socks.

My mother and father were watching a reality show of strangers living together in peace and harmony.

“Where is sister?” I asked my mother.

“It seems she has work. She said she will leave in 15 minutes”, she replied.

 After a moment in thought, I put on my shoes.

“Call and tell her not to leave. I will pick her up.” I told my mother.

She stared at me, surprised.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing” she replied.

A month back, I didn’t go. A month from now, I wasn’t sure I would.