The grand Bhaduri Manor stood tall amidst the green fields of Bengal. The iron gates had carvings of Bengal's famous tigers. Though imposing, the rust showed the manor's old age. The manor had a huge backyard filled with flowers of all kinds.

Next to the manor was a small house belonging to Bipin Bhaduri's elder brother Ajoy Bhaduri. It was a tiny house with cement walls and a metal sheet roof.

Though small, the house was home to six people - Ajoy, his wife Revati, and their four daughters.

Revati came from a poor family and was uneducated. But she understood the importance of education thanks to her sister-in-law Rani Bhaduri.

Rani was married to Bipin Bhaduri and had two sons. So there were six children in the Bhaduri family, though their lifestyles were very different.

All the Bhaduri children were at the manor for Durga Puja celebrations. The eldest, Mithali, was helping her aunt Rani.

Mithali knew she was unwanted by her family. Yet here she was, waiting to ask her uncle Bipin to fund her studies in Hyderabad.

Nervous, Mithali walked up to her uncle and father with a plate of flowers. "Uncle, I need to talk to you," she said softly.

Bipin replied reluctantly, knowing Mithali was disliked by the family. Her father Ajoy looked at her with disgust.

"This girl just wants money. What else would a greedy person like her ask for?" Ajoy said angrily.

Tears filled Mithali's eyes as her father hurled insults.

"You need money for studies in Hyderabad, right Mithali?" Bipin asked though he knew why she had come.

"Y-yes uncle," Mithali stammered as tears flowed. She kept the flowers on a side table.

"Please help me, uncle," she sobbed, kneeling at his feet. She knew he hated her family and would likely refuse. But she dreamed of studying and improving their lives. All her life she had seen her mother suffer under her father.

Bipin only tolerated Ajoy's family because of their mother's request. He saw them as leeches living off his hard work due to his kind wife's nature.

Bipin liked having them under his control. He saw his elder brother beneath him.

Bipin didn't want to fund Ajoy's family. But he knew his wife and sons would insist he help Mithali. So he hatched a plan - he would control Ajoy's family and use the girls later as brides to expand his business.

Bipin placed his hand on Mithali's head as she knelt crying at his feet. She prayed for a miracle to change the destiny of her and her sisters.

"I may be a cruel businessman and bad brother. But I'm not so cruel as to not help you have a better future," Bipin said gently.

Ajoy was shocked by his brother's words. He tried to stop Mithali from moving forward.

"Why would you support her, Bipin? She has brought me nothing but misery! Having her was an unfortunate curse upon my family!" Ajoy yelled in hatred.

Mithali's heart broke hearing her father's words. His cruelty crushed the ray of hope she felt on hearing her uncle's kindness.

Tears flowed as her sisters and cousins rushed to her side. They loved and respected Mithali as their elder sister. She had always been caring and patient.

Seeing Ajoy's cruelty, Mithali's mother Revati, and aunt Rani also had tears in their eyes.

Her sisters Piyali and Suravi held Mithali supportively. Youngest sister Trishna clutched cousin Nideesh's hand. Nideesh and brother Nihith glared at their father.

"How could you make Mithali didi cry?" Nihith shouted at his father's unreasonable hatred.

"Nihith!" Rani scolded him for disrespecting his father. But she understood his anger at her husband's behavior.

Bipin was oddly gentle today, making Rani suspicious.

"Kaka said nothing wrong!" Mithali spoke up weakly, hoping to keep the peace their grandmother wanted.

"Don't cover up for him, didi," Nideesh said gently. He knew his father's habitual cruelty toward them.

"It's her father acting like a useless pig now!"  Sudha, their grandmother scolded her eldest son. Her younger son laughed at the insult to his brother.

"Maa!" Ajoy yelled before storming off, insulted.

"Your father agreed to fund Mithali's education," Rani said softly, stunning the cousins.

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"Mithali, I don't have much but I have been saving every little penny I could to support your education"  Revati pressed the small pouch into Mithali's hands. 

"No, Maa!" Mithali declined softly. 

 "I can't take your savings," Mithali pleaded but Revati refused to budge.

"You are my oldest beti. I will do anything I can to see you have a better life," Revati said firmly. "Please take it, it's not much but it's something."

Seeing the determination in her mother's eyes, Mithali finally relented. She knew how much her mother had sacrificed to save this money for her.

With tears streaming down her face, Mithali accepted the pouch and embraced her mother tightly. Revati held her daughter close, wishing she could do more for her.

Mithali knew she would cherish her mother's gift forever. It represented her constant love and support despite their poverty. She vowed to herself that one day, she would repay her mother's sacrifices and make her proud.

