heard them mourn my death. I lay in the next room. Motionless, silent, and
staring at the ceiling.”
it comes to a broken person, some of them are expert at blinding you. Spend an
entire evening with such a person, but you may still not know how he is
crushing inside.”
would say no to him? He is smart, intelligent, super handsome, rich, suave and
sophisticated. He’s perfect!”
gave no explanation. She asked no forgiveness. She just arrived in his home,
resenting him for being her husband.”
had smiled as if nothing was wrong.
had behaved as if he still had his dreams and hopes.
had pretended as if it didn’t hurt.
it did.”
Destiny hold the key to our happiness?
it always the feeble that is the victim?
can be the embrace of heaven. But what happens when it unleashes hellfire?
yourself in the intense narrative of You Came Like Hope as it unleashes a
rollercoaster of emotions, uncovers some bitter truths, challenges widespread
prejudices, and forces you to reconsider your beliefs.
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Prologue
But there I was.
‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll leave soon. He’s not here anyway,’ I excused myself, taking a deep breath of the pleasant lemon-scented air of the place.
The room was simply furnished. There was an oval centre table topped with a black glass. Pencil scrapes fluttered on half of it and school books and notebooks covered the other half. An almost empty school bag lay huddled on the grey couch next to it. There were matching single-seaters on the other side of the table. A square dining table stood on one side of the room. It had only two chairs.
Besides this sombre furniture, there were three Disney cushions on the grey couch, artificial sunflowers with smiley faces in a vase, a flower-shaped wall clock, and a cute flower and bee shaped perfume dispenser in a corner. These childish whims and fancies served well to add cheer to otherwise too plain a room.
My eyes brushed past all these things, only to be arrested by a photo hanging on a wall. It showed a girl child holding the hand of a tall man. He was dressed in blue jeans and grey t-shirt. The attire suited his height and strong built well. The child was grinning at the camera. Her companion was looking down and smiling at her. It was a smile that could have forced any woman to become rude and stare with desire. I was glad it was just a picture that I was staring at.
The owner of that smile had moved to Delhi four months ago, renting a house very close to my cousin sister Rajni’s house. This was the first time I had come to stay at my cousin’s home since then. My mother had let me come. But she worried that he was too near, the son of a defamed family.
‘You know what his family history is. Stay away from him, no matter what Rajni tells you,’ she had ordered.
‘Too late,’ I murmured, staring at his picture and wondering what mother would say if she found out. But then, there were far worse things that I had hidden. Things that, I knew, would hurt my parents more. Far more.
and blogger from Ghaziabad. You Came Like Hope is her third novel, coming after
Dream’s Sake and Lemon Girl. She is Post Graduate in English Literature and
Applied Psychology.
Jyoti has over five years
of experience working as a freelance writer. This experience includes abridging
over 24 famous English classics like Jane Eyre, Moby Dick etc.
of Thalassemia Major. But she does not let this stop or discourage her. For her
determination and achievements, Jyoti has received appreciation from Ms Sheila
Dixit, Ms Maneka Gandhi and the Ghaziabad wing of BJP. Her life story has been
covered in various local and national TV shows, radio programs, newspapers,
magazines and websites like YourStory and Inspire India. She was also one of
the ‘100 Women Achievers of India’ that were invited to witness the Republic
Day parade of India (2016) as special guests.
writing novels, Jyoti also enjoys blogging and has won several blogging
competitions. She loves checking out latest technological innovations, watching
movies, and listening to old Bollywood songs. Reach her at jyotiarora.com.
