Our Burning Desire

Chapter 2

Kirti: Shashi Thakur’s first wife [ Agni's stepmother]

Shriya woke up with a very bad headache, looking at her surroundings she frowned at the unknown room. suddenly she recalled the whole episode of yesterday.

Tears streamed down her chubby cheeks as her eyes welled up with a mixture of emotions such as pain, anger, hate, and guilt. She abruptly rose from the bed, wiped her tears thinking it was a nightmare and ran outside of the room, her waist-length black hair flowed in the air as she ran to see her father.

Despite her prayers and positive thoughts, the harsh reality of this world loomed over her.

She stopped seeing many people standing there in the aangan, her agile feet that had previously moved swiftly seemed to have forgotten their pace.

She took deliberate steps towards her father's lifeless body staring at him with unfazed eyes, her red eyes were no longer flowing with tears. Collapsing to her knees beside her equally lifeless mother, they both lay still alongside Samrat.

Shriya wanted to shout, wanted to cry but nothing came out... she was scared to face all this, she feared losing her parents, she feared standing between the strangers, she feared someone's lusty eyes on her, she feared each and everything happening around her, unconsciously her hand touches the pendant around her neck then she recalls her father's words

"dar se daro ge to dar hume aur darayega, dar ka samna karoge to badi si badi muskil ka bhi hal nikal aayega"

"But Papa what if they are very evil?"

8 years old Shriya asked her father with teary eyes and a cute pout, she woke up because of a bad nightmare and is now crying in her mother's arms while her father, Samrat is teaching her to be strong

"if that person is evil then do not react to them, show your strong side by being calm even if you are scared from the inside, be strong and face it, you have to be my brave girl that time."

He said bumping her nose softly making her giggle and throwing her arms around her father.

"I don't need to be brave, papa is there to protect me"

"True, mumma and papa are always there beside you and don't worry when we are not near you then Bajrang Bali, your big brother, is there to protect you."

He said tying a black thread with a small pendant of Bajrang Bali around her neck

she comes out of her thoughts when Aarti pulls her into a hug crying in pain and agony... Shriya rubbed her back to calm her while her eyes were looking at Shashi Thakur and his two sons Agni and Kabir who were standing at a far distance with smirks.

When Agni's eyes fall on her his disgusting smirk and lusty eyes do something to her that the courage to look at them suddenly feels like the worst decision of her life.

"Thakur shaab, smashan yatra ki vidhi liye yeh anath ladka taiyaar hai"

{This orphan boy is ready to perform the last rituals of the funeral}

The priest said Shriya frowned looking at the boy around her age still hugging her mother who was crying on her shoulder.

Agni who noticed her eyes on him, staring at that boy carefully, felt anger flowing in his veins gritting his teeth he went towards her and turned her head facing to him, gazing straight into her eyes unheard of Aarti's pleading to leave her daughter, he said

" Let me explain it to you... your father is the worst human and such people's cremation is done by such low life only (pointing at the boy) no one from this family will even touch him this is his punishment, to get his last rituals done by a low life and a dirty blood is what your father deserve."