Threshold...Blessings
Not a fortnight passed when Sunaina realized that the smell of money travels a long distance. Her husband who had been missing for months returned home one evening. It was clear that he knew of Sujata’s visit and the fact that she had left money and provisions with his wife. Sunaina and the children both cringed inwardly on seeing him. They knew drunken brawls and the beatings would now be the norm.
Sunaina thought hard of what to do with the money that Sujata had left behind, she had no doubts that it was for this money that her husband had returned home and once he could lay his hands on the same he would disappear again.
The children quickly hid their new clothes; experience taught them to hide everything from their father. The youngest one was the only one unafraid largely because also inexperienced. She crawled to him and sat close looking up at him wonderingly. It wasn’t often she saw a new face in the house. She was rewarded with a pat on the head and then her father walked away.
Three days passed with Sunaina quaking in fear inside for when Inder would pounce on her for the money and on the outside doing her daily chores. Inder seemed content to laze at home and not bother any one much. He even seemed to have softened towards the children and didn’t shout and kick out at them, as he used to.
Sunaina offered a coconut at the end of a week of her husband’s home coming. He seemed a changed man and she saw no other reason than the fact that she had been regularly coming to the temple and God had finally answered her prayers. It was enough for her that Inder was at home and not fighting or getting drunk. Infact he was also helping her with a few chores. Only yesterday she had returned from the field to find a whole bunch of nicely chopped firewood by the stove. And the other day she had seen him play with the children a game of hopscotch. It was too good to be true and she thanked the Lord for his benevolence.
The daily visits to the temple had given a few minutes of peace and solace to Sunaina in her otherwise ever busy life which she spent running from one task to another. She had earlier never thought about the future of her children. The arduous task of filling their bellies with food twice a day was difficult enough.
Now that her children looked a little well fed and that Sujata had suddenly dropped like manna from heaven into her hell-like world, she wondered if it was possible that with Sujata’s help she could provide for a better future for her children. Once unleashed the possibilities were endless and she dreamt of her children as prosperous, happy people.
A month flew past. Inder continued to be at home. His old cronies had come asking for him to join them but he had refused twice, the third time they came he told the eldest child to go out and say that father wasn’t at home. Sunaina watched all this in astonishment. These were the same men whose lewd remarks she had protested against and had been beaten unconscious by Inder.
On her way home from the field Sunaina had made it a practice to go to the temple to collect the empty utensils. That day too she returned home with the utensils nicely balanced on her head when she spotted her children huddled around the door with grim faces. She quickened her pace though without being told she knew that Inder and the money she had kept in the hole dug under the stove would both be gone.
The eldest one saw her first and cried out, ‘that man has gone away again and he took our new clothes too’.
Sunaina thought hard of what to do with the money that Sujata had left behind, she had no doubts that it was for this money that her husband had returned home and once he could lay his hands on the same he would disappear again.
The children quickly hid their new clothes; experience taught them to hide everything from their father. The youngest one was the only one unafraid largely because also inexperienced. She crawled to him and sat close looking up at him wonderingly. It wasn’t often she saw a new face in the house. She was rewarded with a pat on the head and then her father walked away.
Three days passed with Sunaina quaking in fear inside for when Inder would pounce on her for the money and on the outside doing her daily chores. Inder seemed content to laze at home and not bother any one much. He even seemed to have softened towards the children and didn’t shout and kick out at them, as he used to.
Sunaina offered a coconut at the end of a week of her husband’s home coming. He seemed a changed man and she saw no other reason than the fact that she had been regularly coming to the temple and God had finally answered her prayers. It was enough for her that Inder was at home and not fighting or getting drunk. Infact he was also helping her with a few chores. Only yesterday she had returned from the field to find a whole bunch of nicely chopped firewood by the stove. And the other day she had seen him play with the children a game of hopscotch. It was too good to be true and she thanked the Lord for his benevolence.
The daily visits to the temple had given a few minutes of peace and solace to Sunaina in her otherwise ever busy life which she spent running from one task to another. She had earlier never thought about the future of her children. The arduous task of filling their bellies with food twice a day was difficult enough.
Now that her children looked a little well fed and that Sujata had suddenly dropped like manna from heaven into her hell-like world, she wondered if it was possible that with Sujata’s help she could provide for a better future for her children. Once unleashed the possibilities were endless and she dreamt of her children as prosperous, happy people.
A month flew past. Inder continued to be at home. His old cronies had come asking for him to join them but he had refused twice, the third time they came he told the eldest child to go out and say that father wasn’t at home. Sunaina watched all this in astonishment. These were the same men whose lewd remarks she had protested against and had been beaten unconscious by Inder.
On her way home from the field Sunaina had made it a practice to go to the temple to collect the empty utensils. That day too she returned home with the utensils nicely balanced on her head when she spotted her children huddled around the door with grim faces. She quickened her pace though without being told she knew that Inder and the money she had kept in the hole dug under the stove would both be gone.
The eldest one saw her first and cried out, ‘that man has gone away again and he took our new clothes too’.
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