The evening beauty of Kalighat is something you will never want to miss in your life. The orange sky reflected on the waterbed of Adi Ganga as the sun slowly descends beyond the horizon.
Sitara closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the subtle notes of wet ground filled her nostrils, which calmed her mind as it was throbbing in suspicion and pain.
Today, Revathi blocked her way when Sitara was going to her dance practice and begged her to meet her[Revathi] at the Kalighat in the evening. When she asked for the reason, Revathi slipped away, saying it's something important that she had to share.
The ringtone of her phone caught Sitara's attention, and she picked it up, seeing Revathi's name flashing.
"Hello,"
"Sitara, where are you?"
"I am at the river steps."
"Ok, I am coming."
After the call ends, Revathi found Sitara within at the steps and sat down beside her. Sitara turned towards her left slightly so that her full concentration would be on Revathi.
"Revathi, what do you wanna talk about?"
"Sitara, I don't know how to start, but yesterday I found out about something, and I don't know how I should react to the news? At that time, all I can think was about YOU." Sitara's eyebrows furrowed, seeing the way Revathi is talking. Since childhood, they were never close, so this sudden change in her behavior is not settling right in Sitara's heart.
Something is out of order, and she couldn't pinpoint it.
"Sitara, I overheard my Dadi talking about Appa and Auntie's past. That we are half-sisters and how Appa and Auntie were lovers, how they broke up, and how my Amma died after knowing about their affair. Sitara, don't you think we should try to join the broken relationship between Appa and Auntie. By this, our decades-old family feud will also come to an end, and you will also be cleared off from the tags given by the society."
Sitara stood up without a word collecting her bag while Revathi tried to stop her.
"Sitara, what happened?"
"Revathi, please stop. I know the truth, but I don't want Maa and Uncle to get back together. Because of him, I had to go through a lot. Maa had to face humiliation. Till now, your Dadi makes me feel unwanted by her words. If he had even 1% of love and affection towards me, he would have taken accountability for his doings. We both would have grown together, but no. He was, he is, and he will always be this man who saw me grow up being called "ILLEGITIMATE" and stood like a pillar doing nothing." Tears spilled from her eyes while her heart screamed in pent up pain. Revathi sighed in frustration as her plan of manipulating Sitara went in the drain.
"Sitara, I know how you feel because I grew up without a mother-"
"No, Revathi," Sitara screamed, which caught the attention of a few by-passers while Revathi hung her head in embarrassment.
"Growing without a father and growing up without a mother is never the same. All I can say is stop living in the illusion of Maa and Uncle will be together." wiping her tears Sitara, walked away while Revathi sunk on the stair. How will she ever convince Sitara?
"I need you, Sitara. The more you are away from me, the more you are dangerous for my life. I know how much you love Auntie. I have to think of another plan. You have to be my sister, no matter what," determination and anger reflected on Revathi's face, and soon she left for the colony.
The evening went by and night came up, spreading its darkness over the city, but the moon shined brighter telling us, that even the beauty of the darkness can't be enjoyed without the moonlight.
Standing on the Howrah Bridge, Sitara looked at nothing in particular as her conversation with Revathi played in her mind on repeat mode. She was fine. With the decision of not letting Shekar step back into their lives, and she wants to stay put in that decision.
Did she make the mistake of announcing her decision without discussing it with her mother?
Revathi wanted their families to be together, but she wanted the family to be the same as it is now. Suddenly, she felt someone hugging her from the back, and a click sound got her back from the zone.
Sitara immediately separated the hands from her belly and twisted it in a swift moment. That's when she noticed the face of the guy and his appearance. He's wearing a black jumper paired with brown pants. The guy shouted for help, but Sitara kicked his inner thigh, making him kneel in front of her.
"Ah… Fuck you, you little bitch," but he yelped more as Sitara twisted his hand more. Soon, three guys and two girls came towards them. One of the girls had a phone in her hand, and by their appearance, they look like spoilt brats from rich-ass families.
"Language, Mr. Tell me. Why did you hug me and you, white shorts, are you filming this?"
"Oh! Hello, madam, leave me. We were trying to pull a prank on by-passers and record it to upload on YouTube." Sitara left the guy's hand, and he immediately stood up, dusting his hands in the air to relieve the pain. Another girl wearing waist-high jeans paired with a purple crop top came towards him, asking about his welfare. Sitara got to know the guy's name is Lakshman, and the girl's name is Andy.
"Don't you guys have any sense? There are certain regulations you need to follow while recording a prank, and you Lakshman touching someone in the name of prank is a crime."
"Oye, stop there. Just because I am silent, you can't go on accusing me. Do you even know who I am?
I am Lakshman Maheshwari.
MAHESHWARI. Does it ring a bell?" Lakshman said, stressing the word Maheshwari with a smirk plastered on his face, followed by his gang, but Sitara just folded her hand and raised her eyebrows in question?
"What? Oh, were you expecting some sort of scared expression from me? Well, for your kind information, I fucking don't care. You being a Maheshwari or a Mehra or a Sharma makes no difference to me. Actually, tell me one thing, without your surname, can anyone recognize you for you. You know what, you are a pathetic loser who is trying to find happiness in seeing others' pain. That's why you are making these prank videos. You are a sick person, and you need medical attention" Sitara screamed in anger as all her pent-up anger from the past few days came out, and Lakshman became the victim of her frustration.
Without a second thought, Sitara walked from them to her scooter, which is parked a few meters away from where they stood. Glaring at them for one last time, Sitara zoomed off from there, leaving Lakshman fume in anger and shame.
Andy screamed at the girl named Shristy screamed her for doing, such a big blunder. Lakshman turned back at them in confusion.
"What happened, Andy?"
"This idiot shot the video in live mode. Everyone on the internet saw you getting thrashed by that little girl." Andy said in a pissed off tone while Lakshman rubbed his face in frustration.
"Fuck… Sunder, I need that girl's every single detail by tomorrow. She should regret every single moment of her life for messing with me, and I will make sure she will. This is Lakshman Maheshwari's Promise."