||~ Where do you want to go?
Far, Far away... ~||
NAAGLOK
Sulochana was named after her best quality and sometimes that irritated her. It felt like that fact that she had beautiful eyes had to be mentioned in her name or else people wouldn't notice it. And she wondered what her parents would have named her if her eyes didn't stand out. What would her name been if she was ugly? Maybe she was ugly and that is why they kept her name Sulochana so that attention could be diverted from her ugliness and could be focused on the only thing about her that was worth noticing.
At twelve years of age she had thought about a lot of things because she didn't have much else to do. She didn't have a sibling or anyone she could call a friend. Her mother had died eight years ago, when she was four. Her world had come crashing down because her mother was her world, living life without her seemed impossible until that was the only option left. But sometimes she still thought that if she wished hard enough then God would give her mother back to her. So the only thing she ever prayed was for her mother. She was so sure that eight years of penance ought to be enough. Her father was not much of a presence, so she had to raise her herself. She rarely even saw him but whenever he ordered her, she was expected to follow it without question. How was this fair? How come when she wanted something from him he was never there but when he wanted something from her, then she was supposed to offer it without questioning? Why?
She sometimes wished she could just leave this palace and live on her own. Some place where she was not bound by rules that made no sense and make something good out of her life. But she could not even venture out of her room without her father knowing about it. How was she supposed to run away from the palace altogether? But she decided that one day she would, maybe when she's older and knows how to trick people because that's something you learn to do when you get older, right?
She came out of her trail of thoughts when Bhanu barged into her room. Sulochana visibly trembled, seeing the reaction she had induced in the little girl, Bhanu gave a satisfied smirk. Bhanu was five years older than Sulochana and was the daughter of the first wife of Anand; the King of Nagas had married just a year ago before he had married her mother. Bhanu was her step-sister and as bad as it sounded, she was completely evil. Sulochana was sure there was no one on the planet that could have matched her level of wickedness. Sulochana gulped as she saw Bhanu gauging her and her toys lying on the ground. Sulochana averted her gaze and looked at the ground, trying to do something useful with her hands and looking busy.
"It is nice to see that you remembered your place on the ground. We don't want people like you uselessly taking up space."
One time when Bhanu had first seen Sulochana playing on the bed, she had dragged Sulochana to the floor. That day Bhanu's fingernails dug so deep into Sulochana's flesh that the scars were visible till this day. After that Sulochana dared not ever sit or even sleep on her bed. Once she even tried sleeping on the bed while Bhanu was out of the kingdom but the guilt of sleeping on the bed and given her the worst nightmares of her life. Bhanu had dared not touch Sulochana when her mother was alive but now there was no one to stop her.
Right now Sulochana just gave a stiff nod at Bhanu's comment. Bhanu was not pleased so she bent down and snatched the doll from Sulochana's hand; she ripped the head apart from the rest of the body. She threw the doll back at Sulochana and left the room. Sulochana did not have the gall to say anything to Bhanu because of the fear that she might end up in the same stipulation as the doll. Her father wouldn't even care. He seemed to stop caring about her since her mother died and she could not remember how he was before the death of her mother. She just thanked God that she was alive but she was not sure how long she would last.
Probably death must be better. Maybe if she died then she would be reunited with her mother. Her mother, who would've loved her. Her mother, who made her feel wanted. Her mother, who would have hugged her and told her that it was going to be okay. Her mother, who was no more. She sighed and lied down on the floor besides her toys. She closed her eyes and wished that dreams would take her where reality could not.
YOU ARE READING
Unmasked~The Prince Of Lanka
Historical Fiction" ... I got a severe attack of fever and was laid up for six or seven days. It was a struggle whether Meghnad will finish me or I finish him. Thank Heaven. I have triumphed. He is dead, that is to say, I have finished him. It cost me many a tear to...
