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Ramdas returned home from the office in a good mood. He was eager to tell something to his wife Savita. Taking a sip of tea, he said to her, “Today morning, one of my friends brought a marriage proposal from a reputed family for Seema.”

Savita looked at him with curiosity. Ramdas continued, “The boy is a manager in a bank and gets a handsome salary. He is the only son of his parents. They are rich people and a relative of my friend. He can proceed further to set the marriage.”

Savita was worried about her daughter Seema’s marriage. She at once said, “That’s good, ask him to proceed.” Ramdas bring out a photo from his pocket and gave her saying, “Look, this is a photo of the boy. He is looking smart in the photograph.”

Looking at the photo she said, “Smartness is not a matter. The boy must be good in character and behaviour. I think he is a good one for our daughter.”

He said to her, “I want to fulfill the responsibility of Seema’s marriage before my retirement from service.”

Seema had completed her college studies last year and was in search of a good job. She was an average looking girl from a middle-class family, a young bird eager to fly high, unaware of the preyers. She had a younger brother named Ajay.

“I am not interested in marriage,” was Seema’s response when mother told her about the marriage proposal for her.

“Your father wants your marriage before his retirement from service and you are in your age. We can’t be late in your marriage,” Savita said to her in a decisive tone. Seema was upset over the issue of marriage. She had a different dream in her eyes.

That Evening she was with Anita who was her intimate friend since school days. In the beginning, their friendship was just a friendship but when they grew adults, their friendship took a different sexual form. She was something more than an intimate friend to Seema. In a corner of the park, she was in the arms of Anita. She said to Anita, “My parents are going to marry me to a boy.”

Anita looked into her eyes without saying anything to her. Seema said with tears in the eye, “I don’t want to part from you.”

“Nobody can part you from me,” saying this Anita stuck her lips on her lips. Both of them lost in each other.

Next day Ajay asked her, “What were you doing with that dirty girl Anita in the park yesterday?”

Seema got shocked. She was caught red handed by her own younger brother. She, without saying a word, tried to go out of the room but Ajay stopped her and warned her not to meet Anita again otherwise he would inform the parents about her relationships with Anita. But his warning didn’t daunt her, she kept on meeting Anita. At last Ajay had to tell parents about her relationships with Anita. Ramdas and Savita were shocked hearing all this. Savita lost her temper and beat Seema severly. Seema was refrained from going outside the home. Before the matter got worse and it was too late, they decided to set the marriage of Seema.

One day Ushadevi who was a social activist and worked for LGBT visited Ramdas and savita at their home. She tried to persuade them for their assent to the lesbian relationship between Seema and Anita. But Ramdas refused to give assent to such relationship saying that it was an immoral act and she had no right to interfere in other’s matters.

After some days, what happened was not expected by Ramdas. Seema left the home leaving behind a letter saying she was going to live with Anita. Ramdas got so angry at her that he decided not to bring her back home. He said that Seema was dead for him.

Now Seema and Anita were living together. It was not easy for them to maintain such an immoral relation. Ushadevi helped Seema to get a job. It was very hard for both the girls to face criticize by people who know their relationship.

Ajay as a younger brother liked her sister very much. Although he was very upset over what had happened, he, after some weeks, visited her and tried to persuade her to leave Anita and return home. He had hope that his sister would come back someday or the other.

Ramdas and savita too were unhappy. Their hearts were not ready to forget their daughter. All their dreams about Seema had been shattered.

Ushadevi had a wider space in the life of both the girls, especially when both the girls had been separated from their homes and now had no elder to guide them. Anita was from a broken family and she had unaware of many family values. Therefore their familiarity with Ushadevi was deepening day by day. Ushadevi was a divorcee woman. She has a twenty years old daughter. She had a flat of her own. No one knows the source of her income. She had many political connections and membership of NGOs.

One day both the girls reached Ushadevi’s home to meet her. At the door of the house, they heard the sounds coming from the home. Their curiosity made them stop and hear the sounds. Ushadevi was shouting loudly, “I don’t want my daughter to become dirty like Seema and Anita and ruin her life.” Hearing this Seema felt shame and looked at Anita. Anita was uneasy at this, nodded her to keep on listening to the sound coming from the house. Ushadevi called her daughter bad names and said loudly, “You are defaming our reputation of our family by being lesbian. As of now, you will not go outside the home without my permission.”

“So this is a matter with her,” Anita said to Seema. They looked and each other. Seema said, “I am feeling not well, let us go back.” They returned without meeting Ushadevi. On the way home, they said nothing to each other. Both were sad and were absorbed in their thoughts. 

Next day, when Seema was alone and was indulging in the memories of her childhood. Someone knocked at the opened door to draw her attention. It was Ajay.

Arrival of Ajay was just like a ray of hope for her. She said to him with tearful eyes, “I want to tell you something.”

Ajay said, “You are looking so sad. What’s a matter with you?”

She burst into tears and told him all that happened in Ushadevi’s home yesterday. Ajay listened to her with sympathy and patience. After listening to her, he said, “Look sister, the society is not as good as it looks. The world is full of wicked people. Ushadevi and people like her are two-faced.” 

He paused for a while and then said, “It is not too late for. If you want to come out of this dirt, I am with you. Mother and father will be happy, if you come back to them.”

She looked at him. He reached out his hands to her. She was now going towards the light away from the darkness.