21- The past (part II)

                                        

                                              
Gossips were brutal. They spread like wildfire, destroying the subjects in the process. In Tejas's case, his whole neighbourhood knew. They didn't know the true 온라인카지노게임 of course. Just rumors about a student staying late evening to seduce her teacher and vice versa. Eventually his students came to know as well. Most of them stopped coming altogether. 
Natasha was relieved. It didn't seem like her neighbourhood received the ear of it yet. Though that didn't stop the derogatory comments she had to hear at home. That they were ashamed to be her parents. That she was a burden to their lives. Going to school wasn't an option either as she had to hide her bruises. Her body ached for a week. When the day finally came to go to school, she was elated. Anything to get away from the four walls of her house. 
It was a normal day. Normal if she excluded the sly looks Kaveri threw-- the one who attended Mr Tejas's tuition. Natasha contemplated confronting her but was scared. It wasn't like they were friends either. She vaguely made up her mind to confront her in a few days. 
As days went on, she noticed changes in school. They were as small as the weather changing but they were still there. The side glances, the gossip, the avoidance. What became limited to Kaveri extended to her whole class. The girls whom she tagged as 'normal friends' began to distance away as if they would get diagnosed by her disease if they stood close to her. All except for Abhishek. 
She remembered coming home one day, begging her parents to change her school after she discovered obsolescent words written on her desk. As usual, she pleaded for her innocence as well. Her mother only resisted harder. 
“You'll rot in this school until graduation. It's your punishment for staining our izzat (reputation). Be grateful it's only for two years. A slut like you doesn't even deserve that.”
A slut like you doesn't even deserve that.
Another part of her died that day. With each verbal and physical lash she received, she drifted away from reality. Eventually, Natasha became void. Void enough to go to her room and stare at the wall for hours. Void to pass through the obstructions each day. She felt as if she was in a different dimension away from the world of living. She didn't become a participant, she became the background. The world had pushed that identity down her throat until she was forced to accept it. 
She was a slut. Untouched, unnoticeable, unloved.
However, one day, the void became too heavy to carry on her shoulders. 
It was a normal day. Getting up, going to school, attending classes, and coming home. No one barely spoke to her. Neither did she bother to. She had since lost her voice to reason. But instead of curling herself to a ball in her dark room, she got up. She got up and followed where her legs took her. 
Towards the terrace. 
The chilly winter night hit her skin like needles as she opened the door. She felt underdressed in her night tee and shorts but she hardly cared. Her eyes simply focused on the edge of the terrace and what lay beyond the horizon. With each step, she became more determined, more brave. She contemplated on leaving a suicide note, but what was the point anyway? It wasn't like anyone would read it. 
It's only natural to leave the world that had no place for a slut like me. 
Her world came to a singularity as she stopped before the edge. Her heart soared. Somehow, she managed to sit down on the border without falling. She was six floors above the ground now. Looking down, she noticed the pedestrians who were as small as her thumb and cars that looked like toys. The sight made her nauseous enough to divert her gaze to the starless sky. She wondered if she would atleast be granted heaven if it existed. Hell wouldn't be bad either.