The Cinderella Of Rewa

21. Omisha

Twenty Years Ago :

It was a mercilessly stormy night. The sound of thunder shook the earth. Every minute or two, a streak of lightning slashed the sky and lit up the city with a wild brilliance before dissappearing as quickly as it came. Rain plummeted the grounds like there was no tomorrow. There was not a soul to be seen on the roads. Almost the whole of Rewa was asleep.

And on a night like this, the Bhattacharya sisters slowly crept outdoors. If anybody else had seen two young girls out by themselves on a night like this, they would've been outraged. But thankfully there was no one else to see them.

The sisters urgently scurried out through the gateway of a large manor ignoring the numerous raindrops hitting them like pellets. It was not their home. They had only come there to accomplish a job. And they had got it done.

Devoleena, the older of the two - and also the taller, prettier and faster one called out for her younger sister Omisha to hurry up. Omisha was not as pretty or tall as her sister but more wholesome with a brighter and more innocent spunk in her eyes contradictory to the eternally bored and contemptuous look on her sister's face.

"Coming didi", Omisha responded as she hurried to catch up with her sister. Only at close quarters could one see the bags that both of them were carrying.

"Walk fast", Devoleena snapped "And be careful with the gold. We didn't steal all that just to lose it".

"We killed the zamindar for this didi", Omisha said sadly, "He was a nice man."

"Yes, yes. But his money will be nicer, trust me", Devoleena said.

"What if we're caught didi?", Omisha asked nervously.

"Nonsense", Devoleena said "Build your courage to the highest point and we will not be caught".

Omisha didn't say anything. The two sisters walked in silence for a few minutes. And then, Devoleena heard her sister sniffing.

"Are you crying?", Devoleena groaned "Oh God! Don't be a kid Omisha."

"I don't know didi", Omisha continued to sniff "This is the third person we killed this month. And that too he was our employer. Nice way to back someone who gave us work, isn't it?"

Devoleena shifted her weight to one leg and put a hand on her hip, "What is wrong with you Omisha? Everyone has to die one day or the other. We wouldn't have succeeded in killing all these people if they were meant to live. And remember that I'm doing all this for both of us. Do you want to be a maid all your life?"

"We could work hard", Omisha said.

Devoleena snorted loudly, "Work hard indeed. You think all the maids with us are not working hard? You know nothing about this world Omisha. Money is everything. Shut up and come with me now", she said and started walking fast.

It took her a few seconds to realise that her sister was not following her.

She turned around impatiently, intending to go and grab her sister by the ear and drag her along if she was being too adamant. But before she could take another step, Omisha held her hand up.

"Didi I'm going to confess", she said.

The colour drained from Devoleena's face, "You...what? You idiot girl! Do you know what you're saying?", she practically barked.

"I'm sorry didi. I cannot do this anymore",  Omisha begged "I'm going back to the zamindar's house to put back this and confess", she held up the bag of gold in her hands.

"Omisha try to understand...", Devoleena tried to cajole her sister in a softer way. But Omisha wouldn't budge. The sisters stood there arguing for another few minutes as rain continued to drench them both completely.

Finally Devoleena said, "Alright fine. If that's your decision, then you go".

Omisha's eyes lit up with happiness and tears. She nodded and turned around to go.

"Wait..just one thing, before you leave", Devoleena said.

"Yes didi?"

And then Devoleena Bhattacharya took out the blood stained dagger that had been taken out of the zamindar's body less than an hour ago and plunged it into her own sister's body, "Take this you ungrateful bitch", she screamed.

Omisha's own scream was drowned in the sound of thunder. The happiness in her eyes that had been there a second before was replaced with shock and disbelief for a second before her eyelids came down on their own accord and she fell down.

Devoleena took out the dagger from her sister's body with no more regret than she had from the zamindar's. She looked up at the sky and said a quick prayer. For what, she didn't know. She didn't really believe in the gods. Neither did she believe in life after death.

All that mattered to her was the life she would make for herself on earth. She had tried to include her sister in it for they shared some blood at the end of the day but Omisha had made her choice, and she had made hers Devoleena concluded as she wiped the blood off the dagger with the edge of her saree.

••••

Present :

"Your stepmother then went on to make smart use of all the wealth she had stolen from her employees and other people. But she was not satisfied. She married a rich man after that with whom she had two daughters and after he died, she took over all his wealth. Still not satisfied, she married your father. And then..you know what happened..", Omisha finished.

Vedika could not believe she was talking to the soul of a person. She hadn't believed that souls even existed. Not until then.

"So what happened to you? Why are you here?", Vedika asked "Aren't you supposed to be in heaven or something?"

Omisha smiled humourlessly, "The heavens, my dear are not so kind", she said, "They do not take you in until you have paid for the sins you commited".

"So..what do you have to do?", Vedika asked curiously. She had no idea when she had forgotten about her own problems and started worrying about this dead lady.

"The heavens have given me a condition. If I fulfill it, I can attain salvation", Omisha said.

"And what is that?", Vedika asked getting up from her chair.

"Sit, I will explain", Omisha said.

A/N : Hello guys ❤️

Please let me know what you think of the chapter. I know I wanted to finish Omisha's story and get on with the next scene in this chapter itself but it got too long, so please do wait till next Sunday to see how Vedika arrives at Mittal Mansion.

See you next Sunday!

Much love ❤️
Nivetha