Anaya...... freedom

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Her wedding dress laid discarded on the floor. It was time..... time to act on her decision that she had contemplated about for so long.

As she walked out of the room, she went back in time when all of it started.

Anaya was a simple, educated and a very care-free girl who believed in enjoying life to the fullest. As per her desires, she had graduated from a very reupted college in the city and had been immeditely picked up by the top most designing boutique. She had explored her creativity and designed clothes creating her own signature style.

One thing led to another and before she knew her parents were talking about her wedding. She met Adarsh in one such traditional match fixing date and had instantly taken a liking towards his straight forward and down to earth nature. She had given her approval to her parents and the prepareations for her wedding started. Her parents were exicted about their only daughter's wedding and being very wealthy did not want to leave any stone unturned for her wedding. They had spent a lot of money and had only the grandest & finest things arranged for her wedding.

Vermilion

She woke up to the early morning sun rays playing hide and seek with her bedroom's curtains. She turned to look at the face sleeping next to her and smiled a lazy smile wondering on how life had been throwing surprises at her when she least expected it.

She drifted back in time, when things were not so pleasant as they seem and she had gone to the extent of contemplating suicide.

Purvi hailed from an economically backward village situated in the remotest corner of Karnataka where girls were married of even before they achieved puberty. She was the first one to defy the culture of the village and stalled getting married till she completed her tenth. This was completely unheard of in her village and she was already the target of the village elders because of this act of hers!

Although her parents supported her decision initially, they couldn't do so for long and had to bow down to the wish of the elders of the village. Her wedding was fixed with a guy from neighboring village who was employed in the city.

Her marriage we performed in the village according to the customs & traditions. She hadn’t even met her husband before the wedding and was scared on what was in store for her.

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Choice......

With trembling hands she started to apply make up to the scars that marked her face – a gift her husband had given for their 5^th anniversary. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw empty grey eyes looking back at her with a lost look.  Her hair was a mess, cut roughly – yet another gift by her husband.

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As she applied make up absent mindedly, she drifted back into time when things were all rosy and nice.

The hope of a brighter tomorrow

* Dedicated to every student who has failed in the board exams but has had the spirit to fight back and emerge as a winner!

She sat on the bed with the bottle in her hand, tears flowing down her cheeks. She dint remember for how long she was crying. She didn’t even attempt to stop the tears from flowing or to wipe them from her cheeks.

Her bedroom was a total mess. There were papers, clothes and other personal articles strewn everywhere. Her question paper was lying in tatters on the floor. She was still trying to come out of the shock of what happened. How could she do something so stupid like this?

Sanjana was in her 12^th standard. She had taken Science as her specialization. Although she was handling all her subjects well she faced difficulty with Physics. So she had been extremely careful when she was preparing of her board exams. She had paid particular attention in studying the subject, referring previous year’s papers, textbooks and notes. She had made sure she had prepared well.

But as she sat down in the exams hall she started feeling nervous. When the exam paper was handed over to her, she had one look at it and she started sweating nervously. She felt a little faint and completely blanked out. It was then she realized what would be in store for her. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She knew she would never pass in the exam. In spite of it, she wrote what she knew. But that was not what she wanted or expected out of herself.

Justice after all............

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After almost a year, she had stepped out of the house today. It was a year and it almost seemed like yesterday.

Pranav had been extremely busy with his new business venture of late and had taken extra strain and stress on himself. She had complained to him often about it but he just wouldn’t stop. He was extremely passionate about his business venture. She would often find him logged on to his computer late at night designing proposals for clients. And when there was a long weekend ahead for them, it seemed like a welcome break for her and Pranav to catch up. Pranav was still trying to master the art of driving, but he had coaxed her into taking their car for their weekend get away. It was their first out of town drive in their brand new car. Those 3 days were blissfully spent in a wonderful resort. Having their daughter with them was like an added bonus. She got more time to spend with Pranav and she was very happy about it.

Nature's fury

It was raining heavily and the atmosphere outside was grey, just like how he was feeling. He had just heard the words that he had dreaded the most. The last 12 hours had turned his world upside - down. He was soaked with perspiration with all the running about he had done. He did not even have the time to change his clothes before he rushed his wife to hospital.

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Looking back he realized it was not even 24 hours since he had seen her radiant with happiness. It was their first wedding anniversary and like any typical husband who was madly in love with his wife he wanted to do something very special for her. He had racked his brains for the last 2 months planning out every single detail for their special day. He had called up her friends at odd hours asking for help from their end, in turn being cursed for having disturbed them. He had planned the most special day for her and she had absolutely loved being pampered from the beginning of their special day.

Games people play

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She had seen him through the fence that was separating the play area from the common area.

She could clearly remember he was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. He was about 25 years old. He had carried a pink teddy bear in his hands. The moment she had set her eyes on it, she had decided that she wanted it. It was one of the most beautiful one that she had ever seen. She had dragged her father along with her, running behind that guy just to make sure that she could have the teddy bear, take it home and play with it, show it around to her friends and make them feel jealous.