For now, Mithali held on tightly to the glimmer of hope as her dreams of pursuing an education seemed within reach. With her uncle's support and her mother's love, she felt confident to face the challenges ahead.

After accepting the meager savings from her mother, Mithali entered the cramped room she shared with her sisters in their tiny, run-down house.

She looked around at the flaking walls, patched up tin roofs, and fraying mats on the floor that served as their beds. This house was all they had known of life, filled with hardship and wanting.

Mithali opened her old, battered suitcase. It still had some frayed clothes, a couple of dog-eared books, and a smooth stone she had found by the creek years ago. These were her only possessions.

Her sisters Piyali, Suravi and Trishna sat huddled together on the floor, their spindly limbs testament to the many nights they had gone hungry. Their faces were etched with a sadness far too deep for their young years.

"Didi, do you really have to go so far for studies?" Suravi asked in a small voice.

Mithali paused her packing and gave her sister a brave smile, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Yes, I do. The big city colleges are my only chance to get a good job. Then I can support you all and take you away from here."

"But we'll miss you so much!" said Trishna as tears fell from her large, mournful eyes. "Who will tell us stories and sing us to sleep?"

Mithali's heart broke thinking of her sisters fending for themselves in this unforgiving home.

"And cook our favorite rice and lentils?" asked Piyali wistfully. It was a luxury when they could afford such a meal.

Mithali hugged her sisters tight, wishing she could protect them from the poverty and grief that was their fate.

"I know it will be so hard being apart. But we have to stay strong and endure this. One day, our lives will be better," she said, trying to convince herself as much as them.

The girls sat in anguished silence, the weight of their dismal existence heavy upon their slumped shoulders.

Finally Piyali spoke up in a choked voice, "Didi, take my favorite red glass bangles. I know how you love them."

Mithali realized this was her sister's attempt to make their separation a little less painful. She accepted the bangles, eyes blurring with tears.

Trishna removed her faded yellow ribbon from her matted hair. "Take this too! You can tie your hair like me when you miss us."

Mithali knew this tattered ribbon was her little sister's most prized possession. Taking it with immense gratitude, she vowed to herself that one day her sisters would have everything they deserved.

The four girls huddled together late into the night, finding meager comfort in sharing their hardship, hopes and fears. Tomorrow would be unbearably difficult, but Mithali knew her sisters' love gave her the strength to pursue their dream of a better life.

The four sisters were jolted from their conversation as the front door banged open. Their father, Ajoy, stumbled into the house, clearly drunk.

"Where is everyone?" he bellowed. "No one cares to wait for me?"

The girls froze in fear as heavy footsteps approached their room. Suddenly, the door flew open and Ajoy stood there, eyes bloodshot and reeking of cheap liquor.

"Oh it's you good-for-nothing girls," he sneered, swaying slightly. "Making all that noise when decent folks are trying to sleep!"

"Sorry Papa," Mithali spoke gently, trying to placate him. "We were just talking."

"Talking haan? Must be plotting against me!" Ajoy shouted. "I provide a roof over your ungrateful heads and this is the treatment I get."

He snatched Trishna's ribbon from Mithali's hands. "What's this you're stealing from your sister?"

"No Papa please!" Trishna cried desperately. "I gave it to her!"

Ajoy paid no attention and stumbled towards them menacingly. The girls shrank back into the corner, terrified.

With all her courage, Mithali stepped forward shielding her sisters. "Papa you're not well. Please sit, I'll get you some water."

But Ajoy roughly pushed her away. "Don't tell me what to do, you good-for-nothing burden on me!"

The commotion woke Revati who came rushing in. "Ajoy, enough!" she cried. "You will not raise a hand to our daughters."

"Shut up, witch!" Ajoy growled. "This is all your fault, bearing me these useless girls."

But Revati's pleading words could not get through to Ajoy in his drunken rage. He pushed past her roughly, making his way into the girls' room.

"You ungrateful wenches don't know how good you have it!" he yelled, spit flying from his mouth. The girls cowered in fear.

Ajoy's eyes fell on Mithali cowering in the corner. "You're the worst of the lot!" he bellowed, advancing towards her.

"Acting all high and mighty, wanting to leave us behind. You deserve to be taught a lesson!"

He grabbed Mithali by her hair, making her cry out in pain. Revati rushed forward crying, "Ajoy no! She's just a child!" But he shoved her away violently.

"Papa please!" Mithali begged with tears streaming down her face. But Ajoy was beyond reason. He slapped her hard across the face. Then he took off his leather belt and began hitting her relentlessly.

"No Papa stop!" the other girls screamed, but they were too terrified to approach him. Mithali collapsed to the ground, arms covering her head, as the belt came crashing down on her frail body.

