"I told you to go out!" he smiled shamelessly.
"I brought your clothes." She gave him a scorching look. "I don't want you to expose to everyone." she was confused by his words till he pulled her towel off. "Only to me." he said staring at her. She screamed and ran into the bathroom closing the door behind her. Her heart was thudding loudly at what had just happened. Why did he do that? Didn't he know she was the heir to the whole property earned by her parents? How could he do this to her? She felt the door being pushed and she almost fell on her face. She found two strong hands hold her steady while someone stared at her back. She felt very uncomfortable as it was something no one had ever done to her before. She felt a hand roam all over her back before she felt herself being turned round. Her cousin was staring at her assets making her squirm in embarrasment, shame and anger. "You need a little more time to bloom fully." he remarked as if he was reviewing a piece of art. "That can be taken care of." He pulled her closer and smacked his lips on hers taking her by surprise. She kneed him between his legs stunning him for a moment, freeing herself and then kicked him with all her might so furiously that he was forced to move out of the bathroom. She picked up the broom lying in the corner of the room and kept hitting him till he left the room. Making sure he was nowhere in sight she dressed quickly, choosing a dress from the bag she had brought with her and then she left the room with the intention of shifting to her old room.
Her hopes were dashed when she saw her room locked. It seemed to be a digital combination lock that required a set of alpha numeric code and a finger print. Who would go to this length to keep her out of her own room in her own house? A deep plot seemed to be brewing against her; her mind warning her for the first time that the accident might not be what it appeared to be. She decided to confront the person responsible for this and shouted at the top of her voice. "RAJUUUUU!!!!!!" Raju appeared a few minutes later followed by her maternal aunt, maternal uncle and her maternal cousin who had tried to molest her. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked pointing to the digital combination lock before her.
"I told him to change it." he aunt piped in before Raju could speak. "It was for the best you."
"How can locking me out of my own room be best for me?" she was appalled at the logic. Her aunt seemed calm as she spoke condescendingly to her.
"I know what is best for you."
"No, you don't." Sahithi stormed out of the corridor followed by Raju. She stopped in front of the Mahindra Bolero her father drove always. "Raju, can you take me to lawyer uncle?" she asked, tears in her eyes at her helplessness. He nodded his head silently, took the bag from her hands and put it in the car. As the car turned onto the main road, Sahithi leaned her head back and let her tears flow. She had realised for the first time how vulnerable she was. Even the reliable Raju was not saying anything at all. "What happened Raju?" she asked him with a hoarse throat. "Why are you so silent?" There was no response from him though he slowed down and pulled aside. He wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to her. Since when had he started writing messages instead of talking? She took the paper with shaking hands and almost dropped the note in disbelief! "They cut my tongue and threatened to kill you if I tried to warn you." It said. She looked at him as he opened his mouth to show a missing tongue. "I am really sorry Raju." She sobbed. "I couldn't help you." He started the car and drove really fast till he reached their destination which was a small farmhouse five kilometers to the left of the National Highway 65.
"The Sanctuary" the name plate on the wall declared, as Sahithi waited, after having rung the bell, for the aging advocate to open the door. A young man of twenty five opened the door and looked at her questioningly. Her sixth sense told her something was off as she asked gathering all her strength together. "Isn't Chakravarthy uncle in?"
"Who are you?"
"I am Shri Jagannadham's daughter from Surampalli." there was a spark of recognition in his eyes.
"Ah yes. The ORR accident case! Come in!" he said opening the door wide open. Raju followed her into the hall while the young man closed the door. He led them through an old fashioned staircase to a room in the far corner. Prativada Bhayankar Chakravarthy or PBC as he was known, was sitting in a chair behind his desk studying some documents. He was a highly respected professional who had never lost a case he had taken up. He took a lot of time before taking up a case for he took only those cases where there was truth. He never took up any case where the accused was guilty. His high sense of morality, principles and adherence to dharma was legendary. He looked up at the three newcomers and instantly recognised the grend daughter of his friend. He waved her into a chair. "Raju, get something to eat." Raju was an important member of inner core of the select few who were trusted with the house and the contents. The young man raised an eyebrow at the order though he did not say anything. "Surya, get me The Jagannadham Estate Will and leave us for an hour. No interruptions." The young man bowed to his senior, took out a file from the racks of case files, placed it on the table and left the room while Raju walked with a a tray full of snaks and tea for three.
"Eat." he said. "We have a lot to discuss." He put a pakoda in his mouth while he opened the orange colour file. "This is the Statement of Will registered by your grandfather before his death. He gave all his property to his son initially but your father convinced him to give it to you after you were born. So, he made your parents defacto gaurdians of the property till you were of age. However, in the event your parents died, then the property would revert back to your grandparents. If they too passed away, the closest blood relative would become the guardian of the estate till your education was completed. Unfortunately, That happens to be your maternal aunt and uncle." He looked at the girl sympathetically as she dropped the plate of pakodas she was holding. "Don't worry. They will not kill you. The will says that the property will go to the government if you die without taking charge of the property. So, I suggest you learn martial arts to defend yourself."
"Is there any way I can send them out of my house? They have locked me out of my room!"
"I am sorry child. There is nothing you can do till you are of age and take over the property. "You will have to manage till you are of age. They cannot molest you but they can send you to a school or college of their choice."
Sahithi was pensive as they returned home. She realised she was in deep trouble with no one to call her own. She couldn't trust anyone nor could she fight aginst her legal gaurdians no matter how much she hated them. Her only hope to avoid her cousin was to go back to her school and finish her education. Would she be allowed to do that? Because her aunt and uncle would lose everything if they allowed her to complete her studies. She knew her cousin would take advantage of the situation to take her virtue sooner than later and she wouldn't be able to stop him. It would be nearly impossible for Raju to protect her since she had no powers till she got her property back. The future appeared grim. The true impact of the loss of her parents and grand parents hit her fully at that moment.As she entered the house, she was greeted with a deafening silence broken by the icy tone of her aunt. "Ah! So you have learned about the will." she remarked. "It will make things far easier.
