Purva : The First Light

9 : What happened Last night

Purva had been living with her aunt, Kavya, and her uncle, Sooraj, along with their son, Vihan, ever since her parents' accident.

In kavya's house Purva's room was on the first floor, adjacent to vihan's room, while Kavya and her husband lived downstairs.

Last Night: Purva served dinner to her aunt and uncle, then went into the kitchen to fetch something.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of something breaking from the other room. Startled, she rushed out to find a bowl of lentils (dal) shattered on the floor and Kavya sitting there, visibly furious.

Trembling, Purva cautiously approached her, "What happened, Auntie?"

"Taste the lentils(dal) and tell me how they are," Kavya said, trying to control her anger.

As Purva reached out to taste the lentils, Kavya snapped, "No, eat the ones that fell on the floor."

"What?" Purva was taken aback, unsure if she had heard correctly.

"Are you deaf? I said, eat the lentils from the floor!" Kavya shouted in rage.

Just as Purva was about to do as she was told, Sooraj calmly intervened, "The lentils need more salt."

Purva glanced at her aunt, unsure whether to eat the lentils or not. Before she could decide, Sooraj added, "I'll add the salt; you go ahead."

Relieved, Purva stood up, avoiding the need to eat from the floor. She cleaned up the broken bowl and the spilled lentils, but missed a small shard near Kavya's foot. After cleaning, she went back to serve the food.

"Would you like anything else, Auntie?" Purva asked, only to irritate Kavya further. In a fit of anger, Kavya threw a glass of water at her.

Terrified, Purva stood frozen as her aunt glared at her.

"You can't do anything right, can you?" Kavya shouted.

Purva remained silent, standing still as Kavya angrily slammed the glass on the table, causing a crack.

"Go change your clothes, or you'll catch a cold," Sooraj calmly advised Purva.

Purva left for her room to change, but just as Kavya stood up to leave, the glass shard she had missed earlier cut into Kavya's foot. Anger surged through her, and she stormed upstairs, retrieving a leather belt from her room. Furious, she barged into Purva's room.

Purva was about to leave her room after changing when she opened the door and found her aunt standing there. "Did you need something, Auntie?" Purva asked softly.

Kavya pushed her back into the room, slammed the door shut, and began beating her with the belt.

"Auntie, what happened? Please tell me!" Purva cried out, but Kavya only continued to lash out.

"You! You're the reason my sister is dead! She was the person I loved most in this world, and she's gone because of you!" Kavya screamed, throwing Purva against the wall, causing her head to bleed.

"I want this entire house spotless in an hour," Kavya ordered before storming out of the room.

Despite her pain, Purva slowly got up and started cleaning the entire house. She washed the dishes, cleared the dining table, and scrubbed away the bloodstains Kavya had left in her room. Though she was in agony, she knew if she didn't finish her chores, the punishment would be far worse.

Present Day: As Purva entered her home, a glass shattered near her feet. A shard lodged in her foot, and she sat down in pain. Looking up, she saw her aunt, Kavya, standing before her, fuming.