SHIVANI: THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL

Saroja was waiting near the reception desk when Shiva entered Priya Lodge.

She was a mature woman with sharp eyes and a calm manner. She looked at his suitcase, then at his long hair and tired face.

“You look as though you haven't slept properly,” she said.

Shiva nodded.

She arranged a temporary room and asked him to eat something. Her kindness made him uncomfortable because he had become accustomed to expecting anger from everyone.

After lunch, Saroja asked him why his mother had sent him to Mumbai.

Shiva explained the argument and the way he had been thrown out. He expected Saroja to criticize him, but she listened without interrupting.

When he finished, she sighed.

“Your mother contacted me before you arrived. She told me that you would need guidance. She also asked me to teach you how to live as a woman and earn money through sex work.”

Shiva stared at her.

“What? I never agreed to that!”

“I know,” Saroja replied. “And you should understand that nobody can decide your identity or force you into this work.”

She explained that she had spent years navigating Mumbai's difficult world of paid companionship and sex work. She knew how quickly a person without money, shelter, or support could become vulnerable.

“I can teach you about surviving here,” she said. “But your decisions must eventually be your own.”

Shiva felt confused. He needed Saroja's help, yet he feared what her lessons might involve.

That evening, he stood beside the window and watched the city lights.

Priya Lodge offered him a roof over his head, but it could not immediately give him the one thing he wanted most: a life in which he was free to decide who he would become.