A Way Out

Human race is born with a rebellious mind. We do not love following the rules (sometimes we have to avoid getting punished). Revolting against nature has been the base of our civilisation. Artificial snow to aircraft is our own way to challenge nature.

No, Don’t, Never, and Not allowed are the negative connotations words which have more impact on our brains and we specifically want to do those, whenever we get a chance.

From the very first day when a baby starts crawling, parents introduce the word NO to them. Don’t go there, don’t eat this, don’t shout, and lots of don’t, don’t and do not.

Difficulties of parents increase when kids become teenagers. Don’t smoke and drink at this age, and don't party late, but kids will make sure to sneak out cigarettes and alcohol from home or some other place and enjoy their time. Anyways we are not here for moral policing, what is right or wrong, what should be done and all.

We are here to talk about Payal, the sweetest girl in my class whose life got messed up because of too many Nos.

Payal was a very lively and sweet girl. She was very helpful to everyone and took care of all her friends. She was the go-to person any day, she always had a solution to our problems. She was a real darling. 

But she became a completely different person with her parents around. Her parents were very strict. 

Although she was in a co-educational school, she was not allowed to talk with boys. No boy classmate could ever visit her house. She even had cameras and speakers installed in her room. Her parents monitored what and with whom she was talking. Still, she always managed to sneak to her washroom for all her secret conversations. 

Life always finds a way and so did Payal. She was an excellent student and studied really hard to qualify for India’s best B.com college situated in New Delhi. Her parents were against it, but she managed to convince them as her aunt also lived there. She also promised after 3 years, she will marry anyone they wanted, no question asked. 

Once out of so-called jail she did everything she was forbidden to do. She drank alcohol a lot, tried every drug available and partied till late at night. These were not wrong, but too much of anything is bad, even water. 

By the time she reached her final year, staying out of her hostel for the whole night was a common occurrence for her. Nobody could tell her where she was going wrong. She would shrug out everyone saying “let me fly before I am shackled again. “

It was one of her best friend’s birthday. They had a grand party and returned later to the hostel. But Payal was missing. Her friends were not very concerned as Payal always went for afterparties to her friends who supplied her drugs.

After 24 hours when they could not trace Payal, they contacted the police. She was found unconscious in a forest on the outskirts of the city. On investigation, police found she had a cocktail of drugs which backfired and made her unconscious. Parents rushed to meet Payal. On enquiry, police found Payal was neck-deep in drug addiction. She came from a rich family and had a lot of money, jewellery and other valuables. Now everything was gone in drug purchases. 

After a week or so, Payal regained her senses. But she had been mentally affected, by the side effects of all those drugs. 

She did not talk or smile, but sometimes did scream and shout, maybe the side effect of drug withdrawal. Doctors suggested she should get therapy and continuous medical help.

Payal’s parents did blame her but they can not leave their daughter. They purchased a villa in Mahabaleshwar, near Mumbai. They wanted Payal to be far so that, she did not affect the reputation of the rest of the family.

Now Payal leaves in the villa along with two maids and a gardener. A doctor visits her weekly for regular checkups. Now she does not have those violent attacks anymore. She spends her time gardening and reading.

Last month when I was in Mumbai, I gathered the courage and paid her a visit. She was still the sweetest girl in my school but the smile was missing. We remembered our old school days and friends.

Before leaving, she held my hand and winked. I realised, how her situation is fabricated by her. Of course, she was sick after the college incident, but soon recovered and was normal now, it's just she doesn't want to go back to her old life.

 All she said was “you are forbidden to speak anything to anyone about me”, with a smirk. Payal always found a way, indeed.