Kirti had settled by the time train started chugging . Seats next to her were unoccupied. Maybe this was blessing as she would not have to talk to anyone. In the morning she would reach her destination, new life and new environment.
As train picked up speed she had a last look at the chaotic station and took out her mobile to check for messages before switching it off. Kirti got teary eyed as she read a message from her step brother.  She opened the picture gallery and started looking at old pictures . One day she had incidentally found an old album and clicked photos from it to keep in her mobile gallery. There were few photos of her young mother and her happy childhood with her parents before her mother’s death. As she went through the pictures she started recollecting her early childhood which seemed fresh in her mind. All these years she had never dared to remember anything.
****
‘Kirti, where are you? Again standing in front of that stupid mirror , don’t you get tired of looking at yourself in the mirror? ‘ Kirti’s step-mother, Rama was shouting from the kitchen. Kirti was jolted out of her thoughts. She cleared her eyes and ran to the kitchen. ‘Why don’t you take your younger brother to play?’ Rama shouted  again.
Kirti was a twelve year old , pretty girl . Kirti had lost her own mother at a young age.  Whenever Kirti  looked at the mirror, she remembered her mother . She felt as if her mother was looking at her through the mirror. Kirti’s mother was beautiful , cultured lady , and whenever she stood in front of the mirror, Kirti would look at her in awe. After her mother’s death, Kirti’s father remarried.

Kirti’s stepmother, Rama, loved her but when a son was born to Rama , she started treating Kirti badly.
Sometimes Kirti would sit in the front of her mother’s  mirror and cry, remembering her. One day in fit of anger Rama broke the mirror into thousand pieces. That day Kirti felt as if she had lost her mother forever.  She cried herself to sleep that night.

Years passed and Kirti grew out to be a fine young lady. She was good in studies. Though her step mother’s nature became worse but her father and younger step brother helped her to be a girl filled with compassion, confidence and grit. After completing her studies Kirti wanted to teach children, so she applied for job at different schools. She was sure of getting a job soon after graduating. But her stepmother wanted to see Kirti married. She manipulated Kirti’s father and fixed Kirti’s marriage without telling her.
Two days before marriage the family decided to go for a trip to their hometown. Kirti was happy as she loved being with her grandmother. But to her surprise whole family had converged there. She felt something fishy. When she found out the truth she tried to talk to her father but her father and brother were unable to help. They were both saddened by this but Rama was on top of the world. She was giving instructions as if she was a  concerned parent. But Kirti knew, Rama well and even her sinister side. She became a bit jittery but soon decided to take control of her own life. Throughout the day she behaved normally, she went with the flow. She went to the extent of putting henna and even started behaving like a coy would -be-bride. This surprised her father and step brother. But they too kept low profile. In the evening all three met on the roof. They made a plan . Kirti’s father called his friend and explained the matter. His friend agreed to help Kirti till she  got a job offer. After dinner Kirti packed few essential items in her bagpack and waited with bated breath for everyone to sleep. As clock struck one Kirti’s father got up  and went out. Kirti picked her bag and followed him. Both of them almost ran to the station. Outside the station her father kissed her on her forehead and blessed her . Teary eyed he assured her that everything would be fine soon. Then he left . As Kirti entered the station she saw that train was already there  so she quickly boarded the train and found a place to sit. 
****
Slowly she changed sim of her mobile , hoping her life too, would change for good soon.