Maya was the only child of Vaishali, the catering expert at Nasik. The duo was living with Maya's maternal grandparents at their ancestral home. Maya's father had passed away when she was two years old. He was the victim of a road accident that had left him in coma for three months, before his death.
Life was good at her grand parents' place in Nasik. Vaishali made herself financially independent after her husband's death. She tried her best to fulfil each and every wish of Maya's and brought her up with great care. The grand parents did their bit of pampering her too. Still, she was one of the best-behaved children in the neighborhood.
Getting good grades at school was never a problem because Maya loved to study. But her real passion was dance. Kathak, Bharathanatyam, Odissi - she learnt almost every traditional dance form she could. She had given many performances at school by the young age of ten and was very enthusiastic about pursuing her practice.
One day when she returned home from school, she saw a visitor. He had come in a white car that he had parked just outside the house. Her Aayi (which was what Maya called her mom) introduced the visitor to Maya saying that he was Rahul uncle, a close friend of her dad's. He was tall and fair and wore glasses all the time.
Rahul uncle seemed to help Aayi in finding clients for her catering business. He started visiting them quite often. Many times, he would take Aayi in his car to meet clients. She would wait for hours; but they never came home before dinner. Those days Rahul uncle would stay back in their house and sleep in the room that was upstairs. Aayi would quietly go to that room after putting Maya to sleep. She would come back to Maya's bed after about an hour or so. One day when Maya asked her why she would go upstairs after tucking Maya in bed, she said Rahul uncle couldn't sleep unless she told him a story.
A couple of months passed by and then Maya's grandparents decided to go on a Theerath Yatra (pilgrimage tour) along with their friends. Rahul uncle had made all the bookings for everybody. Everyone seemed so happy, especially Aayi. Maya couldn't understand why everyone was so happy. She thought the house would be very empty without her "Aajoba" and "Aaji" (grandfather and grandmother). She hugged them both and cried before they left for their trip. They promised her they would be back soon.
After they left to their trip, Rahul uncle never went back. He started sleeping in their room and in their bed. Maya did not like this. She thought this room was only for her and her Aayi.
The bed would shake a lot and Aayi would make weird noises that Maya had never heard her making. Whenever she would look at her, Aayi would gently turn her to the other side and put her to sleep. This went on for quite a while after which Maya was made to sleep in her grandparents' room until they came back. Aayi would tell her a story every day and put her to sleep lovingly, before returning to her room.
Aayi seemed to like Rahul uncle a lot. But Maya detested him. She couldn't stand his sight and wished him to go away from their lives.
One day when Aayi had her monthly thing going, Maya was sleeping in her grandparents' room as usual. She was in deep sleep when she felt someone pulling at her underwear from beneath her frock. When she opened her eyes she saw Rahul Uncle. She wanted to scream and opened her mouth but he closed her mouth with his hand.
She could not stop him from pulling down her underwear. She closed her eyes tightly and prayed that her mother would come to save her. She was feeling very uncomfortable and scared. She started crying with tears flowing down her cheeks. Then Rahul uncle did something that was very painful. She could not scream as his hand was firmly placed on her mouth. The other hand held both her hands tightly above her head. She silently wished Rahul uncle would go away as soon as possible.
Once he was through, Rahul uncle told her in his deep voice that she was not supposed to tell this to anyone – not even Aayi. If she did, he would give her more pain. In her unbearable pain, Maya cried herself to sleep that night.
Next morning, at the breakfast table, she wanted to tell Aayi what had happened. But at the very moment Rahul uncle came and sat right next to her. He looked at her with scary eyes that silenced her completely. She didn't want to see him. She finished her breakfast as fast as she could and ran into her room.
Vaishali was very confused at Maya's behaviour. She tried to call her. But Maya didn't listen. When she tried to follow her into the room, Rahul uncle told her to make him some chai. After that they left her in their neighbor's house to play and went out to attend some meeting. Maya knew they would come back only after dinner.
That night Maya slept in the neighbor's house as she was scared to go back home. But it didn't stop there. Aayi and Rahul uncle came to pick her up in the morning. Once home, they asked her to get ready and took her shopping. They bought a nice dress for her, which was much more expensive than all the clothes she had ever bought till now. The bill was paid by Rahul Uncle. It might have been a nice gesture; but Maya was not happy.
After shopping, they took her to the amusement park where they made her sit in many of the enjoyable rides. What seemed to Maya as the most enjoyable things in the past, never seemed to interest her now. This worried her Aayi terribly. She asked her what the problem was. Maya took a look at Rahul Uncle and told her Aayi….
"Aayi, I am very sleepy. I don't get sleep at night. I feel very lonely because you are not next to me. I want only you and me to sleep in our bed. Can you please say yes Aayi? this one time?"
In reply to this, Maya's mom tightly hugged her and said….
"Sure sweetheart… Whatever you say darling"
…. and they went back home happily. From then on it was just Maya and Aayi.
About two months later when Aajoba and Aaji came back they found their daughter weak, tired and nauseated. Maya never realized what happened after her Aaji and Aayi came back home from the doctor. There was a huge fight between Aajoba and Rahul uncle which made Rahul uncle pack his bags and go out of the house. Thankfully, Maya did not have to see his face again in her life.
A few years later when Maya started to understand things, she made one decision that was never to be changed…. "She would never have a physical relationship with any man in her life."