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"Sidharth, yeh tumhaari gardan ke piche kala sa kuch laga hai.", Says his classmate.

"Kahi woh nazar ka teekha toh nahi? Jaise maa bachpan mein lagati hai.", Other girl says.

"Dekhe toh! Ha ha ha.. lagta hai Janvi ne apne Jaanu ke liye lagaya hai. Kitni obsessed hai tumhaari girlfriend.", Laughs another.

Sidharth feels embarrassed on such comments. The next day when he gets ready to go to college, he is stopped by his mother.

"Sidharth, ek minute beta.", Says his mother and she tries putting a black kajal mark on his neck.

"Maa please! Nahi lagwaana yeh sab. 20 saal ka ho gaya hoon. Kab tak aise teeka lagaogi?", He jerks her hand away and speaks to her in frustration.

His mother looks at him in shock but he ignores her staring eyes and leaves to college.

"Jaan, kya kar rahe ho?", Janvi asks

"Lab mein hoon toh obviously experiment hi karunga na? Naa ki bhangda.", He speaks in frustration as his mood was off due to the guilt of being disrespectful towards his mother.

"Hmmm.. arey arey pata hai.. par main toh ishaq farmaane aayi hoon apne boyfriend se experiment ke bahaane.. Aaj kuch naya experiment karte hai romance mein..", she says winking.

"Janvi, dheere bolo professor hai waha aur apne experiment pe focus karo. Kahi kuch gadbad ho gayi toh lene ke dene padh jaayenge.", He says.

"Problem toh tumhe hogi jab main aaj tumhe smooch ke alawa kuch aur bhi karungi.. bahut ho gayi ab.. hum bade ho gaye hai kuch naya try karte hai.. romance mein tadka dalne ka time aa gaya hai.", She teases him.

"Iske liye puri zindagi padhi hai. Filhaal padhaayi pe focus karna hai. Iss baar mere kam marks aaye hai. I have to put extra efforts. Kuch saal siddhat se mehanat karunga to achieve my dream.", He said.

"Huh! Pyaar sirf main hi karti hoon tunse. Tumhe toh meri koi chinta hi nahi hai. You don't love me", she complains while mixing a chemical absent mindedly into a beaker having another chemical. Sidharth looks at her pouring it and panics and acts immediately by pushing her away to save her only to succumb to an explosion of chemicals on his right side of his face.

He falls on ground shrieking in pain and is rushed to the hospital. His mother rushes to the hospital upon hearing the news. She prays to God while his son is being treated inside.

The doctor informs his mother that his face and hand is burnt permanently due to its contact with the acid however they were yet to check if his vision was affected by the accident.

This left his mother devastated. She cried her heart out alone in the hospital washroom. She knew she shouldn't fall weak infront of her son so that he requires to deal with the world. Her tears would make him weak hence she made herself prepared for everything. However, deep down in her heart she kept praying to God to keep his vision unharmed.

He gains consciousness and finds his mother sitting infront of him.

"Maa..", he calls.

"Sidhaaarth, thank God tumhe hosh aaya.", She says with a smile.

"Maa.. woh meri friend Janvi kaisi hai?", He asks as he remembers the incident.

"Sab thik hai, tum kaise ho?", She asks.

"Main thik hoon. Usko koi problem toh nahi huyi na? Woh acid uspe gira toh nahi na?", He asks.

"Kaise girta? Tum joh apne friend ko bachaane ke liye wahi khadhe the.", She says.

"Hmmm.. mera muh jal raha hai. Mujhe mirror dekhna hai.", He says.

"Woh sab baad mein dekh lena. Pehle doctor ko bulaati hoon, woh check karenge tumhe.", She says

She goes out and her tears start pouring uncontrollably. She goes and calls the doctor, wipes her tears and comes back into the room. The doctor checks him and his vision. He then tells his mother that his sight is fine. She thanks him.

"Mujhe toilet jana hai", says Sidharth to his mom.

"Yahi bed pan deti hoon, kar lo.", She says.

"Nahi, maa. Mere haat pair salamat hai, mujhe washroom jaana hai.", He says.

"You need rest. Main nikaal dungi, bed pan use kar lo.", She says.

"Nahi maa, please. Bahut uncomfortable hota hai.", He says

"Beta uncomfortable kaisa? Maa hoon main tumhaari. Bachpan main bahut nappies badle hai tumhaare, toh woh sab choddo.", She says.

"Main rokh ke baitunga par nahi jaaunga. Bachpan mein I was helpless but ab itni strength hai ki I can take care.", He insists.

His mother puts her head down and allows him to go to the washroom. She knew what was about to happen is inevitable. He steps inside the washroom and uses the toilet.

When he goes to wash his hand, he startles looking at the mirror. He touches the mirror with his hand and tries wiping it clean unable to believe that his face was now distorted. But even after wiping and splashing water on the mirror the reality remains.

His heart sunk as if it slipped and fall down his gut. He took back few steps until his back hit the door. He looked at the mirror again and he was petrified of himself.

