A young girl of barely eighteen sat on the floor, wrapped in a red bridal lehenga, crying as if world had collapsed on her shoulders. Her complexion was a soft wheatish glow, but her once-bright black eyes had turned swollen and red from hours of weeping. Thick lashes were matted with tears, and the kohl lining her eyes had streamed down her cheeks, forming dark, messy trails.Her lipstick was smudged from her lips to the side of her cheek, as if someone had forcefully wiped it away in anger. Heavy gold jhumkas dangled helplessly from her ears. The big ...Read More

Shivanya was still staring at herself in the mirror when the bedroom door opened and three people walked in. quickly turned her head toward the doorway.It was her maasi-maa — the same woman who had scolded her a while ago and ordered her to get ready.To the world, she was Shivanya’s mother’s sister. But after Shivanya’s real mother passed away when she was only a month old, this woman had married her father.She looked decent, fair-skinned, though shorter in height. One of her eyes had a minor defect, because of which she never received any suitable marriage proposals. But ...Read More