Chapter 4: Shadows of School and Family

4.

At seventeen, I lived in Ananya’s shadow.

After my mother married her father, everything changed.

The man would praise my compositions, but Ananya would rip up my sheet music, her snarl burning into my memory. I could only watch as my dreams were shredded, piece by piece.

"Deaf freak, if you dare write again, I’ll slap your mouth to pieces!"

She hated me. She’d bring her friends to smash my hearing aids, mock my speech, and spread filthy rumours about me. At school, I became the punchline, the one nobody wanted to sit with at lunch.

But in the eyes of Miss Sharma, she was still the golden child—the one who won every elocution, whose smile charmed every grown-up.

So when I was accused of stealing a gold chain,

she cried, spinning a dramatic story for Miss Sharma. Her tears convinced everyone, while I stood frozen, my voice lodged in my throat.

Years of hearing loss had left my speech slow, awkward. Under Miss Sharma’s disapproving glare, my mouth clamped shut. Each word was a battle, every syllable dragging through the thick air laced with chalk dust and the old wooden benches creaking beneath us. The school bell echoed in the corridor, a distant, mocking clang.

The pain welled up, from chest to eyes, ready to spill.

A boy reciting nearby suddenly scoffed.

He signed smoothly:

[Idiot, no one can understand you. Don’t you know to write it down?]

He slapped a paper and pen in front of me, ducked his head, and spoke slowly:

"Ma’am, I believe in Priya. Let her write what she wants to say."

Behind him, sunlight filtered through the neem tree outside the window, glinting in his dark eyes under messy bangs. The world seemed to pause. The scent of chalk and sweat hung in the air.

Once I wrote the truth, my innocence was clear. He pulled me away, Ananya’s furious stare burning into my back.

Kabir unclipped the earring from his left ear and fastened it to mine.

His voice was close, just loud enough for Ananya to hear:

"My Dadi is deaf too. Don’t be afraid. If she bullies you, press the button on the earring. The other one will ring, and I’ll come."

That heartbeat lasted ten years. For once, I believed in rescue.