🌑 ONE BODY, TWO LIVES — VOLUME 1 (Chapters 1–6)
By Divya
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CHAPTER 1 — THE NIGHT OF FATE (2000, Delhi, India)
The night was thick, dusty, and bruised purple — one of those heavy Delhi nights where the air feels like it's holding its breath.
Inside an old Maruti van, Kartik drove like a man possessed.
Beside him, Kavya, nine months pregnant, clutched her stomach, her breath trembling, sweat rolling down her forehead.
"Bas thoda sa aur, Kavya… hum aa gaye," Kartik whispered, voice cracking.
They reached the government hospital — a place that looked more like an abandoned building than a place of healing.
Dim lights, flickering tubes, stained walls, and only two exhausted nurses running around like the world was ending.
Kartik's parents — Mahesh and Shanti — arrived moments later.
Mahesh tried to reason with the doctor, but the doctor, half-irritated and half-sleepy, didn't even bother looking up.
"Operation theatre mein light nahi hai. Generator kharab hai. Delivery risky hai," he muttered.
Then he added the condition:
"10,000 rupay do. Abhi. Varna kahin aur le jao."
In the year 2000, 10,000 rupees felt like 1 lakh.
But Kartik had no choice.
Before they could protest, the doctor dropped another bomb:
"Ya maa bachegi… ya bachcha."
Everyone froze.
Kavya's scream echoed from inside.
The night just got darker.
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CHAPTER 2 — THE IMPOSSIBLE BIRTH
Three hours passed —
Three hours of darkness, blood, panic, and a generator that kept dying every few minutes.
Finally… the baby was born.
But when the doctor picked up the newborn, he froze.
His hands trembled.
His eyes widened.
The nurses stepped back.
This wasn't a normal birth.
This wasn't even a rare birth.
This was impossible.
The baby had both organs — male and female.
Fully developed.
Fully functional.
A biological anomaly seen only once in billions.
"Yeh ladka bhi hai… aur ladki bhi," the doctor whispered.
He flipped through old medical books, searching desperately.
Finally, he found it:
A one-in-a-billion condition where the body could function as both a father and a mother.
He panicked.
He knew that in India in 2000, if this truth came out:
the child would be killed,
abandoned,
or treated like a curse.
So he made a decision that would change everything.
He performed a small operation, hiding the female organ externally — not removing it.
Internally, everything remained.
From the outside, the baby would appear male.
Only the doctor knew the whole truth.
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CHAPTER 3 — THE FATHER'S SHOCK
The doctor called Kartik aside.
"Kartik… yeh baat sirf hum dono ke beech rahegi," he whispered.
Then he said it:
"Aapka bachcha na ladka hai… na ladki. Yeh dono hai."
Kartik stared… then laughed nervously.
"Aap mazaak kar rahe ho? Thak gaye ho? Ya pee rakha hai?"
But the doctor didn't smile.
He lifted the cloth slightly.
Kartik's world shattered.
His knees gave way.
His breath stopped.
His mind shut down.
The truth melted every belief he ever had.
"This isn't hijra. Not transgender," the doctor said softly.
"This is a one-in-a-billion phenomenon. A biological miracle."
Kartik fell silent.
He had no words left.
No reality to stand on.
The secret was now his burden too.
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CHAPTER 4 — THE MOTHER'S TRUTH
Kavya's health worsened.
Everyone rushed to her.
"Mera bachcha… dekhne do," she cried.
Kartik brought the newborn to her.
But the moment she looked, her face twisted with shock.
"This… this is a boy.
But I… I saw a girl before fainting.
I HAD a daughter. Bring my daughter back!"
Only three people were in the room:
The doctor
Kartik
Kavya
Kavya broke down, screaming:
"Meri beti laao! Bring my daughter!"
Kartik, terrified, finally snapped:
"Kavya… this IS your daughter."
She shook her head violently.
"No! This is a boy! Mera dil keh raha hai meri beti thi!"
With trembling hands, Kartik lifted the cloth — just enough.
Kavya gasped.
Her breath stopped.
She saw it.
She understood.
The doctor explained everything.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Kavya cried silently, holding the newborn close.
"Kartik… if your parents know… they will never accept our child."
She took a deep breath.
"Kartik… humein yeh country chhodni hogi."
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CHAPTER 5 — THE SECRET AND THE VOW
Kavya, weak but determined, spoke with clarity:
"We both earn well.
We can tell our families we got jobs abroad.
We'll raise our child in another country — safely."
Kartik nodded.
"Main kasam khata hoon. Kisi ko nahi bataunga."
The doctor warned:
"If society finds out… your child won't survive."
They both knew it was true.
They vowed:
One secret.
One truth.
One child.
Two lives.
And a future far away from India.
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CHAPTER 6 — CELEBRATION AND FEAR
Kartik walked out.
"Ladka hua hai."
Just those four words —
and the hospital exploded into festival mode.
Sweets were distributed.
Biryani arrived.
Pepsi crates came in.
Samosas, jalebis, snacks — everything.
Mahesh gifted the doctor a gold watch.
The nurse got a gold chain.
And then…
A DJ arrived.
A real DJ.
Full speakers.
Lights.
Bollywood songs blasting through the hospital.
The celebration lasted a full month at their home.
Relatives came from everywhere.
Feasts, dancing, decorations — money spent like water.
But behind every smile…
Kartik and Kavya looked at each other with fear.
Two months later, during dinner, Kavya finally said it:
"Mommy… Papa…
Hum is country ko chhodkar