#ShortStory - Putting Pieces Back Together - 2

Weeks passed and Divyanka still hadn't changed her routine! She quit her job and began to sulk in her loneliness.

"Do they really have such perfect lives?", "Nasty fakers" she thought as she scrolled through the news feed on her Facebook, , more pictures, more love celebrations, her fingers sped.

"Travel to heal your broken heart". Her fingers stopped. For the first time in a long time she saw something that incited excitement in her. She couldn't wait for the sun to rise.

Beeep! Beeep! God bless her timely alarm.

"Morning Pa", she greeted as she jumped out her bed, "I was thinking if I could go on a holiday next week."

"Sure beta, we shall go, where do you suggest?"

"Umm, I was actually thinking of going solo, just so you know...I can have some time to myself, refresh..."

"But beta, it's not..."

"I'll be safe I promise, I'll keep you updated with my location at all times, please pa, let me go!"

"Okay, fine, but not more than 7 days, and talk to your mum about it."

After a long time Divyanka had asked for something, how could her parents deny her?

The next thing she did was book tickets to the North.

It was a wonderful week. She was finally completing her bucket list!

Her pictures read "Solo Trip", "Trekking", "Jungle Walk", "Camping", "Rain Dance" the list went on and her parents phone was flooded with pictures. They hadn't seen her so happy since the wedding. They knew their daughter was back. The week passed quickly.
With shoulders back, brave chest, and smiling from cheek to cheek, a happy Divyanka entered jumping in through the gates. She smiled at her surprised neighbours and waved at the kid next door.
"I'm home!" she cheered.
Her little brother ran to her and hugged her tight. The old couple looked pleased at their daughter's transformation.
"How was your holiday Diva?" greeted her dad.
"Great! How are you all? How's my little bear? I missed you!"
"I missed you too Di, did you get anything for me?"
"Ofcourse I did! Here... " as she handed him his present. She had got souvenirs for all of them.
The family sat together and talked for the rest of the evening, surprised and laughed at the incidents as their Divyanka narrated.
For once, there was cheering in the house. For once, the family was happy again.
There were various plans racing in her mind now...
She soon set up her own art studio and began offering smiles all around. She was independent, energetic, and moreover, happy again!
All she needed was a spark to set her engines running again...

She was a woman who had chosen not to succumb but walk out.  Was she still a good woman according to the society?
It didn't matter to her at all, because she was her priority now.

Note:
We find many people around us, those who have given in to their 'fate', and those who are still fighting it. We, as a society are major hurdles in their lives, in their path of happiness. And for the fear of losing a place in the hypocritical masses, they keep losing a piece of their soul each day.

#ShortStory - Putting Pieces Back Together - 1

With folded shoulders close to the neck, a bent head and tensed eyebrows pulled towards the hairline, a meek and scared Divyanka walked in through the gates.
"I'm going to sleep well tonight", she procastinated.
It was a tiring day for her at work today. In fact she had been having tiring days since many months now.

"Dinner's ready", shouted her mom from the kitchen. Her little brother ran to her for his evening treat as she handed him a perk. 

"I'm not hungry ma, I'll just go sleep."

"You must eat well Diva, skipping meals everyday isn't good for...", the voice faded as she closed the door behind her.

"I've indeed become ugly and lean", she said to herself as she looked in the mirror and splashed her face with water, "I'll follow the schedule from tomorrow".

She pulled out some notes from her bag and began to read it as she lied on her bed. It was a schedule she had made for herself so that she could stay busy, get her life on track again and put her broken pieces back together.
"Yoga at 6, temple at 7, breakfast at 730,  why did he do it...?" (uh oh) (sobs) It had become her routine now. She couldn't fathom what had happened to her and why!

Beeep! Beeep! The alarm was always on time, she never was. She turned it off and went back to sleep. Her days were spent more despairingly in bed and lazing around now. She had a decent job but she wanted to quit.

"You'll be late again for work today Diva, its nine already". Her dad was always her saviour, always there in the nick of time.
"10 unread messages" read her phone screen - "All meeting today?", "At Joe's Cafe @5", "Divyanka pls do come" as she went through her friends' Whatsapp group without replying to any of them.

She rolled her blankets and walked lazily into the shower with smudged eyes from last night's tears.

She quickly got ready, denied breakfast as usual, picked up her lunch and rode off to work just on time!

She had married her one true love (she thought), and ended up living the most regrettable and dreadful phase she could. As she walked, the people stared at her, how a vibrant happy girl had turned into a scared depressed anxious being. She had dreams of touching the sky, but now one could hardly make out between her and a rolling vegetable. He had given her such abusive memories that she couldn't withstand her own presence.
She reached and got busy with her meetings and work. It was the only thing that kept her from wallowing into desolation. It made her feel essential.
She was young and beautiful inside out. Her spirited mind always inspired people. But now she was nothing like before!
May be deep inside she was still there somewhere, but too scared to be her true self, too scared to be hurt again.

Will her scars fade away?

Will she make new memories?

Will she be able to love herself or find her own love?
Will she ever be able to revive herself again?

[To Be Continued...]

