The Nightmare

Rudrani's POV:

My head, face, and body were aching badly. I met resistance when I tried to open my eyes. But somehow I managed to get them open. I looked around once. I saw doctors and a nurse. That meant I was in a hospital.

"Maa," I tried to say.

The nurse came over to me. "Rudrani, are you ok?"

I nodded. The last thing I remembered was that idiot attacking me with acid for rejecting his love. Acid? Am I okay? I tried to touch my face, but the nurse stopped me as I had an IV attached to my hand.

"I want to see my face," I said to the nurse in very low voice.

"Rudrani, your face is bandaged. You underwent 12 surgeries after the acid attack," the nurse said, shocking me.

"The bandages will be removed in a week. You can see your face then. Be brave," she said and left.

A week later, my bandages were removed. The doctor asked me if I would like to see my face.

"NOOO!" I said, terrified of what I saw in my reflection.

No, that's not me. Not me. Not me. I said to myself, even though deep down, I knew it was me and, from now on, I would have to live with that face.

I remembered my high school days, when I had won Ms. Beautiful Smile. My friends used to say I had the most beautiful smile, one that could easily steal anyone's heart. I just smiled at their praise. I didn't want to steal anyone's heart. I just wanted to focus on my dreams and life. But now, along with my beauty, my dreams had faded. How could I go out with this face? How could I show my this face to everyone around me?

I cried uncontrollably for 3 months. What did I do to deserve this? How could that pervert change my life so completely in less than a second? At the end of those 3 months, I was discharged and came home. Mom and my younger sister, Ushasri, consoled me. But my dad, who never liked me as he hated all girls, started scolding me.

"That's why I said not to send her to college. Education is not for girls. I told you to have her married and settled at 14. But you didn't listen to me. Now no one will marry her. She will become our permanent burden. Becoming a doctor isn't easy. Your daughter will never become a doctor," Dad said to Mom, insulting me.

Becoming a doctor was my dream. I had worked hard every day just to achieve it. But now all my dreams were shattered.

Nooooooo!

It shouldn't happen like this. It was my life, and I was the master of my own destiny. Why should I give up when I had done nothing wrong? Why should I let that idiot win by losing sight of myself? I decided to rise up. And not just once. I decided to rise up every time people made me fall. I was not a quitter. I was a winner. Yes, I was a winner.

"Mom, starting tomorrow I'm going back to college to resume my studies," I said.

My mom looked at me in shock.

"There's no need for you to go anywhere! Just stay at home and learn household chores. If you get work as a maid in a few houses, you won't become a burden to us," Dad said.

"Dad, I've never been a burden to you. I've always studied under a scholarship. Even now, I will continue to study under my scholarship. Let me become a doctor. Then I will be able to support our family," I said to Dad.

"You've ruined our family's reputation. If you go out again, we won't be able to live. If you take one step outside, I will never allow you in our home again," Dad said.

"Dad, it's not my fault that someone attacked me with acid. Why are you saying that I ruined our reputation?" I asked.

Dad grabbed my hand and took me into the hall. He switched on some news channel. They were reporting on me and the incident. They were saying that I loved that man and had cheated on him after a year-long relationship. So he attacked me with acid. A few politicians and other influential people were saying that girls provoked boys with their clothing, smiles, and actions.

What the hell? How could they say that? I never loved that man. I refused him, and as revenge, he attacked me with acid. I'll never understand why people say such thigs. Is it wrong for a girl to smile? Smiling and wearing dresses that make you feel beautiful is not wrong, and it doesn't mean we're trying to attract boys. I pity these people who are not mature enough to understand that a girl is also a human and has the same rights as men to follow her heart and live as she wants.

I decided to return to college to fight back. Why should I be silent in the face of these comments? It would only make them believe they were true.

"Now I really want to go to college, Dad. I want to answer their criticism with my success," I said and left room before he could respond.