In the days following the funeral, Mrunali constantly glanced over her shoulder, braced for Akash's vengeful strikes that strangely never came. By week's end, she began doubting the chilling encounter even occurred outside of her trauma-racked psyche. Neither Rahul nor Meera corroborated seeing any dishevelled, leering figures that awful night.
Perhaps envisioning righteous Akash arose simply as some perverse attempt at absolving lingering guilt over Ravi. As closure continued eluding her, Mrunali decided granting embodiment to inner demons better explained her ghostly funeral guest than some conveniently timed karmic retribution.
Yes...blaming Akash's vile appearance on her tortured subconscious soothed far more than further tempting long-retired fates. And so, Mrunali willfully immersed herself in gentle company and pursuits most days - contenting her anxious parents, indulging loyal friends, and losing herself in Rahul's tender affections whenever hollowness crept back in.
But denial proved a most fickle refuge - it wasn't long before ominous cracks began marring Mrunali's carefully constructed facade of calm recovery. She grew inexplicably jumpy and short-tempered with loved ones, though they gave her no cause. Even beloved sessions with Rahul felt tinged with melancholy, their sweet kisses now often chased by Mrunali's inexplicable tears.
The charade swiftly collapsed late one evening when Mrunali arrived home to find her ashen father sitting amidst shattered glass and an upturned brandy decanter. Approaching cautiously, she glanced with rising dread at the letter trembling in his fist before meeting his estranged eyes with her world upended once more. Scrawled in blood red ink across the cream stationery was a message no god-fearing father ever anticipated seeing:
"Your deceitful daughter will pay for her sins unless you wash your hands of her immediately - consider carefully where true loyalties lie!"
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Uncaged
Bí ẩn / Giật gân"Uncaged" follows the tumultuous journey of Mrunali, an 18-year-old girl battling deep insecurities and societal pressures. She starts as an underconfident teenager constantly belittled by her peers, but through a series of harrowing experiences, Mr...
