Karthik's lock up
His whole life flashed through his eyes. His mother to him had been the most beautiful woman from heart and soul that could have ever lived. She was loving compassionate and caring and though he was as young as six years, he remembered her very well. And it was those memories of her that had given him strength to face life with a smile no matter what come may, just like he had seen her doing. His father had been in love with a woman, Swarna but when his grandfather was informed he rejected the proposal and tried to convince his son that the woman he gave his heart to was a gold digger, his father though didn't believe what his grandfather had to say but broke all connections with the woman he loved, for fear of his own father. Shortly afterwards his grandfather had fixed his father's match with his close friend's daughter Kavya Singhal and though his father had agreed to the proposal he wasn't happy.
His father never loved his mother and tried to find faults in everything she did. Making mountains out of mole hills. His mother had been the most dutiful wife, mother, sister-in-law and daughter-in-law, there could have ever been, and no matter what obstacles her husband threw at her, how many absurd comments he passed on her, she would tolerate it, for she loved him so dearly and was a woman of sweetest temper, a fact time and again told to him by his chachu and his own memories favoured it. She made a place in everyone's heart for herself, except her husband's and there was not a task that could be done with out her.
Her demise left everyone broken, happiness had left their house, he still remembered his family members calling out to his mother and than realizing she had gone forever would break down into a fit of tears. Even his Surekha chachi who had than joined the family only a year back felt so strong an attachment, yet the man who she was married to for the last twelve years felt no remorse at her leaving for ever. His grandfather who was so fond of his elder daughter-in-law couldn't take the shock and followed his mother's foot steps on leaving this world in a month's time. For his father it was the exactly opposite and within three month's of his grandfather's death, he had again married to the woman he was in love with, not just disrespecting his wife who had died not even half a year ago, but his own father to whom he had promised to remove all affection for the woman that he had now got married to.
Swarna seemed like a very pleasing woman to the entirely family, and though she had become a part of it with a couple of months, she did not have the place Kavya had, nor in the house, nor in their hearts, but they were contented with her especially because of her behaviour with the children who had lost their mother at such a tender age and needed motherly attention, someone they could call maa and Akhilesh and Surekha had begun to feel that their brother had made a wonderful choice if not the perfect one.
Though everyone was much tied around her finger, from the elder goenka, the younger brother and his wife, even Kirti was pleased with her "chotima", but to Karthik she was only an object of hatred, in her smile he saw fakneness, it was no where like his own mother's who would when smile make her eyes twinkle. He saw his father's second wife as all words who would promise to do this and promise to do that but than leave all the work and the many servants they have had since long. So different from his mother who would get the task completed silently and never boast of it. Time proved Karthik to be right in his assumptions and when after six months of her being married to his father had passed, had he still not accepted her even the slightest bit she began to use force, but this side of her's was only seen by the little boy. She scolded the boy, not in a motherly way but with utmost hatred and only in the abscene of all the inhabitants of goenka mansion. When this treatment to the young child did no favour to her and he would still not bow to her will she chose more cruel methods.
She had started out by setting Karthik's room ablaze and then saving the boy at the nick of time so as to be considered a hero to the family, but when the other members left and she stayed back on the pretense of not wanting to leave her son in such state, and soon as the door closed she adorned a vicious smile and narrated to him the way she had set the fire and cautioned him that next time she may not come to save him if he did not bend down to her will but he chose not to give in pushed her away from him and ran to his elder sister's room who was shocked at her brother's trembling state but blaming it on the fire incident did not think much and hugged her baby brother affectionately, putting him to sleep on her lap and than played a voice recording of their mother's lullaby, which sent both siblings in deep slumber. She than cut his hand and acted as if the child was being mischievous and playing with the knife and got hurt in the process. This event was followed by her setting a fake kidnap to intimidate to kid, the seven year old boy was starved and tortured for a week, but to no avail. Completely put off by the young child's denial, Swarna switched to whipping the kid privately making sure to leave no scars, so that when the child would speak against her he would have no solid proof and she would shed crocodile tears that the boy was trying defame her and this worked exactly as she planned, no one would believe the kid and thought that he was cooking up a story. But this was not much success for her, for her main aim was to get Karthik on her side, for she had got to know from her husband that in his father's will that the property will be transferred to Karthik and Kirti when they turn adults and he was just the guardian of the property till than and was given no rights to transfer the property or make use of a large sum of money without the kids signatures. For this reason no matter how much she threatened Karthik to end his life, she couldn't do so, for he was one of the keys to so big a treasure. That is why she couldn't kill Karthik no matter how much she threatened earlier neither Karthik or Kirti had any idea about the will but later on they had come to know. She had conveniently appeased Kirti of her being an angel but she had no luck with Karthik, he was a tough nut to crack, he would not give in to her, no matter what she did from acting like a sweet and caring mother to showing her true colours but nothing had worked.
