Author’s Note: Every one of my women with spunk stories are true stories, narrated to me by the women who went through these challenges in life, and overcame them with sheer grit and determination. Names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Bubbly, bright, joyful, full of love. This is what you would think if you came across Durga as she was growing up. She was always full of life, giggling and making others giggle at the silliest of things. She was from North India, and was blessed with milky white skin and long jet black hair. But that was the last thing you saw. Her inner beauty outshone everything else.

Life led her to an education in engineering once she had completed her basic studies. Here too she made many friends, spread happiness and shone bright. She worked hard and was eager to accomplish something with her engineering degree and knowledge.

Innocence and pure joy can sometimes attract the worst elements into one’s life and shatter your life before you know what hit you. For Durga, the best of what she was made of was about to turn against her in every possible way.

He saw her in the very first year. He didn’t love her or respect her or want to spend a life with her. He was the kind of person who saw something, coveted it for himself and then proceeded to own it for life. He only viewed her as one more object to possess, to own, to do with as he pleased.

It was prom night and Durga’s beauty did not go unnoticed. She was crowned the rose queen that night. And also captured the eyes of many a man including him. Very soon though, others realized she was not into frivolous relationships and wanted to concentrate on her academics and make something of herself in life. And so while she welcomed their friendship, all knew to maintain a respectful distance and not expect this to go any further.

But he didn’t know what respect is, or what distance is. Slowly but surely he worked towards the sole aim of possessing her like one buys a rare artefact and keeps it under lock and key, so no one else comes near it, or gets to enjoy the pleasure of looking at that rare piece of architecture. That is how he saw her.

He began by behaving as a well-wisher, confusing her and poisoning her thoughts against any other boy who so much as glanced at her. He told her what the other students spoke about her behind her back, his lewd comments making her question where she was going wrong in interacting with her peers. He offered her a false sense of protection against “them”, and like a moth to a flame, she fell right into his trap.

It was some time before she realized just how possessive he was becoming. He would get friends to spy on her activities and report back to him. He would then cross examine her on every one of these social interactions and make her promise never to talk or interact with those people again.

One fine day, one of his friends reported that Durga was talking to another boy, and was having the time of her life. He called her and spoke very normally, asking her to meet him near his car just outside the university. Suspecting nothing, she got into the car and smiled. He smiled back, and then proceeded to grab her hair, and repeatedly banged her head against the glass window.

That day, she reported back all that had happened to her mother and grandmother. She decided to break off what she had thought was a relationship. She finally saw it for what it was. And so Durga felt relieved at coming clean to her mother and grandmother, and severing all ties with him. It wasn’t too late to pick up the pieces of her life and move on from this horrendous episode.

Or so she thought…

Author’s Note: Read on Durga’s life story in Part 2

Illustrated By – Dr Anisha Kumar (Visit https://ignitingmypassion.wordpress.com/)