Prologue
Her blood never betrayed her. Mithu stood in the bathroom in silence, feeling the water she poured on herself slowly trickle down her bare body. Little by little, she felt it mix with the tears of her eyes and fall down her face onto the wet mosaic slab when it had nothing to hold on to. Her lower abdomen hurt, like a thousand daggers at once. She bent her elbow ever so slightly, and immediately stifled a little shriek of pain that threatened to escape her insides. Using her other hand, she felt herself to check for traces of bleeding. She found none. All she saw against her hands were deep blue bruises and a tiny black curly hair.
Very softly, Mithu sat on the cold floor and felt her insides churn into a knot. Before she could stop herself, she vomited. Viscous saliva stuck to her bare breasts, that were swollen and red. The scar near her left collarbone, a perfect half-moon was hidden behind a cloud of grey-blue clouds. She winced in the effort of picking up the steel mug from the bucket to wash herself. She dribbled out some more saliva onto herself, each time making sure no sound came out with it. She sat and bathed in her own tears and vomit for a few minutes, then poured water on her and scrubbed herself clean of the clingy gum near her heart.
She bent her left knee and instantly a shooting pain went up her groin into her abdomen, and Mithu muffled a loud yelp, and drank the vomit that made its way to the mouth. She tasted her own juices as they trudged down her throat, a sour acerbic syrup that burnt her already burning insides. Not able to withstand the pain, she slowly felt herself falling onto her side. A minute later, she found herself on the unyielding mosaic, her hair undone, writhing in pain, holding her left knee close to her breast. The steel mug lay nonchalantly reflecting her deformed self. Mithu saw her condition, reduced to a mere blur of colours on a steel mug and cried some more. Silently, she nursed her knee, poured water on it using her palm and fingers, drop by drop and then almost involuntarily, her hand drifted to the parting where she checked for ferrous viscous moisture again.
Alas, there was none this time too. "Maybe this was all in my head", she thought as she raised her arm to her scalp. Gradually she spread her fingers and gradually she brought them together, over and over, she massaged her head. She propped herself up again and poured another mugful over her head and checked the floor for signs of redness.
Very softly, Mithu sat on the cold floor and felt her insides churn into a knot. Before she could stop herself, she vomited. Viscous saliva stuck to her bare breasts, that were swollen and red. The scar near her left collarbone, a perfect half-moon was hidden behind a cloud of grey-blue clouds. She winced in the effort of picking up the steel mug from the bucket to wash herself. She dribbled out some more saliva onto herself, each time making sure no sound came out with it. She sat and bathed in her own tears and vomit for a few minutes, then poured water on her and scrubbed herself clean of the clingy gum near her heart.
She bent her left knee and instantly a shooting pain went up her groin into her abdomen, and Mithu muffled a loud yelp, and drank the vomit that made its way to the mouth. She tasted her own juices as they trudged down her throat, a sour acerbic syrup that burnt her already burning insides. Not able to withstand the pain, she slowly felt herself falling onto her side. A minute later, she found herself on the unyielding mosaic, her hair undone, writhing in pain, holding her left knee close to her breast. The steel mug lay nonchalantly reflecting her deformed self. Mithu saw her condition, reduced to a mere blur of colours on a steel mug and cried some more. Silently, she nursed her knee, poured water on it using her palm and fingers, drop by drop and then almost involuntarily, her hand drifted to the parting where she checked for ferrous viscous moisture again.
Alas, there was none this time too. "Maybe this was all in my head", she thought as she raised her arm to her scalp. Gradually she spread her fingers and gradually she brought them together, over and over, she massaged her head. She propped herself up again and poured another mugful over her head and checked the floor for signs of redness.
No comments:
Post a Comment