Chapter 1
"Mummy !!hurry up my school bus would be here any second " Vedika shouted as she stood at the door step of a small cottage house, though it was small but it looked cozy and beautiful with a small garden infront of it which added to the beauty of the cottage.
Her mother ran out of the kitchen hurriedly with a tiffin box in her hand and quickly turned her daughter's arm where her school bag was hanging, open it and kept the lunchbox inside , then turned her daughter around and gave her smile and kissed on her cheeks and said " my baby, you will never be in trouble when I am here" . With it they both turned around when they heard the horn of the school bus. Vedika quickly kissed her mother back ,waved her goodbye and ran to the bus.
" Uma !! Get inside it would start raining anytime soon, the bus has long gone, do you need to stand at the door everyday till the bus goes out of your sight? " the old woman finished the line with concern in her eyes and gestures as she stood near the hallway with a breakfast plate.
Uma turned towards the old woman and closed her eyes for a second and then with a small smile she replied while closing the main door " you know Masi (aunt) , what Vinnie ( vedika's nick name) is for me, she is not only my daughter but also my saviour, who taught me to fight and survive . And yes if I had to, then I would stand here at the door step forever , only because of her" . With it Uma and her aunt sat down at the dining table for breakfast.
Both aunt and niece started having their breakfast in complete silence, but her aunt kept on looking at Uma while having her food with a sad eyes , only waiting for her to look back so that she could start a conversation, but her niece didn't dare to raise her eyes as she deliberately kept it down on her food knowing her Masi's concerned stare at her. She quickly finished her food , cleaned the dishes and left the room without wasting any time, afraid that her Masi would start the same conversation and bring the torturous memories back of her past life.
Uma went up to her room and closed the door with tears in her eyes. It had been two years and yet the trauma of her past life still haunts her every second and every minute , whenever she was alone. It was only when her daughter was around , that she would smile and laugh and be the old lost Uma ,who was once a happy , kind-hearted,cheerful and a joyous person.
But life turned out to be cruel to her , inflicting all kinds of pain, heartbreaks and torture in every step which she took ,beginning from her birth and as she grew up , till she had Vedika which was the only good thing that God happened to give Uma in her life . Her daughter was the only reason of her living , as she tried many a times to end her treacherous life but God didn't allow it , as it planned to give a certain ray of light in her life through her daughter.
Born in a staunch hindu family, Uma was a very religious person, she strongly believed that good will always win over bad, and God will always come to help you if you have blind trust on the Almighty. But after all the incidents she faced in her life ,she slowly started giving up her belief. And when she was on the verge of death, as she already gave up all the hopes of her life ,she learnt that she was pregnant.
She welcomed this news with the little joy and warmth which was still left in her heart , and also took it as a grace of God in order to save her from the cruelty of life. And from that day she gained back her trust on her God and decided to devote her entire life only for her daughter protecting her from all the evils at any mean as she knew that her baby would face the same cruel fate like her in her husband's family because she was born as a girl.
