Siya's Return

“I cannot live like this anymore Amma.”

Aruna woke up with a start. Her heart was beating fast. That was the fourth night she hardly slept. No sooner she dozed off than she woke up with those words ringing in her ears.

She remembered the day her daughter Siya said these words on the phone call a few days back.

Siya had continued “He is not that bad when he is sober. He helps me with all kinds of work. He even cooks asking me to take a rest. Most of my friends tell me how lucky I am. But once it turns dark, he slips into his other-self. It’s as though alcohol unleashes the monster within him.

He starts to nag me about all the male colleagues of mine from work. Whatever I say becomes an issue and then he becomes so physical…”

Siya’s voice had broken down at this point.

“I can’t tell even you how he tortures me. But even in such a condition, he somehow has enough self-control to ensure that all the wounds he inflicts on me are not in the visible parts of my body.”

Then Siya had started to sob uncontrollably on the call. Finally, she had to end the call as she was calling from the restroom at work. But before she ended the call she had said those dreadful words about her having reached the end of her tolerance.

Since then, Aruna was having these nightmares. In some of them, she even saw her daughter’s dead body. She had been calling her at work every day telling her to be brave. She knew her daughter was a strong person. It was only a few months back that Siya shared with her about the sorry state of her marriage.

Siya had fallen in love with Sourav at work. Both of them had courted each other for a year before they finally decided to marry. Sourav’s parents lived in Delhi and Siya’s mother lived in Hyderabad. Siya’s father had passed away when Siya was hardly 10 years old. Aruna struggled to raise Siya on her own with her meager earnings as a teacher and the pension from Siya’s Dad’s job.

Siya turned out to be a confident girl. Though she was somewhat short, taking after Aruna in that regard, her bold posture made her look taller. She bagged a job in a reputed MNC as soon as she completed her graduation in commerce. She was doing well at work too when she had met Sourav.

That’s when the tide seemed to have turned for worse. 

“She used to be so sure of herself. Now she is struggling to get through her days.” Aruna wondered many a time.

With her being so miserable at home, the same seemed to reflect on her work. She was passed over in favor of another female colleague at work for a promotion. Though outwardly Sourav seemed to empathize with her, Siya said, she felt he seemed to gloat over it.

Though this wasn’t the first time Aruna received such a distress call from her daughter, it worried her to no end. It seemed different this time. “This is the first time she uttered those words.” Aruna kept thinking.

As she was getting ready to go to work, she received a call. It was from Siya’s phone. She was shocked to hear Sourav’s voice on the call. “Hello, Ammaji. It’s me Sourav. Sorry to be calling you from Siya’s phone as my phone ran out of charge. Siya met with a freak accident at home. She is fine. No need to worry. She has bruised her forehead and has a bandage.”

Aruna froze at these words. Her mind went spinning. After a long pause, she asked “Can I talk to Siya?”

“She is sleeping right now Ammaji. I will ask her to call you later. Okay? Don’t worry. She is doing fine. I will take good care of her.”

“That’s is what I am worried about. You taking care of her.” Aruna thought to herself.

“Hi, Ammaji, what a surprise!” a shocked Sourav exclaimed on seeing Aruna at his door.

“There was no need for you to take such trouble Ammaji. She is doing quite fine now.”

“She is my daughter. Are you not going to let me in or what?” Aruna asked trying to sound casual.

“Of course not Ammaji. You are most welcome.” Sourav opened the door wide open.

As soon as Aruna stepped in, Siya came rushing out and held her mother in a tight embrace.

Aruna tried to hide her tears, but Siya couldn’t. Upon Aruna’s insistence, Sourav left for work somewhat reluctantly.

After learning about the deep cut Siya had sustained on her head and a lot of bruises on her body, Siya sat her daughter down and said “I came here to take you with me Siya.” Seeing Siya was about to say something, Aruna continued “Let me finish. You gave him enough chances. You know even in Ramayana, Sita, who was a famous “pativrata,” returned to her Mother earth in the end.

I know you love him. But love shouldn’t lead to such suffering. I suffered enough in life with an alcoholic husband. I don’t want history to repeat itself. Right now, I am not asking you to decide anything. I want you to stay with me. Turn the music up a bit and have a good life for a while and then decide.”

Siya broke down at these words. When she finally regained her composure, Aruna helped her pack.

In the cab, on their way to the airport, they saw a procession on the road with orange flags in celebration of Ram Navami that day.

That’s when the radio started playing one of Siya’s favorite songs.

“Please turn the music up” Siya requested as she inhaled the jasmine-scented air that wafted through the open windows of their cab.