Deceiving Veils

Chapter-2{The bitter}

"Your father is responsible for this."

"You did this. Your father has done all this."

"There's a karma for everything."

"Shut up people, what's their fault in all this?"

"They cannot get away with everything like that."

"Oh! So THE family has stepped down their tower."

Nandini closed her eyes gulping what she had heard a few minutes ago. She was sitting in a huge tent all by herself. She in her entire life hadn't heard such venomous remarks. That walk through her people turned out to be a walk of shame.

"They hate us," she murmured. Her own people who blessed her always, hated her now. She stood up and shook her head in disbelief.

Weak sobs, she let the cry escape. She walked to the window and saw endless view of mountain line. Cold wind took away those tears in a jiffy and her trance was broken by her mother's voice.

"Everything will be fine, honey," She said while taking Nandini in a side hug.

Nandini looked at her, trying to find that missing assurance. She was the same lady who made her believe in fairy-tales once. She was the same lady who made her believe in everything she knew. She always believed her. But today, something was changed. Nandini could no longer find assurance in her. Her warmth, love and care were still there but belief was gone.

"I need some fresh air," Nandini took her shawl and walked outside. She covered her face with it and started walking down the alley.

Precisely one month back, she would have walked this beautiful alley carefree. Precisely one month back, everything was fine after all. Town heading for annual day; marts getting all dressed up; happiness around, everything was going how it was supposed to be. Then that riot...

That riot changed it all. Counting days, that's all she had been doing since then. Days passed and so did her countless questions. After all, all her questions like why it all happened; why she was not allowed to be there for her people; why her father had retreated; why he was not there for this town when rioters were destroying everything; how his one decision had changed everything and why he wasn't owning up to it, were passed as well.

Nandini was brought back from chain of thoughts by a delectable aroma. She saw smoke coming out of chimney. A wooden house! were people building themselves back? She thought.

She looked around to realize she was standing at a construction site. Someone's house was getting built. She saw people working with their heads down. They looked tired, quelled to be more precise. She heard a kid crying just to grab attention of his working mother. She ran to him and tried comforting him. That lady looked at Nandini who had been staring at them since minutes now. Her face turned blanch. She grabbed her son and left the place.

"Do you love to starve?" She heard someone yelling. She followed the direction.

"I don't fill your stomach to skip work in name of your crying kid," A man in uniform spluttered.

Nandini's saw the same lady standing with her head hung low. It didn't take long her to realize how officials there were exploiting those people. Her anger shot high and she didn't realize when she started walking towards them. Another guard dragged a man and threw in front of that officer. This startled Nandini and she halted. She took shed of tree and waited.

"This moron was trying to steal food, sire," Guard told.

That officer grabbed ear of that person so roughly that he cried in pain. Nandini took away her eyes. His cries were making her fraught.