Love Conquers All

On a Saturday morning when Suhasini woke up, her nightgown was stained with blood. She sat there staring at the stain, waiting for a feeling of relief flood over her but what she felt was – loss, pain. That stain screamed destruction. Destruction of life, of love. She clutched the stained fabric and wept, she mourned the love, the man and her happiness. Slowly her sobs stopped and came over a numbness. It kept the pain at bay until it couldn’t and the numbness broke. Suhasini felt she couldn’t breathe as a wave of pain filled her heart and she told herself, ‘don’t cry…don’t cry because you might never stop’.

*****

Suhasini was with Madhavi at the dining table, ‘be careful sweetheart, you’ll spill the cornflakes’, she said to Madhavi. Madhavi nodded obediently. ‘Madamji?’, Suhasini looked up at Sudha, ‘madamji, Nihaal saheb has asked you to join him in the study’, she said.

Suhasini gripped the end of her ‘dupatta’ slightly, ‘right now?’ Sudha nodded quietly.