The Girl With Violet Skin

By Meghana Sekhar

1. SIMI

Simi woke up from her sleep with a start, she was still having jet lag from her journey to London. Its her first stage performance outside India and this made her a bit nervous. Her manager just called her ,“Hii mam, are you awake? When should I send the make over team to your room?”

“Hii, Leena I need to take a shower right now. Send them after 15 minutes.” Simi cut her call and went to take a shower thinking that this might help her with her dizzy feeling.

After the hot shower she looked in the mirror wearing a bathing robe. Simi was 5’10” tall, lean, dusky with beautiful features and straight hair. She wished she had an hour glass shape!!

What’s that violet coloured thing on my neck?

She came closer to the mirror to have a clear view of that thing. A heart shaped violet coloured patch stood out in the side of her neck. Simi scratched her neck with her fingers. The thing didn’t fade. She scratched it harder but this only made that part red. The violet colour remained as such.

“What’s this damn thing now?” she said to herself. She washed her neck with shower gel again and again but nothing changed the thing. Instead it became more clear and obvious. To make things worse a reddish hue formed around it as a result of her fierce scratching.

Simi started becoming nervous. I have my show in less than three hours and how can I get rid of this now. It was definitely not there when I departed from Mumbai!

Simi started to freak now. Am I sick or is it some contagious disease I got right now? What am I going to do now? It’s a very important day of my career and this show must go at any cost.

Simi called her manager,“Leena, come here immediately”. Leena rushed to Simi’s room only to find her sitting with her head down, her fingers rubbing constantly over the side of her neck. Simi appeared so pale that Leena got worried.

“Mam are you sick?”

Simi didn’t reply for a moment. She couldn’t answer that question. “I don’t know Leena I got something on my neck and it’s not going”

Leena came over and checked Simi’s neck. There she saw a heart shaped violet coloured thing having a velvet like shiny appearance.

Leena looked at it carefully.“Mam is it some allergy?”

“I don’t know what the hell it is?” Simi was losing her mind.

“Don’t worry mam. Should I call the program coordinator?”, Leena asked.

“No..Dont call them I don’t feel any other discomfort actually except for this thing. The program committee should not know anything about this, maybe we can use some concealer to hide it.”

Leena thought about it for a moment. “Mam I guess it wont be a good idea. If you have any allergy then applying cosmetics over it can make it worse. We need to consult a doctor at the earliest” she said.

“I know Leena but we cant do that at this moment. We must now focus on our show. I just need to hide this thing till the show is over.”

“Okay mam, then I can book a dermatologist for you to consult once you reach Mumbai.”

Simi nodded “Just send our team right now. We can find a matching scarf for the outfit for today”

Within 10 minutes Simi’s lead make up artist, Rehana came with her team She looked at Simi who was rather looking gloomy today.

“Hii mam, why so gloomy today? Not feeling well?”

Rehana asked in her joyful tone. Simi then turned her neck and revealed that thing to Rehana.

Rehana looked at it briefly. Suddenly her eyes shined and she smiled at Simi.

“Mam when did you get this new tattoo? That too heart shaped. Wow… it looks so lovely on your neck.”

Simi didn’t know weather to cry or laugh at this moment. This stupid lady is thinking that it is a tattoo!!

I am having a nervous breakdown and she is marvelling at this stupid violet thing. Simi somehow controlled her emotions.

“Look Mrs Rehana I want you to find something for me so that I can hide it during the show.”

“Mam, please don’t hide it, it looks so cute there. Please don’t hide it” the whole team said in unison.

Simi couldn’t understand what to do. She thought about it. If it looks like a tattoo for them then my fans will also feel the same.

The team started with their work. Make up , hair styling , dress everything was perfect within an.hour. Simi was really proud of her team. She looked perfect but still felt something was off about herself. Should I hide it or not? The question still popped up in her mind.

