Transformed - Escape

My cousin, who was a year younger than me had been engaged to my father's uncle's son, a software engineer. Ever since, my mom had been desperate to find a husband for me too. I was just in twelfth grade and seventeen years old, but she behaved as if I were thirty or something. That was only one of her many worries. According to the males (and females) of our hometown, the crowning glory of a girl was her beauty. If a girl was beautiful, she was lucky. If not, the poor girl was mostly treated like dirt. Kind of like me. But hey, I was not totally ugly. I was just dark skinned and extremely tall, which according to my family was woeful.

A hand waved in front me, pulling me back from my thoughts. It was mom. She had kept away the necklace she showed me and now was pulling dress after dress from each shopping bag and jabbering away. If she had shown me those at some other time, for some other reason, I would have freaked out. Now, I only felt hopeless.
"...this is from Lulu. You know how expensive it is there, so handle it with care." Then, noticing that I wasn't paying attention, she said, "I have to speak to you, Rumana."

Oops. This was very serious. She never calls me by my name, except only when it is anything serious. Most of the time it was about how much of a failure I was as a daughter."What?" I said, annoyed. I hadn't done anything at all. My mom took a deep breath and said, "We are going to India."
"I know"
"You are going to behave in a more responsible manner. No more sitting whole day in front of the TV, no playing games on that stupid mobile phone of yours, no ..."
I cut her off, "Why do you hate my mobile, mom? What did it ever do to you?"
"It is an evil thing."
"It's not evil! Playing games is not evil at all, mom!" Seriously, she thinks everything I do is evil. Playing games is evil, reading novels is evil, watching TV is evil, surfing net is evil. There is not one thing which I do that is not evil.
"And moreover," continued mom "you will always be in the kitchen with me, doing some work. What will your in-laws say when they find out you don't even know how to cook?"
"I don't give a damn to what they say. By the way, I won't marry anyone." I said, and instantly regretted it. Mom slapped me very hard on my face. "Don't ever repeat that. You are getting married this summer, no matter what happens!"

TWO DAYS LATER
We had landed in the Mumbai airport. My dad's uncle was going to come pick us up. It was raining heavily, so we were sitting in the lobby of the airport, waiting for uncle to come. I was on Facebook, using the airports' free Wi-Fi simply looking at everyone's profile for the last time, as there is no internet Wi-Fi anywhere, neither in our grandparents' house in Mangalore, nor in our uncle's house in Mumbai, where we would always stay for two to three days before leaving for Mangalore on train.

Mom kept shooting me dirty looks as I kept typing on my cell. My brother and sister were prancing about in the spacious lobby, while dad was simply leaning back in the chair his eyes closed. I guess he was exhausted. I loved him more than mom. He always stood by me, but even he had sided with mom about the marriage thing. I was furious about it. I mean, come on! I hadn't even finished high school yet and they were trying to get me hitched to a total stranger. Well, to me everyone is a stranger. I never talked to anyone from the opposite gender, (as if I were allowed to) except from my own relatives.

My dad's phone beeped. I turned around to see someone I recognized through the glass walls. My uncle, his hair snow white, was standing there with his son Rizwan, whom I knew well, but never talked to, because mom had tried so hard to get me hitched with him. But she failed (and I was so glad) as they choose my cousin to get married to him.

"Well, well look how tall you have grown." my uncle said, after hugging my mom and dad. I grimaced. This was one of the top reasons why I hated going to India. Everyone said I was tall. Five feet six was not tall. I was just taller than anyone else in the family. Mom flashed me a look of warning as we headed towards the car with the luggage. Dad and uncle went in a taxi with most of the luggage, while we "ladies and babies" (my uncle's words precisely) were supposed to go in the car with Rizwan with the remaining luggage.

The drive was uncomfortable. Rizwan drove like a maniac. I was jammed in the rear seat with Yousuf and the two trolley bags, while my mom sat in the front. Every time the car stopped,the trolley would fall on me. By the time we reached their house, I was almost squashed flat by the trolley.

My aunt was waiting in the doorway. Hugging mom, she said to me, "Keep growing taller and we won't be able to find a husband for you." I made a face when she turned, which was unfortunately caught by Rizwan. He sniggered. I shot him the dirtiest look I could think of. He burst into silent laughter. "So," mom asked him, "getting married?" He stopped laughing and went "Yeah." in this totally indifferent voice, as if he didn't want to get married. Like he was being forced into it. But hey, my cousin was a totally beautiful girl. She was perfect in every way you could think of. He shot me a strange look, as if he was in pain or something, before going to his room.

The railway station was crowded. We had booked our tickets the day before, and now we were on the train to Mangalore, or in my case, to my doom. I hadn't eaten much today, because every time I looked at food I felt like throwing up. The train would reach Mangalore at 8:30 am in the morning and it was midnight. Everyone was asleep except for me. I kept dreading the time we would reach home. I didn't want to get married, not to any idiot they would choose for me.

The train was slowing down. It was very dark outside, all you could see were trees. It was a forest area. I stared outside. What if they forced me to marry some freak? Who only wanted a girl for doing his work? Some uneducated dumb ass? I gulped. There was only one way to escape. Run away. But where? The train had stopped now. I looked at mom. She was sleeping. I quietly slung the backpack over my shoulder. It contained a few clothes, some food, money and my mobile. I turned to look at my family for the last time, tears filling my eyes as I saw Aqsa. I would miss her a lot.

I got off the train just as it started to move. I ran into the woods, hiding myself as I saw the train move. Tears filled my eyes. "Goodbye." I whispered to the train as it moved away.

"Say goodbye to your own self too, sweetheart." said a soft male voice from behind me. "You are finally here. I've been waiting for you for so long."

I screamed in shock as two ice-cold hands wrapped themselves around me. I felt something cold graze my neck.

Oh no.