Short Story::Her–She

They pulled her holding her hand into the huge ground.
Some accused her “Yes! She killed him”
Some moaned for her “oh poor girl..such a young age..”
The ladies – old, young, ripe, mature, all wept as they broke her red bangles.
Some ladies joined in wiping the vermillion. The younger girls stood petrified.

Only one went up to them and tried to stop the ritual.
She was alone and the might of the other ladies
catalysed with their sorrow was too heavy for this stranger.
She felt disgusted and left the place.
“How could they do this to her” she said,
wiping a tear and bending her head
in embarrassment and shame as she walked away
from the huge ground embellished with humiliating rituals.

“Be Brave..I am proud you attempt to stand up for what you believed”
Anand, said patting her back.
Seasons changed, time passed.
Today, she looked at herself intently into the mirror.
Unbeknownst of the world around her, she looked into the mirror.
Red with grief, sorrow and anger, she looked into the mirror.
She forgot to place the earring on her left ear.
She always tucked her left earring before falling asleep.

She looked into the mirror.
And there she saw Anand, young and handsome,
asking her to dance with him,
at a friend’s party. She blushed.
As they danced, he whispered “you look beautiful.”
She indeed did.
In her bright blue gown with a silver belt and very less make up,
she looked simple and pretty.

They met often in parties and soon, exchanged numbers.
Ah! They had conversations about their lives,
dissimilar dreams but agreeable points of view.
They argued, they mentored each other,
she spoke about her parents and their fights,
he spoke about his family, conservative but loving.

She reminisced that night when they met as the clock struck 10 pm.
She called him, frantically “Anand..”
“what’s the matter” he asked, he sensed the urgency in her voice.
“Let’s meet at Patel Café “ he said

Their usual hangout spot which was not too far away from their places.
Patel café was an eatery cum coffee shop.
They sat in the outdoor section as the place was moon lit and serene.
He held her hand for the first time. She was adamant in leaving her house.
She cried her heart out. He consoled her and asked her to go back to her parents.
His words soothed her ailing heart and she left.
She smiled at him and he smiled back. Did she want to say something?
Did he want to tell her something? The silence in the unspoken words was Magical!

The reverie broke as a little girl came running into the room.
The mirror reflected her dilapated eyes.
“Amma.. Dadi is calling” the little girl said and ran to towards the hall.
“I am coming..” she whispered
She went to the hall attended the Puja and walked back to the room.

She sat in the vacant corner of the bed.
An older Anand, responsible and mature now appeared in the mirror.
Their yearning for a life long togetherness had reached the pinnacle.
Anand, convinced his conservative family. She met them in their home.
Grueling questions were posed and she answered one after the other.
They were engaged after three months of interrogation and then married.
She found it difficult to adjust to a large family
but took up the role in a large family, responsibly.
Anand always stood by her side, when she was right.
That evening when one of the family members had accused her of being a shame.
Anand stood by her and argued for her.
Although accused of being a hen pecked husband,
he always supported the human right of being one self. She loved him even more dearly, year after year.

The reverie broke again as the little girl ran and sat in her lap and said “Amma.. tell a story ..”
She kissed her forehead and hugged her tight and narrated a story.
The little girl slept and so did she.
She heard a voice, screaming at her to wake up.
The day had come. She had to go through the grueling ritual of being a nobody.
Her vermillion and her identity as a married woman would be wiped.
She dread as she imagined the scene.

Cruel, adamant and staunch devouts of blind beliefs, the elders in the house advocated the ritual.
She looked at her little daughter and wondered who would look after this girl, if she just walked away?

But Anand’s words echoed BE BRAVE.
You are Educated enough to take care of yourself.

Why did Anand tell her all this she wondered then.
But now she found purpose and solace in those words. She took her little daughter and walked away into oblivion.

People will talk about you till they get tired and busy. But will you sacrifice your basic human rights of dignity and love within your heart for yourself.

Why did Anand tell her these words before two months of his death? Why?