Chapter two: fruits of hard work and obedience
Priya wiped off the sweat that trickled down to the tip of her nose with the back of her hand. She paused digging her father’s small garden. putting her hands akimbo on her back, she slowly bended over backwards till she had a familiar popping sound. She sighed satisfied with how much work she had covered, and also grateful for how better her back felt. Digging was no joke. But after so many years of it, all she needed was a massage from her mother with some herbal ointment applied on her back, and she was good to go.
Gazing up at the clear sky, she wondered why the sun was high up and just over her head when it was time to dig the garden and plant some new seeds. It was one of the few means they got their meals. Her mother selling at their small shop and her father working at the textile factory till the wee hours of the night. She also tried to earn an income by making small bags and pouches, baskets and bracelets for her brother to sell when he came from school.
A delicate smile spread across her face at the memory of her father teaching her how to sew clothes. A big burly man, holding a needle and a piece of material always softened her heart. Her father was a proud man, but poverty makes a man do anything to support his family. She noticed how he would look at them all sadly, when he thought no one was watching. She knew It wounded him to watch his daughter and wife help him to support his family. That was why he did small things, but very sentimental and intimate to Priya, to make up for his shortcomings.
Like last year, he took them to Mumbai, and sat them on a big hill that overlooked the town. Priya’s breath was taken away by the beauty. The lights all over the city illuminated the grounds with different colours!
They all appreciated their father’s efforts and they tried everything to lift his spirits up.
But some things cannot be helped.
Like the fact that as soon as she finishes high school, she was going to get married to the man she was betrothed to. Not that she was complaining! She was lucky enough for her father to delay the marriage till after school! She only wanted the chance to use her education to get a good job and help her father. Pay for her brother’s higher education. Buy for her parents’ a decent house.
All that was going to be impossible though. Husbands always expect their wives to stay at home and raise the children.
But she was a woman! A woman can do many things at once. They never acknowledged that fact except for her brother and father. She farmed, helped with the house chores, made bags and still managed to be top of her class!
It was too bad the in-laws expected children as soon as possible. So many things she could do….
Looking at the bright side of the engagement, the young man she was going to marry was one she fancied for a long time! Priya blushed as she remembered the first time they talked after the engagement, he told her he never thought that he was lucky enough to get her hand in marriage. And she thought she was high on cloud nine. Many girls sought after him since he was well known for his looks and shy manners. She never understood how he had his eyes on her yet the whole female population was after his love. She gave herself a once over. She was tall around five seven. Her long black hair tied to a bun so as to not bother her during working hours. Her clothes were neat but worn out. She opened her palms and she thought they were the most calloused hands she’d ever seen. The only thing that she thought was lovely about herself was the big round hazel eyes she got from her mother. People always felt she could see through their soul.
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foreign lands
Teen Fictionthree girls,from three different continents, are brought together by an exchange programme. they all live under one roof. will the three get along and help eachother with lifes obstacles,or be at eachother's throat?
