”The scars of harassment”
The ostentatious colors of her city, the sky full of stars, the gushing water waves that touched her little feet and the beauty of her own life—she was shielded by all these. She was dancing in her own way and was learning to comfort herself. She never wanted to go out of these precincts of her life till that day which changed the meaning of so many things. 12th standard is the class when board examination is everybody’s concern, and they stress you and make you think that it is the end of everything and that all your important decisions of life depend on these single exam results. But, what if suddenly a chain of unfortunate events line up in front of you? This would sound like some typical Bollywood story. But no, it is not.
Her life was smooth like that of any 12th standard girl’s, until that one evening when she was harassed by those monsters that tore her apart. However, she kept silent by crying her heart out in the hope of gaining the strength. Suddenly when, after a month, she stood up again to fight for her own dignity, which she lost on that evening, she was again held down by those monsters that tortured her by using different means and made her lose hope. They followed her at strange times, stared at her and made her sore and they made her doubt her own existence.
Emotional breakdowns occurred to her but she had friends to talk to her, all day and night. They were there whenever she needed somebody to back her spine. She was being supported, all through these troubles, by one of her friends who made her believe in herself. She made her believe in self-respect and self-esteem, which she needed the most. Now the question would be, why didn’t she share the whole scenario with her family? It was her self-belief and rigidness that she was fine and could handle everything with the backing of her friends. No, this wasn’t stupid. But yes, it was a little too brave for a girl of her age. She dealt with everything, she tackled it for three months and after those three tough months was the time when she started to collapse. The friend, who was being supportive in this whole journey, was also being affected badly as the whole situation was getting worse day by day. Board examinations came up and by this time the friend started to ignore what was happening and she too didn’t want to disturb her friend anymore! Her exams were her main concern, but her soul was more important at this time because she had to deal with it alone! Results came out and she was done by now. Her life, her career and her best friend, they all left. Her dreams were all trampled down by everything that happened to her. But this taught her how people leave. Today, after 3 years recalling all this might be an unwanted incident for people, but not for her. She still somewhere downright in her heart has that scar of events left. But she protected herself from her own vulnerability.
You’re going to be sad. You’re going to hurt yourself. Don’t you dare do it. Sit on the floor and watch cartoons like you did when you were little. Listen to songs that make you want to dance around your bedroom in your underwear at 3 A.M. Brush all the knots out of your hair and say “I am worth it” into the mirror. You’re going to be sad. You’re going to get through it. This is for those monsters who thought that they would kill her by doing that to her- You Gave Her a Hit for Her to Take! What Goes Round Comes Around; Soon you’ll get the taste of The Cake You Have Baked. It’s Not Revenge; Not Acrimony The Show is All Over Honey.
—- About the Author: The article has been contributed by our intern, Devika.
