Living In Oblivion

58

Silence hung in the air, clutching ruthlessly as it won the race against chaos and chatter. Fear gripped Avanti's insides as she watched Gayatri's fiery glare, her face flushed with anger and her trembling lips revealing her fury. Despite of how demeaned she felt, she desperately held onto a thread of hope, no matter how frail it felt, she tried tightening her grip. But the wind blew with newfound intensity, destroying everything in its path. Everything was crumbling slowly and steadily, suffocating the air, making it difficult to breathe.

"I do not want to talk to you," Gayatri seethed, her gaze fixed on her son, accusing him for the choice he had made.

Avanti mustered the courage to speak, despite feeling demeaned. "Aunty—"

But her words held little effect. Gayatri remained stoic, refusing to acknowledge Avanti's presence. Instead, her glare remained fixed on her son, challenging him to speak up and rebel.

Divit exhaled deeply, his gaze flickering between his mother and Avanti as he attempted to convey what words could never express.

"Her sister is pregnant. Without marriage, without a husband, and without any shame left—" Gayatri's voice dripped with disdain as she looked at her son, her tone full of challenge. "And you want to marry her?" Her question boomed through the room. "This girl?" Her eyes scanned Avanti's petite frame with disgust.

Tears of humiliation welled up in Avanti's eyes, but she fought hard to control herself from lashing out. Clutching the sides of her kurta, she waited for Gayatri to continue, refusing to lower her gaze as she stared back at her with unwavering determination.

"It's Riddhi's personal choice. Why are you dragging Avanti into this?" Divit turned to his mother, trying to reason with her, but her eyes remained blind to anything beyond the societal norms imposed upon her.

"I can't believe this. I refuse to believe this. What magic have you done on my child that he can't see anything beyond you?" Gayatri's words were filled with disbelief and anger.

"Stop uttering nonsense, Mom. Stop acting ignorant. What magic and all? What are you talking about?" Milind intervened, his voice laced with frustration. Standing by the door, he observed the scene unfolding, his anger burning at the blatant display of ignorance.

"You," Gayatri pointed furiously, taking a step forward. "Stay out of this."

"Why?" Milind snapped.

"This is ridiculous," Divit began to protest, but Gayatri cut him off.

"And she isn't?" Her gaze landed on Avanti, questioning her very existence as if it were a sin.

"Maa—" Divit attempted to intervene, but Avanti interrupted, her tone curt and her eyes blazing with fury as she turned to Gayatri. "What my sister does or doesn't do has nothing to do with you."

Gayatri scoffed, her eyes filled with disbelief as she struggled to contain her anger. Did this generation truly believe that brushing things aside made them inconsequential? That everything would align with their wishes and demands? Did they believe that disregarding their culture and upbringing in the name of liberation made them right and proved their education?

Gayatri wondered if this brazenness and lack of basic understanding of life were the only offerings of this generation. A mix of sympathy and disdain flickered in her eyes. If breaking the chains of patriarchy meant being impulsive and lacking common sense, Gayatri questioned whether she had ever desired to break free from the societal norms that had bound her.

"So, you agree that your sister is wrong?"

Gayatri was testing her, unaware of the countless tests she was already put through without succumbing to her fate. Time hadn't made her bitter nor allowed venom to poison her heart because of the twisted events that had befallen her. She had accepted herself—her flaws and her mistakes—with squared shoulders and a raised chin. She wasn't a fairy living in a fairytale; she was a woman whose sky was painted black when it was meant to blush with pink.