STEP SISTER IN LAW

Saloni was a social worker. She was married in Kanpur.

But after 3 months of her marriage, she got divorced,

and now she was back with her mom and dad in Pune. But that was not just the point.

Love marriage that too in a different religion. Don't know how many hurdles Saloni overcame before finding her love.

Saloni and her husband converted their 5 years relationship into a marriage after a lot of trouble.

There was a lot of love between them, but what happened that their marriage couldn't last 3 months.

Actually, when I went to my in-law's place after marriage, everything was fine.

Ahmed's family had accepted me with an open heart. But as they say, it is better that the past secrets stay buried.

Because if they burden the present, they can destroy our lives forever.

Anyway, I knew Ahmed very well. We remembered every moment spent in the 5 years relationship.

In fact, it was Ahmed who proposed to me for marriage, and I could say no.

We thought that after marriage we would fill each other's lives with color and make them colorful.

But after marriage, everything changed in such a way, like a bad dream.

Since the first night of our marriage, Ahmed had been a bit changed.

I was all dressed up and waiting for Ahmed on the bed, but he didn't come till midnight.

It was around 3 a.m. when someone knocked on the door. I knew it was Ahmed.

I was about to yell at him in anger after opening the door, but what I saw froze the blood in my body.

Ahmed's sherwani was drenched in blood. His body smelled like a rotting dead body.

His eyes were red, and pieces of raw meat were stuck around his mouth.

Ahmed, you didn't eat nonveg, then what is all this?

I just asked him this when he pushed me so hard that I fell in the corner of the wall.

Ahmed's behavior was beyond my understanding. What could I do? On the first night of my marriage, I spent the whole night crying in one corner of the room.

Sometimes it felt like ours was not a love marriage but an arranged marriage. Because after a few days of marriage, Ahmed started getting angry a lot.

Often, while talking to me, his voice would get heavy. It seemed like someone else inside him was talking to me.

and sometimes he would mumble things in his sleep.

Ahmed, you are now irritating me. Sometimes I feel like I don't know you. And since when did you start getting angry about everything?

I am getting angry. Me? Just look at yourself. Just because we got married, you are sitting on my head.

Open your mind and listen. I don't like this everyday nagging. If you bother me too much, I will divorce you right now. Understood?

Saying this, Ahmed left. These kinds of fights had become common day and night. Out of fear, even if I didn't say anything, Ahmed would get angry at me for no reason and leave.

Things were so bad that after marriage we didn't even sleep in the same bed.

Then one night, when I woke up due to thirst, I saw that Ahmed's eyes were on me.

Half of his face was that of a human and the other half of some witches.

His eyes were completely red like they were thirsty for my blood. Seeing Ahmed's body in the air, my whole body was shaking.

But as I blinked, everything was like before.

I often get the feeling that some other woman is sitting on my chest and ripping it apart.

I used to fall down while walking as someone had pushed me really hard. While cooking my hands used to get burnt and sometimes my saree too.

Strange things were happening to me which were beyond my understanding.

But I used to tell my mother and father that I am very happy. Everyone here loves me a lot. Mother and father also believed my lies and got happy.

But I was most surprised by the fact that my mother-in-law used to see all this but remained quiet.

Then one day I asked my mother-in-law.

Mother, your son's household is going to be destroyed before setting up. And you are just quietly watching everything.

If it remains like this, then I am not going to tolerate it for long. I will go back to my home and never come back.

My mother-in-law knew what pain I was going through. That is why she handed me a piece of paper and said

"Daughter whatever is written in this paper, read it quietly in Ahmed's ears after he sleeps."

You will come to know the truth. Saying this my mother-in-law went away from me.

I was just waiting for Ahmed to sleep. Again, like before, after fighting, Ahmed went to sleep.

It was midnight, I tried to wake Ahmed up a couple of times, but he didn't wake up.

Then, after gathering a lot of courage, I took out the paper given by mother in law and quietly read it in Ahmed's ears.

Zareen! See, I have come. Your groom is here to take you. Come on, get ready to get married.

I was just reading the paper when Ahmed's body started getting stiff.

His condition changed completely. The body which was strong and firm was now becoming delicate. That twisting of wrists and shaking of the waist.

Ahmed was completely changed. I was quietly looking at my husband, Ahmed. To be honest my whole body was cold out of fear.

I was scared. There was a strange black shadow around my husband and once again Ahmed's body was smelling like a rotting dead body.

Ahmed got up and went straight in front of the mirror and sat down. The next moment, he started applying makeup and mehndi to his hands.

When I saw him after he was done with the makeup, he had changed into a beautiful girl.

Ahemd what has happened to you? Why are you doing your makeup like this? Ahmed, talk to me.

I am your wife, Saloni. Ahmed, are you even listening to me. Even after calling him so many times, he didn't even turn around and look at me.