Note:
We don't understand how long lasting the damage of abuse can be, psychological or physical. It ruins them for life and no matter how hard they try, they can't get over it.
Women mostly tend to become the victims of domestic violence. We have been taught by our elders that adjustment and compromise is the secret to a happy husband and happy married life.
But how much should we adjust and how far should we compromise?
Should we end up losing ourselves in hopes of saving an abusive and unfruitful relationship?
We must be wary of such offenders, or at least caution the victim if we come across one. We must learn to deny anything that seems to be unfavourable to our healthy mind and body.

How far alcohol?

With the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh and its new liquor policy (Excise) for 2015-2017, it’s not surprising that an increased number of happy men and women have been entertaining themselves in socializing at hubs and malls and the shy drinkers are all but hoping for discreet delivery of alcohol soon.
Objectifying only women when they drink would be wrong, when the government itself hasn’t discriminated between the genders in its policies; in fact many respectable and fun eateries like 10 Downing Street that recently opened its outlet in Vijayawada are also offering free liquor to women on select days of the week.
When it comes to drinking, most of us discard the mere notion of drinking as bad and irresponsible.
We forget that this tradition has been followed since many centuries in our cultures only that it was ritualistic and ‘occasional’.
But the trend of alcohol consumerism has shifted deftly to more of a recreational and frequent activity and we have been blaming the West for it.
Consuming alcohol isn’t a privilege, its unhealthy and has always altered society into unhappy families, broken relationships, depressed youngsters, suicidal teens and hospitals full of patients with ARLDs (Alcohol Related Liver Disease).
Men and women both should tie down their social statements and limit alcohol consumerism.

[Image Credits: Sonal Kothari]

Just a girl with a heart!

I'm a girl. I'm my pride and my respect. But I want to be like you.
I have emotions but I'd rather dump them elsewhere.
I'm much cooler than the 'other' girls. But no. I'm like 'other' girls. I say I'm not emotional yet I want to be loved. But I'd would rather leave than be left.
I'm a woman and I don't want to lie to myself and take any 'other' man's place. I'd rather remain a woman and fight for my place.
I want to defend myself but I'd rather want someone else to defend me, because I'm tired of doing it all by myself. I want to be told to be proud of myself, for who I am.
I avoid taking risks and don't leave anything to chance. Maybe because I'm insecure or may be because I'm too shattered to be broken anymore.
I've become oblivious to the touch of a person maybe because I've been left petrified for too long.
I plan strategies to escape the reality and then evade imagination. Maybe because the reality is too harsh and the imagination makes me sad.
I've made my choices and I've had my emotional rides, none of which are unfamiliar to me. But I'm still not ready for anything bad.
My heart is broken, or maybe its not because I'm strong and I tell myself that I don't get mushy feelings anymore.
My heart is still beating. It begins to race sometimes and sometimes it skips a beat. It makes me believe I'm alive.
I like the taste of air I breathe. For once in a long time I have begun to breath free.
I've been through things nobody would believe. But I know. And I won't forget because that's what has made me.
Time heals. But more importantly I've healed myself. I've got scars all over me. They still pain but I'm used to them now.
I'm going to get a lot of surprises on the way, good ones and bad. I'm going to fall in love and I'm going to get hurt too. I'm going to take risks and I'll get through.
So what if I'm a girl and I'm emotional? Can't I have a heart yet be strong?
Life is going to be difficult I know. But I'm not scared just because.

Box of Chocolates!

I hate it how people want to know you and talk to you. They want to discover all the mystery that your personality beholds, all the mesmerising newness of a person enchants them and they seem only astonished at how easily you have been able to lock so much magic within yourself until that time.
Until that time when they feel you aren't interesting enough to entertain them. They know everything about you and don't find you different enough to make them hold on to you.
That's the part of this world I don't like.
I don't like how people like to be entertained all the time, with your stories, your thoughts, your language, your smell and color and everything else a normal human has.
Until the time they've heard it all, they know it all and they don't find you as marvelling as they thought you'd be. Because now they know you.
It was you that they found magical and full of fairy tale secrets. For once, magic is enticing, twice, it becomes amusement, the third time its a trick and from then on, its just every day routine. It's just that their curiosity was so well fed by you that they aren't longing for you anymore.
They don't understand how difficult it was for you to open up your self. You are scared of being judged and disappointing those you love by letting down their expectations you never set. You are scared of losing people and things you get attached to, because you change and evolve and you have to let go. So you open yourselves to people you met 5 minutes ago and share your deepest self. It scares you, yet you open up because you are human and you want love and to reciprocate it.
You were like an exotic box of chocolates to them. It wasn't your fault you let them open and see your box of chocolates. And now they know you aren't exotic and now they know your box of chocolates is just like theirs and now they know you are just an ordinary human being. Now they know you are just like them!
Now they won't be as fond of you as they were before! Or maybe otherwise:)

‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

#CauseIHaveVaginaRe

Just in time AIB and Kangana!

I am not angry #CauseIHaveVaginaRe

I'm just not surprised!

I won't write much here, just watch this video and get back to whatever you were doing!