Shrishti Reborn

Chapter 01. The Ghost

Her feet dragged on the road. Her hands hung limply. Her long hair, normally luscious and shining, were dull and tangled and knotted. Her lips were dried and her eyes were lifeless. Her dusky skin, normally reminding people of milk chocolate, today looked dirt streaked. But the worst was her outfit. Her sleeves were ripped, her white gown had turned yellow and there was blood all over her front. As she trudged down the road, a man came towards her and then passed right through her.

Yes, you are right. She was a ghost. Her name was Shrishti. She did not how long she was on earth. May be some days, or was it weeks or months? She knew though that it was not years. It did not feel that long to her. As she walked down the road, she once again wondered why she was still on the earth. Most souls usually depart the moment they died but here she was, still wandering on the earth.

Shrishti had asked around. There were many souls still lurking on earth, not ascending yet. And when she asked them, all told her that it was because they had unfinished business and that's why they were still here. She wondered what that meant for her. She did not have any unfinished business as far as she knew. Did she? She had left behind only some loved ones who missed her, that's all. Yes, she had some regrets. But they were not unfinished business for her.

Thinking about the past only made Shrishti miss her loved ones. She had almost gotten over the pain of missing them. But every time she wondered why she still was on the earth, her past would come to her mind and all she felt was the pain of leaving behind her loved ones. They were the two most important men in her life. First was her father, the man who raised her singlehandedly after her mother died few hours after delivering her. His mother, her grandmother, tried her level best to get her father to marry again but her father remained firm. He was devoted to his dead wife and he wanted to focus on running his business and raising his daughter. That's all he cared about.

The second most important person of Shrishti's life was the man she loved. She met him as an early teen in school when he saved her from some girls bullying her and it was love at first sight for her. He never loved her back though. And he kept on rejecting her whenever she confessed. But she did not care. She would remained devoted to him and only him her whole life.

Shrishti did not mind that he never loved her. She had faith that if she showered enough love on him, he would sooner or later fall in love with her. She had seen it enough in movies to know that the person who chases after the other always makes the other fall in love with them and win their heart and live happily ever after. She was sure that the same thing would happen to them. So she remained loyal and steadfast, even when he fell in love with the new girl who transferred to their college when they were eighteen, she remained in love with him.

Shrishti had hope. One day, he will see her effort and fall for her, she had told herself. She helped him with studies, getting his scholarship, supporting him during college matches and competitions; she did everything she could. Infact, her efforts ramped up once the new girl came into his life. She was sure that the day would come when he would confess his feelings to her. Surely her devotion to him would win him over one day. But that day did not come.

College ended and they went separate ways. But Shrishti remained in love with him. He was in same city as her and that was enough for her. He went to work in a well known law firm and became a renowned lawyer. She continued to help him and support him from behind the scenes. She waited with a bated breath for the day he would acknowledge her love. But that day never came. He just kept getting away from her.

Shrishti watched him from far away as he fell in love, got engaged and married the other girl. That's when her heart broke. He had rejected her, his friends had mocked her, even the love of his life asked her to stop trying to get close to him, but she had remained steadfast. What else could she have done? She did not know anything else other than loving him. But his marriage broke all her hopes and destroyed her. And now she was no more. She wondered if he missed her.