It was his friend Vishwesh who came up to Prabir and asked with rising amusement," Who is this fatso?"

Within the fraction of a second, before he could even gauge the situation, Prabir held his collar and looked at him frostily.

"She is fat, so...so I called her fatso. What is wrong with it? What is the big deal?" Vishwesh blurted out thoughtlessly.

" Is it so? Then next time I see your father, how about I greet him saying Hey Mr. Baldie.... or Namaste Baldino uncle,"Prabir retorted back with ferocity.

Gently tucking at his arm near the elbow Parul pleaded, " Bhaiya please let him go."

Stepping back immediately, Prabir left his collar.

So she is his sister.... the thought flashed instantly in Vishwesh's mind.

Sprinting towards them as they started to move in the direction of a ladies trial room,he formally apologized and excused himself, knowing that otherwise Prabir would smash his bones later for his behaviour.

Though they had been friends for a long time now, Vishwesh had never seen Parul before, as a teenager. They used to meet up and hang out in school, sometimes playing fields, fast food centres, restaurants, shopping malls or parks.  The last he remembered he had seen her was when she was maybe seven or eight years old.

Leaving the tiara and her purse with Prabir, Parul went on to try the dresses that she was willing to purchase.
Fiddling with his phone, Prabir waited patiently, when her phone started to vibrate silently in her purse.

Fishing it out from her purse, he saw the name Arindam flashing on it.  Without even having uttered a word, he heard a clear and loud male voice from the other side saying, " Hey! Rhino did you finish the assignment given by Sharma?"

" Agreed, my sister is a Rhino but aren't you ashamed of going to the same school as her?

Then what does that make you-

Well let me guess, you are the rotten carcass of a wild boar.

Now how does that sound??

Or maybe, you would like to be called an adorable jackass,"Prabir grimly replied and disconnected the call, observing Parul emerge out of the trial room wearing the crimson kurti he had chosen for her.

***********************************

At night when they sat for dinner, their father, Mr. Banerjee enquired about the missing glass jug containing water and Prabir interrupted, " I'll explain....Baba she was upset for being teased in school and..."

Before he could even complete the sentence, Mr. Banerjee sighed,"You have pampered and spoilt her to the heavens!

Parul please for God's sake, just stop nagging about your obesity all the time. I have better things to deal with. I don't want anymore of those melodramas .

Could you please just focus on your studies", laying great emphasis on the last word.

Her eyes welled with tears. She got up saying," I don't have an appetite" and was on her way to her room.

"Baba ...if she can't share her problems with us then.....with whom? On whom will she rely?
Don't worry! You eat and go to bed. I'll see that she doesn't go to bed hungry,"Prabir sneered.

Walking up to her room, he called out in a charmingly sweet voice "Paru....Paru,"unable to knock on the door as he held two plates in his hands.

Opening the door she looked at the plates in his hands, turned around and curtly said, " I don't want to eat. I don't have an appetite."

"That ain't gonna happen,"he softly warned.

They heard a soft knock on the door. Mr. Banerjee was knocking on the half - open door holding his plate in one hand. Prabir immediately placed the plates on the table as Parul opened up the door with eyes fixed on the floor.

He said gently, " I am sorry my child."

Instantly, filled with happiness, Parul beamed with joy and they had their dinner together.

" Paru...if you treat yourself badly, no one is going to treat you better.

Stop criticizing yourself....saying ' why bother! I'll always be overweight ' or 'Oh! I am so disgusting...bla bla bla...

No one has the right to treat you badly." Prabir elucidated just after finishing the last morsel of food on his plate.

" Here you have heard the words of the wisest man ever Parul,"Mr. Banerjee gleefully exclaimed.

" Baba, no matter how much I try to feed positive thoughts into her brain, by the time she returns from school, she is always like a deflated balloon with a long face and moist teary eyes,"Prabir said sardonically.

" He is right Parul,"Mr. Banerjee admitted stifling a yawn. "Ignore them, brush them aside, don't give people the option of judging you....even if you can never sink to their level and insult them back, though it might be tempting......

Do not let these nincompoops bother you too much."

************************************

" Parul are you even trying to modify your lifestyle behaviours to lose body weight?

You could at least do some moderate intensity exercises on a daily basis,

Or maybe you can try YOGA,"said Sneha.

" You may also follow a diet chart made by a nutritionist...to..you know maybe put a check on your increasing body weight before you start rolling on the floor like a football," insisted Prerna. "Here, call up this number, to make an appointment. Ms. Bose is one of the best nutritionist's in the city."

Why?Why is everyone so damn concerned about my obesity?

Everyday someone or the other either lectures me or taunts me.

Bhaiya and Baba don't even consider my obesity as an issue that needs to be fixed.

Her stream of thoughts was disturbed as she received a new message from an unknown profile on Facebook, most probably it was a fake one.

" You fat grotesque elephant!"

And then again another message from a new profile

" You ugly fat b****"

She was given vile horrible names in messages sent from a few more fake accounts followed by a photoshopped image of her's, where she was wearing a 'bikini ' and it was succeeded by severely embarrassing and harsh comments.

This was a photo clicked on, one of her friend's birthday party where she had actually worn a purple salwar suit.

Why? Why did they have to be a nerd and say it online and not directly to her face?

Feeling devastated, she couldn't take it anymore.

The emotional scars were too deep. She wanted a relieve from the pressure build - up from the distressing thoughts and feelings.

Taking up the pen knife from her study table, she slit the wrist of her left hand.

The emotional pain had been so exhaustive that she couldn't even feel the physical pain.

She laid down still on her bed, closing her eyes and letting her back and head rest comfortably on the pillows against the bed rest.

Blood was pooling around her....

A/N: I do not intend to promote or encourage the behavior of self-harm or commiting suicide in anyway.

Life is precious, please do not ever ..ever work upon your instincts of self-harm.

Please be kind to others, because savage words can wreck havoc in the minds of people.

Please be kind with your own self.

Hope you enjoyed reading!!