Cinderella
She had not yet opened her eyes when her mother died due
to delivery complications. She was declared a curse in the family and her
father married again. Her step mother always kept her away in a small store
room adjacent to the kitchen. She was not even formally named. Soon she had two
half siblings. A lot of celebrations were held at their arrival. She was unaware
of the happenings as she was still too young to understand the life.
She was made to do all the cleaning in the house. She washed
clothes of her siblings, polished their school shoes and did all the dishes. She wore the old and
discarded clothes of her half-sister, ate the left overs and slept on store room floor. She never
questioned the disparity between her and them. Her father was too busy with
work and her step mother ruled over the house. Her half-brother started calling
her Masi and thus she got the name.
She was fast in learning. Her siblings made her do their homework too. She had many queries which
were never answered but she kept copying the stuff from books to notebooks. She
listened them remember the work for exams and made her own sense of education.
She was given charge of the kitchen as she got tall
enough to reach the stove. Her step mother often beat her and her father always
looked the other way. She never cried. She was raised to be a Masi and she had
accepted her fate. She had never asked anything from her father. She never complained. She never questioned her existence. She
sometimes looked at stars of the night sky and raised her hand to touch them. Sometimes
she tried to imagine her mother and gave her a face of her own.
Time passed by and her half-sister got married. She wore
her old red torn shirt and did all the work. Two years later, her half-brother
got married too. She wore the same old red torn shirt and did all the
work. She got the opportunity to serve a new member in the family but soon the
bride and groom shifted elsewhere. She was once again left alone in the
house with her step mother and her father.
Her step mother was now sick and old. She did not survive for long and died the same
year. After her burial when all the relatives had left, her half-brother and
half-sister demanded their share from the father. She listened to their loud
arguments. He was old and sick too. They threatened him of dire consequences
and stormed out of the house.
She sat outside her father’s room and listened to his
sobs. He was lying on the bed heart broken. Today his second wife had died and
his own children had condemned him. He was coughing with pain when he felt some warm hands caressing his feet. He opened his eyes and saw his daughter whom he had
not yet named.
In the yellow light of mercury bulb, he could see her old red torn
shirt. He tried to get up but she told him to keep lying and take rest. He had heard
her voice for the very first time in his life. He somehow got up a little and saw her
face too. She looked just like her mother and he instantly called her Perven.
She helped him get up and sit on the bed. She sat on
floor in his feet. He put his hand on her head and started crying. She felt his
tears fall in her lap. She held his leg tight and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She wept
for all the lost times and her father wept too. Not a single word was spoken yet a tale
of 30 years was told.
Written By: Nadeem Alam
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Ah , This was expected one day , The expressions given in tale is even more true than many dramas and cartoons of subject , Writer has immense command on controling a big tale in short words ,This is what a LIFE is.....Keep reading
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DeleteTrue picture of life with quality of expressions. One can feel the words. Another good story to read Sir and the title is again well given.👍🏼
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DeleteNice way to tell a simple story. Liked the ease with which events leads to each other
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DeleteNice way to tell a simple story. Liked the ease with which events leads to each other
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DeleteWhat goes around comes around
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DeleteSad indeed
ReplyDeleteLife is not bed of roses.
DeleteExctly
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DeleteStory of life
ReplyDeleteHeart touching story. Over thirty years of story condensed to few paras - nicely done by the author. Over all great work. 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks bro
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