Shravani Weds Akash ✔️

Chapter 7

After crying for hours I went home and straight to my room. From under the bed I pulled a very old photograph. My wedding picture. My fifteen year old self was staring at the camera unware of the events that was taking place. I hadn't changed much,my facial features were pretty similar,now I look more mature than that. Next to me there was boy of about seventeen years ,looking unhappy and angry. I don't even remember his name. Yes you heard it right I was a child bride. And I hailed from my mami's village. I wasn't a keshav, but a shashthri. I was the only daughter of a very religious couple, they were uneducated and believed in all kinds of myths. They thought my horoscope had an ill omen and that getting me married was the best solution for it. So they got me married to this boy from our neighborhood. But right on the wedding day night he ran away from the village. And I was left to succumb for a miserable life. His parents were horrible people,they treated me like a slave. And I had to leave school and become a proper daughter in law. This village didn't abide by any laws,it functioned like in old days,where there weren't any laws. Child marriages were pretty normal here. One day when I was bringing water from the well, I stumbled and fell. I hadnt eaten from the morning and I was feeling dizzy. That time the keshavs had come to visit mami and so the whole family was present there. Amma was the one who came to help me up and she looked at my bridal looks shockingly.

'kanna what's your name?' she asked sweetly.

'shravani ' I said picking up my pot.

'are you married?' she asked.

'yes and my husband ran away ' I said innocently.

This was the first conversation I had with amma and I remember every moment of it. She was the one who saved me. She was the one who wanted me as her youngest daughter and she was the one who gave me a life. She took me back to the city ,gave me good education and a good family and brought me up to be a successful person. The gratitude I have for them cannot be compared to anything. The boys have been looking after me from day one. I grewup with the name mostly, I would always follow them ,cz I was naive and curious. This family gave me love, warmth and protection. First few days I remember I kept saying madam and sir. But with time it became amma and appa and the bond felt real.Countless times they urged me to remove the wedding chain' but I couldn't. Something told me not to. I still don't know why I have it. I do believe in traditions.Until my so called husband is still there ,then this chain would also stay with me. I know I was being stupid but I couldn't help it.

My life went on like that, the nightmares I had were from all the sufferings I endured from my in laws house. They use to beat me and starve me if I didn't do any household chores. If I looked at any man they would burn my feet. It was horrible. I remember the days I kept praying for someone to save me. And that someone was my guardian angel amma.There was another memory that made me disgusted about myself. That was when my mother in law's brother visited us, he kept looking at me creepily. I was getting very uncomfortable. He stayed there for three days and on the third day he tried to force himself on me. I screamed and yelled for help and luckily my in laws came home and he left me. When I told them he tried to misbehave ,they blamed me saying I tried to seduce him. I didn't even know what seduce meant. When they said 'you asked for it' I lost it. I tried to runaway that night ,but they caught me and locked me up for days before they let me out and that was the day I stumbled across amma.She used all of her influence to free me from them. And that's how's my life went from shravani shashthri to shravani keshav. I smiled thinking about all the good things that happened. Indeed I was lucky to have a escaped such a terrible fate.

As time went , I forgot the brown eyes that gave me butterflies. I focussed more on my work and everyday was a task.

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