The Curd — A short story
Kusum was suffering from fever. Her whole body was aching. She felt so weak. As she stepped down the stairs, she felt severe pain in her right knee. Her legs started to shiver. She somehow managed to bring her daughter back from school.
‘Mumma, what happened? Why do you look so sad today?’ Little Kiara looked into her mother’s eyes and questioned. ‘Nothing, I am just not feeling well’, Kusum answered. Kiara was the one for whom she was alive and so was her husband, Kartik. They both were tied with the bond of marriage, but it was held by only one thread and that was Kiara.
Kartik loved Kiara from bottom of her heart, but Kusum was non-existent for him. They had an arranged marriage. Misunderstandings had created a huge hole in their relationship which Kusum tried to bury but Kartik would just ignore. Kusum would always feel a pain in her heart with the behavior of Kartik but for the sake of Kiara, she was just continuing her life.
Kusum lay on the bed and asked Kiara to play. Soon she fell asleep. She felt as if Kartik’s hands were on her head but when she opened her eyes, it was little Kiara. ‘Mumma, I think you have a fever. Let me give you the medicine’, Kiara’s innocent eyes looked at Kusum. Kusum’s heart melted right away. ‘I took the medicine a few minutes before, Thank you my doll’. Kiara went back to play. It was 4 pm. Kartik would arrive at 6 pm. She gathered herself and prepared mango shake for the three of them. She cut the bitter gourd for making vegetable at dinner. Bitter gourd with white gravy was Kartik’s favorite. On alternative days, she would prepare the favorite meal for Kiara and Kartik. How she wished, someone would ask her, that one day they both also ask to prepare what she likes.
The truth was their favorites had become Kusum’s favorites. She had forgotten what her own favorite food was. It was 6 pm, and Kartik arrived. Kusum served the mango shake and Kartik started to play along with Kiara. They started doing the school homework. Kusum felt her head burning. She went to Kartik, ‘I am having fever and body ache.’ Kartik was texting someone and pretended not to listen. Kusum came back from the room with tears in her eyes.
She just wished he could say take rest, we will order the food from outside, or you rest, I will cook the food today but none of the words came out of his mouth. He didn’t even look at her. Sometimes, Kusum wondered if she had thorns or if she was so ugly that Kartik didn’t even look at her, but don’t ugly people fall in love. Isn’t it the ugliness inside the heart and not outside? However, Kusum was beautiful. Till today, if she would get ready and go out, several eyes would look at her except Kartik.
Was Kartik having an affair? She had asked this question to herself and even to Kartik also due to which the hole in their relationship became deeper. She had spent tearful nights, but nothing seemed to melt Kartik. On the opposite, he would label her an attention seeker. Kusum thought was it too much to ask for attention from her own husband?
Why didn’t she leave Kartik? The answer was Kiara.
It was 8 pm and her legs start to pain badly. She wanted to get curd for the morning breakfast from the nearby shop, but the pain just wouldn’t let her get up. She asked Kartik if he could get curd from the nearby shop as he was going out but as usual, he chose not to answer. After he came back, Kusum again asked Kartik to bring the curd telling him that she would go but her health is not allowing it. He ignored it again. Tears started flowing from her eyes. Was it too much to ask? It was Kartik and Kiara who loved curd and there was no curd left today.
At 9 pm when she was done with dinner and the dishes, she again took another medicine. She lay down on the sofa as in the bedroom, Kartik and Kiara were watching TV. She fell asleep. After 20 minutes, she woke up and started to feel better. The pain in her legs had reduced but it had started to rain heavily. She wondered how she will go out in the rain. She came outside her flat and looked at the rain. She felt as if the rain was calling her. She took the umbrella and slowly went down the stairs to the grocery shop.
She wanted to close the umbrella and let the rain wet her, but she already had a fever and weakness. She couldn’t take this risk. She walked slowly. She wished she had someone with her who would walk with her in the rain holding her hands. They would talk endlessly. They would keep their hands on each other’s shoulders and there would be a romantic kiss in the rain. How beautiful was the thought but the reality was pretty much different. However, these beautiful thoughts gave her joy, a thought to her that yet so many things are left in her life to be done, one of which was to experience true love.
How can she give up hope so easily? Yes, Kiara was her focus but after she gets settled, she wondered to herself, what if life gives her a second chance? Wouldn’t she take it?
