She was the best outgoing student. The best orator. The topper in her school.

Before she could enrol herself for her higher education, she became the next target of the so called society.

Coming from a lower middle class family, she did not have much freedom to enjoy her life.

Being the only daughter to her parents, she was reprimanded if she even spoke anything against her father.

They worried more about what the society would think, failing to understand their daughter's pain.

She pleaded, fought, cursed, emotionally blackmailed, but, she failed.

She was just a teenager, an 18 year old girl with dreams in her eyes.

Unfortunately, heeding to the advice of their relatives and not to their daughter, they got her married to a man elder to her by 13 years.

Her marriage was the last straw. After that day, she refused to speak with anyone from her maternal family.

The groom, in the beginning, like a good man, accepted her wish of taking some time to understand each other and then proceed with their married life.

Even though she was aloof, she tried.

She sincerely tried to fit in with his family.

After 2 months of marriage, she got to know about the betrayal.

Her parents had hid the fact that her husband was a drunkard. Her husband was none other than her neighbour's close relative.

When her cousin brother had tried to stop them from getting her married to that drunkard, her parents had threatened everyone that no one should inform their daughter about this tiny so called insignificant detail and have hope that he will change after marriage.

When she got to know this, her heart shattered and the last one percent hope too died.

She vowed to herself that she would never ever see her parents.

Slowly, her so called husband started showing his true colours. He started coming home drunk, molesting her at every given chance.

He was a school drop out and he had no permanent job.

Slowly, she started noticing her surroundings and realized that her parents had pushed her towards the first groom, may be, they wanted to get rid of her, sighting her to be just a duty.

Every night, the pillow would become wet with her tears of agony, pain, betrayal, fear.

She feared going in front of him.

Then came the day, when everyone was supposed to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

On new year's eve, she was sitting in front of her house, listening silently to her neighbours who were chatting happily and getting things ready to cut the cake at midnight, to celebrate the end of the first decade of the 21st century and the beginning of a new decade.

Everyone complemented her glowing beauty. They compared her with a firefly and praised her enchanting appearance. Perhaps, they failed to realize that a firefly always glows brightly at the end of it's lifetime.

One hour before midnight, he came home drunk, accompanied by his so called friends.

When she tried to take him inside their house, he pushed her in front of their relatives and started creating a scene.

What was supposed to be discussed within four walls was brought to the street.

In his drunken stupor, he spilled their bedroom secrets. His vulgar insulting words, his insolent inhuman behaviour in front of the crowd, embarrassed her. Not minding anyone, he cried like a man deprived of life.

Never ever in her entire life, she had faced such humiliation. Her already shared heart broke more. She had a small hope that her husband would come around.

Her husband started talking about his sacrifices for his wife.

His regular visits to his girlfriends, his smoking habit, hanging out with friends the whole day, he had sacrificed his freedom for her and started searching for jobs, but his wife, she, was so heartless and had asked for time to give herself to him!! How rude of her!!

Everyone started pointing their fingers at her and consoled the poor husband who was crying profusely.

People started scolding her for not giving the husbandly rights to her husband. Each one started whispering loudly about how girls of today's age should be confined to their homes and the need of putting a full stop for girls to study more than the required basics.

She stood in the middle of the crowd, shedding silent tears.

There was no one to support her.

After cursing her for not offering herself to her husband on a silver platter, they dispersed to cut the cake and celebrate.

Hours before dawn, after all the chaos and celebrations had gotten over, she tip toed silently towards the store room and took hold of the rat poison. Reading the label and confirming the name, she drank the whole bottle.

Throwing it away, she crept back slowly, with a feeling of bliss and happiness.

For the first time in her life she felt content that she had done something according to her wish.

The next morning, her husband came in front of her with a guilty face and apologized for his mistake.

She just smiled at him and kept quiet, nodding her head absent mindedly.

For two days, she silently helped all the family members, making them smile in delight, thinking that she was coming around.

On the third day, she vomited blood while having her breakfast.

The family got shocked and immediately hospitalized her.

The doctors were unable to find anything wrong in her body that could cause her to vomit large amounts of blood.

She smiled.

Sensing something foreboding, her husband repeatedly questioned her, threatened, pleaded and cried.

Finally, she replied that she had taken rat poison and it had been 3 days.

The doctors, nurses and her entire family got thunder struck at her revelation.

When her mother and father approached her, crying profusely, she refused to see them.

With tears in his eyes, her husband neared her and whispered a small why.

She smiled at him, feeling finally happy that she had done something which she had wanted to do for a long time.

No amount of pleading moved her.

Her husband fell on her feet and asked for forgiveness, she did not reply.

Her parents hugged her, asking for forgiveness, she kept quiet.

Her relatives cried around her, she smiled.

On the 4th day, she started having shortness of breath and blood started pouring out like lava.

With a final twinkle in her eye, she smiled and closed her eyes, forever.

She became a star. She now belonged to those thousands of stars who had ended their life, like her, hoping for a better after life.

What should have been the best phase of a girl's life, the teenage phase, became a nightmare for her, due to the so called society and the fear of being judged.

She feared that her parents would think her to be immoral if she disobeyed them.

Her parents feared that the society would think wrong of them if they educated their girl child.

The relatives feared that she would set a bad example for their children.

Fear, fear, fear.

Who won in the end?

***********

Hey guys, another one shot about another she.

This incident happened for real, though I have added a few imaginary scenes.

Teenagers, please feel free to talk to someone about your feelings, however stupid you feel it to be.

Sometimes, sharing our thoughts will lessen the burden in our heart, even if we are unable to find a solution.

Remember, there is always a solution to every problem.

Take care, stay safe.