Authinsiya
Kuhu looked at the portrait hung on the wall, the smile on her face becoming increasingly strained with each passing moment.
She shifted her attention to her brothers, hoping for some solace. They were all smiling and talking, admiring the woman in the portrait who also happened to be THEIR mother.
Only their mother.
She turned to leave the living room, completely unnoticed. Her footsteps echoed in the empty alley, her heartbeat even louder.
As she closed the door behind her, tears gushed to her eyes of their own accord. She didn't know why, she didn't know how...but her feet carried her to the most overlooked drawer of her closet.
Inside a forgotten personal diary lay a crippled photograph. One that would never find it's way to the living room. One that was destined to always remain a photograph and never a portrait.
Her mother.
Only her mother.
It was a gift from the most vile woman she had known in life. One who surpassed even her bua ji. Her maasi. She had gifted her the picture nearly 5 years back. Not as her mother's remembrance but as a reminder of her legacy.
She brought the photo close to her chest and whispered, "I love you, mumma."
....
"This is your legacy, Kian. Your destiny was carved long before your first breath. You were never meant to walk the same path as your brothers. Your purpose is far greater than theirs." the man said, his eyes gentle despite the sharpness in his words.
Kian didn't flinch. "I will never become what my brothers chose not to be." he said stiffly, conviction brimming in his eyes.
"Even at the cost of those same brothers' life?" the gentleness was gone. All he could see was a devilish, threatening glint.
Kian's jaw clenched. "A pest like you can't even touch my brothers!"
The man chuckled. "Pests are underrated, Kian. They move unseen, untamed, untraced and thus...they know much more than they must."
"Whatever that means?"
"That means..." the man stepped closer. "You know the Devil more than anyone else."
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