Choices

CHAPTER | 16

All her childhood was spent with nerves. Jitters that made her unsteady on her own legs, with a mind that never worked straight. The feeling wasn't new. In fact, by now, she should have been used to it. But the anxieties were setting a new enthralling vibration that radiated beyond her.

It was a feeling of having to taste freedom. A glimpse of what she might be if she took a deep breath and jumped at the right window. And Radhika didn't want to lose that tiny ray of bright sunlight just because she was nervous to face demons.

After Daima had left her, promising to come back after checking with all the girls, Radhika had seen herself in the mirror, trying to become more defined by using artificial beautifiers. She had applied black kohl, that did everything to highlight her already dark beady eyes. She had applied fairly white talcum powder to intensity the already fair skin and lastly, she had applied a nude lipstick that made her pouty lips look more kissable.

When Revathi had given an approved grunt, Radhika knew that her makeup had come right. But that tiny ounce of confidence shrunk when she saw other girls who had dressed way more revealingly and way too beautifully to take anyone's eyes off.

Now, she looked far too bland when she stood along with her other peers.

They had been put in a truck of sorts and had been escorted to the esteemed hotel without a glitch. There were a few copious glances thrown their way, but apart from that, no one dared to question them. When Nawab Saab and Daima had walked together – like a couple and had even got a few envious eyes – who dared to question who they were?

All the girls who had been anticipated for this particular evening which promised them an extra money along with their precious night, giggled as they eyed men in tuxes who gave them the eye. It was as if those girls had dreamed to be here.

Radhika suddenly felt sick to her stomach. How was it possible for those women to put on positive faces out in the open when they were selling their body to a stranger. And what was worse? They didn't even get the full amount to enjoy with. What was the whole point of this revamping if there was nothing in return for them as a reward?

For Radhika, a reward would be nothing less than the freedom to choose what she wanted in life. It might have been a simple choice of wanting to select a ribbon to tie her hair or the food that she wanted to taste. If she was guaranteed of that liberty, then she would consider selling her body.

In the gully, things had been different. Even worse than the plights she had seen in her village back then. Here, her every move was watched with careful eyes and were dissected to make her better, not for herself but for the person who bought her for a few hours.

Her every move was crafted. Her smile was tweaked. Her dressing was improvised, and her diet had been maintained by the former workers to make sure that she didn't lose anyone who was interested in her. Even the child who she had deliberately wanted to survive had slipped through her fingers.

No, she didn't want liberation. She demanded it. Wasn't it her right, after all?

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Neela whispered next to her as they waited in a large hall like a goat ready to be auctioned. "It's your first time here, right? Daima asked me to make sure that it won't be your last."

Well, Radhika had different plans. She wanted this to be her last from everything. With the extra money that she would be paid tonight, Radhika had plans to elope into a better future where there was nothing that held her back.

"What does that mean?" Radhika asked, in spite of herself.

Perhaps, if she over did her job, would she be getting paid more? All she needed was a pointer that would make her be better at her job tonight and then, this would be the last time she would be opening her legs to someone without her consent.