The cool breeze was soothing to Sahithi as she leaned her cheek to the window that was partially open. The bus she had taken home was slow when compared to the family car she usually went home in. The words family and home brought fresh tears to her already swollen eyes. She recalled the events of the past few days that had changed her life forever.
"Sahithi, your father is here." Miss Sharma had called from the crowded Reception area where the parents of the students were registering to take their kids home for the winter vacation. Sahithi had been waiting for this moment as she would get to spend the holidays with her grandparents in the village, eating the delicious sweets, snacks and dishes that would be prepared for one of the most important festivals of Bharat - Sankranthi. It was a three day festival that involved lots of fun mixed with tradition, excitement and joy. It was an out and out farmers' festival and she loved every moment before, during and after the festival. She ran down the stairs with her bag jumping two steps at a time. She was panting by the time she stopped near Miss Sharma.
"I am here Ma'am!" The 50 year old veteran teacher chuckled at Sahithi's enthusiasm. She quickly handed her over to her father after Sahithi had signed in the out going register. Father carried her bag as the daughter, too eager to be home, ran all the way to their car. She hugged her mother, her grandmother and her grandfather, who had come to surprise her.
"We had come to this town on some work four days ago and simply decided to pick you up." Her grandfather explained. "Are you still bothering your teachers?" Sahithi opened her eyes wide as if in shock.
"Grandpa! How could you say that? You know that I am soooooo Innocent!!" her grandmother chuckled while her mother teased her.
"Yes, we know how innocent you are!!"
"Moooooommmmm!!!!"
"Did you eat anything?"
"Mom!!! Don't change the topic!"
"Okay. i thought you would want to eat some ariselu!!"
"YOU BROUGHT ARISELU!!!!!!" Sahithi screamed making her mother plug her ears with her fingers.
"You don't have to shout!"
"Anyone will shout if their parents brought ariselu!!" Sahithi declared as she bit into the two flat, round pieces of the traditional sweet she loved so much. The aroma of fresh ghee made the mouths of anyone nearby water at the delicious sweet made from rice floor-jaggery paste shaped into flat, palm-sized round sweet, deep fried in pure natural ghee. The crispy sweet melted in the mouth as you bit a morsel. Sahithi demolished six of these by the time her father had reached the car with her bag.
"All ready?" he asked as he sat in the driver's seat and turned the car onto the main road and on the way to his village, Surampalli in West Godavari District. As he took the road leading to the NH-65, a toddler suddenly came onto the road and he swerved the car frantically, avoiding the child successfully, but losing control of the car. His efforts to stabilise the car were in vain as the car hit the railing of the culvert they had to pass by and fell in the dry river bed, falling on the large boulders there.
When Sahithi opened her eyes, she was in the hospital, her maternal uncle and aunt sitting beside her anxiously. She felt a splitting headache followed by nausea and she closed her eyes again. She drifted into welcome sleep that reduced the pain. For the next few weeks she drifted in and out of consciousness, finally able to keep herself awake for more than five minutes. She found the room dark and felt frightened. "Mom? Dad? Granny? Grandpa?" she called out tentatively. There was a shuffling of feet and lights were switched on in the ICU she was in. The duty doctor and the nurse examined her administering some medicines making her sleep again. Finally, One day, the doctor had declared that she was 'out of danger' and had shifted her to a private ward. Her cousin was the only person in the room when she opened her eyes. "Where are the others? Mom, dad......?" she asked him. He appeared nervous as he held her hand gently. "You need to be brave Sahi." She stared into his eyes angry that he dared to indicate such a thing. "Why? What happened?"
"You must be strong Sahi." she was irritated.
"What are you talking about? Take me to my parents! I want to see them. Now!" he closed his eyes and tears ran down his cheeks as his voice shook with grief. "We lost them in the accident, Sahi. Spot dead."
"LIAR!!!!" Sahithi screamed at him trying to push him out of the way. He held her fast despite her furious onslaught on him to free herself. He held on till she ceased hitting him; then he produced his mobile phone and played a video to her. Sahithi couldn't believe what she saw - the video showed her father's funeral. He was one of the richest farmers in West Godavari District and was very popular. There were thousands of people who paid their last respects to her parents and grand parents. It was the most heart-breaking video one could ever see. The accident had turned her into an orphan. She was too stunned to even react; how do you react when you lose everyone you loved and trusted the most? How do you even react when you lose your whole family in one night? How do you even react when you are the only survivor of an accident that took away your family? It was something that happened in movies - not in real life!
The doctors had taken another two days to declare her fully fit and discharged her from the hospital. She barely spoke with her aunt, uncle or their son who had broken the earth shattering news to her. What could she say? She had no idea why she was even alive or why she was even going to a place that was full of sweet memories with people who had now become - memories.
