BLUE MARKS

“I will punish and punish you harsh believe me, if you will not finish your homework tomorrow”.

She was the wife of our land lord. I was around ten year old and my family shifted from village to this small city. My father came here in search of better opportunity. Soon he got the job but often he had to go out of the city for works.

Well we live in the same building where our landlord too used to live on the first floor with his family and parents.  He was little chubby had a thick but small mustache. Looking at him first time you will remember the small time villain of old Bollywood films.  But his wife was truly opposite in nature and looks. She was a kind hearted woman and with a very soft voice.

We were living in that house for the last two month. I was studying in 4^th or 5^th standard but I remember I was not studious boy. So my mother made me to sit and used to teach me whatever she could. When there was something that she could not understand she used to send me to there to be taught by her. Any way I liked when she used to teach me.

Sometimes the world is opposite of our dream, I did not know that so it was going to be reveal soon to me.  That night I experienced other dark face of our civilization when in the middle of night I heard that scream. I got up and asked to mother what is happening but she said nothing and told me to sleep. After few minute when I awoke completely I came to know the screaming voice was of her because she was being beaten by her husband …. I heard her screams for the more than an hour that night. Finally a sobbing silence spread there in the dark while all were sleeping.

Next day I felt that nothing happened last night, it was very normal for them, how could it be? I overheard it was not the first time but it was first for us. So my mother sends me up on the first floor with a book told me to read it asked to your auntie if you don’t understood anything. First time I did not wanted to go there but I went. All the people were same on that first floor that that day like all the rest of the days. I saw the landlord’s father and I thought did he stopped his son beating his daughter in law but his wrinkled and emotionless face gave me the answer that he does not care. I saw the landlord’s mother saw her sitting and that cold bloodied laugh how I can forget that. In the other room I heard baby was crying it was her baby I went there saw her sitting in the corner on the room floor. She was unaware of anything the baby crying, I came there nothing she knew. It was first time she did not smile when I came.  I sat there and started to look sometimes at her face and sometimes at the child. I saw those blue marks on her face on her hand of beating, but she was not feeling anything, she got used to the pain. But I did not like those marks because those marks remind me of my own punishment which I used to get in school. I knew you only get them when you punished hard.

Some faces are so expert of hiding thing that they can hide the whole ocean but you could not think and feel anything of it and she was one of them. It became a two or three times in a month routine when my mother used to send me up to that floor after the same kind of incident of that night, but I could use to heard only a crying children of her and see only silence, coldness, numbness, and those fresh blue marks on her white but without blood body was like that white paper on which a painful story has been written with a blue ink.

Now it was the time when I start day dreaming in my life. I remember in those days there was a serial Ramayana which was very popular; everyone was very fond of that mythological serial. I used to consider myself as Sri Ram and her as Seeta Devi. I used to think and made strategy of how to escape her from the grasp of her husband, whom I considered as Ravana, like Sri Ram do in the serial. Sometimes I dream of those great and powerful heroes I used to see in those black and white movies. But I was just a children and I forgot this fact.

On normal days I was happy to go there and taught by her. I used to ask her a lot of question most of them were nonsense but she always try to give a satisfactory answer. I asked her of her own homework and may I help her in completion her home work so that you would not be punished by your husband, in her replies she used to just smile for a moment and that smile was like a reward to me.

Each story in the world comes with an end I didn’t know the end of this one would come this much soon. We were the last family who was going to leave the room from that building. I saw her last time when I went up there said Namaste she just said to me be a good person beta. I saw her face saw nothing but fear there now she was alone in that prey. In that year she was my fairy, she was my goddess, she was my teacher and she was my mother.

After three years I got the news of her death, I just heard of it and I did not know after that what was being said. The whole day I spent thinking about her but I could just remember of her smile and nothing else. I never asked question about her death how did she died, why did she died, whether her killed her or did she commit suicide. I never asked anything about her to anyone, but sometime I tried to find answer by asking question to myself and I found the only this answer sometimes it’s to better to be in the hell after dead rather living and dying of every moment in this hell while she was alive.

I still thought about of the punishment that she used to scared me of; I wonder what would she do to me but she never punished me, even on some of my biggest mistake. Later in my life I understood the punishment she gave to me that she never punished me. 

Reviews

[Nisa]

I feel really bad considering that you sent me a read request, but that font just messed with my eyes. Far too uncomfortable to read something that cramped. From what I could read before I had to turn away, it had interesting metaphors. You might want to take a look at your grammar and wording too, as it sounds like you're writing in your non-native language. I would say keep going though.

[Jessica]

This is a very good story because you evoked an emotion out of your audience and that is a great skill for any author to have!

[Tea]

this is such a sad piece. It's so well described. I like this piece.

[Riding the Rainbow]

This story made me cry and hate her husband..
He surely destroyed her soul and heart..
My heart cries for her son..

[ms.seliz]

This is a very sad piece. It makes me sad to think that she never found a way out of her abusive relationship and 3 years after, perhaps died at the hands of her husband.