Tag: friendship

Chapter Thirty Five: A Proposition

Praveena woke up in high spirits. When she looked out the window, she noticed the bright blue sky, dotted with mild grey clouds. She smiled to herself as the wind brushed against her face.

She got ready for what she anticipated a tiring, yet rewarding day. Kamal was already at the dining table and he didn’t miss the skip in her step.

“You seem happy,” he observed as they sat for breakfast. He had made her favourite breakfast of traditional dosas and chutney.

“Hmm,” she responded her mouth full. She hadn’t expected such a treat. Her father specialized in every type of food that she loved and each day, Praveena ate extra-well, making up for all the pounds she lost in college. “Pa, this is so delicious!” she exclaimed holding up a piece of the dosa dipped in hot chilli chutney and smacking her lips.

Kamal smiled at her. Somehow, Praveena noticed he looked much bleaker than usual. His eyes had lost their colour, his skin had begun to sport wrinkles and he seemed a little moody as well. “What’s happened, Pa?” she queried, putting down the piece she had just raised to her mouth. Now that she properly looked at him, she realized that his forehead was wrinkled as if either tensed or worried. Praveena chided herself for not spending more time with her father. Ever since she had returned, he had somehow distanced himself from her and had become busy with work.

As Praveena looked at him expecting him to speak, Kamal shook his head. “Nothing,” he said continuing with his breakfast. “Eat.” he added catching her still staring at him.

Praveena felt the battle wage within her. Was it the right time for a discussion? ‘Perhaps not,’ her inner voice helped her decide. She heeded the advice, surprising herself.

Once Kamal had left for work, Praveena spent the whole of the day contemplating on how to tell her father about her plans to organize a self help group. It seemed like a good idea to her, but she also wanted to hear her father’s take on it. She knew he would have another perspective, and hoped he’d help get started with all the work. ‘This is going to good!’ she could hear her inner voice jumping in delight.

She spent the rest of the day reading, and despite her efforts to concentrate, her mind made plans all the while.

When Kamal returned that evening, she greeted him at the door as usual. He dragged himself through the doorway and slumped on the couch, worrying Praveena.

“Pa?” she spoke uncertainly.

Kamal heaved a sigh. “Hmm?” Seeing the look of concern on Praveena’s face, “Just another long day,” he sighed. Praveena smiled and went into the kitchen.

She handed him a glass of ice water and sat next to him on the couch. Kamal drank, and reached out to place the glass on the table in front of the couch. “That’s better,” he said as he made to get up. “So, what do you want for dinner?” he asked.

“Why don’t you go wash up?” Praveena suggested smiling. “I’ll take care of dinner.”

Kamal smiled crookedly, raising his eyebrows. He said nothing though. Smiling, he nodded and left.

Twenty minutes later, Praveena sat at the table with her father to taste the dinner she had prepared. Kamal watched in silent surprise, as she served him hot chappatis and gravy. She sat next to him and helped herself.

They ate in silence, but Praveena’s mind screamed for feedback. For some reason, she felt the meal had a great flavour. Maybe love was the secret ingredient, she appreciated herself. ‘Or maybe, it’s because you want to flatter your father,’ her inner voice spoke the fact, annoying Praveena.

“How’s is it, Pa?” she asked.

Kamal looked into her eyes, unflinching. “Well,” he said smiling, “it’s actually good — for a bribe.” He smiled broadly now. Praveena bit her lip, looking sheepish. Kamal laughed, loud and hearty.

“What is it? You’re in love with someone and you want my permission?” he almost snorted, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

“No!” Praveena exclaimed defensively, making a little frown replace Kamal’s smile.

“What is it then?” he asked more serious.

“Well,” Praveena hesitated. Kamal looked into her eyes and she felt a slight chill at the back of her spine.

“I — er — we — that is, Anil and I — thought of starting a self help group. For drug addicts.” Even as she spoke, she could see Kamal’s expression changing. He didn’t look inviting anymore. Praveena waited, expecting her father to say something, but he didn’t. She had expected him to be excited and encourage her to carry out her plan, but his look suggested otherwise. “So…” she dragged, trying to make her father speak. But as he remained silent, “wha’d’you think?” she blurted out.

Kamal rested his cheek on his hand and took a deep sigh. The silence rang in Praveena’s ears. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Kamal said at last.

Praveena was crestfallen. “Why not, Pa?” she pleaded.

