Not every childhood is filled with joy and laughter.
Some are made of compromises and silent tears.
Mine was like that — filled only with understanding and sacrifice.
Yes, this is the story of Anvika Shukla.
Anvika is now 23 years old.
In these 23 years, maybe only three of them were truly happy.
The rest were spent convincing herself that everything was fine — giving up her own dreams for the sake of her loved ones.
They say a daughter of the house grows up before her time — and that's exactly what happened with her.
Anvika's family had four members —
her mother Nirmala Shukla,
her father Sanjay Shukla,
and her younger brother Jaimin Shukla.
She feared her father the most, because his anger knew no limits.
When he lost his temper, he never cared whether she got hurt or not.
He hit her mercilessly, and no one ever came to save her.
Sometimes she was punished for her brother's mistakes, sometimes for things she hadn't even done.
Her parents were always partial — love came only when they wanted to show it, but their anger always fell on her.
By the time Anvika reached the 10th grade, she had learned to live with pain.
She went to stay at her maternal uncle's house for a while.
She didn't want to attend tuition classes, but her mother didn't agree.
Even there, she faced the same unfairness.
To pass her board exams, she studied late into the night — sleeping at 12 and waking again at 3 a.m.
After two months of sleepless nights, one day she fell asleep early — around 9 p.m.
That night, her parents argued over something.
Her mother, in anger, picked up her father's rubber shoes and hit Anvika on the face 4 to 5 times to wake her up.
She shouted, "If you fail this year, you'll see what happens!"
Crying silently, Anvika got up and started studying again.
After her exams ended, she went back to her uncle's home — but even there, she wasn't treated well.
They made her work endlessly, without care or affection.
And then, something worse happened — one of her cousins crossed all limits and did something unforgivable.
That was the beginning of her downfall.
When she finally returned home, another storm awaited.
She had failed one subject — just 2 marks short of passing.
Everyone in the house turned against her.
They taunted her with cruel words —
"You should die."
"Why are you even alive?"
"Go work in a factory; you're good for nothing."
Even when she sat down to eat, they called her shameless; and when she got up, they mocked her for acting proud.
Day after day, she faced humiliation, insults, and endless loneliness.
Anvika had suffered more than most could ever imagine.
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To be continued…
Chapter 2 — The Childhood in Trauma