But when I tried to touch him, he with one blow threw me to a corner of the wall.

Get away from my Ahmed. I warn you if you try to even touch him. He is my husband. I was engaged with him.

I tortured you so much but you still didn't get it.

Keep in mind that if you try to keep me away from my Ahmed then just like Ahmed's father I will send you up using Ahmed.

I understood then that it could not be my Ahmed. The Ahmed who could die for me, he can't hate me so much.

Before I could ask anything to Ahmed I saw a very scary and dreadful reflection in the mirror.

It looked like a witch, to whom Ahmed was pleading for his life.

Zareen, why don't you let me go. You were my childhood love. I agree that I engaged with you but now you are in a different world.

I have now accepted someone else and made my life. I beg before you Zareen please release me. I love my Saloni a lot.

Ahmed had tears in his eyes. He still loved me. Considered me his. But there was someone else's shadow in his body, whose name was Zareen.

Who was this Zareen and what was her relationship with my husband, Ahmed? I was thinking all this when my mother-in-law with an amulet in her hands,

came to me to take care of me.

Did you see, daughter, how my son has been captured by a witch for so many years?

Once we tried to get Zareen away from my son, and while doing so, Zareen killed Ahmed's father.

And the strangest thing is that Ahmed, to date, doesn't know that he has the shadow of a witch who doesn't let anyone have Ahmed.

But mother is there no other way by which Ahmed can be freed

On my question, mother in law thought for a while and said

Daughter, there is a way. But that will be a lifetime punishment for you.

Which way mother, and what punishment are you talking about?

Tell me clearly what do I have to do.

But listening to what my mother said, the ground under my feet slipped away. She said that if I want to get Ahmed freed from the witch, you have to get it in you forever.

You have to store her soul in your body forever.

But after that, I won't be able to meet Ahmed again.

I will have to forget Ahmed forever.

Otherwise, if Zareen sees Ahmed she could overpower me and Zareen might even kill Ahmed.

Which clearly meant the death of my love Ahmed with my own hands.

What situation god has brought before me? Now for my love, I have to get away from him.

That too, so far that I could never see his face again. That love was everything to me. For whom had I left everything behind.

Ahemd was also begging before Zareen to come to me.

He was ready to sacrifice his life.

So for his good, could I not go away from him?

To be honest, at that time, I had made up my mind that I was going to free Ahmed from that witch.

When I asked, mother in law only said this

Daughter, you have to go to Zareen's grave and drop your hair, your clothes, and pieces of your nails on her grave.

Then only Zareen's soul will leave Ahmed's body and enter yours.

Don't worry I will be with you. But remember, daughter, this path is not going to be that easy.

But promise me, daughter, you will never show your face to Ahmed ever again.

Mother I too love Ahmed a lot. And I promise you that I will never show my face to Ahmed ever again.

After promising mom, both of us went towards the cemetery.

After a while, me and mother in law were standing before Zareen's grave.

I had just touched the soil of the grave and strong winds started blowing and dark shadows from the grave started ripping my body apart.

Behind me, mother in law was standing with an amulet in her hands to protect me.

But that dark shadow didn't even spare my mother-in-law.

It came all of a sudden and ripped chunks of flesh from mother's body and went away.

Mother started screaming with pain.

Daughter Saloni. Don't give up. I will always be there for you.

You just keep on doing your work. We have to get Ahmed free from Zaree's soul.

I understood that the shadow floating around us and hurting us was none other than the shadow of Zareen.

But by listening to my mother, I gained more courage.

I quickly started digging a hole in the grave.

I had just put my cut hairs in the grave when I saw that Zareen's black shadow was coming out of my mother's body and tearing it into pieces,

and the pieces were falling on me.

Seeing this, I started shivering out of fear. The amulet was also of no use now.

Then I felt that someone had grabbed my hair.

But before I could do anything Zareen's dark shadow had lifted me in the air by grabbing my hair.

I was wailing out of pain in mid-air. But just below me was Zareen's grave.

So without wasting any moment I took out a piece of cloth and nail and dropped it on Zareen's grave,

As the pieces of nails and cloth fell on the grave that shadow started screaming.

Before I fell to the ground, Zareen's spirit had entered my body which didn't let me get a single scratch.

Like I promised mother-in-law after that night, I never saw Ahmed's face again.

I went straight to my home from the cemetery.

As I came home, Ahmed started requesting my parents to meet me, he was kind of begging.

Screaming, he asked why I had left him.

Was his love not enough?

He made a million reasons to meet me. But not even once did I show him my face, nor did I go near him.

Today it has been 12 years of my marriage. And even today I love my husband Ahmed a lot.

Just for my husband well being I was carrying around the co-wife inside me. I never let her come out. After all, she was my co-wife.