MAUSAM
Mausam tapped her foot,
And hid her tears with her back towards her simmering pot.
The words of her mother in law
Hurt her.
She knew she was at fault.
What kind of mother would like a girl
Who constantly hated her son.
She had argued with Armaan every single day.
Neglected her children.
She gulped.
Just like how she was so clear about her hatred towards her husband,
Her mother-in-law's hatred towards her was visible as well.
As the rice was done,
She served herself a lot.
So that she would not have come downstairs for a second plate.
She dried her tears.
Not wanting to look like she had just cried in front of others,
It was 8 30 , and everyone must be downstairs in dining hall.
She took her palte and made her way towards the grand staircase,
Praying no one saw her.
"Where are you going?" A voice halted her.
Collecting herself she turned ,
Her husband was standing in the hall,
And holding his finger was a tiny little figure.
Her eyes widened,
It was her daughter.
In the morning when she came out of her room,
She did not find them,
When she asked servent they told her they were in school.
And then she did not know when they would return from school , so she had missed them coming from school and she had no idea where their room.
With doe eyes and sharp face,
She resembled her father a lot,
In a red frock she stood there,
Looking at her.
She stared at her daughter,
" Rooroo" she whispered.
Her daughter's eyes grew rounder and she stared at him.
"I asked what are you doing?"
Armaan's voice brought her out of her trance.
She cleared her throat,
A lump formed in her throat by the emotions of seeing her daughter after so many years,
She had last seen her daughter before her divorce.
It had been years.
"Vo me khana khane ja rahu hu."
She replied looking down.
"Kaha? Dining table uper nahi,
Yaha niche hi he,
Aur khana tumne khud kyun nikala he?
We have servents for that."
He asked her with suspicious eyes.
(Where? Dining room is not upstairs but here downstairs, and why did you set your plate! We have servents for that)
Before she would eat with others in dining room,
Or outside.
She mostly ate outside as she did not want to see her husband and his family ,
Nor her children.
But now ,
She could not face them.
Except the small encounter this morning with him,
She was feeling nervous seeing everyone.
Her children, especially.
And her hostile in law's,
Mother in law , dadi and dadaji.
She fidgeted under his stare.
" Me apne kamre me khana khaungi."
Saying this she started to climb the stairs.
( I will eat in my room.)
He was about to fight her for not eating with them all in the dinning room, but she could not eat there,
Could not face her children,
Nor sit under the hateful gazes of his family members.
Sbe knew she deserved the angry stares,
It was not like they hated her for no reason,
Or were bad to her,
No they had been nice and caring until she had turned all their love away , by her constant behaviour and fights and her declaration that she wants divorce and only loved Reyansh.
She sighed as the bedroom door closed behind her.
She sat down to eat.
Updated on -23/10/24