Simi took a selfie at an angle that made that thing visible. She zoomed it to have a better.look. It indeed looked like a tattoo. Next second she posted it on her Instagram account.

Still half an hour for the show. They are on the way to their location. Simi wanted to see how her fans would react to her pic.

Many likes and comments started to pour in. Many of her fans liked her so called TATOO!!

“Simi ,you look great now”

“What a cool tattoo”

“Superb”

“you look beautiful even without that tattoo” .. and the comments continued.

Simi actually started feeling happy right now Simi was beaming with confidence as she performed her show. The show turned out be her career’s best.

She slept peacefully that night. Next morning she woke and went straight towards the mirror to have a look at her natural tattoo. To her shock it doubled in size. It has now spread over the left side of her neck completely. Simi knew there is no time to waste. She has to meet the dermatologist the minute she lands in Mumbai.

1. AYESHA

“Ayesha, wake up, you dumb girl. Its already 7a.m. Don’t you have to go to college.” Ayesha woke up hearing her mother’s usual screams which was her sharp 7a.m. alarm. She pulled herself up unwillingly to go to college. The ony reason why she wanted to go to college was to spend some good amount of time gossiping with her best friend Shweta and to see her crush Naveeen who was also her classmate.

By 8 a.m. she was ready for her college with her bestie Shweta waiting for her outside her home They took the local bus to the town where their college was situated.

“Ayesha, I think that new girl who joined our class yesterday also has a crush on Naveen. She was constantly staring on him during the class. You better be careful.” Shweta looked at her with a grin.

“Off course every girl looks at him. He is so handsome”,Ayesha blushed when she thought about him.

“What will you do if she goes and proposes him.”

Ayesha’s expression changed once she heard that. Naveen did like smart girls who dressed fashionably. Ayesha being just the opposite, shy and reserved. She knew she never even stood a chance of being his girlfriend still she just liked him hoping one day he will realise her love and come and take her in her arms.

She then imagined being in the middle of a flower garden and Naveen hugging her tightly.

That sweet daydream was cut short by the sudden brake applied by the bus driver.

“Are you day dreaming and walking in the middle of the road”, the bus driver cursed the pedestrian who created this situation. Ayesha came back to the reality and just let Naveen go.

“If they become lovers I will be happy. They will make a lovely couple.” Saying this she smiled at Shweta. Shweta smiled back too.

In the classroom Ayesha felt something unusal today. Naveen was constantly staring at her. She felt confused .

Is he really looking at me or the new student sitting behind me? She thought.

Ayesha avoided looking into his direction. She was feeling shy and equally nervous. Her crush who never looked at her is staring at her. During the break time Naveen came to Ayesha

“Hi. Ayesha, you know I just wanted to tell you something”

Ayesha looked at him blankly with her mouth open.

“I have always liked you. There is something special about you. Can you be my girlfriend?” Naveen asked her.

Ayesha couldn’t believe what she heard. Her eyes widened at that question. The whole class was looking at them.

Shweta patted her back and she came back into reality.

Ayesha asked him, “what did you say?”

Naveen smiled and repeated, “will you be my girlfriend?”

“Ayesha say yes” Shweta was pinching her arm now.

Ayesha was in such a shock that she started stuttering. “o..o..okay”

Suddenly they heard a burst of laughter from the nearby group of boys and girls.

Naveen looked at Ayesha with a mischevious smile

“Ayesha, I am sorry it was a prank. They dared me to do so. I am sorry” he said unapologetically. Ayesha just wanted to disappear right at that moment.

Shweta stood up and went towards the group.

“What’s so funny about it? You guys play with other’s emotions and call it a prank. How dare you Naveen.” Shweta was scolding her at the top of her voice.

By that time Ayesha ran to the washroom hiding her face. The breaktime was over by now and everyone was supposed to be their classrooms. However Ayesha preferred to stay in the washroom crying her heart out She washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Ayesha was dusky with big almond shaped black eyes, a small nose and beautiful lips. She just didn’t like herself though she was beautiful. She wished she was more beautiful and the proposal was real but reality struck her hard.

