Isn't it ironic, when you start facing pain and back to back stabs at your self-respect, you become numb to the pain? But the girl who, after being treated like a princess by her grandparents and uncles- aunts, suddenly faces, their hostile behavior, she is not able to understand how is she even supposed to feel? It is easy to get through the Indifferences if you are habitual of it, but it becomes unbearable and heart breaking after being put on the heaven and then suddenly being pushed into the hell.
Raisha was made to feel like an outsider in her own family. Her grandparents, who once adored her as she was the only girl child of the Sinha family and that too, the daughter of their youngest son, now didn't even bother to look at her. Although Raj's sister Prerna had two daughters, Ekta being the eldest was about Raisha's age, while Tapur was just a year younger to both. But still her grandparents loved her dearly, but after they discovered her illness, they treated her like an outcast. It was like one illness had forced them, to shift their all love to their grandsons Avinash, Rachit, and Rajat who were Raj's elder brothers Anand and Aman's sons. They loved her brother Jay, but she was just a mere object whom they loathed now.
Raisha descended the stairs slowly, watching her grandmother and aunts feeding Avinash, Rachit, and Rajat. She wondered what mean thing will she hear today from her cousins, and all the elder clan? She had tried to get adapted to their new meany behavior, since the time she got ill, but no matter how much she tried, she was failing big time and every time they said something meanie, it felt like someone brutally stabbed at her heart.
"Raisha! Baby how many times, I have told you to call me or your mom to pick up your bag while climbing the stairs?" Raj said approaching her on the stairs. He had seen her climbing down the stairs with her heavy bag and immediately left his breakfast in halfway and was by her side. His mother along with sister in laws gave him an annoyed look which didn't go unnoticed by him, but he ignored them as he didn't want to create a scene in front of the kids.
"Dad I am fine! Relax", Raisha assured her father with a smile, but inside she could feel the pain in her knees. Her father insisted her to shift in the room that was downstairs, but she didn't want to leave her safe haven, her room. She had lived there since she was six and she didn't like the thought of leaving her room, just because she had new troubles to handle.
"Raj, come and have your breakfast. She is saying she can manage, then leave her and eat your food ", said Raj's mother. Raj looked at his mother with unbelievable eyes, that she could even suggest him to eat when his daughter was struggling.
Raisha looked at her father and squeezed his hand assuringly to calm his anger. Since the day they have started misbehaving with her, her parents had started having a tiff with the entire family. Especially her father, who has lost all his happy composure in front of his family. And how can he even be happy? When they were treating his daughter like an outsider?
Ignoring his mother, Raj helped Raisha down. Her legs were killing her, but she didn't show it to anyone. She was about to sit beside her brother, when her grandfather shouted at her, "Do I need to remind you that you are not supposed to sit beside any of the kids? What If they get ill too, because of you? "
Raisha looked sadly at everyone, who was seated on the big dining leisurely. Her cousins, who were elder to her by three, two and one year, respectively gave a smirk which showed, that they whole heartedly enjoyed her miserable state. Pulling out herself from their evil thoughts, her eyes went straight to her mother who was crying silently in a corner. She looked at her father, who had a shocked expression on his face. She and her mother had managed to hide these things from her father, but today it was all out in open. She could see her father seething in anger.
"Sorry, Grandpa. I will sit on the couch", Raisha said in a low voice and started to move towards the couch, which was kept at the far end of the room, when her father stopped her by holding her arm.
"Raisha, sit beside your brother. Let me see who gets ill if you sit beside them", Raj ordered in a challenging tone with his eyes set on his father. He might be a very respecting son, but when it came to his wife and kids, he can never bear anyone insulting them.
"Sissy sit and eat with me", Jay joined his father and encouraged Raisha to sit beside him. Jay glared at his cousins, who made faces at Raisha and held his sister's palm. She looked at her mother, who nodded a yes to her. She sat down hesitantly, all the while praying to God that when her father leaves for work, her grandparents don't insult her mother. Somehow she can manage people making a mockery of her, but not her parents.
They all ate in silence and Raisha could see the rest of the family giving her disgusted looks. She wondered that just because she is ill, doesn't she have a right to sit with the family and eat meals? Does illness make you so unworthy that your family hates your presence? It felt to her like all their love, till two months back was a charade and now when it was actually the time to show her love and support, they all have abandoned her. She was just pricking on her food, because of the looks she was getting from her aunts, and cousins while her grandparents and uncles were busy glaring at her parents.
