Brrring! Brrring! Brrring!
The alarm clock blared in full blast next to her and Ishani slammed her hand hard on it switching it off muttering curses under her breath. The damn thing always went off whenever she tried to get some extra sleep. But this time it had done more than just disturb her sleep; it had magnified the terrible ache in the nerves of her temple.
Yeah, she had a headache. Pills, music, ice pack, cooling oils, nothing had actually helped. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and instantly winched as the morning light hit her tired irides. Groggily, she got up from the bed and went to the bathroom.
The night hadn't been a good one for her. After that horrible vision, she had panicked so bad that she had called Annie and told her everything. And, that sweet friend of hers had almost got her tickets booked to come back but Ishani somehow had convinced her not to.
Sighing, she came out of the bathroom and sat down on her bed again. Annie wouldn't be back before October, and this was only August. Her mother was not well and of all the people Ishani understood the meaning of a mother's need for her daughter to be there with her at this time. She shook her head as a sad lump constricted her throat.
Since childhood, she had been a big problem for her family and a reminder of failure for her mother. Wanting a son, her father and grandfather had never accepted her and had blamed her mother for it and eventually, in return her mother had constantly thrashed her. At a tender age, she had understood that she was the most unwanted person in her home. The situation had worsened more with her brother Ajeet's birth after 4 years.
Her only solace had been Veera and her grandmother, Gayatri Raijdas. She still remembered her grandmother always saving her from her mother's beatings and sheltering her from her elder brother, Rajneesh's tortures. Rajneesh's parents, Ratan and Bhavna Rajdas, her elder uncle and aunt had never really reprimanded their son for his doings. She knew he hated her but he couldn't harm her till her grandmother was alive.
Belonging to a rich family, Gayatri Raijdas had inherited a lot of wealth so most members of her family including her own husband showed her superficial respect. Knowing that they wanted her money and being the smart woman she was, Gayatri Raijdas created a trust in Ishani's name and willed everything to her. She still remembered the look on everyone's face especially Rajneesh's the day her will was finally read out.
And, that was the day when she had almost killed her so-called brother.
Ishani closed her eyes as she tried to fight the memory.
Almost 7 years had passed since Veera's death and it had only been a month her grandmother had passed away.
After the will had been read out, she had been thrashed badly by her father and uncle for stealing everything from them. When she had looked at her mother for help, she had been even more inhuman than her father and uncle. Looking at her with animosity, she had uttered the most hateful words that Ishani had ever heard.
"I should have listened to the family and killed you when you were still in me."
She had crumbled terribly that day. Her younger brother Ajeet had somehow managed to rescue her. But ultimately she had been locked in her room and the only time her mother had visited her was to give her food.
Somehow that night she hadn't slept off for something in the night air had alarmed her. Still trusting her family that they will come around and eventually love her, she had actually decided to sign everything over to them.
The murmurs outside her door had not reached her ears as she had been sitting on the bed mulling over her decision. It was suddenly when her door had opened with a bang that she had been alarmed.
Being dark in the room nobody had seen her slipping away from the bed towards the corner. But she had seen all of them. Some were his father's henchmen and the other was Rajneesh.
The look in his eyes had petrified her the most that night. A small whimper of fear and he had come to know where she was hiding. Quickly he had reached her and dragged her out throwing her against the floor. The moment she had tried to scream, he had shoved a cloth in her mouth. Even though her screams had been muffled by the rag she had still fought with them and had somehow managed to reach the door.
That's when she had seen her aunt Bhavna, uncle Ratan and father smiling at her and for a second she had been relieved that finally, they were there to save her but what they had done after had torn every shred of her being.
Her father had pushed her inside the room and bolted the door from outside while her aunt and uncle stood there with an evil smile. As the shock had given way to the realisation that her own father did not want her alive, she had stumbled back and one of his men had caught her.
Ishani collapsed on the floor as her memories came back one by one.
Hurled to the corner of the room, she had looked up at Rajneesh with nothing but anguish in her eyes. But it had given way to panic and terror when she had seen him slowly taking off his belt and then unbuttoning his trousers.
Her body shook with violent vibrations as she remembered him prowling slowly towards her and instantly felt that age-old anger flood through her.
Yes, that night it had been her anger and oppressed self that had retaliated with all their strength. She always kept her grandmother's heavy ancestral ornate dagger set in her room.
As Rajneesh's pace had increased, she had started to move towards the drawer, where it was. Within a split second, she had swiftly taken one out and pointed it dangerously at him.
He had laughed at her foolishness but his laughter had died the moment she had swung the dagger with all her might twice in the air.
That night, her so-called elder brother had fallen down on her feet with huge and deep cuts right across his face and chest.
Copyright © Paromita Majumder. All Rights Reserved.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest