Author's POV:-
The sky was a dull blue, hazy from the summer heat. The air smelled faintly of incense and marigold petals, the kind she had carefully placed at the foot of the temple just an hour ago.
Vamika walked down the dusty lane, the blue cotton of her kurti brushing softly against her legs. Her dupatta flowed behind her like mist, caught by the occasional breeze. There was something celestial about the way she moved- graceful, light, like she didn't belong to this world at all.
Her jhumkas glimmered in the fading light, swaying gently with each step. But it was the anklets – a pair of delicate silver bands hugging her slender ankles that stole the moment. They didn't just chime. They spoke for her because nobody could hear her. Those anklets, they sang. A soft, rhythmic sound that sang the melancholy of her life, but nobody could understand it.
Gifted by her grandmother when she was six, along with another pair which was her favourite. The same grandmother who died three months later. And the same day, her world turned from soft lullabies to slammed doors, beatings, and cold stares.
Since then, Vamika had stopped expecting softness. Or love. Or warmth. But she never stopped wearing those anklets. They were the last Gentle memory she had.
She reached the iron gate of her house, if it could still be called that. The cracked walls wore their bruises like she did: quietly, without complaining. The front door was ajar, which never meant anything good. Her father's voice thundered from inside.
"Where is she now?! Saari duniya ke Bhagwan usi ko dikhte hain kya?"
(Are all the gods in the world only visible to her?")
Vamika stepped inside silently, slipping off her sandals. Her mother's eyes found her immediately.
"Aa gyi maharani ap?" Sarcasm was dripping off her tongue, but it doesn't sting Vamika anymore. She's seen worse.
She walked in, head bowed, and sat down quietly in the corner of the room. No one offered her water. No one asked if she'd eaten. She didn't want their fake love either.
A few minutes passed in low murmurs and bitter glances.
And then—
"She's going tomorrow," her father said coldly, his voice slicing the silence. "Shaadi hai. Un logon ne haan bol diya. Subah aake le jaayenge."
Vamika looked up.
A second passed. Then another.
Her lips parted. "Kal?"
"Yes. Kal."
"No... mehendi? Nothing?"
Her mother scoffed. "Jaise tu rani hai. Mehendi, shadi ke geet, baraat... sab tere jaise ke liye hota hi nahi."
"Too eger to send me away, are you both?" Vamika said smirking bitterly.
"Don't act like we haven't done enough of favour to keep you in this house for 17 years! You are just a worthless burden to us!" Her father spat with anger.
"Congratulations then to you both. I'll be gone and you will live your lives peacefully." Vamkia said before turning towards her room which was no better than a store room.
"Zindagi to uski barbaad hogi jisse tujh jaisi panouti ki shaadi hogi kl."
Vamika didn't respond. There was no use of it so she went to her room and shut the door behind her.
She sat by the window, still in her blue suit, still wearing her jhumkas, still listening to the soft jingle of the anklet every time she shifted slightly.
She wanted to scream. To run. To vanish. But that will ruin everything she'd done all these years to become what she is today.
So instead... she simply looked out at the moonlight, a tear trickling down her cheek as she took out a small wooden box from under the bed and opened it revealing a delicate band of silver adorned with peacocks, her favourite anklet whose other part was long lost like her life, and whispered,
"Daadi, Kal shaadi hai meri... akhir kaar iss narak se bahar ja paungi... sach kahun to thak gyi thi inse roz taane sunkr... ladkr... shayad ab roz koi mujhe yeh to nhi kahega ki apki saath mujhe bhi uss din mr jana chahiye tha...I miss you."
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Hiii my birdies!
Hope you liked this chapter... I tried my best... though i wasn't able to add
Ekaksh's side as it would make the chapter too long... but don't worry, you'll
all be meeting our man soon!
Looking forward for your comments and reviews
My youtube: Z_zell01
Take care^_^
love yall ^-^
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