Behind the rigidity

An Amended Tomorrow

The words of Bhavani kept on revolving in Lavanya's mind for the whole day .She opened her house's  main gate,wiping the sweat off her face.She knocked the front door braced herself for the familiar hug and kiss she usually was welcomed with whenever she returned.

But to her surprise,the door just opened and there stood her son Ayan who glanced at her once and left.

Though she often reprimanded her for hugging her sweaty body but today when he finally did what she asked him to,to her surprise she  did not like even a bit of it.

She looked at shrugged her thoughts, thinking that he was angry for the time being and soon will be back to his normal self.
Entering the living room she found Ayan pouring water in a glass placed on the table which he soon offered her

"For me?" She asked and he simply nodded in response.
"Thank you beta" Lavanya replied with a smile.

As soon as she had the water Ayan went to his own room.Lavanya looked at his retreating figure with widened eyes.Ayan did not scream in excitement today,nor did start right with how his day went.His favourite aeroplane was kept where she had seen in the morning,the house was filled with an abnormal normality.

Lavanya decided to freshen up and then talk with him.

When she came back, Ayan's room door was still ajar .She opened it slowly and found him sitting with his language copy in front of him.

By the time Lavanya comes his tuition teacher already leaves after her session and later in the night either she or his father has to forcefully make him sit for completing his other lessons.But today it was an opposite scenario.

"Mam aayi thi ?"
He looked up startled from his copy and nodded meekly after a few seconds.Lavanya noticed that his eyes were swollen and his nose was red indicating that he had cried and her heart broke seeing the way he looked at her.

"What happened Ayan ? Naraaz hai Mummy se ?" she caressed his face slowly and held his hand.Ayan hissed.

"Ayan how did this happen?" Lavanya was shocked looking at the deep red patch beside his thumb and in the gap between his index and middle finger.
Ayan didn't respond but instead bowed his head
"Bata na beta" she pleaded
"Nahi,you will scold me and punish me more" Ayan whispered the last part with tears in his eyes.
Lavanya quickly took him in his embrace
"Nahi bachcha I will not scold you, please tell mummy" one hug and Ayan burst out crying feeling the warmth.
His mother kept on rubbing his back in order to calm him down

"Arti Mam punished me today.I couldn't answer the question and kept sitting.So she got angry and hit me with that hanger.When I still didn't write she pressed my fingers keeping her pen in between.And she left the house in anger." Ayan told the matter slowly while hiccuping in between
"Mummy mummy she said she will complain to you Dad and will not teach me anymore, please I'm sorry don't punish me, I have already prepared the lesson now and am doing the rest of the work, please don't send me away, I'm sorry" Ayan by then was begging, hugging his mother tightly by her waist.

"Bas bachcha, don't cry anymore.See Mummy is here with you na, you're absolutely okay" she tried calming him down by rubbing soothing circles and thought about what Ayan had just revealed.She never thought that the right and leniency she provided to his tutor will cost her this.

She had spared a broken cloth hanger still kept on the table and had also seen the traces of the blood drop at Ayan's sleeveless arm,though it was very little.

Teachers of course have rights on the students because after parents they are the ones who guide the kids but today surely the line of discipline line has been crossed.And she was not okay with it.