Free Your Dreams Are Mine Now by Ravinder Singh

Till that day, she had faced Mahajan in a closed chamber, in a privacy that had always made her suffocate. But that day, she was in the open, in the presence of a third person who was willing to fight on her behalf. That day, she raised her voice against the man she had undeniably obeyed for so long. However, that did not take away the latent fear in her heart; the fear of facing Mahajan. And that day, she was not just facing him, but also going against him.
    ‘Who is behind this? Who has sent you two?’ Prof. Mahajan turned back and probed, trying to give it a look of conspiracy orchestrated by his political enemies.
    Rupali clarified, ‘No one is behind us. All we want is that you stop what you have been doing. Else . . .?’
    Mahajan cut her short, ‘Else! Else what?’
    It didn’t take Rupali too long to clarify her position. ‘Else you will leave us no choice but to report this to the principal and other higher authorities in the university.’
    In a state of rage, Prof. Mahajan turned around to stare at Raheema. He was like an injured animal wanting to make his mark. Raheema shrank under his angry gaze. The poor lady didn’t have the guts to look at him. She was too scared to even be in that room.
    When Mahajan felt that he had overpowered Raheema with his gaze and didn’t know what to do next, he turned and walked up to Rupali.
    He stood in front of her and looked into her eyes, without saying anything. Rupali matched his stare in response. She saw sheer hatred for her in his eyes. How could a teacher be so amoral? Weren’t they supposed to be even higher than God? Then what made them fall so low? She thought about what her father had said and that gave her strength, and she stared right back at him with the same hatred he had shown her.
    A few seconds passed. But Prof. Mahajan didn’t shift his posture and kept staring at Rupali with his furious eyes. His silence was loud.
    There were certain moments when Mahajan’s proximity and the wrath he showed without uttering anything made Rupali feel uncomfortable. She could hear the raucous breathing of a furious professor who was brashly staring at her. Unable to absorb his anger, Mahajan could have done anything to her. Rupali knew this, but she didn’t want to step back either. The heat of that moment was turning Rupali cold. But every time she felt scared, she urged herself to be strong. She kept reminding herself that she shouldn’t back off for she was fighting for the right and that it was the professor who should be scared for he was the culprit.
    Rupali wanted Prof. Mahajan to speak. She wanted to engage him in a conversation. But with every passing second, Prof. Mahajan was transforming into a beast. His face was turning wild, his eyes red, and his breath louder. It was horrible for Rupali to look at him.
    Fearing something unpleasant would happen, Raheema started pleading. But her words failed to register in anyone’s mind. At one point, Rupali could feel the sweat on her palms. But she didn’t give up. She continued to overcome her fear and managed to hold her eye contact with Prof. Mahajan.
    Mahajan began shuffling his gaze between Rupali’s eyes. First left, then right, and then left again; in cycles, and then faster cycles. It appeared as if he was going to explode in anger. And then, all of a sudden, the wild dance of his eyes came to rest.
    ‘Else what? Say that again?’ he hissed.
    Rupali repeated, ‘Else, I will have to bring this matter to the principal’s notice.’
    Mahajan took a moment to digest what he had heard yet again. The next moment he flung his hand in the air. In a split second his palm landed on Rupali’s cheek.
    The slap resounded in Rupali’s eardrums. That was the only thing she could hear in that instant. The impact was so strong that Rupali fell.
    Raheema screamed and rushed to help Rupali. When she held Rupali’s shoulders, apart from feeling mortified, nothing else registered in her mind. She blamed herself for