She washed her face again and looked at herself in the mirror. There appeared as what can be called as a violet coloured patch on her forehead just below her hairline. She rubbed over it thinking it to be ink from her ballpen. The colour however did not go. She didn’t think much about it and planned to stay in the washroom itself. When the bell rang for the next class Shweta ran over to the washroom and held Ayesha by her hand and started dragging her towards the parking area of the college It had a lot of trees so they can easily hide behind any of them. Shweta and Ayesha sat under such a tree with Ayesha still hiding her face and sobbing.

“Will you stop crying”. Said a rather irritated Shweta.

“I gave that group a nice scolding for pranking on you like that” …“its okay just leave it” .. “we will go to my home when the bell rings and forget about everything.”

They hugged each other and finally Ayesha forced a smile just to make Shweta happy.

Once home Ayesha still had a puffy eyes. She told her home she felt feverish and went straight to her room. Ayesha shared her room with her sister Rina who was in high school. Rina would be coming home late after her tuition classes. Ayesha calculated that by the time Rina reaches home her eyes will become normal.

She then went to have a quick shower and changed her clothes. When she undressed herself she found a strange round patch a size of a table tennis ball on her abdomen it was blue in colour she applied a lot of soap over it but that thing just didn’t go. She even washed her face nicely but the patch over her forehead refused to go too. It was a very bad day for her, first being pranked by her crush now this blue colour. She literally was starting to have a nervous breakdown now. “I think I have skin cancer” she said to herself and fainted in the bathroom.

She woke up hearing her mother’s high pitched voice telling her to have food. Ayesha went and took her plate with food and escaped to her room without catching her mother’s attention. She ate quickly and hit the bed early.

3. SIMI

Simi was sitting in front of her personal doctor who was now telling her that her results were absolutely normal.

“We just need some time for the skin smear test results to come”, he said reassuringly.

“Look doctor, after my London show our band has got a lot of shows from around the world , I have to get rid of this thing before that”, she told him desperately.

Half of Simi’s face now violet in colour and the colour even spread down over her left chest. “I have to hide my face when I go out”

“Let us see what we can do. Once we get the results we can find a medicine for you” with that the doctor left the room.

Simi had tears rolling down her eyes. This thing can destroy her career forever. She felt her dreams crashing down. She went home and shut herself in her room. She dared not to move her curtains for the fear that someone may spot her. She remained in complete darkness till her maid called her to serve lunch. Her appetite had gone. She didn’t even want her maid to see her face and faint.

“I am having fever, just keep the food over the table and leave” she tod the maid.

“Madam you need anything else”, the maid asked before leaving.but Simi just told her to leave at once.

Once the maid was gone Simi came out of her room to drink some water. Just then her manager called over phone.

“Mam some media people want to have an interview with you. What should I tell them?”

“Tell them I am not well, may be next week we can schedule the interview” Simi hung up the call.

How long will I manage to run away from everyone like this. She came to her bathroom to check herself again. The colour was spreading to other areas in an alarming rate. Now it had reached her arms too. She screamed on looking hearself at the mirror.

Her screams turned into wails now. She started to run all around her home like a mad person. She rushed to her kitchen cabinat and took out her knife. She started to peel off that thing from her chest but it started to bleed. Simi rushed back to her bedroom and covered the wound with cotton and gauze.

The sight of blood panicked her but also started giving her strange ideas. She went back to the kitchen, picked up the knife and looked at it and then looked over her wrist.a few moments passed like this. A sound suddenly brought her back to reality. It was her cellphone and her mother was calling.

“Dear, are you not well? Why didn’t you call since you came back? What happened to you?”

Listening to her mother’s voice made her rather emotional. She thought how stupid she was of even attempting to commit suicide.

