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." She looked at Sahithi holding her still with one hand. "We are not losing a 2000 acre estate and the perks attached with such a large property. So forget about going to school. We are in charge and you will obey us. Is that clear?" Sahithi stared at her aunt defiantly.
"You cannnot stop me from getting educated. Nor can anyone molest me." She shook off her aunt's hand and stormed into her father's room, which fortunately had the same old lock. She realised that they couldn't change the door or the lock and so had left it . She quickly typed the secret code making sure no one could see what she was doing. A scanner came out of the door and scanned her eyes, face, her body and retracted itself. Afew seconds later the door opened and let her in. She quickly closed the door behind her and locked it securely using the codes her father had given her. From now on she had to minimise the contact between her gaurdians and herself.
She knew it was impossible to avoid contact altogether, but the lesser the contact with them, the better it would be for her. Time dragged on indefinitely but using the servants, she was able to avoid any contact with her gaurdians. One day, as she sat thinking about her life with her parents, a maid came with a message for her, her uncle required her presence in the hall. She refused to go but the maid waited saying that she had been ordered to bring her in. Her face beet red with anger, Sahithi marched into the hall to an unpleasant sight.
A man of 40 years was talking with her aunt; though he was well groomed, he gave off an aura of extreme male ego. "This is my brother's daughter Sahithi." Her aunt was saying. "We took her in after she lost her parents."
"That is very generous of you Mrs. Anuradha. Where will you be staying after I move in?"
"We have another mansion in Akiveedu. We will go there."
"Excuse me." Sahithi interrupted the conversation. What is this talk of moving in? Where are you moving in? How does that concern me?" he gave a condescending look at her.
"I bought this house child. I am moving in tomorrow."
"You have no right to buy this house and the sale is void." Everyone turned towards the door at the new voice. Sahithi had never been happier to see advocate PBC standing at the door looking his most dangerous self. He was in his lawyer's attire as he walked in like a god in disguise. "I am the legal counsel of Miss Sahithi, daughter of Late Shri Jagannadham. She is the sole heir to this estate. As per the Statement of Will executed by my late friend and the original owner of the Jagannadham Estate, the property cannot be sold or bought either in whole or in parts by the legal gaurdians. It can only be protected till the legal heir, who is this girl here, completes her education. So, if you have paid any money, take it back, and find another property." The stranger paled at this revelation first, then his face turned beet red. "I want my money back!" he exclaimed like an angry bull. "Now! Or you know me very well!" Sahithi was thrilled to see the extreme terror on the face of her aunt at those ominous words. She nodded at her cousin, who went in and returned with two large suitcases full of cash. The stranger checked that the currency was real and then left the house without a word. Advocate Chakravarthy faced Sahithi. "As the legal heir you have to finish your education by the time you turn 25 years. Otherwise, the estate and the wealth will go to the government of Andhra Pradesh. Your gaurdians cannot deny you your rightful education. If they do that criminal proceedings will be taken up against them as per law." With that he left leaving Sahithi a lot more confortable and relaxed than she had been after the tragedy.
As can be expected, her aunt, uncle and her cousin appeared pissed at not being able to have their way. Sahithi returned to her room in high spirits. After all, this might not be so bad; in fact she might even get to go back to school where she could try and stay there during the holidays too till she graduated. If things went so smoothly, why would there be need to pray to god? A week passed by without any incident, both parties keeping away from each other. Sahithi had been strolling in the garden one day, when her aunt came there followed by her uncle and cousin. "Sahithi," she called. "We need to talk."
"There is no need to."
"It is about your school." Sahithi reluctantly sat on one of the benches in the garden. She knew this was one topic she couldn't avoid. "We have decided to send you to school." Sahithi glared at her without speaking. Her aunt seemed anxious. "We...um....your uncle...um....your bava (son of father's sister or mother's brother) made a suggestion for the rest of your education." Sahithi raised her eyebrows at that revelation. Anything that moron suggested would not be good. "He thinks...well...your uncle and I feel.... believe... it is best for you to go to Shanthi Girls High school."
"What? What about the school I am studying in?"
"It is a co-education school. Your uncle spoke with the Principal who agreed to issue TC to you. In fact your uncle brought your TC with him a month ago." This was news indeed. It changed everything. "The principal of SGHS had admitted you and you need to join by day after tomorrow."
"That is too fast!"
"Yes. But, it is a boarding school and we felt that it was the best possible arrangement considering the misunderstandings between us."
"Your son tried to molest me!"
"He is your bava." her uncle spoke. "He is eligible to marry you and he may have been a bit over excited." Sahithi snorted at the lame attempt to defend his son. "Get ready. We are leaving in an hour." He rose to indicate the discussion was over. Though Sahithi fumed at the way she had been dismissed, she still went in to pack her belongings, for, she wanted to be out of this place as soon as she could. But, little could she have imagined that she was going to fall from the pan into the fire.
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
This time Sahithi was better prepared as she knew the only way to escape was to bite down her pain and do what they told her to. Her best chance lay in following their words to the letter. She prepared herself mentally for the stroke that was about to come but despite steeling her mind she still could not help crying out in pain at the sting on her bottom that brought tears in her eyes. "One." she said gritting her teeth to shut out the pain. "Thank you sir." "See? It was not so difficult after all!" she ground her teeth at those words but what could she do? The second stroke was even harder than the first one and she wiggled her ass before managing "Two. Thank you sir." The teacher came near her and placed his hand on her ass cheeks and she jerked involuntarily. "Enough!" he said. "Leave her." she got up grateful for the reprieve. "Tell us about yourself." She had by then lowered her skirt and restored her dignity. with a face red as a beetroot she started introducing herself. “I
Sahithi felt her bum burn and snapped out of her thoughts. The teacher was staring daggers at her sending chills down her spine. It was obvious he had spanked her but she couldn’t understand the fear she felt with this teacher. There was something odd about him that rang alarm bells in her mind.“First you insult me with your insolence. Then, you start day dreaming. Who do you think you are?” she gulped at those words.“Sorry sir. I was distracted.”“Oh yeah?” he sneered. “Solve the problem on the board and I will let you be ‘distracted’.” He stressed the word ‘distracted’ making her blush in embarrassment. This had never happened before so she was a bit ashamed. Still, she gazed at the board and was a bit shocked to see what was written there. “Move to the teacher’s table and explain your solution.”There was only one word on the board – Ca
What had started as a bright had become a nightmare for Sahithi as she sat through the post lunch classes. The word had already spread about her rebellious attitude and the teachers seemed determined to snuff it out as soon as they could. Her bottom bore the marks of discipline meted out to her for outrageously silly reasons. As she listened to the lectures her mind drifted to her experience in the previous school. “Varna system was explained by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavadgita very clearly dispelling the doubts of Arjuna that are unfortunately the doubts of most of the people today.” Her Sanskrit teacher had said. As can be seen in the slokas 1.39 through 1.44, Arjuna talks of caste purity, a fear of inter-varna marriages, change of one’s varna, etc. He appears to be afraid that the society will be spoiled if people change the varna of their birth and appears to be advocating a varna based on birth.”