The bus entered the bus terminus of Eluru. From here, she had to take another bus to her village, though she was sure someone might have sent a car to pick her up. She had declined to accompany her aunt and uncle to her home, preferring to travel by bus, so that it would give her the much needed time to come to terms with the tragedy. She knew she could never be the same nor could the void left by her loved ones be filled by anyone else. So, her uncle had booked her a seat in the Amaravathi A/C Coach of APSRTC, which was one of the most luxurious buses in the fleet of the State Public Transport Department. As she came out of the arrival block, she found Raju, one of her father's most trusted farm hands, waiting for her beside a Mahindra Jeep, her favourite vehicle. His face was grim and clouded with a sadness that seemed to go deep into his soul. He and his family had been serving them for generations and had a deeper bond with them than the other workers employed by the family. For
"I told you to go out!" he smiled shamelessly."I brought your clothes." She gave him a scorching look. "I don't want you to expose to everyone." she was confused by his words till he pulled her towel off. "Only to me." he said staring at her. She screamed and ran into the bathroom closing the door behind her. Her heart was thudding loudly at what had just happened. Why did he do that? Didn't he know she was the heir to the whole property earned by her parents? How could he do this to her? She felt the door being pushed and she almost fell on her face. She found two strong hands hold her steady while someone stared at her back. She felt very uncomfortable as it was something no one had ever done to her before. She felt a hand roam all over her back before she felt herself being turned round. Her cousin was staring at her assets making her squirm in embarrasment, shame and anger. "You need a little more time to bloom fully." he remarked as if he was reviewing a piece of art. "
Sahithi was pensive as they returned home. She realised she was in deep trouble with no one to call her own. She couldn't trust anyone nor could she fight aginst her legal gaurdians no matter how much she hated them. Her only hope to avoid her cousin was to go back to her school and finish her education. Would she be allowed to do that? Because her aunt and uncle would lose everything if they allowed her to complete her studies. She knew her cousin would take advantage of the situation to take her virtue sooner than later and she wouldn't be able to stop him. It would be nearly impossible for Raju to protect her since she had no powers till she got her property back. The future appeared grim. The true impact of the loss of her parents and grand parents hit her fully at that moment.As she entered the house, she was greeted with a deafening silence broken by the icy tone of her aunt. "Ah! So you have learned about the will." she remarked. "It will make things far easier.
Sahithi was gazing at the photo frame that depicted her full family taken in happier days. She had been in 9th class (9th grade) then. The family had gathered in the garden for a group photograph. While her grandparents looked as ancient as ever, her parents seemed to be aging for the first time. Everyone seemed to be happy, though she could detect the lack of deep happiness in the eyes of her aunt. There was something that her aunt was unhappy about though she didn't know what it was. Nevertheless, she ignored the feeling of unease and finished her packing making sure she had everything that she loved the most. When she came out, her uncle was waiting for her. He appeared calm as ever but what struck her as strange was the absence of her cousin and her aunt."Shall we go?" she nodded, unwilling to speak. She was surprised to see her uncle's car waiting for them."What happened to our car?""It is engaged on another task.""What task?""Taking your
The Shanthi Girls High School was more of a college than a high school since most of the students were at least 18 years old. This school catered to all those girls who were weak in studies due to laziness, low grasping and retention power, missing school due to unexpected circumstances etc. Now, Sahithi belonged to the last category as she had lost two precious years due to the death of her family, having been kept away from school by her scheming relatives. She was brought here to continue her education since it couldn’t be avoided any more.As Sahithi walked along the corridors, she felt fear pervade her bones. There was something grotesque about the place; the chilly corridors, the bare walls devoid of any paintings one would see in a school it was uninviting for a prospective student. Each turn in the corridor was marked by an arch held together by two stone sentries that looked like gods with their well-sculpted bodies and scanty clothes.The Sign boa
“Um...where is my uncle?” Sahithi asked tentatively. She was still nervous in this institution. “Oh, he left.” The warden replied nonchalantly. He turned towards the 18 year old male standing at the door. “Take her to room 14.” He busied himself with some paperwork that was pending. “Um...sir? What about the key to the room?” “There’s no key. There is no door to lock. Now go. I have work to do.” Sahithi was flabbergasted. “No door to the girls’ rooms?” she blurted out in shock. “How can that be possible?” “We need to check the girls are following the rules. So, no doors.” His tone was careless as if it was the most natural thing to remove doors to girls’ rooms. Now, go. Don’t waste my time.” there was a hint of irritation in his voice. “But sir, girls need some privacy.” He still didn’t look up. “For what?” she stared at him incredibly, unable to believe her ears. “What do you mean by that?” he looked at her slowly, as
“You are what?”“I will explain on the way. Now wash your face quickly.” Sahithi stared at the man for a while before realising she was indeed hungry.“Where is the washroom?”“Come with me.” He turned and walked out of the room and despite her misgivings, Sahithi followed him. She was slowly coming round to the fact that everything here was drastically different from what she had seen till then.“Just like those evil gits to join me here!” she ground her teeth in frustration. “Just wait till I make you pay back with interest.” The man stopped and turned towards her.“Pardon?” she realised she had spoken her thoughts aloud.“Nothing. I wasn’t talking to you.” He gave a weird look at her.“This is the wash basin.” He pointed to her. “The bathrooms and toilets are over there.” He ch
The day was bright and Sahithi was in great spirits as she took in the benefits of the morning sun. Since childhood she had been rising up early in the day to watch the sun rise and as a result she received plenty of Vitamin D that those orange rays of the sun. She was ready to face a new day with renewed vigour. She went on a tour of the washrooms, finding no one there. However, what struck her odd was the lack of separate bathrooms. It was obvious they had to bathe in the hall like area. She took a deep sigh and got ready before anyone else woke up. “Hey, when did you get up?” Betsy asked as Sahithi came in. “An hour ago.” “Ah, I see. As you fall into the routine you will not be able to get up so early.” Sahithi smiled and started reading the Bhagavadgita. It was her habit to start the day with at least a few slokas from the Gita that gave her enough mental strength, vigour and energy to face the day. Betsy stared at her for a long time before getting ready. “Why? Is the schedul