“Well…” Kamal stumbled. He didn’t know how to say it. “It’s dangerous,” he managed weakly. And when Praveena looked at him incredulously, “I don’t want you associating with anymore drug addicts!” he replied with a hint of annoyance.

Praveena couldn’t digest his tone of finality. She sat stunned at what her father had said. “anymore” he had said. Her insides squirmed.

Kamal hadn’t waited for a reaction though. He rose and cleared the table as Praveena sat with her father’s words ringing in her ears.

Praveena didn’t know what to make of her father’s queer behaviour. She had never seen him act so rude, to her in particular. She stared at him in disbelief as he did the dishes, left the dining room, without even a “good night.”

Chapter Thirty Four: Making Plans

It was a cool Sunday afternoon and Praveena lazed back on the couch, reading. Ms Marrie had recommended the book. It was a book about living life from a different perspective. It was titled Tuesdays with Morrie, a non fiction by Mitch Albom.

Praveena had taken refuge on the couch after a heavy lunch and she felt her eyes drooping when all of a sudden, her phone rang, chasing the drowsiness away. Stifling a wide yawn, she saw that it was Anil.

“Hey!” Praveena exclaimed, delighted as she answered the call. “How are you?”

“I’m good, what about you?” Anil responded with equal delight. Praveena smiled widely. She had missed the long conversations. Hearing Anil’s voice boosted her mind.

“Hmm, I’m I’m good too” she replied. “So? To what do I owe this pleasure?” she mocked.

Anil laughed. It was a deep and spontaneous laugh. It made Praveena smile. When he spoke, she could feel the joy in his voice, “nothing, just felt like talking to you.”

“So, what up with Bangalore?” Praveena sat up on the couch and placed her book on the table next to her. She didn’t feel sleepy anymore. “how’s MBA?” she asked.

“It’s alright. When has studying ever been fun?” he added with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Praveena suddenly remembering her college life.

“So,” Anil said, “what are you up to? What’s your plan?”

That’s when Praveena realized she had done nothing since she had got back. She had been too busy becoming aware of the things around her. She told him that, along with the previous day’s events. She told him about her understanding and her conversations with Ms Marrie.

It was easier to talk to Anil now. The invisible barrier between herself and the others had somehow evaporated.

Anil didn’t say much. He listened to Praveena with evident delight and Praveena enjoyed having his rapt attention.

“Now,” she paused, “you tell me, how’s life in Bangalore?”

Anil related the story of his life. “Well, MBA’s draining most of life,” he laughed hollowly. “but it took me a while to realize that it wasn’t giving me much joy,” he paused for a breath. “so after some advice from my teacher, I joined as a volunteer in a non-profit organization.”

“Huh?” Praveena responded surprised.

Anil laughed. “You surprised?” he asked joyously.

“Ya-huh,” Praveena replied defensively. “So, tell me about this organization of yours.”

“It’s a non-profit organization; an alcoholic anonymous institution. Their primary mission is to help people recover from their drug addiction.”

“Oh…” trailed Praveena. She hadn’t expected that. She couldn’t speak for a while. Niveda’s thoughts overwhelmed her. There was an uneasy silence that widened, until Anil broke it.

“Hey, you there?” he asked knowingly.

“Yeah,” Praveena managed, “sorry, I – ”

“I know,” he said simply.

They spoke for another half hour in which Anil explained all the activities that happened in the meetings of the organization. They were mainly counseling sessions, Praveena learned. On some days they had priests, psychologists and doctors advise participants about the dangers of the habit. Some other days, they would call over “people like myself; survivors” said Anil. “Even people who have lost loved ones to drugs would come over and have a chat.” The main purpose of doing stuff like these, according to Anil, was to help addicts realize how much they matter to their families and to educate them about the physical and mental damage that drugs did to them.

Anil also told Praveena how he spoke about Niveda and that a lot of addicts had spoken to him afterward saying that they wanted his support. Anil said it almost ecstatically.

“That’s really good Anil,” Praveena said earnestly. “At least you’re doing something to change someone’s life.” she nodded to herself. If only Niveda could have gotten something like that, she thought bitterly.

“For the better,” Anil added.

“Ya. That’s right,” Praveena agreed.

Another short silence.

“Hey,” Praveena exclaimed.

“Hmm?”

“An organization! I want to be a part of something like that too. You think I can volunteer?” she asked, excited. She liked the idea of helping someone get rid of the terrible addiction.