“Mom I had a sore throat, now I am okay. I am going to have a meeting right now. I will call you after that” she hung up the call without saying much. Her single mom had struggled a lot to make her achieve her dreams, she just cannot leave her mother alone in this world.

Simi dropped over her bed and didn’t even know when she slept. She dreamt of performing on a stage when suddenly her mask blew off and people saw her face. They looked at her disgustingly and made rude remarks on her. Some started running away in fear.Everyone left the concert. She was begging everyone to stay but no one listened to her. Everyone left. At last it was just the stage and the empty stadium before her.

She woke up suddenly from her dream.

Is the dream going to be true?

4. AYESHA

Ayesha woke up next morning hearing her sister scream. She got up confused as Rina was looking at her as if she were some ghost.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked a rather annoyed Ayesha.

Her parents also ran into the room by then.

“What happened to you face?” Rina asked without even blinking her eyes. Her parents were also looking at her in disbelief. Ayesha then remembered a blue patch which appeared on her face and abdomen yesterday. Without wasting a second she jumped from the bed and rushed to the bathroom.

Everyone then hears Ayesha’s scream and a loud thud. Ayesha was now lying on the floor after fainting. Her parents rushed to pick her up. Ayesha’s face was now completely violet in colour.

They panicked. Has she been bitten by some snake ? Ayesha’s father called the ambulance while her sister and mother started searching the whole room for the snake. However they could’t find anything. They rushed Ayesha to the hospital.

When Ayesha gained consciousness she was in a hospital room. She got up and slowly moved towards the door. She opened it slightly where she can see her parents talking to a doctor.

The doctor said that they didn’t have any idea what this disease is until the results come back, till then she would be kept in isolation. Ayesha was shocked to hear that. She ran out of her room towards them.

“Isolation! What am I suffering from?.Will I die soon?” she asked anxiously.

The doctor and her father looked at her. Her face and neck were completely violet now. The doctor told her not to worry “Its just some allergy”he said. “But she needs to be isolated until we know what it is” he said looking at her father. Saying this he went away. Her dad handed her a bag with some of her clothes, mobile, charger etc.

“Dear, don’t worry you will be all right. You need to rest for a few days”said her father.

“Listen I told our family and neighbours that its snake bite when actually it’s not. Let it remain like that. I have informed Rahul about your condition, he will video call you when he is free.”

“Where are mom and Rina” Ayesha asked looking around her.

“Doctor told them to leave and not to stay here, anyways Rina cannot miss her coaching classes her exams are coming. I will leave now”saying this her father also left her. Watching her father leave like that made her realise how unwanted she was in her family.

She had always been their unwanted child. She was never upto her parents expectations. Her brother Rahul was final year MBBS student and her sister Rina was always the class topper. Both of them always got her parents love. And herself, she was always their burden, a loser who only let her parents down.

She sat in the room by herself crying when a doctor and a nurse came wearing all sort of protective things. He asked her to remove all her clothing. “I cant” She immediately wraped herself up in the blanket.

The female nurse told her that this doctor is a dermatologist. He came to check on her because her blood results shows nothing significant. With much coercion she finally agreed to remove her clothes. “Are there no lady dermatologists here”, she asked timidly.

The doctor was furious at her. “One more word and I will leave. You can call your parents and go wherever you want”

Ayesha held back her tears as she removed her clothes and was now only in her undergarments. The doctor looked at her using some special torch and then went away without saying a word followed by the nurse who was running after him to keep up with his pace. Ayesha covered herself up with the blanket and cried bitterly.

Another nurse came to her to give her some medicine. Looking at Ayesha crying she consoled her saying,“Its life kid. Anything can happen. It’s just a temporary phase to test you. This time shall pass”

Ayesha ate only few mouthful of the dinner served to her. She was not feeling hungry after all the ordeal.

Her brother called up sometime later. “Hii Ayesha I had contacted my senior’s brother who is working in the hospital you are admitted. He said there are nothing much abnormality in blood tests. Your skin needs to be checked and some further examinations to be done as said by the senior dermatologist over there. I told our parents about that too. I think it will be better to shift to medical college. Here the tests can be done and it wont be that costly ”

“What did dad say” Ayesha asked.

