Daughters-in-law : Part 2
Story By Thiyam Ningol, Africa

*

A faint knocking sound on the door woke her up. The knocking continued and slowly, the door was pushed and a figure ushered in the room.

A familiar voice asked her-" Are you O.K Asha?".

It was Rehema.

Asha looked at Rehema with the droopy eyes and a puzzled look.

" Get up Asha. Let's go and have our dinner before my brother comes back. Later, you people might not like to be disturbed.

For a moment Asha thought she heard Noor wrong. May be he was still around.

"I am not hungry. I am a bit confused. You go and eat. Tell aunty, I am sorry".

Rehema decided to leave Asha alone. Before going out, she looked at Asha with a twinkling, naughty look, whispered something in her ears and gave a soft tickle on Asha's belly and ran out.

Asha heard the laughter of people in and around the house, clattering sounds of crockery. She realized the day was not over yet. A faint hope lingered. May be he is waiting for everybody to go to sleep and he will creep in later.

The non-stop ticking sound of the pendulum clock was giving her company. Tick-tak, tick-tak…… seconds to minutes and minutes to hours. Two three times the cuckoo from the clock had come out to peep at her and gone back after cuckooing 12 times, one time and two times. Asha realized it was 2 O'clock in the morning and she was still alone in the room.

The faint hope she had was now disappearing. Her mind wheeled back to the moments before the shadow walked out of the room. Now she was convinced that Noor was not going to come back.

Instantly her training in counseling with the Psycho therapy department kicked in.

Cool Asha, cool. The game has just started. If you want to be the winner, think carefully before every step you take. You were the pawn. Now it is time to select your pawns. Give yourself time enough to know the game. Patience is the key to victory.

The next day morning Rehema came to call Asha for break fast. She was surprised to find Asha still in the bridal dress; seated in the same place she left her the day before. The tears had washed the make up of her face away. Her swollen eyelids and blank stare sent a chill feeling in Rehema's spine. She sat down on the bed near Asha, gathered the stray hairs flying around Asha's face, tugged it behind the ear and with a shaky voice asked about her brother.

- My brother did not come to the room?
- He has gone forever to his wife, Asha whispered.
- But you are------the sentence remained incomplete, hanging in the air.

Both of them sat silently, everyone in deep thoughts. Rehema understood the pain, the shame, the anguish her best friend was undergoing at that moment. She felt guilty of being one of the people who led her friend to that trap. She could not say anything.

Her mother was calling out her name again reminding about the breakfast.
- "Asha, I am terribly sorry. I don't even know how to explain…" Rehema
could not control herself. She started sobbing, begged Asha to forgive her. But Asha remained unstirred.

When no response came from Rehema, her mother walked in the room also. Her mouth remained gapped after witnessing the atmosphere in the room. Rehema stood up suddenly, pulled her mother by the hands and walked out together.

-"It is all your fault mother" Rehema snapped at her mother, "I requested you to leave my friend alone. Now she is ruined, I hate you. I love my friend but now look at me- I can't even say sorry to her". She sobbed louder. Her mother embraced her and led to her own room.

After some time when she was calmer, Rehema explained to her mother what Asha told her and again she continued sobbing.
- I did not do it with a bad intention. I love Asha like my own daughter too. I thought…, I imagined that she would be able to bring back the lost glory of our family. I cannot undo what I have done, but I promise you I will stand by her, your friend, my daughter in law.
- Mother, you promise? You will not chase away Asha if she agrees to stay with us?
- Yes my dear, I will support her decision.

Asha stood up, walked in the bathroom. Opened the shower full and stood under the shower with her full bridal dress on. She allowed the cool streams of water fall on her head. When the water trickled on her body, it was already warm, heated by the boiling anger in her mind. She stood still, eyes closed, focused on future, water pouring on her head.

When Rehema and her mother came in to see Asha, she was not on the bed. They heard the shower running. They sat down and waited. More than half an hour passed. Asha never came out. Rehema started panicking. She knocked on the door and called out-
" Asha! Me and mummy are waiting for you. We want to talk to you. Come out."

At that moment Asha had reached a conclusion- to complete her studies and in the mean time to watch and plan her steps. Time was what she needed.

To be continued....