Sahastra's POV:

'How did this happen' Aunt Martha asked me and I was still in a state of shock even after 10 days to my father's death. And today was his virtual prayer meet. It had come as an extreme shock to me because it happened overnight. I had turned a orphan overnight as I had already lost my mother a few years ago and now it was my father.

They had left lots of money, huge business empire for me but whenever I saw any child with their parents I felt like a popper. All my wealth was mere waste infront of love which I don't have for myself.

I closed my eyes and looked at Aunt Martha via my new gen eye scan projector and said 'Cardiac arrest aunty' and I saw her eyes clouded with that our communication signals got weaker. Aunt Martha considered my father as her own brother...I knew with the signals weakening that she needed space...so I simply bid her a goodbye and disconnected the wave.

Guess technology was the one who still kept me connected to Aunt Martha even as she lived in 'floating lands' once called Antartica. Aunt Martha was a scientist and she was finding ways to save our planet and hence finding a way to balance nature and refreeze the water in Antarctica. I had heard my parents say it once was an ice land ... imagine how cruel were our ancestors if they could screw up an entire continent and our their made the beautiful ice melt down due to global warming. Aunt Martha had dedicated her life in research and science.

She ofcourse was one powerful woman whom many men proposed and wanted to marry but Aunt Martha had broken hearts by declaring Aunt Fidelia as her partner making them an extremely powerful couple. Our world where it's a 'women dominating society' where women were considered as Alpha. And such a world where two women in love as a couple could only make men shiver in their pants. Many envied them, rest were scared of them, plenty of them were sad but they were happy. They took pride in showing how perfect they were for each other. Aunt Martha and Aunt Fidelia were the only family I had right now but as they weren't my blood relatives judiciary asked me to live in with my uncle and aunt. Jeevan uncle and Mithila aunty. And I was extremely unhappy about that but as I was single and I was a woman court and law gave me special and as I was considered and marked under the 'precious-hit list'.

The 'precious-hit list' was a list made by every country to make sure the female species are protected. Because of our ancestors who were careless in their past and killed, burnt alive, tortured women there was a natural imbalance in the nature. Like we had scarcity of pure drinking water there was also scarcity of women and causing a population drop. We women were considered the highest in ranking. We had men pouring in, we were brave, we ran the nation's, we ruled over these petty men inspite of they being the majority they were treated like rats. No one cared if they lived or died. It's such a unjust system we have. There were crimes against men but the blind and partial judiciary system always took a women's side.

Although I was a business graduate but this injustice towards men and increased crime rate against men made me the one and the only lawyer who fought for men for free. This wasn't my job. This was my social service towards humanity. But today the same law had become a cage to me as Mithila aunty and Jivan uncle were made as my guardians. Two selfish humans who only saw me as a money minting machine.

'Aunt Fidelia... they want me to get married'

I said to her as I dialled Aunt Fidelia after I had disconnected the call with Aunt Martha...Aunt Fidelia was a more practical and a strong lady where was Aunt Martha was more soft and emotional. I really needed to discuss it with one of them.

'You know you can never be forced into a marriage bond. Women can never be forced into this. And you are a celebrity too Saha' she said and I nodded. She probably noticed the nervousness in my eyes as everyone knew how cunning Mithila aunty was...She was said to have been charged of plotting to kill her own child just because it was a 'he' and the greedy woman considered a male child as a liability only because of the dowry attached along with it. There was a case which ran for years but she was never convicted as they couldn't prove it and her crocodile tears always did the job. Jivan uncle was her 6th husband and she conveniently divorced her previous 5 swallowing a hafty alimony... blaming some of infidelity, some for being impotent and the rest saying they did not match. She was stuck to Jivan uncle because he belonged to a royal family although and because only women take over the throne Mithila aunty was now Queen Mithila. And that tag made her even more powerful for me to fight against.

I didn't know if I must discuss this with her, but she was all I had. At times I felt sad being the only girl in the city of my age. I felt jealous when I saw men with their gangs hanging around, giggling and trying to hide themselves from me. They would drool over me but my aura was too strong and men by default would shy away looking at me. They would look at me with a hooded gaze and although I loved this attention I craved to have friends.

The only friends I had were Ajay and Vinay. They were the only friends I had as they were gay and that somehow didn't let my society judge them too much. They were happy that they found love in each other and the competition was reduced for wooing me. But the rest were always under a scanner by their mothers as they were scared if their son would be involved with me and I wouldn't settle down with them then there would be a black mark on their character and no one would marry their sons. They would either die single and with that their bloodline would end or they would have to simply live as a 'misters' to one of the woman in neighbouring state.

There by now there were many women who had approached my aunty asking to make me a 'conjoined wife' to their sons. It was a pride for many women as they could keep as many husbands as they wanted but I was a lawyer who was fighting to banish this rule and if I would myself have multiple husbands my protest and years of hardwork would only be a mockery. But my aunty always gave it a deaf ear. I didn't want to marry multiple men. I wanted just one. One who could love me eternally. My mother was a one man woman and I also wanted it that way for myself. A wonderful man like my father. Nothing else. And probably my eyes were already on that someone who lived in my opposite apartment.

With a lot of confusion finally I broke the news to Aunt Fidelia...

'Aunty I kind of like someone'

And I saw Aunt Fidelia's eyes shine.
'Love???? Hmmmm who's the lucky chap' she asked and I smiled saying
..

'Swapnil!!! He is my neighbour... Not as rich as us... but we have a lot of eyelocks...his smile is somehow very comforting... But seems like his family is a little orthodox...I have always seen his mother being over protective about him. He is not allowed to step out without a mask, not allowed to talk to stranger women, I have never seen him wear anything other than full formal shirts and loose pants fully buttoned up. I have never gotten a chance to talk to him but I want to... He works in a school as a primary teacher. I like him a lot aunty...but I don't know if I should just'

That's when Aunt Fidelia said...
'Saha.... Talk!!! Just go and talk to him...look he maybe likes you but is scared of the society and the world...you must talk to him...and anyways Mithila can't force you...we are still alive...just a wave away' she said and I smiled.

I was thankful to the technology that kept us connected, we wouldn't need devices to communicate with folks in the year 2222 and we communicate via mind waves as we all humans are induced a RFID tag to locate each other and a chipset installed within to make calls and transmit data. Ofcourse there were still the middle class and the poor who were dependent on age old devices as they couldn't afford to install a chip within but we were rich and we could always do that.

My mother decided to get me the chip piercing done when I was a mere 4 year old. It was for my safety reasons as I was the only girl child in the entire city born after 12 big years and my parents knew they had to protect me. There were so many families who were yearning to get their sons married to me...but my mother was fierce and my father was a protective one.

And it's the first time I was thankful that I was rich enough to have the wave chipset installed in me, because knowing the witch Mithila aunty was I didn't want her to hear us talking. With wave transmission I wouldn't need to open my mouth practically and all I spoke in my mind or thought would get transmitted to Aunt Fidelia via wave call.

I knew this was early to propose Swapnil as my father died ten days ago but I had to...I couldn't let Aunt Mithila manipulate our lives and month end was my 'Swayamwar (an affair where women were allowed to choose their perspective grooms' but with a bidding. And I was against dowry system. I wouldn't let this drama happen.

I had decided!!!
I need to talk to you Swapnil!!!
And I will do it tonight!!!