His attitude and behaviour was no different from any other Australian high school student and being in the teaching profession she was not entirely unfamiliar with the student culture and their perceptions that academic excellence was not the only gateway to success.

A part of her was immune to pain, numbed by humiliating experiences and hatred while the part that had known finer emotions, powerless to alter the course of events, chose to remain nonchalant.

The land of opportunities that appeared greener when they were on the other side of the world deceptively veiled the harsh terrains which could only be transformed into fertile oasis with the passage of time and tough grind.

A dead end. The root cause mysterious, Neha continued to bleed from the scratches with her futile attempts to extricate leading to further entanglement.

She became a question mark. An unfinished puzzle. An intricate crossword. An impervious shooting star yet to determine her course.

Bickering based on in-laws’ actions and behaviour were not uncommon between husbands and wives. Arguments of such nature usually erected a temporary wall between couples that mended with the passage of time. However, such wrangling left Neha with a sense of impending doom.