......

She sat on the bed staring into never-ending space. Her brown eyes which at one point of time used to sparkle with bliss had turned red and were covered with dark circles. They spoke a thousand words. Her face so pale, her body so lifeless! Her whole personality seemed to have blurred into a submissive non-entity.
Whatever had happen to the ‘rebel’, the guiding beacon of our batch? I couldn’t see her like this anymore.
I finally shook her with as much strength as I could muster.
“Wake up Sarah! It’s not your turn to cry. You’ve already cried enough. Now he will cry.”
Was she even listening to what I was saying? She looked around the manicured lawn. The day when she had stepped into this house for the first time flashed before her eyes. This place looked just the same. The only difference was that at that point of time it looked beautiful to her eyes and she was totally clueless about what was going to hit her in the next few days.
He was a Rajput- the same caste as hers. Young, attractive, well educated and prosperous, her parents couldn’t have had found a better companion for their only beloved daughter. I still remember the day she came to tell us about him.
“Maaaaaaan!..He`s gorgeous!” we all envied her!...today I couldn’t think of words to say to her to make my best friend feel a little better. I hugged her and we both wept together.
The first few days of her marriage were like heaven. He made her feel like a princess. So what it took to transform the prince into a beast- just a few glasses of liquor! She didn’t
say anything when he broke the glass bottle on the floor, nor did she say anything when he slapped her right across her face for trying to stop him from drinking from another bottle. She quietly sobbed in her room after cleaning the floor off the glass pieces. The next day he even came and apologized. He promised it would never happen again. But I guess promises are meant to be broken. The second time although she somehow managed to hide the scars, what could stop the tears from flowing from those beautiful brown eyes. I couldn’t stop myself from abusing the bastard as I was listening to the horrifying story told in a monotone so unlike the vibrant voice I remembered so well. We had all advised her to leave him ASAP. But my dear friend was hit by the fear of the society. What would her parents think?
The next time she dint tell us when he threw boiling water on her for forgetting to put the gas off. Nor did she give us a hint about it even when he kept her for the whole night out of the house for coming home late by an hour. Then one fine day unable to bear the pain and the torture she broke down over the phone.
“This is it Sarah, I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re leaving this hell hole and coming with me right now”
Her bags were packed. I held her hand to support her (she could barely stand). Finally she stood up. This time there was no turning back. She carried her suitcase on her own and walked with me towards the door. As we were passing the door she stopped for a second and glanced at her wedding picture. She was this pretty, healthy and happy bride. She had indeed suffered a lot. For a moment I thought she had fallen weak but then she took the photo frame and threw it on the ground with all her strength just the way he had thrown the bottle of liquor in front of her face. The frame broke into pieces and the tiny glass pieces spread all across the floor just the way the glass pieces of the bottle of liquor was scattered.Then without turning back even for a second she held my hand and walked outside, stronger than ever before. She was now ready to face the whole world with open eyes for she had done nothing wrong. Who guessed that this little bag of bones still had it in her left to battle her destiny like a tigress and emerge a winner?

P.S: This is not a true story. But it is dedicated to thousands of women who continue to bear the anguish of their husbands and still remain quite for the fear of the society. It is time we should learn to come out of our closets and stand up for ourselves for respect only comes to those who respect themselves.