2.The Unseen Wounds
🖊️ Author's POV
Sitara never imagined she'd be tending to a wounded stranger in a dark alley on a weekday night.
But there she was — kneeling beside a bleeding man, heart racing, mind screaming, yet hands steady.
She didn’t know who he was.
She didn’t know she was being watched.
But fate had already rolled its dice.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(sprinkling water again)
Sir… please stay awake!
Unknown
(barely conscious)
I… I’m fine… just… little blood…
Sitara Verma (FL)
(scoffs softly)
Little?! You look like you just fought ten people!
[She opens her purse hurriedly]
Sitara Verma (FL)
(muttering)
Tissue… sanitizer… ugh where’s that handkerchief?
She finds it. Torn but clean.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(ripping her handkerchief and crouching)
Okay, uncle… I’m going to clean this, it might sting.
Unknown
(nods faintly)
You're… brave.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(smiling gently)
You can say that again after this stings.
[She cleans the wound carefully, pressing it to stop the bleeding]
Sitara Verma (FL)
(talking softly)
You know when I was little, I fell from my bicycle and cried like the world ended.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(wrapping cloth around his hand)
My dad didn’t scold me. She gave me a laddoo instead.
Unknown
(soft laugh)
Laddoo therapy… hmm… effective.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(giggling)
Now I use it on anyone who looks like they’ll cry.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(tightening the cloth)
There! It’s not perfect, but it’ll hold till you get proper help.
[Suddenly—far in the background, a car honk breaks the moment]
Headlights flicker near the end of the alley.
Unknown
(sighs in relief)
Tum jao beta…
Sitara Verma (FL)
(confused)
What?
Unknown
(Smiling)
I am fine now…my people have come to pick me up.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(still worried)
But… you need first aid! And—
Unknown
(Softly)
What's your name?
Sitara Verma (FL)
(smiles and stands up)
Sitara… Sitara Verma.
Unknown
(whispering to himself)
Sitara… hmm…
[She starts walking away slowly, still glancing back]
Sitara Verma (FL)
(murmurs)
Weirdest night of my life...
🖊️ Author's POV
She didn’t notice her ID card slip from her bag.
Fell quietly…
Landed just beside the bloodied man’s hand.
He picked it up… and stared.
Unknown
(reading softly)
Sitara Verma...
🖊️ Author’s POV
Not all wounds bleed.
Some remain quiet… buried under tired footsteps and muffled sobs.
Sitara had saved a life tonight, but no one would ever know that.
Because at home, no one cared about the reasons.
Just the hour she returned.
City Bus Stand – 9:12 PM
Sitara boards the bus. Her hands are trembling slightly.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(sits quietly near the window)
Don’t cry now… not here…
The city lights blur as she stares outside in silence.
🖊️Author’s POV
Her heart was still pacing from the alley incident.
But something else frightened her more —
Home.
Sitara’s House – 9:47 PM
She unlocks the main door slowly… the hinges creak.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(soft whisper)
Please let them be asleep…
The lights turn on instantly.
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(from inside, angrily)
So this is the time you come home now?
Sitara Verma (FL)
(low voice)
Maa… I—
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(interrupting, shouting)
Don’t Maa me!
We were calling you non-stop! Where the hell were you?
Sitara Verma (FL)
(quietly)
My phone died… and I got late at work…
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(sarcastic)
Of course. Work.
Girls like you always say that!
[Father walks in – tired but alert]
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(pointing at Sitara)
Ask your daughter where she was roaming!
9:50! What kind of decent girl comes at this time?
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(sternly)
Sitara, is this how you’re going to behave now?
Sitara Verma (FL)
(softly)
I stayed back for a project deadline…
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(mocking)
Or maybe you stayed with someone else, huh?
Sitara Verma (FL)
(stunned)
Maa!
🖊️ Author’s POV
She stood there… still.
Not in shock. She was used to this.
Every delay. Every moment of independence —
Came with accusations, with insults she never earned.
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(still shouting)
We didn’t raise you like this!
And now you’ll teach us what’s right and wrong?
[Long pause. No words from Sitara. Just silence.]
Her hands curled into fists… still holding her bag.
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(calmer)
Just go to your room.
Sitara’s Bedroom – Door clicks shut
She throws her bag on the floor and falls on the bed, face down.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(whispers into her pillow)
I saved someone today…
Tears escape silently. Her body shakes with each sob.
Sitara Verma (FL)
(voice breaking)
But no one… not even asked if I was okay.
🖊️ Author’s POV
Sometimes, being strong means breaking in silence.
She wanted someone to hold her, to believe her,
But tonight — all she had was a pillow and a soaked pillowcase.
🖊️ Author’s POV
Behind closed doors, people often show their real faces.
And sometimes… even parents forget they’re supposed to love — not use.
While Sitara silently cried in her room…
In the next room, her identity as a daughter was being reduced to a lifeline.
Sitara’s Parents’ Room – Tense Silence
Her father is pacing restlessly.
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(angrily)
What was the need to shout like that?
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(coldly)
Oh, so now I’m wrong for worrying?
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(snaps)
No, you’re wrong for screaming at her like a criminal!
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(defensive)
She comes home this late and I should decorate the door with flowers?
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(sarcastic)
At least treat her like a human!
🖊️ Author’s POV
They weren’t arguing because they loved her.
They were arguing because they feared losing her…
And with her, the only income this family had left.
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(lowering voice, seriously)
If she ever decides to leave, we’ll have nothing, Sunita.
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(frustrated)
She won’t leave unless someone poisons her ears!
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(clenching fists)
You are poisoning her, every single day with your taunts!
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(harshly)
She’s a girl. And this world is full of temptations.
One wrong influence and she’ll fly away, like others.
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(sits down heavily)
I don’t care about her flying…
I care that if she leaves, we can’t pay off that ₹5O lakh loan.
🖊️ Author’s POV
So that was it.
Their worry wasn’t about her safety…
It was about her salary.
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(tired voice)
I took that loan for your brother’s business…
And we still owe half of it.
Sunita Verma (FL'S MOTHER)
(quietly)
If she ever finds out… she won’t stay.
Vijay Verma (FL'S FATHER)
(grimly)
That’s why we can’t lose her.
🖊️ Author’s POV
A daughter, trapped in a home where affection came with conditions.
Where every word spoken to her was a gamble — to keep her…
Only for survival.
And Sitara?
She never knew.
But maybe one day… she will.
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