Suddenly they heard a yell - "Bas!" It was Mithali's uncle Bipin, who had heard the commotion from next door. In a rage, he wrestled the belt from Ajoy's hands and pushed him away.

"If you ever lay a hand on those girls again, I will forget you are my brother," Bipin growled. "Get out of my sight!"

Ajoy scrambled away in shock. Bipin bent over Mithali's shaking body, trying to assess her injuries as he needed her to be at her best if his plan were to be successful one day. Revati and the other girls surrounded her, tears flowing freely.

Though battered and in pain, a dazed Mithali realized this experience had only made her more determined to build a better life. She would not let her abusive father dictate her destiny.

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A few days had passed since the horrific incident with Ajoy. Mithali's bruises had begun to heal, though the emotional scars ran deeper.

Mithali gently touched the fading bruises left by her father's belt. The physical pain had lessened, but the wounds upon her spirit still felt raw. She shuddered remembering his drunken rage.

Tomorrow was the fateful day Mithali would leave for Hyderabad.

Her aunt Rani entered holding some bundles. "Beti, I have some new clothes and snacks for your trip," she said warmly.

Mithali's eyes widened seeing the colorful salwar-kameez, so unlike her own worn and patched garments.

"And I made your favorite sweets - narkel naru, sandesh, rosogolla. So you don't forget home," Rani added affectionately.

Overcome with emotion, Mithali embraced her aunt, unable to express her gratitude for this kindness.

"Focus on your studies and do us proud," Rani said, caressing Mithali's hair. "I want the other students to see your brilliance, not judge you by...your circumstances."

Outside, Mithali's cousins entertained her sisters, trying to keep their spirits up.

"Didi will become a big doctor and return in a fancy car to take you all to the city!" Nideesh exclaimed, making Trishna smile.

"But who will praise my poems when didi leaves?" Trishna asked sadly.

"I will! And didi will call you from the big city to extol your poetry," Nihith reassured.

Though disheartened by Mithali's departure, her siblings found solace in envisioning her successful future.

Alone in the room, Mithali penned a heartfelt letter to her mother. She expressed her endless love and gratitude, promising to fulfill their hopes one day.

As she sealed the envelope, tears splashed upon the paper, smearing the ink. She pressed the letter to her heart, steeling herself for the difficult road ahead.

Tomorrow she would step into a wider world full of potential, but leave behind all she held dear. Mithali prayed for the strength to combat the darkness of her past while illuminating the way towards a brighter future.

Night fell on the cramped home. After Mithali's cousins left, an uneasy silence permeated the rooms. Tomorrow, Mithali would leave for the city.

Her grandmother had decided to stay the night with them in solidarity. As the rest of the family slept fitfully, Mithali lay awake on the thin mattress in the hallway, the only extra space in the tiny house.

Suddenly, she heard soft shuffling footsteps approach. Her grandmother Sudha lowered herself to the floor beside Mithali's bed.

In the moonlight streaming through the window, Sudha's gaze fell upon the faded bruises on Mithali's arms - remnants of her father's cruel abuse. Sudha's heart ached at the injustice of it all.

Gently, she took Mithali's hand in her own wrinkled one. "My child, I am so sorry for everything you have suffered," she said, voice heavy with sorrow.

Mithali could no longer hold back the torrent of emotions. She wept as her grandmother cradled her like a baby, stroking her hair soothingly.

"I don't understand why Baba hates me so much," Mithali choked out between sobs. "What wrong have I done?"

Sudha sighed deeply. "You've done nothing wrong, dear one. Your father...he is complicated, plagued by his own demons."

The old woman's eyes took on a distant, mournful look. "But there are some things about your past that you must know before you leave home."

Mithali peered up at her grandmother, perplexed by this cryptic talk.

Sudha steeled herself before speaking again. "The truth is...Ajoy is not your biological father."

Mithali gasped, bolting upright in shock. Mithali was shattered to find out that one thing - blood - did not connect them.

This one thing had given her hope he might accept her one day. This one thing made her believe he could change.Now this one thing was severed. They did not share this one indelibly tie.The one thing she counted on was a lie. Now she had to find belonging without it.This one thing was gone. But she could build a new life on true bonds of love.

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Author's Note

I'm excited to announce that I've decided to continue all six stories into one book. Your feedback and support have inspired me to continue writing, and I'm eager to delve deeper into the Bhaduri family's journey.

Your comments and votes are incredibly motivating, so I encourage you to stay engaged and share your thoughts as you read. What burning question do you have about the Bhaduri family that you're eager to see answered? Your input will shape the narrative, and I can't wait to explore it together.

And this Chapter is dedicated to @Varushi_rose who has been following Mithali and Agastya's story closely. Your support for these characters means the world to me.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure!

 Date: 25th January' 2024