labour

Inspired by 'labour' by Paris Paloma

They said that love is a beautiful and ephemeral feeling which can add colours to your monochromatic world. They said that finding the right man can change your life for the better. The important question is, "Who are 'they'?" Men. Words created by men to shackle the women in the cage they beautifully built. Oh gilded it is not, but is one which simply places a restraint on you from living.

There once was a little girl who dreamt of catching stars and shining in the glorious spotlight, being loved by everyone. It did not take long for her to realise that her dream was merely a dream. She watched her mother getting slapped, by the person she called her father, for not being a 'perfect' wife. She watched her mother being scorned by her family members for not pleasing her husband. She could only remain silent in fear that she would suffer the same treatment.

Each night, the girl told herself, "If I were to get married, I will never marry a man like my father. I will never be like my weak mother."

Years and years went by as the little girl improved on her household skills to become a perfect wife. She watched her mother clean the house everyday. She told herself that she will be better and indeed she could clean the house faster and better than her mother. She watched her mother cook meals for the family everyday. The girl told herself that she will be better and indeed she could cook meals more delicious and eye-appealing than her mother.

At the age of 12, her family members expected her to do most of the household work. The little girl could only do the chores without uttering a single word knowing nothing good would come in protesting. She did protest at the start only to receive harsh whip marks on her wrists and the back of her legs. She held back tears from pouring out of her eyes.

'If only I could get away from this place...'

Sure did the day come when she could escape the place she called hell. She walked out of her birth home, smiling so radiantly that she could blind the sun, hand-in-hand with the man who she called the love of her life. The man promised her moon and stars, all the riches in the world. He whispered sweet nothings to which she fell for blindly. She felt like colours started to fill her monochromatic world. She could feel like she was on clouds while spending every minute with him.

She felt her dreamy world crumble bit by bit right from the day they were pronounced husband and wife. Her husband was indeed a prince, raised without knowing a thing about pain and labour. From the time she stepped into her new house, she was no longer her dainty prince's princess but his other mother. At the tender age of 16, she became a mother for a child she never birthed but was married to. She had to clean up after the mess he created. Calm him down whenever he threw a tantrum by giving him whatever he wanted. Listen to every unreasonable demand he threw at her, obediently.

No matter how many mistakes he made, the world will still call him flawless. No matter how hard she tried to be the perfect wife as she dreamt, she was never good enough. She woke up even before the sun could wake up just to water the plants in the garden and fetch the water from the well sitting on top of the hill when the house rests at the foot of the hill. If she were to wake up even slightly later, the line to fetch the water would grow longer, which will only fuel her husband's ire.

She was expected to prepare the breakfast and lunch that her husband was feeling like eating that day before he could wake up. She had to pack the lunch in his favourite container with the cutlery neatly. He also expected that the food was decorated properly, the way he felt like seeing that day, when it was packed.

'But I am no mind reader...'

Her husband often brings his friends home so he expected the house to be decorated beautifully and the garden to be tended perfectly when they come over so she spent hours and hours making the house and the garden beautiful while he was away for work. While making them beautiful, she cried to herself as she watched her once flawless hands looking calloused, filled with cracks.

Nearly every night, her husband returns home from work all drunk, with bottles of alcohol to drink more by himself at home. When he loses control over himself, he often throws the glass bottles at the woman who dedicated herself to take care of the house, and destroys the objects in their house. The woman could only whimper in fear as she was afraid of sparking anger in him which will only be directed at her without any doubt.

When he passes out from overdrinking, she could only hold herself in tears as she cleaned up the wounds and bruises inflicted by the monster she once loved. Her once smooth and flawless skin was littered with scars and healing wounds. The man who vowed to protect her and keep her safe was the very cause of her pain and agony. Oh what she would do to get away from this torture... If only she had the courage.

One day, while tending to the roses, she watched the little girls in the village run around, chasing after each other, without a hint of worry in their world. She could only smile at them wryly. She wished she could see herself in them but she was stuck living in fear even as a child. The man she married was no different from her father, if not worse.

'If we had a daughter, I'd watch and could not save her... Just like my mother did with me.'

As days went by, the woman only grew more and more exhausted by this repetitive cycle of emotional and physical torture that she had to go through everyday. All the love she once had for him was exhausted along with her patience and energy. She was done putting up with his incompetence at being a man of the household. She would have been alright if he were to simply not contribute to any household work but he persistently drained her life by adding more burden onto her shoulder with his drinking habits and violent nature. She mustered up courage each day, to break free of the shackles of her marriage and run away from that house.

She sketched a plan thoroughly to escape from the cage of a house where she was being suffocated. She wanted to do something her mother could never have dreamt of doing. Her mother had failed to think of any route to escape from her hell and had brought the woman, her daughter, into the hell which unknowingly prolonged the cycle of generational suffering. The woman had decided that the best way to end that suffering is by escaping from the cage and never bringing any children into the hell she grew up in.

Of course, as fate allows, she was hit by a huge wall when her husband found out her plans. Incompetent and violent he may be but a fool he was not. If she were to run away from him, who would be there to do everything to his bidding? Who would take care of him? Who would be there to feed him? Wash his clothes, clean his house and do the dishes? No! He simply could not lose his unpaid servant even if it meant her losing her life. 

Word Count: 1311

Not proofread so do let me know in the comments if there are any errors!! :)