Broken From Birth | ✓

Chapter 1

"The family is the first heaven that we get on the earth."

A sliver of moonlight spilt into the room, not enough to ignite the fiery hues of the Indian rug, but enough to steer between the rough wooden chairs to the exit beyond where hush noises were coming off.

A scarce flash was suddenly illuminated in the darkroom accompanied by the incursion of three shapes who were walking on their toes to minimise the rustle of their feet's noise against the linoleum floor.

"Payal, how much?" a man rustled in an extremely muffled voice and looked at a young girl who was having a very delicate thing in her hand along with a knife. "Dad, ssh, it has some time to go, now don't talk. I'll remind you," the young girl admonished in a coherent tone and crept behind the thick drapes along with two other musketeers of her crew as she just saw a movement in the person who was the master of this room who was currently asleep on his bed.

After a pregnant silence of five minutes, the three musketeers slid off the drapes and started chorusing in a joyful tone, "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Scooby-Doo, happy birthday to our Scooby-Doo". Because of their enthusiastic singing and the sudden flash of glitter on his eyes, the master of the room for whom the 'birthday song' was purred, stirred up abruptly and saw how his favorite people were assembled in front of him with a chocolate cake in their hands.

Another astounding birthday surprise, wasn't it?

Dhruv promptly got up from his bed and embraced his parents in utter love and respect for them as they both wished him, affectionately, "Happy birthday, son". His sister was second in the row to be hugged by him.

Last evening due to sheer tiredness and overload, he had dozed off early and that's why he was completely oblivious of his birthday as his mind usually was filled with the thoughts of plots, buildings, hotels, restaurants and other real-estate stuff. Being the managing director of a real-estate company was an exhausting responsibility, both corporally and psychologically.

And this birthday surprise was the gush of fresh air in his humid, tiresome life.

Even at twenty-eight, he was like a little kid for his birthdays. His mother would make him a chocolate chip cake and he'd bounce out of bed like he was still in his grade school. And as if it was a legacy, he'd cut the cake with the companionship of his parents and sister, and then after having the sweet doughnuts, they'd all retire to their room, but not before giving him an exceptional gift like always.

"Our Dhruv is now twenty-eight, finally, that calls for a big party," his father proclaimed joyously and cherished the chocolate cake along with his family of four.

*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*

The sky was black, tranquility married to the poetry of stars. It was the softness that called the body and brain to rest and let the heart go to its steady rhythm. Night came as a reward of sorts, a restfulness above to calm the soul.

But here, Ayushi's heart raced with anticipation as she packed her belongings, preparing to embark on a journey that would lead her far from the suffocating confines of her stepmother's toxic household. With each item carefully packed away, she felt a sense of liberation wash over her, knowing that soon she would leave behind the years of emotional turmoil and manipulation. 

The opportunity of a lifetime awaited her in Indore, where she had secured a desirable position as a software developer, a dream she had nurtured amidst the chaos of her upbringing in Bhopal. The prospect of starting afresh, over 200 kilometers away from the familiar streets that held painful memories, filled Ayushi with a newfound sense of hope and determination. 

She was just twenty-three, but desired independence and wanted to be free. From the clutches of her toxic family back in Bhopal. 

As she boarded the train bound for Indore, Ayushi couldn't help but smile at the thought of the freedom that awaited her. With each passing mile, she felt the weight of her past slowly lifting from her shoulders, replaced by the promise of a brighter future filled with possibility and potential. Finally, Ayushi was breaking free from the shackles of her past, ready to carve out her own path and embrace the boundless opportunities that lay ahead.

As she clutched to the window seat on the side-lower berth, she reminisced how she was dictated by her mother to do everything for the whole family as she was nothing but a paying maid for them.

"We have educated you, so you should be grateful to us and follow our orders. At least you could do this much to us," her step-mother had always made sure that she was timely warned of all the charity they had done to her.

Ayushi bore the weight of her stepmother's venomous words with a stoic resilience, each shot piercing her heart yet failing to break her spirit. For Ayushi, the cruel taunts and manipulative tactics were a bitter reminder of the debt she unwillingly carried. Her stepmother's constant blackmail, citing Ayushi's education as their obligation, became the shackles that bound her to their demands. With each passing day, she bore the burden of her stepmother's expectations, her silent sacrifices a testament to the strength that lay dormant within her. And though her spirit may have been tested, Ayushi refused to be diminished, her determination shining brightly amidst the darkness of her circumstances. She was indebted to them for they did so much for her! 

Stepmothers were worst; hers was no exception but she never let her stepmother's sharp words harm her mental peace and tranquility. For her, her profession and her little time in an orphanage every Sunday was enough inspiring to keep going on with her life even with the harsh reality of her personal life where she was always a consequential, golden-egg giving brooder to them. 

They never harmed her in any physical way but they never left a chance unturned to break her, mentally and emotionally. Their words, their remarks, those had always broken a little part of her but she could care less. 

But everything has a saturation point after which every affliction feels like a habit. She was exhausted of daily altercations and verbal insults thrown by her parents. She knew even if she died, they'd not mourn for her loss but for the loss of the monthly golden egg she used to produce for them. Her younger stepsister was too young to earn and hence, Ayushi was the sole breadwinner of her house. To get out of all this mess, only one thing was needed! And that was....

FREEDOM!

And that's why she was going far away from Bhopal to Indore, to restart her new life. 

Peace ✔

Good Environment ✔

Solitary silence ✔

Friends ✔

but one thing was missing amid all this. And that was.....

Love.

The four-lettered word from which she was always bereft of since her childhood. She couldn't remember a pleasant memory of her antiquity which she could cherish any day.

She sighed and gazed outside the train's window. The railway tracks! A knowing smile adorned her lips, understanding the analogy of her life and those railway tracks.

Her life mirrored the monotonous rhythm of the railway tracks, stretching endlessly in a straight line with little variation or excitement. Each day unfolded predictably, with the same routines and obligations repeating themselves in an unending cycle. Just as the tracks guided the train along its predetermined path, Ayushi felt herself moving through life on autopilot, yearning for a change of scenery but unable to break free from the confines of her routine. 

Unbeknownst to Ayushi, her life was on the brink of a drastic and unforeseen transformation that would alter the course of her existence in ways she could never have imagined.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

Here's the first chapter. 

I should've been editing it, but here I am, rewriting it for the umpteenth time. I really don't want to leave any stone unturned because I really want to make this story as realistic as possible without much drama! I hope you like this version !