Sahithi was gazing at the photo frame that depicted her full family taken in happier days. She had been in 9th class (9th grade) then. The family had gathered in the garden for a group photograph. While her grandparents looked as ancient as ever, her parents seemed to be aging for the first time. Everyone seemed to be happy, though she could detect the lack of deep happiness in the eyes of her aunt. There was something that her aunt was unhappy about though she didn't know what it was. Nevertheless, she ignored the feeling of unease and finished her packing making sure she had everything that she loved the most. When she came out, her uncle was waiting for her. He appeared calm as ever but what struck her as strange was the absence of her cousin and her aunt."Shall we go?" she nodded, unwilling to speak. She was surprised to see her uncle's car waiting for them."What happened to our car?""It is engaged on another task.""What task?""Taking your
The Shanthi Girls High School was more of a college than a high school since most of the students were at least 18 years old. This school catered to all those girls who were weak in studies due to laziness, low grasping and retention power, missing school due to unexpected circumstances etc. Now, Sahithi belonged to the last category as she had lost two precious years due to the death of her family, having been kept away from school by her scheming relatives. She was brought here to continue her education since it couldn’t be avoided any more.As Sahithi walked along the corridors, she felt fear pervade her bones. There was something grotesque about the place; the chilly corridors, the bare walls devoid of any paintings one would see in a school it was uninviting for a prospective student. Each turn in the corridor was marked by an arch held together by two stone sentries that looked like gods with their well-sculpted bodies and scanty clothes.The Sign boa
“Um...where is my uncle?” Sahithi asked tentatively. She was still nervous in this institution. “Oh, he left.” The warden replied nonchalantly. He turned towards the 18 year old male standing at the door. “Take her to room 14.” He busied himself with some paperwork that was pending. “Um...sir? What about the key to the room?” “There’s no key. There is no door to lock. Now go. I have work to do.” Sahithi was flabbergasted. “No door to the girls’ rooms?” she blurted out in shock. “How can that be possible?” “We need to check the girls are following the rules. So, no doors.” His tone was careless as if it was the most natural thing to remove doors to girls’ rooms. Now, go. Don’t waste my time.” there was a hint of irritation in his voice. “But sir, girls need some privacy.” He still didn’t look up. “For what?” she stared at him incredibly, unable to believe her ears. “What do you mean by that?” he looked at her slowly, as
“You are what?”“I will explain on the way. Now wash your face quickly.” Sahithi stared at the man for a while before realising she was indeed hungry.“Where is the washroom?”“Come with me.” He turned and walked out of the room and despite her misgivings, Sahithi followed him. She was slowly coming round to the fact that everything here was drastically different from what she had seen till then.“Just like those evil gits to join me here!” she ground her teeth in frustration. “Just wait till I make you pay back with interest.” The man stopped and turned towards her.“Pardon?” she realised she had spoken her thoughts aloud.“Nothing. I wasn’t talking to you.” He gave a weird look at her.“This is the wash basin.” He pointed to her. “The bathrooms and toilets are over there.” He ch
The day was bright and Sahithi was in great spirits as she took in the benefits of the morning sun. Since childhood she had been rising up early in the day to watch the sun rise and as a result she received plenty of Vitamin D that those orange rays of the sun. She was ready to face a new day with renewed vigour. She went on a tour of the washrooms, finding no one there. However, what struck her odd was the lack of separate bathrooms. It was obvious they had to bathe in the hall like area. She took a deep sigh and got ready before anyone else woke up. “Hey, when did you get up?” Betsy asked as Sahithi came in. “An hour ago.” “Ah, I see. As you fall into the routine you will not be able to get up so early.” Sahithi smiled and started reading the Bhagavadgita. It was her habit to start the day with at least a few slokas from the Gita that gave her enough mental strength, vigour and energy to face the day. Betsy stared at her for a long time before getting ready. “Why? Is the schedul
This time Sahithi was better prepared as she knew the only way to escape was to bite down her pain and do what they told her to. Her best chance lay in following their words to the letter. She prepared herself mentally for the stroke that was about to come but despite steeling her mind she still could not help crying out in pain at the sting on her bottom that brought tears in her eyes. "One." she said gritting her teeth to shut out the pain. "Thank you sir." "See? It was not so difficult after all!" she ground her teeth at those words but what could she do? The second stroke was even harder than the first one and she wiggled her ass before managing "Two. Thank you sir." The teacher came near her and placed his hand on her ass cheeks and she jerked involuntarily. "Enough!" he said. "Leave her." she got up grateful for the reprieve. "Tell us about yourself." She had by then lowered her skirt and restored her dignity. with a face red as a beetroot she started introducing herself. “I
Sahithi felt her bum burn and snapped out of her thoughts. The teacher was staring daggers at her sending chills down her spine. It was obvious he had spanked her but she couldn’t understand the fear she felt with this teacher. There was something odd about him that rang alarm bells in her mind.“First you insult me with your insolence. Then, you start day dreaming. Who do you think you are?” she gulped at those words.“Sorry sir. I was distracted.”“Oh yeah?” he sneered. “Solve the problem on the board and I will let you be ‘distracted’.” He stressed the word ‘distracted’ making her blush in embarrassment. This had never happened before so she was a bit ashamed. Still, she gazed at the board and was a bit shocked to see what was written there. “Move to the teacher’s table and explain your solution.”There was only one word on the board – Ca