I am filled with a mixture of nervousness and anger at this moment. My hands are already sweating. Why wouldn't I be nervous? I am meeting her after 25 years. I don't know why I agreed to this in the first place. My morning went really bad , I reached my work place late and now I decided to meet her. I dont think it's too late to cancel this meeting, right? Let me see. Oh no , it's 4:55 p.m. already and we decided to meet at 5:00 p.m. Okay, I can do this!!
(Opens the door of the cafe) Okay, so where is she sitting now (looks around). "Minal! " Someone called out my name from behind. I turned around and my eyes met with a lady who was wearing a kurta. She had long jet black hair. She looked like a person in her mid 40's. She smiled at me and put forth her hand for a handshake. I smiled at her awkwardly and shook her hand. We sat down.
After a long awkward silence, she asked me "So what are you ordering?" ."Huh?" I asked. "What would you like to eat?" She repeated.
"You are meeting me after 25 years and that's all you want to ask me? Is this a joke to you? Are you trying to fool me around? I didn't even know I was adopted!! Do you know what it is like to know that your loving parents are not really your parents! My mother told me I was adopted on which I had a hearty laugh. Then I receive your call only to confirm my adoption from you. I wasn't able to talk to my mom seriously about it as I thought it was a joke.Why did you want to meet me after so long ?" My rant made me breathless. I can't deny the fact that I was furious and I didn't know what I was speaking anymore.
"I bet you have a billion questions in your mind". She said sipping her coffee . Another round of awkward silence surrounded us.
"Who is my father?" That was the only question that came in my mind at this moment. "Oh you are better off without knowing who he is" she said in a nonchalant tone. "Why?" . " Because he would have loved you if you were a boy. He wouldn't accept you as his child because you are a girl". She said bluntly. I fell silent. I was taken aback by shock.
"My in-laws wanted a boy. They asked me to abort you but I somehow managed to save you and asked Shweta ; your mother to take care of you" she said.
I still couldn't process what she was saying. She realised that and pushed a glass of water towards me.
I drank all the water in that glass in a sip. After few minutes I asked her innocently "So what brings you here?". " I wanted to see you" she said with a smile on her face. "Why didn't you try to meet me before?" I asked. "I was not in the right condition to meet you" she said. Looking at my confused expression she continued," I was rescued by a NGO after I gave you to Shweta. Shweta told the NGO's about what happened to me and how I was suffering in my in-laws house. The volunteers managed to rescue me".
"Why did you need someone to rescue you?" I blurted out. " I was a child bride" she said. "Child marriages don't occur now" I blurted out again. "Child Marriages still happen my dear. " she said with a little sense of pain.I felt embarrassed about my awareness towards social issues.
"What was the reason for your child marriage?" I asked her. "My father died at an early age. My mother tried her best to make ends meet but was unable to afford 2 meals for a day. The place where I lived, people thought that if you are poor and have a daughter ,child marriage is the best solution to help you survive. But the truth is the situation gets worse.
People don't look at girls as a person who is capable of sustaining her family . Rather they look at her as a liability. I was good at academics. I wanted to study and be a psychologist but my mother couldn't afford the expenses of my academics. I became pregnant at the age of 16 and after that my life went on a downhill. I could have met you after I was rescued but I felt too embarrassed to meet you for some reason.
I didn't have enough qualifications to get a job so I started working in the NGO and helped them in rescue missions. That's my life now. After I joined the NGO I realised that whatever happened with me was not my fault. Somehow I gathered up my courage to meet you. I wanted to let you know that I didn't abandon you. I just tried to keep you away from some terrible happenings and for that we both had to pay the cost.
I am glad that you came here to listen to my side of the story. I understand you are furious at me but I was helpless at that moment. Forgive me if you can. I tried my best to provide you with a promising future.
I am getting late now.Here's my number. If you feel like contacting me, feel free to do so. Goodbye".she said and stood up. I stood up as well. She looked at me and an affectionate smile adored her face. After listening to her side of the story my life flashed in front of my eyes and I realised that I really am leading a happy life.
I turned around and saw her exiting the door. I couldn't help but run behind her . I tapped her shoulder and said " I am really sorry for the way I spoke to you". I genuinely felt sorry for the way I spoke to her . She just cupped my cheeks affectionately and said," You don't need to be sorry." She flashed a tight lipped smile at me and left.
People say that women are difficult to understand but the truth is they are not treated fairly.
AUTHOR : ISHITA KHOMANE
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