Her - 4 : Blots of mind

The dim lit crammed bedroom scared her. Though the incense stick lit in the corner seemed to fill the room with its fresh scent, it couldn’t conceal the smell of fresh cow dung coated on the mud walls. She sat silently on the bed, her head dug into her knees. The only source of light was the moonlight that paved its way through the irregularly thatched roof.  Her heart beat  aloud in sync with the cricket chirping  outside. Had she tried to convince her baba once, she could have at least had a chance of avoiding an early marriage. The new house, soon to be her permanent abode seemed no less than a dungeon.  She heard the wooden door drag on the mud floor. She could feel his presence in the room.  As he approached her towards the bed, she pulled her legs closer to her belly. A strange fear consumed her.

He lifted her chin with his left hand and looked into the anxious eyes that exhibited her dissent.

“Go to sleep”, he commanded as he moved out of the room with the blankets.

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Eight decades later, she admired her grandchild dressing up for school. 

She helped her fit the hairband on the tiny head. As she saw the little girl foot dragging, it reminded her of the seven year old  her who silently surrendered to the fate when she was married to a man, twenty years older than her.

Read the other posts in the HER series here : 

HER - 1

HER - 2

HER - 3