"Oh, shit.What have you done? What will we do with a second daughter? They are such big liabilities. Could you not have borne a son?", remarked my father in law.
I felt numb, not so much with pain as with these stinging words. According to him, I had failed him in the society. This birth was a start of many more incidents which should have made me realize that life was not going to be easy. But, I was foolish and kept telling myself that "It's ok. Things will improve with time."
The day I returned from the hospital, in the midst of the humid weather, even the cooler was not functioning in my room. Within minutes, I was given the news that now my brother in law and his wife would also stay with us.
Without batting an eyelid, my husband went to help him in his shifting. He came back late evening and then went for a drink. After all, he was drowned in sorrow at the birth of a second daughter.
Suddenly, I became the outcast in the family. I had to do all the chores even with my stitches of the Caesarean section. All the care which was for my elder one had now vanished. Also, the new entrants in the family had sucked up all the space, so there was no time for me and my daughter.
Within a week, I had to be up and about as the work had doubled and my sister in law would not move a finger as she was working full time and I was at home. What should have been nipped in the bud right then, was slowly turning into an elephant.
I kept on hoping against hope. For a whole period of four months, my husband did not even pick up my daughter. But, as they say, every child comes with his or her own destiny. Very soon, she had him wrapped around her little finger. And, by the time she was one, she had the whole household dancing to her tune.
Though I was happy that she had found her place, something had started breaking inside me. For what was portrayed on the outside, was not the truth. There were many layers and many masks, which I did not have the capability to remove. These manipulations were new to me. Everyone here was ready to outwit the other at the drop of a hat.
I had in the meanwhile tried to rejoin work, but apparently, they had no more openings for me and my dear boss was unable to help me.
