Seasonal Scrawl | Collection

(04)

Part 04: Author's pov

"Of all the days, Mrs. Raheja had to chose to call me now itself! Uggh! By the time I wound up the call, Mummyji had done that servant's aarti and even showed her the guest bedroom!" she mutters to herself.

She storms inside to stop her before she can even touch anything in that room because she can't bear filth touching anything of hers!

She rushes towards the guest bedroom just in time to see her enter. She grabs her hand and pulls her away just as she's about to place her first step and continues to drag her towards the place she intends to keep her in instead.

Strangely, she doesn't feel any response or resistance from her side. Anu finds it really strange that Imlie is not even trying to free herself. She looks at her and can see a void on her visage. She looks away and they reach the store room by then.

"This is where you'll stay" Anu says and she simply nods.

"Why the hell isn't she reacting? This is so unsettling! I want to see her in pain! I want to see it in her eyes!" Anu wonders

"This is where you'll be staying throughout. Food and water shall be provided three times a day. You'll be allowed to use the washroom twice a day. Rest you will not be stepping out of this room at all. Did you understand?" She says in her stern tone.

She nods again.

"What the hell? Why is she agreeing so easily? Why isn't she even asking about her college?"

"And just so you know, you won't be allowed to go to college as well" she says to which she gets the same reaction. Anu gets really angry at her lack of response and just slams the door shut and locks it.

"For how long can she keep silent? I'll torture her so much that she'll scream in pain. Because of her my daughter tried to end her life! Because of her my daughter's married life got ruined. It's time she pays for all of it! This cage is only the beginning. The real torture is yet to begin. I'll destroy her bit by bit till she ultimately crumbles! She brought in darkness in my daughter's life now I'll make sure her life too is full of it!" Anu resolves and walks away with a smirk.

But little does she know that what she's doing to Imlie now has already been done to her by her Nani and that she's now immune to all of it. She's been broken and has put herself back time and again. But at this juncture in her life, she's completely devoid of anything. The Tripathi's abandoning her was a larger jolt than the one anticipated. It seemed so all the more because she was already low due to Malini's suicide attempt. She curls up in the corner and just lies her head on her knees.

Imlie was about 5 years when her Nani had first locked her in the shed. It was dimly lit and all she could see were the eyes of the animals there. Clutching onto the edge of her skirt, she kept walking, looking around, her eyes wide with fear and her entire body trembling. The sudden sound made by one of the animals almost made her scream since it had echoed in the silence. She finally saw a stack of hay and sat by it. Clutching her knees and curling more into a ball, she rested her head on them and cried silently. The loud sound of thunder outside startled not just her but the animals as well. The way a few tried to free themselves and come out made her extremely scared. What would she do if they came out? Would they bite her? Or trample her? Just two names escaped her mouth - Amma and Sita Maiyya. The sky thundered again and she curled into herself all the more. If her Amma and Dadda would have been there, Nani wouldn't have been able to do this to her. How she wished she too had gone with them! Her stomach rumbled and ached due to not having food the entire day. Her Nani had refused to give her any roti and had hogged down her share too. She clutched her stomach tightly to stop the pain. She couldn't do anything else could she? She then began her chanting of Sita Maiyya which continued all night till sleep took over her exhausted form.

The next day Nani had let her out and also threatened her not to spill it to her mother or SK. She had timidly agreed and had just hugged her mother tightly when she had returned.

Love,
Pratyusha