Bleeding roses

Six:Part 2

{Anu's POV}

I was twelve, sitting on the perron leading to open entrance door of the giant house.I turned my head and tried peeping inside the house but I received no site of humans inside except the loud noise of quarreling made by my adoptive parents regarding keeping me there.I was broken by heart,had given up all hopes and thought they would send me back from where I belong.Just at that moment a young girl, supposedly elder than me extended her hand towards me and said -
"We are practically sisters!"
I looked at her immature yet beautiful facial features and parted my lips but couldn't utter a word as I was still a doubtful about them accepting me.She smiled and said-
"Don't worry!Dad will persuade Mom."
This gave me some assurance and I grasped her hand, making a handshake.
"I'm Divya"-she said.
"Anu"-I replied with a smile.

In the end I was taken in by them.As time passed,Divya and I became more close.I got admitted in the same school in which she used to go.She would help in doing my homework and even give advices on how to deal with the bullies.Dad being the highest sum donator to school,Divya had a great influence over the students.She used her fame and power to protect me from all evils in school.

                             ***
Two months passed since I joined their family and I had already received much love from Dad and Di.

  It was the day during our summer vacation when I and Divya went to an amusement park nearby.Dad was too busy with his work and Mrs.Joshi who never allowed me to call her Mom,didn't want to go out with me so it was only us two.That was my second time in an amusement park,first was when I was a kid.The colourful banners, pleasant music,luring rides,floral decoration,giant balloons, cosplayers of different cartoon characters and various types of food- mesmerised  me to such extend that I lost track of Divya and was left all alone in the crowd.
   I didn't had phone that time to contact Divya or anyone else, I could still have borrowed someone's else's cell phone but who was I fooling.I didn't even knew their numbers.Just as I started panicking,the huge speakers made announcement taking my name and asked me to come at the help desk .I asked the way to helpdesk from shopkeepers inside the park and when I was near the desk,tearful Divya came running to me and gave a tight hug.
"Do you know how scared was I?"-Divya said breathlessly.
I didn't feel like to make a reply against this sentence and hugged her back with assurance of her never ending love towards me.

                      ***
Sometimes passed I was happily living with them without any fear.Though since my infancy misery had always followed my laughter and so it did this time as well.
   When I and Divya were cooking a dish as participants of Culinary Competition in school, the steaming hot oil got slipped from the hold of pincers and fell on my forearm, causing a terrible burn.With time the wound became better leaving a faint blackish mark now.Though I clearly remember,Di was the one who would do my dressing regularly without letting the nurse to touch it ,even defying her mother.
   I had always dreamt of having an elder sibling who would love and care for me,to me Divya was the one-My sister.
   
                      ***
As mentioned earlier,Mrs.Joshi never liked me rather she did never accept me.When at home she would scold me most of the times and sometimes went as violent as beating me.I got lucky then Dad or Di would be present at home to save me by coaxing her to stop or else I was left with bad bruises.
      One day when she was abusing me,Divya couldn't bear with my pain striking screams and eventually dashed out of her room, down the stairs to the hall and stood as a wall between us two.In doing she received two or three slaps on her face as well.

"Don't dare to  touch my sister Mom."-Divya said in rage.

"Sister?You call that useless creature your sister?"-screamed already enraged Mrs.Joshi.

"Yes I do.."-Divya screamed,the fire in her eyes probably scared Mrs.Joshi as she quietened.
Divya continued -"If you touch her again I'll tell Dad to take some actions and if that doesn't work, I'll file a complaint in police station against you."
    She grabbed my hand and dragged me to her room.She applied antiseptics on my wounds.
"Sorry!My mom isn't a bad person bur I don't know why is she doing this to you!"-said she remorsefully.

After getting to hear all the humiliations,I had already started considering myself as a good for nothing.
"She said the right thing anyways, I'm useless!"-I said lowering my face.
Divya placed her palm under my chin and lifted the face up. I looked at her in confusion.She smiled and said-
"Never ever say that! You're precious.Use your inner light and talent to shine in this cruel world.You'll see everything would get better."
Those words gave me a hope to stand out for myself and I did when in future I choose to become a fashion designer.Eventually Mrs.Joshi stopped abusing me after that day  and she wouldn't speak to me except when extremely required.She preferred using other maids or Divya as a communication device between us.
      Time passed and we became too close to be called as 'biological sisters'.We had quarrels sometimes and even fights.She was more determined than me.Sometimes she would want the exact same thing what I had and finally I had to give up on myself, handing it over to her.But isn't it how real sister things work?
      
                         ***
A year already passed.We had gone for hiking to a nearby places,Mulund Hill, Maharashtra with our father.It was holiday,we were very happy to have our Dad accompany us leaving his work. I and Divya moved up before bad in excitement but his ageing limbs were not capable of keeping pace with us so he sat on a rock to take some rest.
  While he was resting I and Di decided to play hide and seek in the woods.She was the first to hide I went on searching for her but she could be found no where.Suddenly I heard her voice from a particular direction,I was so busy in playing that I didn't see the board saying-'Loose soil ahead' and followed the voice.
  I didn't knew there was a cliff ahead until I went extreme close to it and my accident prone fate shone.By the time I applied break to my movement,the land near my feet shook a little and started sliding down, carrying me along.I somehow held a big rock at the cliff to prevent me from falling down and shouted out loud -"Dad...Divya...Help.." 
Divya came quickest to my rescue, probably because she was nearby.She held both of my hands and started pulling me up,parts of soil still dusted down to my face,my eyes.Her expression said that I was too heavy for her young limbs to pull up.By God's grace,Dad arrived and both of them pulled me up.It was practically due to her that I'm still alive or else I could have died before Dad arrived.
                                  
                                    ***
With passage of time we became so close to share each other's happy and sorrowful moments in life.She was the one who cried for eyes and had her eyes swollen at my Vidai during my marriage.I shred equal volume of tears on leaving her.
But when it had always been so good then suddenly what went wrong?Was everything fake since the very beginning?When did our relationship started to rot and what lead her to steal her sister's husband.What did I even do to deserve this?

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