cowards

Aria had just concluded her chores, she wipes the beads of sweat forming on her forehead and heads to her room to change for school.

After taking her bath and wearing her clothes she began packing her books and laptop into her bag. Her mom comes in with a trey of food, her favorite food. She places the food on aria's reading table and looks at her with a pale face.

"Dear you should start eating healthy you know, street food and junk food will only make you sick", her mom said with the same pale look on her face.

Aria rolled her eyes as she closes the bag and hang it on her shoulder. She loves her mom but she knew where this conversation was leading to. ""I'm not hungry now mom, I'll buy food outside later".

No one wants to marry an unhealthy girl even if she's as beautiful as nature itself. Her parents wants her healthy so that no matter whom they choose for her as her husband, they will not just compliment her beautiful features but her healthy body too.

Aria walks out to the living room and meets her dad sitting and watching tv.

Mr Sahil, her dad looks at her with a stern glare, his origin has taught him that he has a girl child now because of his past mistakes so he considers her nothing but a curse upon his life and his family.

"I'm off to school", aria says openly with hopes that he heard her before walking out the door to school.

"You'll give it up sooner or later", murmured Mr Sahil, and by "it" he meant her hopes and dreams of becoming something in life.

The only reason he considered putting her in school is that long gone are the days when girls are married off with illiteracy but his plan is to stop her education at the secondary level then she'll get married and his burden will be lifted.

At school....

The local school she attended was indeed an eyesore, there was only one classroom and the facilities are old and useless but though others see it as nuisance, aria and the other girls there see it as their paradise, the only sane thing in their insane lives.

Aria rushes into the old rickety classroom panting.

"Aria you're late again, it's the third time this week", say her instructor with folded arms.

"I'm sorry miss".

Aria walks over to her desk which was dusty, old and broken and makes herself comfortable.

In the lessons, this instructor, Mrs hilda teaches them that theres no such thing as a false or fallen dream and if they remain determined and hopeful they can achieve anything.

These words were like daily bread to aria, she probably would have given up if not her awesome instructor who guides her everyday with her words.

After class and when everyone had gone outside the class room, aria stayed back to make more researches on her laptop. Looking at the screen, she immediately recalled how she got this laptop.

Then, she didn't dare involve her parents lest they forbid her from even attending school. She resulted into begging and doing chores for people in order to get money and at the end she got it.

Although her dad is still clueless about her having a laptop, she couldn't hide it from her mother.

Locking her things back in her bag and steps out a bit to breathe in fresh air.

Not too far away she notices a some students gathered around someone or something, curiosity drags her to the site.

As she came closer she could her sniffs and the students all wore a terrible and sorrowful look on their faces.

The students were gathered around one of aria's friends, happi.

"Hey hey happi what's wrong", aria crouched down to her level where she sat.

Aria was quick to notice scars and red marks on her friends body, was she abused?...

Crouching she grabs her hands, "what's wrong, you can tell me" aria beckons on her.

Happis eyes were swollen from crying, she was one of the most happy and hopeful students who had a great dream of being a lawyer so what in the world would make her cry like this.

As she opened her mouth to speak, a flood of tears flowed down from her eyes, her voice broke and she buried her face in her palms.

Aria stroke her back and encouraged her to stop crying, she looks up to the other students and some were shedding tears too.

Aria creased her brows, was there something she was missing?...

The crying happi grabs hold of aria's hands, "it's over aria it's over I'm done, I'm ruined forever". She cried more.

The first thought to aria's head was that she might bave been raped but that wasn't the case.

"Aria my marriage has been arranged, I'm ruined", happi declares while holding aria's hand even tighter now.

After hearing those words, aria froze on the spot, her calm and composed body started shaking and her heart raced non stop...marriage?.

Blinking a few times, her mind becomes conscious again, "no no no no happi what do you mean marriage, you're not done with school yet and...and you're not a lawyer yet so why marriage?" Aria asks with shaky voice.

Happi stares at her unbelievably, "no aria, play times over, it's time for us girls to accept our reality" she sobs.

Aria shakes her head...no

"Yes there was a time when I dreamt most of being a lawyer in future but as it was, a dream, just a dream…my future has already been decided".

Aria gets up immediately, she looks around and all she sees is acceptance.

"No no no no, don't tell me you have all lost hope",

she turns to another girl, holding her hands, "pinky you want to be a big business woman right?",

she holds another girl, " and you want to be a police lady right".

Not being able to stand her drama, happi gets up and grabs aria by the shoulder, her eyes were fulls of tears threatening to fall.

"Listen aria, you have to accept it stop! Chasing dreams you know you'll never catch. You see I tried to confront my dad and see" happi reveals a huge scar on her arm, "I was beat mercilessly. The sooner y you accept it the better".

She let go of aria and brings out a stack of cards from her bag, she began distributing. "Here I will love it if you all attend and support me, please I need it".

Wiping her tears off he hands the last card to aria who was still in a trance.

"Aria please you're my friend you have to come to support me please". Happi pleaded.

Aria stares down at the card and slaps it away from her hand. She shakes her head, "I'm ashamed to call all of you friends, I was thinking that I'm not alone but here you've all given up, cowards! you're all cowards!. Go and marry for all I care, you are all dead to me", she screams before walking away sorrowfully.