The  door slammed open and there stood Dr. Gupta and Sheetal while the nurse hurried towards Neelam to apply some lotion on the marks which were present on her body. Neelam was in a state of confusion. Her lips separated as if to say something but Sheetal interrupted her, 'Now dear, we all know how confused you are to be among us', she said while placing her hand gently on Neelam's shoulder.

'I want to leave this place!' she said which showed the discomfort in her voice. Dr. Gupta eyed her curiously, 'So hey, pretty lady, it seems like you had been drifted into a long sleep, I think now you got all your strength back, so yes! you obviously can be discharged, you can go to your home soon!' he said with a smirk. 

Neelam was impatient she rose to her feet as if to leave the place but Sheetal threw her arms around her and assured her that she was completely safe and they meant no harm to her!

The blank emotionless expression swept over her face as the realization of the moment gradually seeped in. The fear seemed to rise behind her eyes. Like a caged animal she stood there. Paralyzed by the tragic feeling of isolation, she closed her eyes and gazed into the fields of nothingness. She felt the water creep out of her eyes and she gently whispered to herself, 'Where am I to go after being discharged?! I do not have a house to live in nor do I have a family!' she sat down on the bed, her lips trembled, shaking and gasping she couldn't stop crying, not even when she felt the sister's arm across her shoulders. The sound of her wailing and suffering echoed throughout the room.

Sheetal and Dr. Gupta stood there like two wax statues. They could sense that she had a terrible past. 'Drink some water and calm down.' Sheetal handed her a glass of water and took a seat near her. 

Neelam gulped some water and turned towards Sheetal. She met her anxious gaze and in no time realized that maybe she could help her.  

'How am I here?' she eyed Sheetal with a worried frown puckering her soft brow. 'I brought you here. You were lying beside my car in an unconscious state. I saw all those weird marks on your hands and face and thought of admitting you here.' Sheetal took Neelam's hand into hers and examined it alarmingly. 'It was really kind of you, ma'am' Neelam pulled away her hand and sighed. 'I must go now. I'll ask the nurse to prepare the discharge papers, you both can spend your time together till then.' Dr. Gupta and the nurse made their way for the door. 

'So yes, my name is Sheetal, I'm sorry I completely forgot to introduce myself' Sheetal's eyes twinkled as she spoke. 'I am Neelam.' 

'Hmm, so Neelam, a nice name though, now see, tell me everything, don't be afraid I could sense that something terrible had happened to you, otherwise why are you so heartbroken and what about those marks?!, look at me, you can trust me, if you suppress your pain then you'll never get justice. In this male dominant society you need to fight back to receive your rights, that's the only way you can achieve whatever you owe!' Sheetal said in a confident posture. 

Neelam gazed outside through the window, 'You are right, I'll never get my freedom if I do not fight back, the society will never accept me the way I am!' she spoke in a cold voice. 

'Yes my dear, I'm glad that you understood. Now tell me the problem that's troubling you so much.' she stroked Neelam's hair gently. 

Neelam rose to her feet, walked towards the window and stood there. The cold wind hit her face and her hair flew freely in the direction of the wind in a mess of locks, 'I don't know if you can help me with my problem but yes maybe I'll feel a bit light hearted if I share it with someone' she spoke with a typical smile and continued, 'I belong from Mayong, the nearby village. People over there are really superstitious and believe in all sort of black magic and I'm totally against it. I studied only till the 7th grade and after that I was destined to help my mother with all the household chores. Villagers think that girls should not be educated, and most of the girls over there are partially educated like me while some are not at all educated. I was married off at a tender age of 16 like most of the girls. Life was going smoothly. One day a villager came running to our house and gave us the news of the death of my husband, who met with an accident and died on the spot. The news left us all in tears, I was a widow and widows were always the subject of taunts all around. I was made to have bland boiled food and was asked to wear only white clothes. Nobody eyed me in a good way. I lost my colourful life..' she stopped, a tear rolled down her cheek, she turned pale and continued, 'fate had it in store for me, after two days of the death of my husband, my brother in law and another villager lost their life the similar way like my husband had died, from then onwards I was treated like an animal by my in-laws. For all small mistakes they would beat me and torture me, they even tried to kill me several times but when they did not succeed they spread a rumour in the village that I practised witchcraft and it was due to me that my husband along with the other two died in the village. That was the last thing they could do. I was horrified when people branded me as a witch. It was then when everyone in the village united to kill me and in the means of escaping from them I ended up being unconscious beside your car until you brought me here.' she finished. Suddenly she broke down. She collapsed on the floor and cried uncontrollably. 

Sheetal was taken aback. She sat there mutely. She could not believe her ears, she never thought that the society can be so cruel towards a widow, and blaming a normal person to be a witch was out of question. She rose up to her feet and with small steps paced towards Neelam who sat there crying heartily. 'Its a horrible thing one could go through and I don't have any words to explain how shocked I am!' Sheetal hugged her tightly. 

Sheetal tried to calm her down. She made her sit on the bed and wiped her tears. 'I think you are with the right person Neelam!' Sheetal cast her a sly smile, 'What do you mean?' Neelam was confused. 'My dear no need to be afraid any more, I work in a NGO which aims at eradicating the social evils present in our society and empowering women. I have to deal with so many woman of your age but your case is a bit special. No need to worry my dear girl, I'm with you in this fight . We'll lodge a police complaint first and I'm sure the police will take necessary action against it and what we NGO's are for! you'll get a new life to live and now you can enjoy it. I'll make sure that your in-laws are arrested as terming someone to be a witch is an illegal practice' 

Neelam could not believe her luck. She could not believe that she ended up being with someone who could help her till such an extent. She thanked god thousand times. Neelam who was in a state of depression in not less then a minute ago was now completely changed. Her eyes lit up as the corners of her mouth tuned, the dimples in her cheeks appeared as her whole face showed the amusement of the moment. She threw her arms around Sheetal and hugged her tightly, 'Thanks a lot, Sheetal. This means a lot to me', tears of happiness started flowing down her face. 

Sheetal started filling up the discharge papers. Now Neelam had a new life to cherish. She forgot everything, all her pain and sufferings were gone. She walked out of the hospital with a new ray of hope, with freedom and most importantly with a smiling face. She will fight and now she was not alone, Sheetal was there with her. 

Neelam shut her eyes tightly and inhaled deeply. The sun, shone brilliantly like a concave gold plate emitting its last crimson rays of light before embracing sweet slumber. Although, it appeared partially shrouded by the hanging clouds, it managed to maintain its grandeur as it surrendered its glory to the advancing darkness which would soon engulf the world. The clouds, with their various shades of pearly white fluff to deeper purples surrounded the dying warrior like a multitude of onlookers as it bade farewell. The scene was really pretty but to Neelam, it was her chosen path the one which would lead her to her designated goal, the goal of saving the girls who are still suffering the social evils, she made up her mind, she's not only going to fight for herself but also for all the women who are trapped in the clutches of superstitious believes. She was now a self-confident woman and Sheetal's company gave her a new assurance.

Author's note : I hope you people enjoyed this story! Comments are appreciated, don't forget to give your feedbacks, and yes there are more pieces awaiting for you all to read by both me and Amogha :) 

Harshita ❤️