“Hmm…” Anil hesitated, “I don’t know, Praveena” he sighed. “Why don’t you try volunteering for some other local institution there?”

That sounded sane to Praveena. She agreed, but she was more interested to do this a as team. She wanted to work alongside Anil.

“Why don’t we start on organization ourselves?” she almost jumped with excitement.

“Huh?” Anil was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Praveena to think like this.

“What do you say?” Praveena pressed him, “you, me, and a few others. I can gather people. What, you’re in?”

“Hey, wait.” Anil replied quite reluctantly, “this isn’t simple, you know that?”

“Yeah, of course.” Praveena said in haste, “but I’m sure we can pull it off.” She was keen to do something.

Anil thought. “hmm, maybe – ” Praveena waited with bated breath. She didn’t understand why she was so interested to get this running, but she had an impulse that it would be a great idea. It was bound to improve a lot of lives. It suddenly struck her; this is what she wanted to do. There was something inside her that pushed her to do this.

“Alright, Praveena. If you’re so sure – then do it. I’ll do everything I can to stay with you.” He said the last part a little extra cheerfully.

“Wonderful!” Praveena exclaimed. She had almost forgot Kamal was asleep in the next room. “Let’s do this!” she vowed, and heard a laughter of agreement from Anil.

Praveena felt sleepy no more. She brimmed with energy — energy that came from the thought of building their own support group. The helplessness she had felt during Niveda’s recovery acted like a stimulant within her, driving her and providing her with all the enthusiasm she needed.

That night, Praveena made plans. She didn’t want to discuss her ideas with her father until she had it all mapped out. She sat cross legged on her bed and thought about it. It seemed like a good idea, except for the problems that it involved. While speaking with Anil, she had thought only of the effect a help group would have. Now though, when she considered the smaller aspects of starting a group, she began to have questions. Her inner voices conflicted.

‘Where would she set it up?’ – ‘Home.’

‘Home? Really?’ — ‘ Ok, the garage then.’

‘Who would be the initial members?’ – ‘Anil and Ms Marrie.’ Yes, she thought, Ms Marrie would agree for sure. She was interested in these kinds of things. That was settled then.

Next, ‘where would you get the money?’ – ‘ personal savings’. Praveena doubted that. But at least, she thought, her savings would be enough for initial investment.

‘How would they spread the word?’ – ‘Internet – duh!’

‘What do we do in the organization?’ – ‘conduct meetings and discussions,’ like Anil had said, she nodded to herself.

‘Just meetings would be boring’ – ‘we’ll come up with something else later.’

‘Is this a good idea at all?’ – ‘I think I’m sleepy.’

Praveena lay back, she’d deal with her doubts later; now, she needed the rest.

Chapter Twenty Eight: Education Burdens

“Keep in mind everyone, once you graduate, you’ll become an integral part of society.” It was another one of those lectures that the final year students had to sit through. The lecturer was their principal. They had a lot of those nowadays. The principal spoke most of the time, but occasionally, they invited famous pep speakers to give guest lectures. It was a routine torture for the final years. Old people talking, and insisting about the importance of higher education and the social recognition it creates.

A lot of students grew annoyed every time this happened; a handful of students felt higher education was just an excuse to live off their parents’ money. A few others had had enough of text books and studying. They wanted to move on, and start living their lives.

Some others paid attention to every little detail of the lectures. They considered higher formal education, and MBA seemed like a good idea. They were most of the rich people who had access to mounds of gold their parents and grandparents had preserved. But they were just a small group.

The majority, like Praveena, had decided to end their formal education. Praveena felt as if college had taken over the best years of her life; that she was spending her life being miserable, by choice, when she could have done something meaningful. She now thought about it a lot. She wondered of the future, and what it would hold for her. She had always evaded thinking ahead, but now the time was ripe to make some serious plans — ‘and a few contingency plans too’ her inner voice added. She remained undecided though.

Anil had decided to do his MBA; he had decided to remain in Bangalore. He wanted to take on a part time job and fend for himself — at least a portion of his personal expenses.

“What would you do?” Anil asked one day as they sat in the canteen, having lunch.

Praveena shrugged. She knew she should have made a decision by now, but she couldn’t make her mind up. The thought of graduating without Niveda still disturbed her. “Stay at home for some time, maybe. Have some fun, until I come up with something.” she said hoping for something of another holiday. Anil didn’t seem to think likewise.

“You going to settle down?” he asked, looking disappointed.