"I don't want my Rachit and Rajat getting her disease too, so it's better you ask your daughter to stay in her room only", her uncle Aman's wife Snigdha said all of a sudden. Nivedita looked at her stunned. Wasn't she the same woman, who once told her that, maybe God didn't give her a daughter so that she could be a second mother to Raisha and today she was speaking such ill words?
"I agree with Snigdha. You both shouldn't allow her to be in public places. Her presence can prove to be dangerous", said Anuradha, Anand's wife.
Raisha felt as if someone was throwing buckets of cold water on her repeatedly. Why were they making such a fuss, for a mere physical disease? Why can't they overlook the fact that she was ill, but still see her as the same girl whom once they all loved to the core?
"My daughter isn't having any disease, that will be transmitted to anyone in this family", Nivedita shouted finally. The mother in her was done for today. They all just shrugged their shoulders, as if it was a great thing to insult a small girl and then act as if you have done a medal winning thing.
"If you all can't understand her pain, at least don't increase it by your such disgusting words ", Raj added and holding Raisha's hand in one and picking up her school bag in the other, left the house. He can't handle his daughter crying anymore and top of that, the innocent child was simply hiding her heartbreak from her parents not wanting to hurt them.
After Raj left, Nivedita said in a cold tone to the whole family "Just because my daughter is silent, doesn't mean that she is weak. One day will come, when she will answer you all and that day, I will see where your big fat pride will land you ".
Giving them one last glance, she left with Jay following her. Even the eight-year-old child was able to understand the pain of his sister, but it was such a sorry state to see mature adults acting so insensibly.
"Mom, tell dad to leave this house. I don't like it here anymore", Jay said once he was inside his mother's room. Nivedita looked at her son who had tears in his eyes. She hugged her baby and cried for her daughter. She had got this thought when their family had started treating Raisha indifferently, but when she questioned Raisha about it, she had just said that "Just like I can't stay without you and dad, how can I expect dad to stay without his parents?"
Nivedita wasn't surprised at her answer, instead, she was shocked by her maturity. She wondered when will her daughter even be happy now? It has been two months since she laughed whole-heartedly and it seemed now, that it was even getting difficult for her to smile.
Raj stopped the car outside the school building and looked at Raisha, who was just looking at her feet. He can understand her pain, but he can't do anything to take it away except for giving his assurance. He had wished to keep his daughter safe from all the harms, but today his own family had become her enemy. They don't want to understand her and her condition and he doesn't know what else to say or do?
"Baby school is here!"
Raisha came out of her trance, hearing her fathers voice. She gave him a weak smile and started to get out of the car when her eyes went to the group of girls, who were entering the premises giggling and chatting.
Her heart ached at the scenario. Once she used to enter this building, chatting and teasing her friends, now her friends don't even glance at her. In fact, they despise her so much, that they asked the class teacher to shift her in the back seat and what surprised her more was, that even the teacher agreed. That was the day, she realized that nothing was going to be same in her life. She won't ever get anyone's love nor friendship.
"Should I help you? " Raj asked hesitantly. He knew that she won't accept his help in the school. It was about her self-respect and she won't let people think that she is not capable of anything.
"I will manage", she replied without seeing in his direction and got out of the car taking her bag. Raj left after making sure, that she didn't need anything. It was hard for him nowadays even leaving her alone, but he also knows that she needs to fight all this on her own and then only, she will be able to win it over.
Raisha looked at the tall building and read the name of her school "City Montessori School", the largest school of the world. Once this building was her dream, her life, but now it was just pieces of brick for her attached altogether lacking even the slightest of humanity in them. She pondered: What sort of mockery was she going to face today in her new section? Or worst, what new name was she going to get today apart from already given name Disabled?
"God! Help me pass this day without breaking down," she prayed and entered her school.
She was climbing the stairs, with slow and steady steps, when she felt a push from the back and she was about to fall flat on her face, when someone steadied her from the front, by supporting her on her shoulders.
As quick as he supported her, so fast was he to go away, till she looked above to see her savior. She only saw his retreating back and she suddenly felt something different, something that she had never felt in these two months.
At least, someone was there in the whole world to not see her like everyone else!
Or
Will he also see Raisha just like everyone else??
Please vote and comment.