Little bundle of love!

Posted by: Sakhi on: May 9, 2008

• In: Anger | Anguish | Food for thought | Life | Love | Relationship
• 25 Comments

After three generations a baby girl was born in the family. There was an atmosphere of elation around. Everybody was jubilant. And Khushi’s mother-in-law was already planning to distribute sweets and a memorabilia to family and friends once the child came home.

Suddenly something snapped inside Khushi. She remembered her younger days when a particular uncle’s touch she never used to like. He always tried to kiss her; but his kiss was not same as other relatives’. She could not understand why she was uncomfortablewith his touch. She was young and innocent. As she grew older she could dodge him. But her parents never knew anything. She never told them. She felt quite embarrassed to discuss it with them. Later as she got married with Ankush, the bad memories faded with his love. But she never told any of these to him either.

With the yesterday’s incident and her memories surging, Khushi looked at her young child. How blissfully she was sleeping.

“Poor girl, she doesn’t yet know what it is to be a girl,” thought Khushi; “and, I would not let her know.”

When Khushi’s mother-in-law came to visit her later that day, she found Khushi sitting by the window staring outside blankly. When she called her, she didn’t respond.

She went to the crib to hold her newly born granddaughter. As she picked up the little bundle of love, colour drained from her face.

She ran for the doctor screaming.

Her granddaughter had stopped breathing!

But there was a shadow on Khushi’s face. No, no, it was not that she did not like a girl child. How could that be? She herself was brought up with much love and care. She remembered her daddy making all sorts of pranks just to put that little smile on her face when she hurt herself playing. And her mother did everything to make her happy. They educated her well. After all she was the only child of her parents …!

But somehow there was this nagging feeling of unease since her daughter was born. She couldn’t put a name to that feeling. She attributed that to exhaustion of labor and the hospital environment. It was just yesterday since she had delivered.

It was 12 midnight and Khushi had just slept after feeding her child. Suddenly she heard a lot of commotion outside her room. She got up from the sleep with a jolt. There was a lady screaming at the top of her voice and there was anger and grief in her cry. Khushi got scared. She didn’t know what had happened. After sometime everything was silent. As she peered out of her room she felt a hushed silence. There were people gathered in the waiting room of the hospital and the lady who was screaming earlier was now crying softlty. She was inconsolable. Khushi went inside her room and tried to sleep. She couldn’t.

Next day when the sweeper came to clean the room she told Khushi that yesterday night a six year old (!) girl was brought to the hospital, who passed away due to severe trauma and bleeding. The little girl was raped!