SHIVANI: THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL

The evening was quieter than usual when Shivani chose to wear a simple chudidhar.

She stood near the lodge entrance while Saroja finished a conversation with someone she knew. Shivani watched families passing by, including a mother holding a child's hand.

The sight brought back memories of her own home.

She wondered whether her mother ever thought about the way she had been expelled. Did she remember Shiva as a son she had raised, or had she convinced herself that throwing him away had been justified?

Shivani had no answers.

For a long time, she had imagined returning home and demanding an explanation. But she was beginning to understand that waiting for an apology could keep her tied to the person who had hurt her.

A prospective client approached and suggested an arrangement that made her uncomfortable.

Shivani listened, considered his proposal, and declined.

He tried to persuade her, but she remained firm.

“No. I am not comfortable with that.”

When he finally left, she felt a surprising sense of relief.

The encounter had reminded her that independence was not measured only by how much money she earned. Sometimes it meant refusing something that promised quick payment but threatened her peace of mind.

That night, Shivani returned to her room and wrote a sentence in her notebook:

I cannot change the way my mother treated me, but I can decide how I treat myself.

She read the words twice.

Then she closed the notebook and prepared for the next day.