At first my spirits soared when I saw the difficulties in communication between Rosa and Raj, but the idea of having Raj know Sinhalese because his mother is one makes you respect him more! Even though to Rosa he doesn't seem like a "king" it's striking that you create a parallel between him and the last Sinhalese king (the Tamil) in later chapters. Somehow this idea of going backwards from your prologue seems to go very well with this story!

I couldn't help but laugh at how Rosa claims that David is 'stubborn and arrogant', considering that what she has done, from his point of view, was pretty much close to a betrayal. There are certain times when you feel you have to take Rosa by the arm and point out certain things.

I love the parallel between Rosa's father and Karl. The class divide does not take away the truth from their own hedonistic identities. What strikes me the most is how smart Rosa is, for her age. She lets out a subtle threat that seems to handle her father for a while, letting him know little but not enough.

I can't help but tell you that Rosa is, so far, one of the best-done South Asian characters I have read so far in this site. She has developed beautifully and there are many layers to her. One is the root of her amorality: the fact that as a go-getter, she can use any method possible to defend herself. David, young and foolish as he is, doesn't know that his present bad reputation precedes him, but Rosa does and she uses it to ensure that people think she is innocent. It may seem like a bad thing to do from a moralistic standpoint, but there's no questioning the fact that this girl is a survivor.

Do we get to see Neela and/or Ashan in future chapters? Or have they died in the course of the war, like Irene did? I like that Neela is as headstrong as Rosa is, but in an entirely different way. While Neela is brash and impulsive (as proved by her elopement), Rosa seems more methodical. I love this, and I hope you'll be able to update when there's time.

I love, love, LOVE the way you've interweaved Rosa's personal story with the Tamil Tiger troubles. I have a lot of Sri Lankan friends who have entered to my college in Bangalore with no more than the clothes on their backs, and who have struggled their way up. I had thought at first that Raj would be a school friend whom she ended up having a liking for, but now it REALLY makes sense why she sees Irene as "betraying" her - if Irene ended up saying this (whom to? People in the village? The Tamils themselves?) to anyone, it would definately turn out with worse than the normal love problems. This seems to set the stage for a lot more tension between them.

It's quite surprising that David, Neela and Rosa are such well-behaved, understanding kids (though Rosa is quite presumptuous while talking about her superiority over Neela) considering that their father had gone to the extent of physically abusing them (though the mother's upbringing may play a role in making them better), but I guess it balances out in the way Rosa allows herself to "crush" people in court (a vicious streak from her father, maybe) until the day she faces a case just like her own. It makes Rosa's moment of truth that much more precious.

This is a wonderful start to your story. The prologue vaguely reminds me of the prologue of "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari". There too, you have a successful, amoral lawyer breaking under pressure (though in "Monk", it's not to his roots but to India, to learn from the monks). Rosa sounds like a woman with a lot of issues, and a *very* troubled past.

Do you reveal how old she was when she left later, or have I missed something here? It looks like she was well into her teens, considering she has a very vivid memory of places and events, and is able to empathise with Irene (even though she IS mature, you usually remember things as you last saw them...therefore I'd want to conclude that she was mature enough to know why Irene did what she did). The class divide between Master Chris and the villagers, though, could've been dealt better, in my opinion (for instance: a derogatory remark that she remembers from Chris or Karl, nothing too cliched but showing their beliefs? Or is that something you've done in the later chapters?)

What I like the most is that you've completely shrouded Raj. He's a shadow figure that just pops up from time to time, due to referrences here and there, but it's enoughto whet your appetite!

You could improve your punctuation here and there, but I think your prose style is very, very engaging! Keep up the fabulous work!

Great story mann ...keep going ..waiting for more...

HeYzZ Shan.. woahh that story was so cool ur a great writer man.. HeHe im surrounded by such talent =P

Hey Dude! I rekon ur story rocked.. i liked the prologue the most... i suck at english so it feels good to c some decent work.. lol.. nehow i think u should rely write the rest and put it up kuz im waiting to read it.. hehe... Now dont keep ur akka waiting.. LOL jokes... hehe but i really would like to read it so i hope its up soon..

Well, once again shan, an outstandin chapter...!

Shanali i feel captured, its trully fantastical, wonderfulilizing...u should win a nobel prize my man...and i shall be ur publishe/manager...!

whoa, this seems pretty realistic. I have sri lankan tamil friends whose families hate sinhalese people - and i can imagine sinhalese people feeling similarly towards tamils.

it is refreshing to read a story centred around south asian characters =) i am south asian (indian) and have always been interested the history/culture, so i like your story. Are you sri lankan by any chance?

Awsome chapter!!...cant wait till the next one

Wow! Finally we get to know about Raj. I can't wait to find out if she finds him or not. I hope so!

Wow great story..its so sad but a great storyline and the descriptions are awsome. cant wait for the next chapter.