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Kolkata is called "the City of Joy," but not everyone living here is happy. Kolkata is the busiest city in West Bengal; everyone leaves for work in the morning and returns home in the evening. And then there are a few so-called important men who pretend to be respectable during the day, only to turn into monsters at night. Never trust a man—every man I've trusted has betrayed me.
Sonagachi, Asia's largest red-light district, has existed for 150 years. Some call it a filthy lane, others a brothel. People spit when they mention this place, saying no decent man would ever want to come here. But who will tell them that these so-called decent men just wear a mask of goodness? I've spent 13 years of my life here. There's nothing I haven't seen or endured.
For five years, everything was fine. I had a family too—a mother. But an accident one day suddenly brought me to Sonagachi's doorstep, and that night became a nightmare for me.
"Katyayani, go, Rajjo Maa is calling you," Yashi Maa said.
Yashi Maa is the only one here because of whom I'm still alive. After my mother, she's the one who's given me a mother's love and treated me like her own daughter. When I didn't respond, she spoke again.
"Why don't you listen to them, child? Why are you enduring all this?"
"Maa, this is the only thing I have left—my pride. Should i lose even that?" I said angrily.
She came closer, sat beside me, and gently ran her fingers through my hair her voice break when she said,
"I don't want anything like that to happen, but I can't bear to see you in this condition. I can't lose another daughter, Ani—I can't lose you." Hearing this, I hugged her tightly, and tears started streaming down my face. At that moment, the door to my room burst open, and a man walked in, laughing.
"Wow, what an emotional scene! Yashi, didn't I tell you to bring this girl in five minutes? You can't do anything properly," said Raman, Rajjo Maa's son. He walked over to us, grabbed Yashi Maa by the hair, and pulled her up. Yashi Maa screamed.
"Katyayani, I swear on my mother, if Maa hadn't stopped me, you'd already be in my bed. What a woman you are—God certainly gave you all the right curves," Raman said as he looked me up and down with lustful eyes.
"I don't want to go," I said.
"You won't go?" Raman asked.
"No," I replied.
Raman looked at me with a cunning smile, then glanced at Yashi Maa. I could sense what Raman was about to do, so I quickly spoke up.
"No, no! I will go with you, but please don't do that," I pleaded desperately.
"Tsk tsk, too late now," Raman said, and then he started kissing Yashi Maa and pushed me onto the bed, climbing on top of her.
"Katyayani, your eyes better not close. If you even blink, I'll call Saurav and Parth, and you know what will happen next," he said before beginning to undress her. A few minutes later, Yashi Maa's screams echoed throughout Sonagachi. I tried in vain to stop Raman, but he wouldn't stop. After an hour, he finally stopped, put on his pants, and came over to me, grabbing my jaw forcefully.
