People say fairy tales don't exist.
Maybe they're right.
But I really thought I had one.
It wasn't anything big. Just a normal life. Maa, Baba, my little sister Aarohi… small trips, random shopping, laughing at stupid things, sitting together at night. It felt complete.
I never questioned it.
Why would I?
Everything was fine.
Until it wasn't.
I don't even know when things started changing. Maybe they were always there and I just didn't see them. Or maybe it really did break in just one day.
All I remember is the fights.
Loud voices. Doors closing. Maa crying when she thought no one was looking.
And Baba…
He wasn't the same.
He used to be my favourite person. The one I trusted the most.
But suddenly, he felt like a stranger in the same house.
I didn't understand everything back then. I was just in class 7.
But I understood enough to know that something was very, very wrong.
I stopped sleeping properly.
I started listening.
Waiting.
Scared that something worse would happen.
And the worst part?
Aarohi didn't understand anything.
She still smiled the same way. Still believed everything was okay.
So I had to act like it was.
Even when it clearly wasn't.
That was the beginning.
Of everything falling apart.