Lei hated being in Uncle Somi's farm, but some things she liked too.
What she liked about going to Uncle Somi's farm in the otherwise warm Indian country, after she had served her nine months in St. Francis Girls Hostel was that she could eat as many oranges as she liked. She liked oranges for the simple reason that they were orange, and not red or blue or pink. She liked anything orange because it reminded her of the sun, and she liked the sun because it made her forget about anything that was dark.
When she was four, Cousin Aniket had left her locked inside the book chest that Uncle Somi kept in the horses' stable (that no longer had any horses) for twelve hours, and since then she had developed a morbid fear of places that were small, dark, cold or smelt of wood.
Lei despised being in the farm.
Not because all her Cousins were always mean to her, not because Uncle Somi always blamed her for the loss in his farming business, not because she had to sleep in the damp room next to the store house and she never had enough bedding, not because Cousin Nidhi always cut her hair in her sleep.
Not because she had to manage with the sanitary napkins she stole from the school infirmary whenever she got her periods, not because Uncle Somi's second wife used to thrash her twice with her thin cane every time she overcooked the tea, not because Uncle Somi thought this same lady left home because of Lei and hated her for it.
No. She could have hated the farm for all these reasons but she didn't. Lei truly began to hate the farm at the age of fifteen when Uncle Somi, and Cousin Neel came home drunk after Cousin's first night of drinking and got Herri the farmer along. Herri the farmer, who used to give Lei long, lusty looks, who used to tug at her skirt ever since she turned thirteen.
Herri the farmer, who forced his way into Lei's room that night; who ran his fingers under her pajamas and held her down, as Lei screamed in horror- unable to understand what he actually wanted.
Cousin Neel stood at the door, his hands moving ferociously under his pants- ignoring Lei's cry for help; but Binnie- the cattle worker came running in and beat Herri the farmer away-cursing Cousin Neel in her native tongue and covering Lei's trembling body.
Ever since then, Cousin Neel also started to give Lei the long, lusty looks. And that is why she despised the farm.
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The Ghost of The Bo Tree
ParanormalLei- an orphan, led a painful life among cold, uncaring caretakers. Until she found a strange guardian in The Bo Tree in her Uncle's farm. People said that it was haunted, but that didn't stop Lei from spending her time under it; she even sacrificed...
