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When two friends meet, one of them reveals how abusive her marriage is, leaving the other one shocked. But a pleasant surprise awaits her towards the end!
Today, I realised that there is always a positive side to everything that happens and what matters is how we look at it. These thoughts came to mind as I was sitting and sipping my tea earlier and thinking of a friend I’d met that morning.
As long as I knew her, she was a happy enthusiastic soul and was full of life. She constantly had a smile on her face and the best part about her was that she always helped everyone.
But the girl I saw today was totally a different person. Gone was the smile, the enthusiasm and it seemed like she was upset from deep within. What’s more was that she also had bruises on her face.
I was shocked when I saw her and I couldn’t stop myself from asking her what had happened. Touching her face gently, I asked her, “Shreya, what happened to you? Why do you seem so dull?”
Instead of getting an answer, I saw tears rolling down her cheeks. So I hugged her and took her to my house, got her comfortable and asked her if everything was okay.
At that, she burst our crying and I did not have the courage to ask her again. After a while, she calmed down enough to tell me how her life had taken a turn she didn’t anticipate.
She said, “You know I got married recently, right?” I told her I remember her wedding since it was a beautiful ceremony and she was excited to start her new life.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, ‘Yes! But the happiness didn’t last too long. After the wedding, my husband’s behaviour took a complete U-turn. He started behaving in a very weird manner from day one. We were at my in-law’s place where he started showing his true colours.
“It began small, he started talking to me in a very rude manner. I didn’t understand the reason behind it so I approached him, he just pushed me away! Thinking it was because ours was an arranged marriage, I decided to give him some time to understand me while I did the same. And I didn’t force him to open up too much.
“After staying at his parent’s house, we had to leave since I didn’t have too many leaves left. We shifted to a rented house here and as per the plan, I joined my office the next day. But that’s when life changed even more. When I returned from the office that evening, I saw him sitting on a chair, angrily, like he would get up and hit me. I was scared but I didn’t show it as I went to my room and freshened up. Thinking, I’ll make tea, I went to the kitchen. And the moment I turned on the stove, the cylinder pipe caught fire. I was so scared, I ran out the kitchen, screaming and crying.”
She continued, “Hearing me scream, he came out of his room and managed to put out the fire. Since, I was in a state of shock, I called my parents and told them what happened through my tears. He was not happy with that and ended up slapping me.”
As she paused for a breath, I was shocked. How could someone slap his wife! But I kept my cool and let her continue.
“I was so sad and hurt because of that, I went to my room and lay down. But he wasn’t done. He came to my room, pulled my hand and dragged me to the hall. I screamed and cried, telling him that he was hurting me. He still didn’t let me go. And the torture began from then on. Everyday, after I returned from work, he would find a reason to fight. He would slap me and there were times when he even tried to strangle me. Some times, he would act in such a weird manner, I thought he had some psychological issues. He would often call his parents and complain to them about me.”
I was curious so I asked what he complained about given how she was the innocent victim here. She smiled a sad smile and said, “He would complain that I don’t listen to him and I don’t know how to cook and several other allegations.”
At this point, she paused for a while before taking a deep breath and continuing. “But you know? My struggle ended this Friday. He came back after a night of partying with his friends and was drunk. That’s when he spilled his secret out.”
Bewildered, I asked her, “What was this secret, Shreya?”
She smiled and said, “The truth! The secret! It was that he had had an affair with a girl and his parents didn’t agree for them to get married. He said he married me only because his parents forced him and that he wanted me to go away. I was stunned and couldn’t utter a word. So, I went to my room, lay in bed and I cried and prayed for God to show me the right path. Sometime there, I fell asleep but what I saw that night was horrible.”
By this time, I was listening to her with keen interest and my heart, too, was pumping fast. “Tell me Shreya. Tell me what you saw!” I urged her.
Again, with tears rolling down her cheeks, she said, “I felt like someone was standing over me. And I opened my eyes to find him standing at the foot of my bed, his hands moving towards my neck to strangle me. I screamed in fear and when he heard it, he ran away. It was that moment that I thought, ‘enough is enough. I need to stand up for myself.’ Thinking thus, I locked myself in the room, picked up my phone and called my parents. I told them everything. The next morning, they arrived, I packed everything up and went to my sister’s place.”
“So now what have you decided?” I asked her.
She said, “There was long discussion and an argument with his parents. But finally we agreed to apply for a divorce.”
I asked her about his decision to which she said, “He was happy.”
She just stopped talking and looked down without saying anything. I went to her and gave her a hug, crying, too. “Why did this happen to you? You were so good to everyone!” I said.
At this, she looked up at me and said, “No! You are wrong. Thanks to my good deeds, I am sitting in front of you . I am happy I realised everything early and stood up for myself to come out of that abusive marriage. Not too many women have that opportunity and they suffer and are victims all their lives!”
Her reply stunned me and I am proud of her for her courage and positive attitude.
Picture credits: Pexels
Cyber security professional, i am passionate about my work and i also love reading books and writing stories. My main areas of interest are topics regarding women issues and women empowerment, Just triying to create read more...
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