What A Beautiful Face She Has

Him

Stella's POV:

"Nejama dha solriya?", Jeni asked shaking my shoulder.
(Is it true?)

"Yes, why would I lie to you?", I said.

"He's extremely handsome and you are drop-dead gorgeous. You both will make a great pair.", Jeni said encircling her hand around my arms.

I blushed as soon as I heard those words.

"So, did you meet him?", Jeni asked.

"No, d. I said know he's from Chittor and he's my dad's friend's son. His parents came to my home to meet my father at that time they saw me and asked my hand in marriage.", I said.

"I can't believe this, Stella. When did we become that old?"

I didn't respond as I was busy, blushing.

"What's his name?", she asked.

"Oh, god, I didn't decide the name, still.", I thought.

"His name is...mm..mmm..."

"Why are you thinking of uttering his name?"

"His name is John."

"Oh, John? Mrs. Stella John. Isn't it cool?", Jeni made fun of me.

"Keep quiet, Jeni.", I said.

"What? Don't tell me you're blushing. OMG, my friend is blushing."

"Shut up.", I said as teacher walked inside the class.

The class was silently listening to teacher's lecture. I was physically present but mentally absent. My mind was occupied with John's thoughts.

"What if Jeni finds out about John? No, no, I'll reveal the truth to her within a week.", I thought.

The bell rang and we all left the college. I was on the way to my house.

I was standing in the bus and the bus was very crowded. I don't know what was wrong. Today, the bus was very crowded.

I was feeling suffocated just then, I heard a voice.

"Madam, did you get a ticket?"

"One ticket to Vyasarpadi."

(Hey, anga paaren. Andha ponnu college student pola ana parka kalyanam aana aunty madhiri iruka la?)
(Hey, look at that girl, she seems to be a college student but she looks like a married aunty.), I heard two girls talking about me and giggling.

"Aunty, please get two tickets for us, as well. Here's the money.", one of the girls giggled at me and said this.

"Excuse me, I'm also a college student like you, both."

"Sorry, aunty. Ungala partha college student madhiri illa, 10 puzhaiku amma madhiri iruku.", she said and started giggling.
(Sorry, aunty. You don't look like a college student but a mother of 10 kids.)

I turned my gaze and hid my tears from them.

I was humiliated.

After a few minutes, I got down from the bus and started walking towards my house.

"You're home? Come, darling.", my mother invited me, inside.

"Ennachu amma ku? Epome Gunda irukenu thiteete irupanga ipo pasatha pozhiyiranga?", I thought.
(What happened to my mother? She always taunts me for being overweight. Today, she's showering me with love.)

"This is my daughter, Stella."

I was welcomed by the guests.

I greeted them.

"Jhansi, you look younger than your daughter. You look young, still."

"Oh, thank you. Actually, my daughter is overweight that is the reason why she looks too old."

"You can do something to lose your weight, right?", guest 1 asked me.

"No use talking to her. Neraya vaati solli Achu weight koraika solli. Swiggy, Zomato la kandadha order panni saptutu irundha epdi weight koraiyum?", my mother taunted me.
(No use talking to her. I have told her so many times to lose weight. She never listens and is always busy ordering food from Swiggy and Zomato. If she continues to do this, how will she be able to lose weight?)

"Stella, Look at your mom, how young she is. Don't you want to be beautiful, like her? Lose your weight, darling. If you don't get into shape, no guy will be willing to marry you."

I was heartbroken not because some third person spoke rubbish about me. It was because my mother was not ready to support me and humiliated me in front of everyone.

"Go and change your dress.", my mother ordered.

I nodded and rushed into my room.
I sat on my bed and thought about the incidents that happened today.

First, two girls on the bus made fun of me. Then, the guests and after that, my mother humiliated me for being fat. I'm done with this.

My parents don’t like me either, just because I’m fat. It’s not like I didn’t try. I tried to lose weight and lost around 8 kgs. But later, I gained it back.

I have to lose 15 kgs to reach my ideal weight.

I’ve been humiliated and bullied by many in school for being fat.

I used to get scared when there were medical checkups at school, since they used to check our height and weight. After seeing my weight, my classmates would make fun of me. I used to cry silently, listening to their hurtful words.

My fate has never changed to this day.

My mother always used to taunt me, saying, “Who will marry you if you’re this big?” She used to call me “fatty,” and when I confronted her, she would say, “Don’t take it so seriously, I was just joking.”

That’s not fun. You can’t call someone fat and say it’s just for fun. My mother never understood how bad I felt when she called me “fatty.”

I was recalling all these events, and I didn’t know when I dozed off.