I’LL LIVE – Social Short Story
Photo credit: emlyn from morguefile.com
Sitting idle, on the bench in the remote corner of the park, she looked dazed.
Life had been pretty hard on her. The eldest daughter of a maid, deserted by her husband. A family of four to feed was a herculean task those days. She gave up her studies to help her mother feed the other mouths at home. The younger ones also had the privilege to study in the municipal school.
Time went by the struggle paid dividends. The younger brother and sister were married off. Brother got a job. Left in the small shanty was the mother and eldest daughter. Old mother before death gave the remaining daughter to an old truck driver in marriage. The man, a brutal beast hit and kicked her on and off and one day he too was dead. The spurious liquor had taken its toll.
The hooch incident took away everything from her. She started living in her old shanty, much to the dismay of her sister in law. She coaxed her husband to sell the shanty and bring the sister to their house. She again became a maid, without a salary and laden with a huge burden of blood relations.
She was not well for the past few days. Nobody bothered for her. She somehow managed to move to the government hospital and hell broke. She tested positive for HIV. Her dead husband had given her a gift to die for.
A no entry board came up for her at her brother’s place. Sister too shoed her away. Blood is much thinner than water.
She tried to get work as a maid, but prejudices came in the way.
She was lost; this bench was the only abode she had.
Her mind was a battle ground of her thoughts and sentiments. Various conflicts arose. A raging debate on her continued existence was going on.
She does not have a right to live. An outcast, who is not wanted anymore as she had already served the purpose of her life. She has to die and pay the penance of the sins which she had not committed.
A cool breeze hit her face; the wind was not bigoted towards her. It gently caressed her body. There might be others like this wind those who would help her to learn the art of survival. She has to find a new meaning in her life.
She lived for others till date and fought all the adversities. Today when she has to stand up for her own self, she is admitting a defeat even before making an endeavor.
No, she will not go down as a loser. She will struggle for her survival and live. Her aim to live would be to defeat the hurdles that come her way. She had been a warrior till now and would go down fighting only.
Holding the strings of hope and determination of thoughts, she left the bench and walked in the search of a new dawn.
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