A true story : The silent Rose

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Little Inu always had a beautiful day. One thing she would eagerly wait is to return home from the school as fast as she could so that she could drape her mother’s dupatta on her white frock and start teaching her imaginary students behind the closed door of balcony. A ruler in her hand and a chalk with the slate was all the apparatus more than enough to set her classroom.

 Unlike her teacher she won’t punish her students, but just tried to teach them all over again. Amidst the lectures she would imagine a recess break where she would eat the grapes and sliced apples her mother gave her in a bowl before she went asleep in the afternoon and then silenced her students if necessary. The physical world was so small but her balcony expanded into a living classroom with her imagination. And when she would hear her mother bangle sounds she would recover back quickly into the real world so that she didn’t have to shy away in front of her mama.

But, it wasn’t the case today. Her Mother awoke from a dream. She was having labor pains in her dream and her husband holding her hands tightly comforting her while doctors were at their work. She could feel all the pain again, the joyful pain !.

However, she was extremely surprised when she felt the small hands holding her tightly against her abdomen. Inu wasn’t behind the balcony door as usual but her breath going rhythmically with that of her mother’s and was fast asleep. Her cheeks seemed dry with tears.

‘Maybe Inu had another fight at the school’ she thought.

It was Friday today! And every Friday her father would bring a chocolate after his work that would make her jump with joy. Inu was her father’s princess and he treated her like one. But, he felt a bit disheartened today when Inu didn’t seem happy as usual but, placed the chocolate in the refrigerator. However, he didn’t seem to take it seriously though he tried to uplift her but in vain.

 

Inu didn’t have her dinner properly that day although her mother had made her favorite paratha . Her parents tried to convince her to eat but she remained silent and less talkative unlike as usual.  She slept that day with stomach half filled between her parents as they felt that she would recover by tomorrow.

It was the favorite day of father and mother as all were home on Saturday. But, this day refused to budge from the shadows of Inu’s depression that had overtaken her from yesterday. She avoided her breakfast and lunch again. And this was all enough to throw her mom and dad into worry.

Her parents decided to talk with Inu . Her mother began with a soft voice.

“ My dear can I understand what has happened ? Why aren’t you eating ?”

 Inu just nodded her head sideways “ Nothing” as her voice broke. Her voice! Her parents had been missing it for so long! 

“So someone fought with you?” “Did teacher scold you?” “Are you tensed about the upcoming exam?” all the questions asked, she kept her answer monosyllabic throughout.

Her papa was calm enough throughout but her mother started losing her temper as she refused to answer anything. May be with every failed attempt it reminded her of parental failure. She didn’t acknowledge what was coming but, she gave her way for the anger as she shouted at once.

“Are you going to tell me why you are so silent and not eating anything or should I lock you inside the bathroom all the night??” the motherly scold sent a scare through her daughter’s mind. Her father jumped in between as he could feel the shiver in Inu’s mind and pulled her close into his hug. He again scolded Inu’s mother for being so harsh all at once.

Her mother felt extremely guilty. But what had happened was irreversible. Inu was crying inconsolably as she could no longer control her tear gates. She felt her mind bit light after she had cried so deeply, against her father’s strong chest. What she told her mother afterwards came as a surprise and enough to fill her mother with guilt for her actions.

Her mother immediately remembered the day before she starting being unusual.

Inu was revolving around on her father’s chair when she noticed a small part of her mother’s hair had turned gray.  

“Mother!  “she asked with curiosity . “Hmm?” Her mother busy with her household work  .

“Why is it that some hair on your head is gray? Grandma too has her head full of gray hairs. But you aren’t grandma , you are my mama, so why?” Mother smiled inside but she took the question seriously and they discussed just like two small children .

“It is because I am getting old and someday will look like your grandma too” Inu seemed confused and scared at the same time. Seeing her confused face her mother explained again.

“See baby you are growing so we are too and as you grow more we will grow too! This happens for everyone just as your papa grew so his mother became grandma so will I!” and her mom returned to her work.

Inu seemed satisfied by the answer but she found it disheartening imagining her pretty active mother like a grandma with wrinkled cheeks and weak vision who stayed immobile on her bed. She didn’t want her mother to lose her beauty.

And the next day she learnt in school that food helps the body to grow. She had no idea what she was doing but she knew as her mother told if she stopped growing, her mother too would stop getting old and so she gave up eating. 

As the incidents flashed back into the present her mother could see her daughter scared close to her father, all blurred as her eyes moistened and as she rubbed them instinctively & pulled Inu into her protective hug. She wept silently with lips on Inu’s forehead as love of such an immature child was simply so unbearable and infinite and as her father watched his daughter proudly…