THE ENDLESS LOVE ||JJK||

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 -𝟏

AUTHOR'S POV

Kasturba Nagar, Bhopal (India)

Inside the Rajput Banglow, The air was filled with the smell of incense. A gentle, soft haze hovering over the courtyard as the sun began to set casting a warm golden glow on the small gathering.

Neighbors moved silently their faces drawn with sorrow as they prepared for the antim sanskaar (last rites) of Savitri Devi.

The slow rhythmic sound of the mantras (sacred words, sound, or phrase that is repeated during meditation or prayer) filled the atmosphere but for Y/N Rajput it was just all blur, a distant hum in the background of her misery.

Her eyes were locked on the lifeless body of her mother Savitri Devi, lying motionless on the white funeral cloth. Her skin was pale, her face peaceful as if asleep, but she knew better.

The cold truth was that her mother was gone. The only family she had, the one person who had been her the entire world, was no more in this world.

She sat on the ground near the corner of the room looking just as lifeless as her mother. Her long, black hair was a tangled mess, her face pale and streaked with the marks of dried tears. Her beautiful eyes, once filled with her mother's dreams which she called her own and life were now bloodshot red, empty, and broken.

One of her neighborhood Uncle Mr. Mishra, stepped forward with a soft sigh. He had been the one to call her a week ago, telling her to return from Korea where she had been finishing her last year at Seoul National University.

The news had hit her like a storm, but she had no idea just how severe her mother's illness was. She didn't know that her mother had hidden the fact that she had a brain tumor and that she was already in its final stage.

Uncle Mishra's voice broke through the quiet speaking softly but with concern laced in his voice.

"Beta we should begin the last rites soon. It's what your mother would have wanted."

She didn't respond. Her gaze remained still fixed on her mother's face her mind numb, unable to process the reality in front of her. How could she have kept this from me? The thought circled endlessly in her head causing more and more fresh tears to spill down on her cheeks.

"Why didn't she tell me?"

She whispered under her breath more to herself than to anyone else. Her voice was hoarse from the crying raw with pain.

Mr. Mishra knelt down beside her placing a gentle hand on her shoulder then saying.

"Beta, She wanted to protect you Y/N . She didn't want you to worry. I think That was her way."

She finally tore her eyes away from her mother's still form and looked at him. "How could she think that? How could she not tell me she was... sivk?" Her voice cracked and she buried her face in her hands sobbing.

"I should have been here. I should have been with her."

The house was filled with soft murmurs as neighbors whispered their sympathies, but none of their words reached her. Guilt and loss weight heavily on her chest.

She had left her mother behind to study in Korea, chasing a dream that now seemed so meaningless. She had returned only a week ago and now it was already too late.

After a while, as the neighbors carefully lifted Savitri Devi's lifeless body. She stood in the doorway her heart pounding in her chest, watching as they carried her mother toward the shamshan ghat (crematorium) The sight of her mother being taken away made something snap inside her.