Mourning

Today she hated the solitude of the sea. The roar of the high tides made her feel that the sea is crying for a companion. And she knew that she was on the shore that night to accompany the vast water body that had drowned itself into its own tears, for she was also amongst the poor lonely creatures of this unkind universe. Both of them, probably, needed each other on that full moon night. The large drops of rain water weren’t enough to wet her. Each drop of salty water coming out of her gloomy eyes bore massive turbulence that was good enough to destroy everything around her. The wrath inside her heart contained much more menace than those frequent lightening. Ponderous repent had provided her adequate weight to confront the strong wind blowing against her face. But her moisture laden eyes, unaware of the agitation of nature, were lost in another world, looking for a twinkling star on the surface of the sky shrouded in grey clouds.

The day had started like any other day for that forty-odd year old lady surviving in the countryside. The golden rays of dawn, arriving from the other side of the sea fell on her eyes to wake her up. She hastily completed her ablutions and woke her daughter up.

“Wake up, my daughter! We have to leave for selling fish. We need to rush,” she told her twenty two year old daughter Radha, shaking her shoulder.

“Yes Ma, give me few more minutes of sleep” Radha said, moving towards other side of the impoverished old cot.

By that time, Radha’s father, a fifty year old, large bellied, partially white haired, black colored man had woken up and was preparing to leave for the sea with his small boat and a frail net perforated at innumerable spots. The lady quickly mudded the floor of the stone-walled house and left for the town with her daughter putting the fish in a hard jute bag on her head.

“You know your father caught scores of large fish last evening. We can earn a lot of money today.” The lady eagerly told her daughter.

“That’s great news! We can plan a good rich dinner tonight, Ma”, Radha told showing her joyous eyes.”

By the time the sun gained its full strength, they had already sold all their fish and they planned to move towards their home. On the way to home, they decided the things they needed to purchase to make a great dinner. They stopped in a nearby grocery store. While purchasing the foodstuffs, the lady saw her husband on the other side of the street. She was a bit amazed to see him at the centre of the town during afternoon.

“Radha, your father is nearby. Let me tell him to reach home early this evening so that we all can enjoy the hot, delicious food. Till then, you purchase the items”, she said moving towards the street.

Before she reached him, he had already moved far away. She hastily coursed the street only to find few people handing him some currency notes. She was puzzled because it was she who sold fish and earned money. In order to get hold of the happenings, she tried listening the proceedings from some distance.

“I won’t give you more than three thousand rupees. That’s more than what we usually give.” one of the black-goggled person told.

“Sir, I think it is quite less for such a beautiful piece. Can’t you give me five hundred more? Please!” he cautiously argued with a sheepish smile.

“No, Hari. Now you are asking for too much.” the other person clarified.

“Sir, haven’t you seen my daughter? Isn’t she worth five hundred more? And what difference will it make to wealthy people like you? Please understand sir. Five hundred more can confirm my liquor for 3-4 more days. Samjho Saab!”

“This bloody won’t leave without five hundred more. A beautiful girl at this price is not a bad deal. I will make sure she fetches us much more than that.” One of those persons whispered in other’s ear.

“OK Hari, three thousand five hundred done! I have already paid you two thousand. You will get the rest once you hand over the lass to me. So, when shall I visit you?”

“Thank you, sir. That is so kind of you. You can take her away tonight when everybody around would be sleeping”, Hari replied.

“OK, we will be there in time.”

The lady was horrified with his conversation. She somehow protected herself from her husband’s vision and hurriedly moved towards her daughter.

“What has happened Ma? Why are you in such hurry?” asked Radha watching her mother moving so fast towards her.

“Nothing, my daughter. Let’s move towards home.”

“Fine. Let me take the foodstuffs with me.”

On the way back home, there were no words on her lips. She somehow stopped her eyes from moistening. She frequently slowed down, saw her daughter from behind and then gathered momentum to match Radha’s footsteps. She kept thinking about the past when her child was born. How happy her husband and she were! How frequently they argued over the resemblance of their child’s face with theirs. She was thinking about the day when she had fought with her husband while choosing a name for their child. She recalled the bliss on Hari’s face when Radha had walked on her feet for the very first time.

To be continued...