“He is also having the same opinion. Moreover, here I am here so, mom and dad can also rest assured.” He added.

Everything seemed too scary. More tests, examinations…the seen of her undressing in front of many male doctors including her brother flashed in front of her.

“Nooo” she screamed and started running through the corridor. The nurses and attenders immediately grabbed her She started screaming hysterically. Finally a doctor came and sedated her.

5. SIMI

The next morning Simi was woken up by her maid’s voice.

“ Madam ji, open the door”

Simi ran towards the door but stopped in front of it. My maid can’t see my face. She thought for a moment and said, “hey, I am going out of town now, come after two days”

To change her mood she switched on the television to watch.

Her doctor called her after sometime.

“Hii Simi. I got some bad news. Your skin cells shows some mutations which are producing a violet coloured pigment. I have never seen such a thing in my life. Its not like cancer cells but we are trying to understand its nature. I have contacted dermatalogists society to know if anyone else had reported such a case. I just hope to find a cure for you soon. Till then please rest assured.”

“My career is at stake and you are telling me to rest assured. I haven’t stepped out of my home for past 4 days. I feel miserable and that’s all you have to say” Simi cried.

The doctor can only apologise for being of no help to her and told her he would come and meet her personally in the evening.

Simi was about to switch off the TV when the movie Avatar came up on the channel. She thought that she resembled these creatures from the movie right now At that moment an idea stuck her mind. She immediately called her manager.

“Leena I feel better now I will be back next week. Schedule my interviews and programs the coming week”

“Wow mam, that’s a great news. Has your skin turned normal?” Leena enquired.

“No… it got worse actually.” Simi replied calmly

Leena was shocked to hear that.

“Leena I want you to do something. Inform the media that to celebrate my London show’s success I have gone for a vacation in an undisclosed location. I will return only next week with a big surprise for everyone.”

Leena couldn’t believe her ears. She even thought that Simi had gone mad. However, she did what was instructed to her.

Simi smiled at herself looking in the mirror. Now the real show begins.

6.AYESHA

Ayesha woke up in her hospital bed with IV line running over her arms. She felt some chilly feeling. She tried to get up but her head started to whirl and she fell down from the bed.

“Ahh… that hurts” she muttered to herself. 5minutes passed like this. She was still lying on the ground when the nurse came in with the attenders. They removed her IV line and put her over a stretcher. She felt so weak that she can only moan. They took her to an ambulance. She could not see any of her family members near her. She was all alone in the ambulance where she closed her eyes again.

Ayesha opened her eyes to see she was in a large room. The building seemed to be too old and the room may not have been painted for years. She could also smell mould around her. An I.V. line was still placed over her arm. She looked around the hall to find its door.

In a far corner there was an old style wooden door which was painted blue with most of its paint almost gone and several cracks under it. On another side there was a table and a chair. Some papers were over the table.

“Did someone kidnap me for ransom? Why am I here all alone. Then she heard what appeared as a bell ringing and then some footsteps outside. Several people were talking randomly

“I heard there came a girl here this morning with some rare disease…”

“Yes. She will be investigated thoroughly, they say that it might be contagious so we need to equip ourselves with PPEs before we see her.” Said another.

“We are not allowed to see her, only the teachers can” said another.

“I heard she hails from Rahul’s home town”..

Ayesha’s ears stood up upon listening Rahul’s name. She heard a familiar voice among them saying, “She is a girl from our neighbourhood. Her parents sent her here for detailed investigations” She recognised the voice. It was her own brother, Rahul.

Tears flooded from her eyes. “Did my family just disown me because of my illness.” She started cursing herself for being like this. She wanted to run away from this terrible place.

Just then a nurse came and removed her IV line.

