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Nisha is a glass-half-empty kind of girl; she almost always looks on the dark side of life. She's convinced that this world has more bad than good in it- although upon meeting her it would seem that she thinks everything is bad. It is indeed to find things that Nisha likes, but that doesn't mean that they aren't there.
Once Nisha has her mind set on something, she cannot be swayed easily. She'll stubbornly cling to her beliefs even when others may find them obviously wrong- her family and friends are probably the only people who can make her change her mind. Despite her steadfastness, she's usually not someone who will fight for what she believes in, much preferring to stay in the background and the shadows, quietly slinking away when things get tense.
She's got a dark and cynical sense of humor, involving lots of questionable sarcasm and unimpressed looks. She's usually pretty upfront with this, but will try and tone it down around the few people she cares about. She won't show it, but she's incredibly protective of them. Their wellbeing is the only thing she'll outright fight for, with tooth and claw and harsh, harsh words. She'll do anything to protect them. It goes against all her values, but that's life for you.
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To say that Nisha's been through a lot would be an understatement. She had a fairly sheltered life growing up, but through the creeping influence of the internet and the media she unearthed the worst this world has to offer. She struggled through school, being one of those kids who saw most of the stuff being taught as useless. More and more often, she'd skip her boring classes in favor of a spray can, a dark hoodie and a nice smooth wall. Graffiti was the way she truly expressed her feelings, spraying messages and small pictures and once, even a full-on mural on the beach boardwalk.
Barely scraping through graduation, she suddenly found herself with a much, much more open schedule. Her mother's worries were only another incentive for her to get out more, graffiti more, and hang around places that were shady by anyone's standards. It was at this time that she met a man, a perfect gentlemen, whom she thought would be the one to give her a purpose. But it was not to be. The relationship ended in tears and a litter of kits that were taken away from her; she was just a teenager, in no state to care for a child.
It all went downhill from there. Her home became increasingly less of a safe place and increasingly more of somewhere to be avoided. She didn't want to show her mother what she'd become; didn't want to worry her more than she was already. She'd stay anywhere; on the streets, in dodgy motels, anyplace that had space. It was like she'd given up entirely. Life was a battle she knew she'd lose, so she didn't bother fighting it.
And then. She was expecting again. It was the final straw for her. But just as she was about to break down and cry for one of the few times in her life, something shifted in her. She had wanted a purpose in that failed relationship all that time ago, and now she had one. She had a reason to fight. But she couldn't do it alone.
Reconnecting with her mother was as emotional and painful as she'd expected it to be, tears and screams and rib-crushing hugs. She'd been prepared, but not prepared enough, and her own tears finally came, in the arms of the one person who still cared. Together, they managed to get Nisha a place of her own- a small council flat, but a new home nonetheless. She got a job, working at the local supermarket. And this time, she was allowed to keep one of her kits.
Her mother passed away soon after Nisha's kits were born. It was a loss like she'd never experienced before, despite all her tough years. There was still so much to catch up on, still so many missed opportunities to consolidate, but the only way Nisha could see to honor her mother was to care for her kit like her mother had done for her. So she did.
She was finally content in her life, watching her daughter grow up happy and secure. She was just making ends meet, completing an online college course alongside her job, but she didn't really want or need anything else. And she definitely didn't expect her daughter to show up one day with a small child, and a question: "Can we keep him?"
The boy had run away from an orphanage, she learnt. As meek and nerdy as he looked, he had some fight in him- and the path he was on was starting to go awry. Like Nisha's had. She couldn't let that happen to the kid. And she could never say no to her boisterous little girl, anyway.
Before she knew it, she had adopted a son. And their lives were only just getting started.
