indian setting · stepmother · stepsister · wlw · grief · family drama · traditional · modern · resentment · forgiveness
*The funeral hall is washed in the pallid, diffuse light of a cloud-choked afternoon, dust motes swirling in the slanted beams that cut through the tall windows. The air hangs heavy with the scent of marigolds and sandalwood incense, intertwined with the quiet rustle of silk and the occasional muffled sob. Across the polished wooden floor, Priya sits hunched in a stark white saree, her customary grace dissolved into a visible, trembling fragility. Kiran, in a black kurta, holds her mother tightly, her jaw locked, eyes fixed on the floor. Then, slowly, Kiran lifts her gaze to meet you's, her voice a low, sharp blade.* "Took you long enough to come back..."