aurore - an unusual love story √

part three

" Sold? By your own mother? " , Jai stared at Sonara, completely lost.

" I.. I have watched all these in movies, and yeah they do say that movies are derived from real life, but... it's saddening that..such things happened with someone alive and real, before my eyes... " , Jai said, breaking in between.

" Real yeah... But how much alive, is a matter of consideration. " , Sonara trailed away somewhere else.

" What exactly compelled your mother to take such a step?" , Jai asked after sometime, amazed by his own inquisitiveness.

He remembered seeing one of their maid servants cry holding his mother's feet a few days ago. He found the act overboard and melodramatic, just a new style of milking money from well-to-dos. He hadn't even cared to find out what the matter was or if she was helped.
And the same Jai today was interested to know the dark sides of below the line human life...

" Let it be, sir. You're blessed, you've got a good, happy, white life,a caring family...
My dark, unfruitful life won't matter to you in the long run, you will leave, and I'll drown in the pools of memories I've got rid of long back.
Let it be. "

Silence veiled the room once again. Jai watched Sonara through the corner of his eyes. The lady had a very expressionless face as a whole. But a layer of determination covered that indifference.

" Sometimes sharing helps. " , Jai said out of the blue.

After sometime Sonara uttered,
" Hmm? ", showing how lost she was.

Jai changed the topic.

" I was asking, what do you do? I mean, for survival, for feeding your child, and for maintaining everything you have got in this little dwelling, and... " , Jai tried to explain.

" I work in a pen factory... " , Sonara said. " I pack pens in boxes... "

" Oh..... " , Jai fell silent again. Sonara got up and opened the door a little to check on the weather.

" It's clearing." , Sonara said.

" Yes but unless I get any public transport I cannot go.... " , Jai spoke hurriedly.

What? Yes of course, though he wanted to be out as soon as possible, walking home would be difficult, midnight.

Sonara slowly closed the door without noise and returned to the place she was seated.

" I would find it hard if you are hungry and thirsty but accept nothing because I'm a Muslim, sir. "

" No no, I'm.....neither... " , Jai knew he should have spoken something else but couldn't.
" I know you don't want to share your past but..." , Jai started and stopped again.

'But'? But what? What good would her past do to him?

Sonara was twirling the corner of her dupatta round her finger.

" Have you got a sibling? " , she asked slowly.

" Yeah..
An elder sister. "

" I was the elder sister in my family as well, I had a little brother..

That year, my father died in a very fatal disease. I don't even know what disease it was...
My mother went vagabond, she didn't know how she would raise two little children. My father was a daily wedge worker, no savings, nothing. My mother madly searched for jobs, but she was extremely meek. She was either fired soon, or had to face dire consequences. Lost, broken, my mother one day got a valuable piece of advice from someone.
'Buy a cow, start a business of milk. '