The Acceptance of Kin

In the heart of a south Indian interior village, a peculiar tradition had been passed down for generations. When a widower remarried, his new bride was expected to accept his children as her own. To prove her devotion, she had to undergo a grueling ritual: unbirth and rebirth. The villagers believed this would ensure the family's harmony and prosperity. Unbeknownst to her, young and vibrant Rukmini accepted the proposal of widower, Kailash, and was introduced to this ancient custom. Horrified, she was faced with the reality of having to unbirth his 3-year-old son, Rohan, and rebirth him after three days. The next challenge was even more daunting – unbirthing Kailash's 35-year-old daughter, Radha, who was significantly older and healthier than Rukmini herself. As the day of the ritual approached, Rukmini's anxiety grew. She was injected with a medicine that would keep her conscious throughout the process, a cruel twist meant to test her resolve. The first day was a blur of agony as her body began to disintegrate. Her skin turned a sickly shade of green, her organs shifted, and her skeleton rearranged itself. The pain was indescribable, like being torn apart and reassembled at the same time. As the days passed, Rukmini's body continued to deform, her face elongating, her limbs twisting, and her torso compressing. She felt like a puppet being manipulated by an unseen force. Her mind reeled with the thought of living with this new, distorted body. Would she be able to regain her original form, or was she doomed to live with this grotesque, reassembled shell? The villagers' words echoed in her mind: \This is the price you pay for family harmony.\