“Ya, I’m thinking,” she said unsure “for a while.”

Anil almost laughed. “I was talking about marriage, you idiot!” he tried to control his laughter, and failing.

“Oh,” Praveena smiled sheepishly, “nope, not marriage.” she said, and added indignantly “I’m too young for that!” Anil laughed with her.

“So,” he probed again, once the laughter had died down, “you’re going to stay home, for a while?”

Praveena nodded chewing on her lunch, not saying anything.

As Praveena’s final exams approached, she couldn’t miss the tension and the excitement that was obvious in almost every soul in the college. The teachers were the most happy with the end of the course. They often referred to Praveena’s batch as the worst batch they had had to teach. Niveda’s issue had been an added negative for them to cling on to. They showed their eagerness to be rid of the troublesome batch.

The students were on par with the teachers in terms of joy. There were plenty of goodbye parties in the hostels. From the girls’ hostel, Praveena could hear the racket coming from the boys’ hostel. It was the same every night. These parties usually happened after the exams, some seniors had told her, but this time, the parties had begun way ahead. She too felt like putting her book down and partying. Knowing they would be free after this one final exam made it all the more difficult to concentrate. Praveena’s mind kept wandering to the enjoying phase after the exams.

She forced herself to study. ‘One last time,’ convincing herself.

The final paper of the final exam was upon them. That morning, Anil and Praveena met in the canteen as usual and had an unusual, quiet breakfast. Praveena was feeling plenty of emotions at the same time. She was happy college life had come to a close. She was reluctant to leave Bangalore; she had enjoyed the city’s refreshing climate. She would leave Anil behind, and that was painful too. He had been her closest friend and only comfort after Niveda. She was thankful to him for staying by her side, throughout the tough episodes of Niveda’s treatment and death.

But most of all, it was the thought of Niveda. During the first year, when Praveena was just beginning to get accustomed to Niveda’s regular chatter, she would imagine themselves graduating together, and then remaining friends for life. Every time she thought of it, she wanted to weep. She cast the thought aside, deciding instead, to focus on her sandwich.

“Last day,” Anil observed. He sneaked a look at Praveena to catch her reaction. “Yeah,” She nodded as memories swivelled in her head.

They finished the exam, and met again for a quiet lunch.

“I’ll miss you, Praveena” Anil said flatly. “You are my best friend, you know.” he pursed his lips in a tight smile.

Praveena looked at him, a long calculating look. She knew she would miss him too, more than she could say.

“Me too,” she ended the conversation.

Chapter Twenty Six: Getting Along

“I’m amazed, Praveena.” It was James’ class on a Thursday evening. He had just appreciated one of her drawings in front of the whole class. She had forgotten she had cast her drawing inside her assignment essay, and James had happened to come across it. Praveena felt her face redden. She hadn’t expected this reaction from James.

She had drawn three stallions grazing a green meadow. She had thought of Niveda, Anil, and herself while drawing the picture. ‘Maybe that is why it looks so good’, she thought. Three stallions, away from civilization; away from the people who would hurt them. She had such strong feelings that it had reflected in her drawing, even without her realizing it.

When she took her seat, Anil whispered, “nice one.” She smiled. The two of them tried to act as if they had gotten over Niveda, when neither hadn’t. They did it for each other despite knowing it was obvious.

College went back to normal in a few days. For them, it was an excitement of a holiday and a day of supposed mourning. They all went back to their studies and examinations. The second year drew to a close, and students and teachers alike clamoured the corridors clarifying doubts and exchanging last minute notes.

Praveena, oblivious to all that, could neither concentrate on her subjects or sleep. Those days of youthful sleeplessness threatened to take her over again. She longed to speak to someone, she wanted the comfort Ms Marrie had given her. She wanted to hear herself speak the truth. That was the hard part; even though her mind knew Niveda would never come back to sit by her side laughing, her heart still clung to that thin rope of hope. Speaking the truth out loud would mean accepting the inevitable, and it would break her heart. She shuddered every time she thought of Niveda. She spent weekends in her room all alone, staring into space lost in her thoughts about Niveda.

Anil tried calling her, though she wouldn’t respond. Whenever she answered him, she’d put him off with some excuse or the other.

Anil grew worried and scared at her sinister behaviour. He told James about Praveena’s condition and James asked her to meet him.

“What’s happening Praveena? You seem unlike yourself, I hear,” they were in James’ room, and Praveena had her eyes cast down.

