In the middle of the night, Snigdha's piercing shrieks, wild thumping against the floor, and frantic wailing shattered the pristine silence of the sleeping palace!
The horrific noise reached the adjoining chamber of King Aditya and Empress Arohi. Both bolted upright from their bed in sheer panic! What had gone wrong with this unhinged girl now?
Aditya and Arohi rushed toward Snigdha's chamber in frantic haste. Pushing open the heavy doors, they were greeted by an astonishing sight—Snigdha was kneeling in the center of the room, clutching her hair like a woman possessed, sobbing uncontrollably!
Anxious and alarmed, Aditya and Arohi hurried to her side.
Aditya asked in deep concern, "What happened, Snigdha? What is wrong with you? Why are you sitting on the floor screaming and crying like this in the middle of the night? Did you have a terrifying nightmare, child?"
Seeing her parents suddenly standing before her, Snigdha instantly shifted gears to conceal her true terror and the dreaded curse of the tantrik! Wiping her tears away in a flash, she scrambled up from the floor, striking an exaggerated, theatrical posture.
Flings her arms out dramatically and altering her voice, she declared, "Oh dear! Why did you both come running like this in the middle of the night? Can't you see I am practicing my acting? I mean, learning how to perform a dramatic scene! After all, I have to present a grand act before everyone on the day of my glorious wedding with Jishnu! I must put on a little show for our guests on the wedding day, shouldn't I? So I was merely rehearsing with complete focus in the dead of night!"
Hearing such an absurd, senseless, and absurdly fabricated answer, King Aditya and Empress Arohi stood frozen in absolute disbelief for a moment! Then, overcome by a mix of humiliation, sheer annoyance, and hilarity, both involuntarily let out a stifled laugh!
Slapping a hand against his forehead, King Aditya chuckled aloud, "Have you lost your sanity completely, Snigdha? Day after day, you are becoming utterly mindless and unhinged! In the royal court, you chew on crystal glass, snatch food ravenously from the plates of the Emperor and noble guests... you even snatch meat scraps lying near the feet of commoners and devour them greedily! And here in our own palace, you sit on the floor at midnight wailing like a phantom under the pretext of rehearsing drama? Shame! This is the first time in my life I'm witnessing such mid-of-the-night weeping disguised as acting!"—Aditya burst into loud laughter.
Shaking his head, Aditya muttered under his breath, "Good heavens! What a strange daughter God has gifted me! Looking at her antics, I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry!"
Empress Arohi, however, did not take the matter so lightly. Seeing Snigdha's deceit and insolence, her fury flared up even further.
Arohi snapped at Aditya, "Quiet, Aditya! Stop laughing! The more you brush her behavior off with a laugh, the more her insolence and audacity will double by the day! Don't you know that unless she is disciplined, she will walk all over us? She needs a couple of stinging slaps right now—that will cure her phantom drama and midnight rehearsals instantly!"
Turning a stern, sharp gaze upon Snigdha, Arohi warned, "Listen to me, Snigdha! Don't you utter another word of rubbish! Go straight to your silken bed and lie down this instant! Or else I will deal you two violent slaps right now and put you to sleep forever! We haven't a shred of patience left to endure your cheap drama!"
Seeing Arohi's fierce, uncompromising demeanor, Snigdha felt somewhat intimidated. Masking her panic with annoyance, she huffed, "Oh, Mother! You both just start yelling without understanding anything! I know very well what I am doing and what I shouldn't be doing! Now please leave my room! Lock the door from the outside!"
Practically shoving Aditya and Arohi out of the room, she slammed the door shut and slid the heavy latch into place with a sharp clatter!
Standing outside the chamber, Aditya let out a heavy sigh and accompanied Arohi back to their own quarters.
Meanwhile, the moment the door was locked inside, the fake, dramatic smile vanished from Snigdha's face. The terrifying shadow of panic and despair returned to consume her features!
Collapsing onto her bed, she buried her face in both hands, whispering frantically to herself, "Ugh! I managed to escape by putting on an act in front of Father and Mother... but only I know what a horrific tempest was raging inside my chest! The tantrik cast the curse upon me, which means I alone am destined to endure its beastly outcome! Neither old Aditya nor Arohi will have to suffer that horrifying torment! The true agony of my mind is mine alone! What could I even tell them?"
With deep entreaty, Snigdha folded her hands toward the ceiling. Tears of absolute dread trickled down the corners of her eyes.
In a trembling voice, she prayed, "O Lord... Almighty God! Whatever sins or mistakes I have committed in my life, please let this terrifying dream remain just a dream! Let this nightmare never turn into reality! May I never truly transform into that filthy, despicable, tail-wagging hound! May I never be bound in iron chains inside Jishnu's foul dog pen! Please Lord, do not let this nightmare come true!"
After that desperate, fear-stricken prayer, Snigdha collapsed onto the bed in sheer mental exhaustion. Yet, the venomous serpent of dread kept hissing within her soul. Pressing her hands over her eyes, she tried to fall asleep again, completely unaware that her harsh destiny was already knocking on her very door!