When the Mask becomes the face-2

With years, Jalaja had got so used to the secondary treatment, and any residual bitterness that may have lingered was left unattended. Her life had become a legacy of mute acceptance. She refused to let her thoughts hover over it.

Her father had been away from the family most of the time, and when he was around treated her like an adult always- she did not ever remember feeling or reacting like a child- she had learnt to do the chores around the home very early- and when she became good at it- her mother just withdrew and the entire burden of maintaining the home slipped onto her. She had not even realized it. Only when she went to some of her friends’ homes she saw how different it was- and even then she did not think much about it- she was actually irritated by her friends’ childish tantrums, and she perceived their parents' as anomalies. Today, she did not like it if her mother did something around the house once in a way, and her mother was only too glad to leave the tasks to Jalaja.

As the years passed by, and there was no sight of a willing groom, her mother began to get impatient, and did not mince words with regard to Jalaja’s homely looks. The wretched mother took out the frustration piled upon by “well meaning” relatives on Jalaja…and the thickness of Jalaja’s mask increased steadily…

Mother and daughter had screaming sessions followed by sullen silence which was deafening. Four souls lived under one roof stranger than strangers. Nobody said kind words, nobody cried, nobody offered solace. The looming silence was denser than the surrounding walls.

And to this house, a young girl with dreams was to set her feet in a few days. A feeling of pity rose in Jalaja’s heart. She had lost touch with softer emotions, and this new feeling was unfamiliar to Jalaja.

to be contd...