“I’m not myself anymore” she mumbled.

“Neither are we.”

Praveena looked up, surprised. James looked at her, with a look that meant what he had said.

“I’m not asking you to forget it, Praveena. Just learn to live with it.” Praveena looked confused.

“Accept the fact and go on with your life. It doesn’t stop for anyone.”

Even years afterward, Praveena would consider that as the best piece of advice she had ever received. Simple truth.

So Praveena tried to take the advice. She realised the difficulty in getting over a loss, but she tried. She attended the final exams, and left home for the term end holidays. She was looking forward to a few good solitary days.

Praveena was leaving Bangalore; she was going home, home to Chennai, and her lonely father. She was glad to get away from college. She needed a break, and she expected good couple of weeks. She had ten days of freedom; freedom from college, lecturers, pity stares, and assignments. She arrived at the Chennai Central Railway station with high hopes. And there he stood waiting, her father. Looking older than she remembered him, making her realize that even as she grew older, so did her father. It came as quite a shock; she hadn’t seen Kamal for nearly half a year, she had been too involved with Niveda and her treatment – ‘Okay, don’t go there!’ her inner voice interrupted sternly.

“Hi, Pa. How are you?” Drained of energy, she gave him a weak hug. Something in Kamal’s embrace comforted her more than anything had had in the past few months.

She hadn’t told Kamal of Niveda’s addiction and suicide. She had told him all about their friendship, but decided not to open up the sad part. She didn’t know if she could handle saying it out aloud. Now though, she knew she had to. She wondered how he would react. Kamal wasn’t the type of father who would shower his daughter with too much concern, but he would take it seriously. ‘Not Ma, though’ her inner voice reminded her. ‘Yes’ she silently agreed. Her mother would have taken it in a different manner. She would have offered suggestions to help Niveda. Her mother had been a good friend, a place Niveda took over. They were both great companionship. Except they were dead. Gone.

“Shall we?” Kamal stepped aside, gesturing Praveena to take the lead. She did. As Kamal drove the motorcycle, Praveena enjoyed the ride. It was early in the morning, the streets dust and smoke-free. As they drove past the tall buildings, Praveena felt the cold wintry breeze playing across her face, making her locks bounce in ecstasy. Praveena thought back to her first weekend in college, when she had stood facing the green valley, letting the wind kiss her face. She thought back to the day she and Niveda, along with Anil, had sat on the grass looking on, savoring a moment of bliss. Those were memories that wet her eyes.

When they reached home, Kamal turned to her, “what do you want for breakfast?” He became excited, clapping his hands and walking with a spring in his step.

“Anything, Pa” she shrugged, smiling. Kamal nodded and left for the kitchen, whistling her favourite song.

Praveena smiled to herself. She was happy that she had got to spend time with her father. She spoke to him over the phone quite a lot, but her physical presence meant a lot to Kamal, and Praveena knew that. ‘Pa, looks dull,’ her inner voice observed. ‘talk to him,’ it urged.

Praveena didn’t know what to say. Niveda was the only thing on her mind, and the guilt that she hadn’t told her father about almost being expelled.

She followed him to the kitchen.

National Blog Posting Month – Day 30

Chapter Twenty Four: Letting Go

Niveda began enjoying her day to day activities. The lack of college work lightened her mood. Every evening, as Praveena finished her daily assignments, Niveda sat with her, helping her out and sharing random conversations.

One day their History of Psychology professor, Mr Brown, questioned Niveda.

“You girl!” He exclaimed at her. He had quite a bad memory when it came to students’ names. “James told me you were doing some assignment for him,” he shook his head showing his disapproval. “What’s that about?” He peered hard at her through his round glasses.

Niveda stood up wondering what to say. She glanced at Praveena who looked back at her mutely, egging her to come up with a convincing lie.

“Er — ” Niveda began, “I’m doing a research on—er—I’m analyzing the greatest psychological experiments, and writing a paper suggesting alternative experimentation methods.” she smiled weakly.

“Experimental psychology, hmm…” Mr Brown nodded, wondering. “I thought it was the psychological effects of experiments on subjects?” He stared at her over the top of his glasses, as if he had caught her red handed doing something illegal, “that’s what James told me.” He added tilting his head to a side, a nasty grin playing on his lips.

“Er—yes, that too—Sir” Niveda added as an after thought. Praveena noticed her swallow hard. She couldn’t manage a lie without squirming with fear and insult.

