Standing By You (SidNaaz❤)

Chapter 1

A little girl peeps out of the window hearing the commotion on the road in front of her house. She sees a truck unloading the household commodities.

"Amma, dekho na shaayad koi naye padosi aaye hai saamne wale ghar mai", says the girl to her mother who was making her braids.
"Shehnaaz, kya hai seedhi khadi reh na, mai pehle hi late ho rahi hu. Tere papaji abhi daant lagayege mujhe time pe naasta na bana toh", scolded Preet who was frightened thinking about the scolding she would get from her husband and in-laws.

Shehnaaz's family is an orthodox one with a conservative mindset, where birth of a girl isn't celebrated. They believe that the only work women should do is looking after the family. The women in their family were confined to household chores, rearing children and taking care of the family. They aren't allowed to work, though are provided basic education as per the demands of modern society that a man nowadays prefer to marry an educated girl.
Hypocrisy at its peak.😒

Shehnaaz Gill, 14 year old girl who is naive, innocent and timid. She is afraid of her family and she doesn't get the required love from them, reason her being a girl.
Balwant Gill, Shehnaaz's grandfather and head of the family, is a man with a conservative mindset.
Paramjeet Gill, Shehnaaz's grandmother, is a lady who is a strict woman and believes in the superiority of men over women.
Kulwant Gill, Shehnaaz's father, who is similar to his father in ideology and makes sure to follow that path. He isn't much happy with the birth of Shehnaaz and considers her just as a liability on him till her marriage.
Reet Gill, Shehnaaz's mother, is nothing more than a 24*7 maid for the family. She has no rights to take any decisions for herself, forget about others.
Gurvinder Gill, 15 years old. Elder brother of Shehnaaz. He receives all the love of his family as he is their next heir. He is very much ignorant to Shehnaaz and doesn't care much for her, surely he doesn't hate her but even doesn't provide her with brotherly love.

Making Shehnaaz ready for her school, Reet rushes to the kitchen. However, she gets a late in cooking by full 10 minutes and this becomes her fault.
"Tujhe sirf ghar ka dhayaan rakhne bola hai aur agar vo bhi nahi hota toh bata de bhej dunga tujhe tere ghar wapas", screams an infuriated Kulwant.
Reet couldn't even defend herself and keeps weeping bowing her head in front of her husband, in laws and children. Shehnaaz feels bad for her mother but is damn afraid of her family so she keeps her mouth zipped.
Paramjeet angrily intervenes, "Haan haan, maharani so rahi hogi late tak. Karti kya hai essa jo late tak soti rehti hai. Ghar ka hi toh kaam hai, konsa tujhe bahar jaake kamaane ko bola hai."
Reet justs keeps mum and Shehnaaz's eyes gets teary seeing her mother getting insulted by her own so-called family.
     Reet rolls a parantha and gives it to her so that she can eat on her way to school. Gurvinder has already finished his breakfast. Kyuki ghar ke ladke pehle khaana khaate hai.

On her way to school, she tries to keep pace with Gurvinder but he in his own world keeps walking fast. At times she wonders whether or not he loves her. He had never shown his affection to Shehnaaz but had made her cry on various occasions. Also, he wasn't punished as he is the ghar ka waaris and this became the reason of his spoilt and ignorant nature.

☆

In the evening, Shehnaaz goes to a nearby park where she sits sobbing. One of Gurvinder's friends has scared her by making a dog run behind her. She is shaking with fear and continuously wiping her tears but neither did Gurvinder stop his friend from ragging his sister, nor did he came to console her.

"Oyye rotlu, ro kyu rahi hai? Dekh kitna achha mausam ho raha hai. Aur kya aansun poch rahi hai, naak bhi toh pohach beh rahi rahi hai", teased a boy and came to sat beside her.
She looked at the source of voice and innocently asked, "Aap kon ho?"
He replied, "Arey naam toh bata dunga pehle tu bata ro kyu rahi hai. Itni pyaari si hai tu roti hui achhi nahi lag rahi hai."
She started sobbing again and said, "Veerji ke friend ne apne pet dog se mujhe daraya. Mujhe dog se darr lagta hai."
"Oyye pagal itni si baat se ro rahi hai. Bol apne veerji ko ki apne friend ko dho de", said the boy.
"Vo kuch nahi kahegen apne friend ko", she replied.
"Toh mai banau rainbow uss ka?", he said.
She nodded negatively still wiping her eyes and nose but with a subtle smile.
"Toh chal aaj tera darr nikalte hai", he held her hands and took her near the dog.
She was damn afraid and nodded negatively. However, she held his hands tightly and hid behind him. He pulled her in front and took her hand and very gently patted the dog's head. Initially, she was afraid but then gave a beautiful smile and said, "Haaye, thank you. Yeh toh sach mai nahi kaat raha hai mujhe."
"Kaha tha maine. Faltu hi darr rahi thi paglu", the boy said. She nodded.
"Chalo ab mai chalti hun ghar. Andhera hone wala hai na daant padegi mujhe agar late hui toh", said Shehnaaz getting up from the bench.
The boy too stood up and said, "Toh bula le apne veerji ko."
"Arey vo abhi thode hi aayegen abhi toh 6 hi baje hai. Vo 8 baje tak aate hai ghar. Abhi mera time hua hai ghar pohanchne ka. Mai chalti hun", replied Shehnaaz innocently.
He frowned but asked her if her can escort her to her house. She accepted his offer and they kept talking till they reached her house.

"Bye. Aap kal bhi aaoge na park mai?", asked Shehnaaz to the boy as she reached her house.
He gave an affirmative reply and then she ran into her house. He too went away with a blissful smile.

☆

"Arey mai unka naam toh puchna bhul hi gayi. Par maine toh pucha tha vo batana hi bhul gaye. Kal aayegen na tab puchungi unse unka naam. Kitne achhe hai na vo, pehle mujhe rota dekh chup karwaya phir hasaya bhi. Saath hi mera darr bhi nikaal dia", murmured Shehnaaz to herself as she lay on her bed at night and fell into deep slumber with a content smile on her face.

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NOTE : - First of all sorry for the late update and I would like to inform to all those reading this book beforehand only that the updates would be slow. Firstly, I am damn busy with my Internship and secondly, this is one of my most favourite plots and I don't want to spoil it with my hurry.

     So the first part is up. Do tell me about your opinions on the chapter, characters and plot. Also, this is my first book and I am an amateur writer and novice as well so do tell me about my mistakes (if any) so that I can improve on my writing skills. I am open to constructive criticism.

{Published on : Thursday, 16 December 2021}

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Keep Sidharth and his family in your prayers.

Your writer,
Sudhanya