THE CURSED BEAUTY

C 2

Present

Aniruddh could not bring himself to accept that this mother was no more. He never felt so helpless , so broken and so pained at the same time.

He could not even imagine his life without his mother, the only female figure he could look up to.

He dearly loved his mother, but the distance between them only made it stronger.

Aniruddh was 6 years old when he was sent to a boarding school. His father always wanted him , not to be spoilt , practical and independent. But was sending a child away from his family in such a tender age? What was even the point of thinking? He spent 10 years in the hostel, without taking any leave for returning to his home. He was angry , hurt and his emotions gave rise to his rebellious attitude. The school did provide their students to talk to their family & even granted leaves for festivals but Aniruddh refused to return to Devipur or even talk to anyone in the family.

He was angry at his father and uncle for being so heartless and cruel , but he was also sad because his mom allowed that.  He never expected his mother to agree with them.

But then the bulb of relaisation finally seemed to glow in his brain. His mother could never have been left before a fight. She must have argued with his father, probably tried to convince his uncle , but his father must not have listened to her. 

yes ! his mother was the sweetest person he ever knew.

He spent 10 years in hostel, in London.

 Alone. 

He was bullied, he felt out of place but never complained.

But now after he returned to India, after so many years and his mother dying, had broken into pieces.He could not take any more of the pain. He wanted this feeling of helplessness and pathetic-ness out. He felt like he was himself dying. All those years of yearning for his mother's love and now? 

she's dead!

After what seemed hours of crying, he composed and sobered himself. 

He found that he was sitting on the stairs of what seemed like an ancient temple. He didn't remember how he got in there, but now he needed to go, his mother would soon be cremated, and he was needed there.

He stood up and started walking to find a way back to the main exit of the temple but found himself lost. The temple was huge and after so many twists and turns, he reached what looked like a prayer hall, but there was one problem. There were more than 6,000 ladies present in the hall, chanting and praying. He immediately understood where he was, and he for sure that he wasn't supposed to be there.

It was the residential area of the dev dasi's.

He gulped his nervousness, he did not know what to do? How would he know? He never took part in any religious works his uncle did, and he certainly did not know how to get out of this place by himself. He understood the fact that he was lost, in this huge freaking ancient temple & in a room where he defiantly should not be. He had this much sense.

For a moment he thought about coughing and gaining attention of the ladies, but their devoted and meditated stature made him realize that this might not be the best option. But he needed to get out of this place as fast as possible. His mother's last rites would be performed in some time and he needed to be there, to give her a last farewell.

"Hey! You! Insolent young man! What are you doing here?" a loud and dominating yet menacing voice broke him out of this thoughts. All the ladies present there just a moment meditating shrieked and ran inside another room as if protecting themselves from him. Huh? Did he do that much of a crime? Anirudh was about to give him the reason if his 'insolence' but a hand on his shirt pulling him down halted his intrusive thoughts.