“Oh, really?”

Anil stared at Mr Brown with contempt. “He doesn’t buy it,” he whispered to Praveena. She looked at Mr Brown who threw a crooked smile at Niveda.

“Sit.” He barked at her, who cowered with fear.

Praveena was a little astonished to see Niveda react the way she did. She would always speak back and bite anyone who dared to insult her. Praveena saw Niveda wasn’t the same anymore; she had changed a lot, giving in to others to stamp her down. ‘Could it be an effect of the drugs?’ She wondered.

After class, the three friends sat in the canteen discussing the event.

“It was so unlike you, Niveda.” Praveena voiced her thoughts. Anil turned to her disapprovingly. She shouldn’t have said that.

“I know,” Niveda said miserably. She hung her head. “I got scared. For some stupid reason. I feel like a coward. I couldn’t even face the old toad.”

Anil held her hand and smiled reassuringly. “No you’re not,” he said. “You’re very brave, you’re fighting this — this — thing, when the others are worrying about facing the exams. You’re braver than the whole lot of them.” He finished with a smile, and so did Praveena. Niveda, however, still looked unconvinced.

That night, Niveda sat on her bed, sleepless. Praveena lay awake as well. They were quiet, each lost in her own thoughts. Praveena had a sudden urge to speak to Ms Marrie. It had been long time since they had spoken with each other. Though Praveena had never accepted it, Ms Marrie had been a second mother to her. She remembered Ms Marrie telling her about getting married. She wondered if the marriage was over. She picked up her phone. She called Ms Marrie, but she disconnected the call when the phone had rung twice. ‘No,’ she thought. It was almost midnight, and Ms Marrie would be asleep now.

With a deep sigh, she put her phone away, and as she did, she saw Niveda meddling with her phone. She was messaging someone. ‘That’s odd,’ Praveena thought. She had never seen Niveda messaging anyone before. ‘but then again,’ her inner voice piped, ‘you had never seen her doing drugs either.’ She shut the voice down.

“Niveda?” she spoke softly a little uncertain.

“Hmm?” Niveda responded without looking up.

“You’re texting someone?” Praveena asked trying hard to keep the astonishment out of her voice.

Niveda looked up. Her eyes reflected confusion. “Yeah,” she snapped. Praveena remained silent. Then Niveda cast her phone away lazily and said in a plain voice, “I felt like talking to my mother.”

“Oh,” Praveen’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s — that’s good.” She said. ‘What had she expected? That Niveda was messaging someone else?’ She should have known better than to suspect anything sinister.
“Sorry,” She apologized, “I thought — ” She began, but Niveda cut in with a simple, “Never mind.”

“So,” Praveena continued now a bit happier, “what did your Mom say?”

“She told me to go to hell,” Niveda shook her head in exasperation. Praveena couldn’t believe her ears. How could a mother say something like that? “And you know what I said?” Niveda continued, turning to face Praveena, her eyes sparkling. When Praveena shook her head, she said “I said, ‘I will’.”

Praveena stared at Niveda, now scared. ‘What’s got into her?’ She wondered.

“Come on now, Niveda — ” she began, but Niveda interrupted again.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t mean it.” Even in the dim light of the night lamp, Praveena could make out Niveda’s crooked smile.
Praveena didn’t say a thing for a while. “Okay,” she said at last. “Good night.”

“Good night. Sleep tight.” Niveda smiled widely, lay down on her bed, and turned over to the other side.

“Yeah…” Praveena trailed off as she pulled the sheet over her.

Praveena woke up early the next morning. It was Friday and she was expecting a good weekend. She turned to Niveda. Seeing her lying face down on the pillow, Praveena let her sleep a little more.

She left the bed and got ready. Twenty minutes later, she was combing her hair when she realized Niveda was still asleep. Putting her comb down, Praveena went over to wake Niveda up.

“Niveda?” she called tentatively touching her shoulder. That’s when she saw Niveda’s sheets wet. With ‘blood,’ she realized a split second later. Horrified, she turned Niveda over and saw her bleeding on her slashed arm. Paralyzed with shock, Praveena opened her mouth to shout for help, but no sound came out. She ran away from the room in panic and banged on the warden’s door nearby. Seeing a hysterical Praveena, pointing towards her room, the old lady led Praveena back to the room. There on the bed, they found Niveda’s body, lifeless.

National Blog Posting Month – Day 27