Conditions Of Shashank | 18+

Chapter 22: Pimples

(After 3 days)

It’s midnight, the bedroom is dark with only a faint light coming in from outside. A light rain is falling.

Ishika and Ujjwal are asleep.

Ishika feels an itch on her face and starts scratching it. The more she scratches, the worse it gets. First, her left cheek, then her forehead, and then her right cheek- soon, she’s scratching her entire face.

Gradually, the itch spreads to her neck, then both arms, her chest, her stomach, and eventually her thighs and legs.

Throughout the night, she wakes up several times, scratching her entire body.

A few days ago, Ishika became very upset again about her dark skin. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake off the hurtful words of Saarika and Surbhi.

Unaware of his aunt's cruel words toward Ishika, Ujjwal had told Ishika that night that Ishika soothes his heart. But the words of his aunt continued to hurt and trouble her.

So, without telling Ujjwal, Ishika brought home several face and body creams that claimed to lighten skin in three days.

For three days, she used different creams, but saw no change. She tried again for another three days, applying various creams to her face and body.

Every time she applied the cream, she felt terrible. Sometimes, tears would escape her eyes as she wondered what she was doing, but she didn’t want Ujjwal to leave her.

Six days had passed, but her skin hadn’t lightened at all. Feeling disappointed, she stopped using the creams and threw the remaining ones in the trash, hoping Ujjwal wouldn’t notice.

Her eyes welled up as she thought about how the creams had failed. Before her wedding, she had tried similar creams when relatives had insulted her for her dark skin, but they hadn’t worked either.

She loves Ujjwal, and the thought broke her heart that he might leave her.

Now, the side effects of those creams she had used for six days were starting to show.

Tonight, she has spent hours scratching her face and body.

---

(Morning)

Ishika wakes up and sits up in bed, her eyes half-closed. She gets up and heads to the bathroom to freshen up.

When she looks in the bathroom mirror, her eyes widen in shock.

She sees pimples on her face and marks from all the scratching.

She checks her neck and sees scratch marks there too. She quickly undresses and looks at her arms, stomach, thighs, and legs- scratch marks cover them as well.

She remembers how much she had been itching last night and how she kept scratching.

She wonders how this happened, and then recalls the creams she had applied for 5-6 days. Maybe those creams caused this reaction.

She couldn’t stop herself from crying. Now, along with the pimples, her body is covered in scratch marks.

She remembers how just a 3 days ago, Ujjwal had complimented her cheeks, saying it captivated him. Now, that same cheek is covered in pimples. The belly where he had rested his head now has both stretch marks and scratch marks.

Her heart grew heavier as she worried about how Ujjwal would react when he found out.

Even now, she’s still itching.

She gets into the shower, and as the water touches the scratch marks on her body, she squeezes her eyes shut in pain.

After putting on a fresh kurti and leggings, she walks out, her tearful eyes glancing at Ujjwal, who is still asleep in bed. She then heads to the kitchen to make breakfast.

While cooking, she hears the bedroom door open softly. Her heart starts racing.

Ujjwal comes into the kitchen and sits at the dining table.

Ishika glances back at him sitting there.

“I'm going to freshen up,” he says, standing up.

“Okay,” Ishika replies, turning her focus back to cooking.

The breakfast is ready, and she sets it on the dining table. Ujjwal comes back, but Ishika avoids meeting his eyes, keeping her face lowered.

She sits at the dining table, waiting for him so they can eat together. As Ujjwal is about to sit, he notices the pimples and scratch marks on Ishika's face.

“Ishika? Why do you have so many pimples and scratch marks on your face? Is everything okay?” Ujjwal asks.

“I was itching all over my body last night, so I scratched a lot. When I woke up this morning, I saw these marks all over my body,” Ishika says softly.

“All over your body?”

Ishika nods, holding back her tears.

“Are you still itching?”

“Yes, and it hurts too because I scratched so much,” Ishika says, trying to keep her voice steady.

“We should see a dermatologist, Ishika,” Ujjwal says, sitting down.

“yes”

“Tell me, when do you want to go?”

“I’ll go this evening,” Ishika says.

“Let me know, and I’ll come with you,” Ujjwal says, taking a sip of his tea.

“No, I’ll go alone.” says gently.

“Are you sure?”

Ishika nods.

Ujjwal pulls some money from his pocket and offers it to her.

“No, you keep it. I have money,” Ishika says lovingly.

“Alright, my independent wife,” Ujjwal says with a smile, sipping his tea.

Hearing this, a small smile appears on Ishika’s face.

Ujjwal was talking to her normally.

Seeing his caring reaction, Ishika felt a wave of relief wash over her. The anxiety churning in her stomach finally eased.

Evening, Ishika goes to the dermatologist, who gives her a cream to soothe the itching, help clear the marks, and reduce the pimples.

Night, Ishika applies the cream and comes out of the bathroom in a fresh, pink loose kurti and leggings.

Ujjwal is sitting on the bed, reading about the income tax laws.

Ishika grabs a pillow and blanket, telling him she’s going to sleep outside.

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to catch my skin infection, and besides, I’ve applied the medicine, and I don’t want it to accidentally get on you.”

“Let’s do this- you sleep here on the bed, and I’ll sleep outside,” Ujjwal says, putting his laptop in sleep mode.

“Why would you suffer? I’ll sleep outside.”

“Listen, Ishika, the bed is big enough for both of us, and there will be plenty of space in between. Is that okay?” Ujjwal suggests.

Ishika nods.

She puts the pillow and blanket back, lies down on the bed.

Ujjwal stays on his side, with the lamp on, reading for a bit longer. Then, he closes his laptop and places it on the side table before coming to bed.

Sitting on the bed, he looks at Ishika’s sweet, chubby face and can’t resist giving her a gentle kiss. Since her face is covered in cream, he kisses her gently on the hair instead.

Then, keeping some distance, he lies down and goes to sleep.

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