all my stars lead to you

chapter 1

She was a frightened 6 year old girl again, banging the door of her house again and again in horror. 

"mummy! mummy! please! sorry! mummy darwaza kholo na!!!" she screamed helplessly. 

She hugged herself in an effort to comfort herself, but all that happened was tears rolled out of her eyes. Her glance fell on the fresh scars from the rod she was hit by. The memory of being mercilessly hit by her mother flashed in front of her eyes. 

she closed her eyes and buried her head onto her knees, convinced that this is how she will be spending the night. only to her surprise, the door opened, but if only the poor girl knew, there were worse things yet to happen to her. 

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She woke up breathing heavily, realising that the nightmare today was her reality 13 years ago. She hugged herself again for some comfort, just no tears this time. But the sound of approaching footsteps brought back the dread, as she quickly lied down and squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to sleep.

 The door opened, projecting some light onto the wall she was facing. it stayed like that for a while, before she heard the door closed shut. She opened her eyes, only to find her father in front of her, sitting nonchalantly on the foot of the bed. 

"dara diya  tha aapne!" she exclaimed, as she seated herself. 

"acting achi karleti ho waise, ishu...." replied her father jokingly, as they both shared a chuckle.  

"itni raat ko, kya hua, neend nahi aa rahi?" asked ishita with concern. 

"ab aadat hi nahi hai jyoti ki bina sone ki..." he remarked, leaving her mum. 

she saw a tear escape his eye, which he brushed off quickly and hid with a forced smile.  

"par aadat ho jaayegi ab...." he added, as her mother's funeral flashed in front of her eyes. she remembered not feeling the sorrow she was supposed to be feeling for the loss. she regretted feeling relieved at the fact she was no more, and more terrified at the fact of what will be the last memories of her mother in her mind, memories of pure tyranny. 

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She collected the newspaper and milk from the doorstep, still yawning, when her gaze fell on to her neighbor next door. She too was picking up the milk and the newspaper, her seemingly genuine smile, throwing her off. She knew many people who had been smiling in front of her face, but talking shit behind her back. It had been one week, but people just didn't seem to let go. But to her surprise, the lady was walking towards her, now this had never happened before. 

"Hey Meera, kaisi ho?" asked the lady with utmost sincerity, something that caught Meera off-guard. 

She hadn't seen a lot of people lately, who just wanted to know if she was ok. She smiled in response and shook her head. 

"i know, yeh hafta, aasan nahi raha hoga...." remarked the lady. 

"aisa lagta hai sabko bas mujh mein buraiyaan hi dekh rahi hain, Anjula ji.....sab blame kar rahe hain mujhe Satish ka ghar todne ke liye..." said Meera, pouring her heart out. 

"and it's ridiculous, woh toh kitne saalon pehle hi jaa chuki thi..." protested Anjula. 

"kaafi saal toh mere bhi pati ko guzre hue ho gaye hain, par mere khudke bete ko lagta hai ki main bahaut jaldi ubhar gayi uss sab se...." confessed Meera, as she put her head down. 

"aisa kaha kavin ne?" asked Anjula, in shock. 

"nahi, nahi, papa jaisa hi hai apne, jatata nahi hai, par mujhe pata hai, ki naraaz hai woh mujhse. Itni nafrat se toh mujhe Dushyant bhi nahi dekhta...." replied Meera, with disappointment. 

"dushyant bhi na, ekdum Satish jaisa hi hai...log sahi hi kehte hain, bete na apne baap pe hi jaate hain.." retorted Anjula, as Meera just shook her head, it wasn't like she discovered something new. 

"acha sunno, don't worry, bache hain, they'll come around." consoled Anjula, as Meera nodded in agreement. Not that she'll fool herself into believing it to be the truth and having hope. Hope is a dangerous thing after all. 

Meanwhile, Anjula's gaze fell onto her daughter, hiding behind the door of their house, signalling her to come in. 

"jaiye, lagta hai usse zaroorat hai aapki..." said Meera, as she tried to hold in her laughter. 

"arre, tumhe pata hi hai Purvi ka, chaiye na milein subha-subha uthte hi, bas! par ab main bhi kya shikayat karun, meri hi beti hai...." said Anjula as she shared a chuckle with Meera, before leaving. 

"theek hai phir, see you around..." she said before she left for her house. 

Meera looked at fondly at the mother-daughter, remembering the simpler times she shared with Kavin. If only they could come back. 

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hey guys, so this was the first chapter. Please tell me how did you find it in the comments, and don't forget to vote, it means a lot!