"What do you mean I was gifted to you?"
"It is not good to eavesdrop but you heard it right. You are a gift that was forcefully imposed on me."
"Y-You... are.... lying..."
"Am I? You know what? Gift is a very fancy term for you. 'Trash' suits you be...
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10 years ago
After yesterday's events, I couldn't sleep at all as I kept remembering what grandma said about taking me to a priest in Lucknow. I knew she was very superstitious, so I didn't expect anything else from her, but I couldn't control my anger when I saw Himesh Uncle accompanying us to the dreaded destination.
Dad told us that Himesh Uncle didn't trust us and wanted to make sure that we didn't flee before repaying our debts. Also, he wanted to keep an eye on me himself; he kept glancing at me from the back view mirror of his car as we headed toward Lucknow.
Unfortunately, Arman was also roped in everything as Mom was afraid that if we had stayed behind, Lokesh would have attacked them. Thus, my whole family was packed up in Himesh Uncle's car, my grandma trying to sugarcoat her every word to avoid any problem.
When we reached the destined location, I scanned the area and narrowed my eyes at my Dad and his mom. There were no houses or human infrastructure in sight but only trees and dense foliage. I felt a tug on my shirt, and I grabbed Aru's hand. He looked lost and scared. I assured him that he was safe, and he smiled but didn't look convinced.
After a few minutes of staring at the strange location, grandma guided us through a muddy passage between the long bushes, and we landed ourselves in the middle of a small open ground. A man, who looked like a tantrik baba (black magic priest), noticed us and motioned for us to come forward. He was sitting in front of huge fire burning in a square shaped brick structure.
Mom shot me a concerned glance, and I warned her to keep Arman safe. She clutched him to her tightly and nodded. I let out a huge sigh and sat down beside grandma, who was telling nonsense stuff to that fake priest. I would have punched her if my hands weren't tied up - I wondered why that old woman was still alive.
"What's your name?" Priest asked me.
"None of your concern," I said.
Grandma glared at me and completed the formalities on my behalf. I looked at her in disbelief when she made up a false story and said that I was possessed by a ghost, and Himesh Uncle was one of my victims on whom I had attacked out of the blue, and that's why, he was here to see the proof.
I shook my head when the priest acted as a know-it-all and stared at me with wide eyes, trying to intimidate me. Dad gave me a warning look, and I averted my gaze.
For a whole half an hour, I was subjected to complete bullshit: weird looking black dolls were kept in front of me, vermilion was splashed on me along with some ash from the central fire, and I was shook vigorously while some mantras were chanted simultaneously.
"Whoever you are, I command you to leave this girl's body right away! Or else you know what I am capable of," the priest yelled.