His mother knocked on the door asking him to come out but he was lost due to shock. After many knocks, he opened the door and his mother looked at him. He silently went to his bed sat with a thud.

"Sidharth, kitna time laga diya andar. Juice piyoge?", asks his mother.

He looks at his mother.

"Kya hua? Chalo, main tumhe juice deti hoon. Abhi kuch din yahi hospital mein rehna hai toh kal se tumhara books le aati hoon. Last time padhaayi mein kam marks aaye the, iss baar koi laa parvaahi nahi, samjhe? Main khudh tumhara revisions karaungi.", She goes on speaking to calm herself and divert their minds as if everything was normal.

"Maa, mera chehra..", says Sidharth.

"Main tumhaare padhaayi ki baat kar rahi hoon Sidharth. Kuch suna ki nahi?", She speaks again.

"Maa, mera chehra jal gaya. Mujhe khudh se darr lag raha hai, aap aise kaise normal behave kar sakti ho?", He asks. Her heart thudded against her ribcage.

"Beta, tum mere liye jitna important kal the utna hi aaj. Yeh sab mere liye importance nahi rakhta. Tum important ho. Tum thik ho yahi kaafi hai mere liye.", She says.

"Maa, main thik kaha hoon? Aapne mera chehra dekha?", He asks.

"Haan dekha, kya hua hai? Kuch nahi.. kuch din mein yeh zakham bhar jaayenge.. ", she says.

"Aap samajhti ho na ki I am 20 year old not 5 year old jisko kuch nahi pata. Burnt mark permanent reh jata hai.", He says.

She goes and sits beside him. She cups his left side of the face.

"Mere bachche, surat chahe jitni bhi achchi ho, sirf seerat hi aadmi ko define karti hai. Tumhaari achaayi tumhe sab se sundar aur alag banayegi. Pyaar chehra dekh ke nahi kiya jaata, dil se hota hai.", She says.

He nods quietly and she goes to get him juice.

"Ab kaala thika lagane ki zarurat nahi hogi na maa?", Asks Sidharth.

She freezes and excuses herself to go to washroom as soon as the nurse comes in. She cries alone yet again thinking what her son might be going through.

Flashback ends

Sidharth walks in the corridor with his head down while his hoodie covered his head. He overhears his two colleagues talking.

"Sunn, tujhe pata hai Flora project us Ugly Adhikari ko de rahe hai?", Says Nandish

"Kya? Aur koi nahi mila kya unhe aisi golden project dene ke liye? That project deserves some handsome man. I've heard Flora is mesmerising.", Says Charles.

"Mesmerising word bhi choti dikhti hai.. Its would be just one in billion.. Hoor", says Nandish

"Aur inhone hoor ko langur ko saupne ki sochi bhi kaise?", Says Charles.

Sidharth face turns showed frustration. He barges into his superior's cabin.

"Sir, I heard a some news. Is it true?", Asks Sidharth.

"What news are you talking about?", Asks his boss.

"Project Flora. I heard it's getting assigned to me. Mein already dusre project pe research kar raha hoon. I can't concentrate on two things at a time.", Says Sidharth.

"Sidharth, agar humne faisla liya hai toh kuch soch samajh ke liye hi liya hai. Do projects se tumhe kya farak padhega? Tumhara toh koi ghar sansaar bhi nahi hai. Only you can handle this. Iss project k liye you are the perfect candidate.", Says his boss

Sidharth was hurt but he was accustomed to this brutal mental atrocities over the period of 14 years. Even Lord Rama's exile was over in 14 years but Sidharth's tormenting and torturing life seems to be never ending.
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"Make way.. make way..", said the guards trying to shoo the crowd of employees from the institute gathered to witness an unusual scene.

The huge trolley carrying a big transparent box covered with blue cloth was being moved to the facility. Everyone standing there wanted to get a glimpse of the content in the box. The loose end of the cloth got stuck in the wheel and it slid up a little which was immediately pulled and placed properly in its place.

"Woahhh.. did you see that? It's blueish.", Exclaimed Nandish.

"I thought it was greenish..", said Charles.

The big door opened allowing access to the guards along with the box to enter inside.

"Dekh lo sahab, ab yeh aapki zimmedari hai.. check kar lo.", Said the guard and pulled the blue cloth.

Sidharth was stunned by the beauty he witnessed infront of his eyes. It was a beautiful mermaid who locked up in a huge glass box filled with water. She was found on the shore unconscious by a fisherman and later captured by the government officials and shifted to Indian Research Centre to study about the newly found species. They named her Flora, after the name of the boat of the fisherman who found her.

(Please do not copy and publish images anywhere. It's my hard work and I intend to keep it in this book only.)

She was petrified and bumped into the glass wall as soon as the veil was lifted. The humans were cruel who want to capture everything they found.

The box was now lifted and placed into the huge aquarium built specifically for her. She was then released into it. From a smaller cell into a bigger cell but the status remained same - 'imprisioned'.

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To be continued.. ❤️❤️

Batao Shehnaaz ki edit kaise lagi?