She told Ayesha that the doctor is on the way to meet her. She also pointed her to another small passway. “There are washrooms over there. You can use it if you like. Your food will be served here after sometime. You are not allowed to move away the curtains or going out”

She finished her instructions and left.

Ayesha stood up near her bed. Just under her bed she saw her bag with some of her clothes, towels, bath soaps, brush etc. there was her water bottle too.

Ayesha moved the curtain and peeped Outside she saw a jungle like area. She then went to another window there she fond out that she was on the second floor of an old building while many new buildings were also there. Her building appeared to be a bit distant from others. Suddenly she remembered her terrible dream. She has to escape from here at any cost. She took her bag and slowly walked towards the door.

7.SIMI

The journalists were eagerly waiting for Simi in a hall. They all were discussing about Ayesha’s sudden vacation to an undisclosed location.

“May be she got a new boyfriend” that was the new rumour among all the media.

At that moment the door opened and Simi walked right in front them. There was pin drop silence in the room. Everyone’s jaw dropped.

That was Simi in her new avatar simi was wearing a silver colour knee length dress. The whole visible body part violet in colour.

“I know everyone is eager to know why I look like this. Well I wanted a change so I tattooed my whole body.” Simi said with a smile and sat on the chair .

“ but why you did this, what made you take this decision” said one journalist.

“ohh.. there’s nothing special. I used to be a huge avatar movie fan and wanted to be look those aliens.I know you people may laugh at me but I think it defines my personality. I have always felt I was different so this tattoo just adds on to my personality.”

Everyone applauded her answer.

“from where did you get this done” asked anotherjournalist.

“Sorry I cant answer that. It’s a secret. But I can tell you I spent a million to get this look.”

Everyone was spellbound. “This is madness” someone said.

Simi answered, “people with passions are always a bit mad”, saying this she stood up posed for some photos.

“madam what are your future plans”

“I have more shows coming up”she replied

“No madam, about your body, do you plan to do anything else?

This question rather irked her yet she maintained her calm and replied,“Yes, I wish to add diamond dust on the skin too”. Saying this she gracefull walked out of the room waving at the people.

Simi’s transformation took internet by storm. Her interview became viral. Her social media accounts flooded with mixed reactions. However, Simi was happy that she was successful in fooling everyone into believing her. Their reactions positive or negative didn’t matter her at all.

7.AYESHA

Ayesha took a deep breath and covered her face with her shawl. She then took her bag and walked towards the door. The door made a creaky sound when opened. Ayesha looked around startled. Finding no one around she dashed for the exit point. There was a dusty spiral of stairs. Ayesha tiptoed downstairs without making any noise. She looked around and found an empty hallway on one side and a jungle like area on the other side. She moved towards that jungle like area.

“I can come out once it gets a bit dark”, she thought and then moved further inside that isolated place with trees and bushes. Upon further going she found a large banyon tree. The sun was blazing hot so she decided to rest there for some time, before moving further. Ayesha sat under the tree, took out the bottle from her bag and drank the remaining water. She then closed her eyes.

She dreamt that few policemen were searching for her and found her out sleeping under the tree. They then forcibly took her back into a dungeon like place and pushed her into an abyss. Ayseha woke up from that dream and looked around her. She can hear some noises coming from the direction of the building. “it’s time to run”. Ayseha took her bag and started running in the opposite direction.

………..

It had been 3 days since Ayesha had been missing, there had been no progress in her investigation. The police only found her footwear 6km away from the medical college near the river. They now assume that Ayesha might have committed suicide by drowning in the river. The stream is too rapid in that area is so her chances of survival were dim. They are now trying to search for her body in the downstream areas.

8. SIMI

Simi’s new look became an instant rage among her teenage followers Everyone now started to swarm in the tattoo parlours to get violent inked tattoos. Simi’s instagram account also saw tremendous increase in followers. She also started receiving new offers both within and outside India. Along with new followers she also got new haters too who accussed Simi for misleading the kids into believing that tattooing and changing the skin colour is cool when in fact it can be harmful for their skin.

