Insecurities - part 2 (Chapter : Mekha's story)

This story started here

Mekha is the girl with the cigarette. Her substance abuse can be hard to comprehend when both the girls could barely manage their meals and save themselves from being abused now and then. It was in the wild, no parent, no guardian, just the two of them.

Mekha once had all of that. She had her loving father, a caring mother and a brother. Everything was perfect until it fell apart. She heard her parents fight some nights but it often ended in her dad storming out the door and slow sobs of her mother. It was the last few months of her memory. The fights had increased and she and her brother often clung onto one another praying to the idol in front of them to make things fine. It would mostly be good in the morning, at least things would look normal. Father would hug her tight and ask her her math questions before dropping her to school while her little brother played in her mother's lap. It didn't look like it would crumble ever or maybe Mekha never accepted what she could see unless the cracks had given way to the separation.

One day after school, when Mekha returned home, she found uncle Todd at home. Her mother said he was there because she had fallen sick. Mekha was very worried after she heard that. She knew her father was away to the refugee camp, saving a few more lives. After that, she often saw uncle Todd. And after a few weeks, her father comes back. The whole family gets together for their cultural festivity 'The Durga Puja' at their cultural home. This was her favourite place and time of the year. Three generations got together and her great grandmother (didama) lovingly pampered her here. But this time her heart wasn't as happy, her brother kept crying all through the day. She saw her little family and uncle Todd sitting in the red floored open room. It was conventional for adults to gather her for serious discussions often related to the money investments for the customaries and children weren't allowed. Mekha has a secret hiding place behind the field door and had been hearing it since 4 years. She was there this time too and she clearly heard

'I am tired of trying....I have given him 2 years and now it is not working. We've decided to take a break. So you don't have false hopes, I also wanted to say, I feel differently about Todayityo (Todd) now and we might take our relation forward' stated her mother. Mekha went stone cold. She didn't know what that meant.......worse, she didn't want to find out. So she shut her eyes and closed her brother's ears.

She remembered, whenever she was angry, her parents always came one after another to persuade her. She never softened with any one's love. So it occurred to her little brain that this might be what would change her mother's mind. So she tuck her brother in his bed and rushed out of the main door in the room.

'Kothai jachis (where are you going) ?', said a feeble father's voice and it faded.....

She had walked for some time, certain she would be followed by her father and mother and her brain switched between the fights, uncle Todd and their loving moments. And finally, she looked back....they weren't there. Nobody had followed her and she didn't know her way back to the broken family.