SHIVANI: THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL

Shivani wore a royal-blue saree for an appointment with a regular adult client.

The meeting had been arranged in advance, and they had discussed their expectations beforehand. When the appointment ended, the client paid the agreed amount.

Shivani checked the payment and placed the money securely in her bag.

The gesture was ordinary, but its meaning had changed.

When she first arrived in Mumbai, every rupee had represented another day of survival. She had worried about food, shelter, and whether she would have somewhere to sleep.

Now she was beginning to build a small reserve.

She had saved enough to cover several weeks of basic expenses, and she was researching rooms that would give her greater privacy and independence.

Later, she met Saroja for tea.

“I want to rent a room of my own,” Shivani said.

Saroja looked pleased but reminded her to calculate the full cost of rent, food, transport, and healthcare.

They discussed practical details rather than dreams alone.

Shivani knew that leaving Priya Lodge would not magically solve every problem. She would still need to earn money, manage risks, and decide what kind of work she wanted to continue doing.

But she was no longer entirely dependent on Saroja.

Before returning upstairs, she looked at the blue saree she had worn that evening.

It reminded her of how far she had travelled from the frightened person standing outside a railway station with a suitcase.

For the first time, she could see a future built from her own decisions rather than her mother's commands.