However these things never bothered Simi as long as she can sing. Her only wish was to have a stage to sing and a crowd of fans to hear her.

Two months passed like this. She went on many world tours.after one such tour she returned back to her home in Mumbai. After a relaxing hot bath she decided to watch some news.

Among the many news channels which she moved on one news in channel caught her attention.

It was not a detailed news but just a few words flashing under the main bulletin. The news was that some people believe to have seen a witch in the outskirts of Delhi. It is believed that few people, mostly those who travelled at night through the Delhi Mathura road have seen a lady who looks emaciated and having a deep blue colour and reddish eyes walking alone on the road. Two men also claim to have been attacked by this so called witch when they were passing through that jungle area at midnight. They claimed that she ,made a strange sound that they were scared by it and ran for their life. Another person also claimed to have shot a video of this so called witch when she came out on the road.

Simi felt something strange when she saw this news. Deep blue skin! “Is this lady a witch or someone suffering from same disease as mine?”

Simi immediately called her manager and asked her to hire a private detective and find out the details of this so called witch.

One month later after returning from another world tour Simi received the news that the private detective got all the information regarding the news of the witch.

She fixed her appointment with him the next day.

The detective was a man in his late twenties. He turned out to be her fan and he was absolutely delighted to have an opportunity to meet her personally.

He then started explaining the case of witch. There were only few sightings of this so called lady who was actually a twenty year old college girl who suffered from some unknown disease which made her skin turned blue. She was brought to medical college for her further investigations and treatment. However she escaped from the college and was missing since last three months. The police presumed her to have committed suicide by drowning in the nearby rivulet. Unfortunately, she suffered from some mental illness and was seen occasionally by some villagers during night while she was trying to steal their farm products However, they mistook her as a witch due to her appearance. Last month some bikers saw this woman on the road going through the jungle, then spread the news of sighting of the witch.

The detective then took a deep breath and remained silent after that.

“Then what happened to her” enquired Simi.

“She was probably killed by the villagers who claimed her to be a witch. They felt that she was the bad omen who brought draught in that area. After this incident the villagers buried her body in the jungle”

Simi’s eyes widened with shock upon hearing this. “What … stoned to death in this modern era. How can they even believe in witches and all in this modern world. What about her family? Did no one try to find her?” she asked.

“Her father went to the police station few times enquiring about the details. but then must have given up when the police gave the theory of suicide.” He said.

Simi eyes were filled with tears now. She controlled herself and asked the detective.“I need you to do me a favour. Please find out where she is buried secretly by those villagers”

*************

One months later Simi put a wreath of rose flowers on a grave. The tombstone read.. In loving memory of Ayesha

Her manager was also beside her.

“Madam, why did you built this tombstone for an unknown person in your property?” asked her manager.

“Ayesha deserved a better life, I could only give her a well deserved burial. I don’t know how many more Ayesha’s are there in this world. May God protect them too like He protected me.” Saying this Simi raised her hands up, her hands were now of her natural skin tone.

Two weeks ago on a European trip she started regaining back her skin tone after an hour’s sunbath. This accidental discovery made her realise that exposure to sunlight can be a cure for her skin disease. From then onwards she regularly started having sunbaths. Now most of her skin has regained her original tone. She still continues to sing.

Now she posted her original self in the social media and claims that the natural self is the most beautiful thing to cherish and that she was undergoing laser treatment for the removal of her tattoos to help her get back to the original form.

Simi is now back on her track again. On the other hand Ayesha’s family has also moved on with their lives. Ayesha’s parents are now focused on her sister who is having her board exams and then the entrance exams for medical admissions. Ayesha’s brother hardly thinks about her but Ayesha’s sister is determined to study well and get her medical seat. She wants to be a doctor and wants to find the answer for her sister’s illness. She still believes her sister will return home one day and waits for her return.

By Meghana Sekhar