An isolated fragment

Source: Google Images

This post has been selected as Spicy Saturday Pick this week!

Sneha entered her room and switched on the lights. She glanced around and smiled as she saw things were in the same place as she had left. Off late her mother had taken to spying on her. “Spying” just the thought of that word made her cringe. “How could she do this to me…. She needs to trust me!” she wondered as she dumped her school bag on the chair and switched on her computer. 

She logged into her mail box and saw 24 new mails in her inbox. She scrolled through them eagerly. “Finally…” she exclaimed when her eyes fell on one mail with the subject Hey. She opened it hurriedly and started reading.

Hey… hope everything is doing great with you. I have been missing you terribly and cannot wait for the next weekend to meet you! I know you have asked me not to call you hence I am just sending you this mail. Do reply by a mail or call me if possible before we meet…. Loads of love

She smiled as she re-read the mail again and felt,” It is so sweet of him to have written this mail especially after the way mom had behaved with him.” She was shocked to see her otherwise sweet and docile mom react the way she had on that day. Sneha remembered that day when she was talking to him on phone one evening and narrating one funny incident that had happened at the school. Suddenly her mom came stomping towards her and snatched the phone from her hands. She started yelling at him telling him to keep away from Sneha as he was not doing any good to her. Sneha was dumbstruck as she tried to understand what made her mom react like this. The more she argued the more angry her mom got and in the end this discussion led to Sneha being grounded at home for almost a week. Even remembering that incident made Sneha angrier! She shook her head and clicked on reply as she began typing a mail to him.

Hey… yup everything is good with me. Hope the same with you. I know mom freaked out that day I don’t know why and she has grounded me for the entire week as a punishment. I am really sorry for all that she said to you. It is really sweet of you to think of sending this mail to me even after all that. I thought you would stop talking to me.  :(

I don’t know why she is so angry on me for talking to you. She knows you so well since so many years. I wish I could make her understand or rather understand what she is thinking. I just don’t feel I am going to be in college next year. The way she treats me off late I could be very well in kindergarten.

BTW I hope you remember the gift I had asked you to get for me the next time we meet!! Will try to call you sometime soon before we meet next weekend.

Missing you a lot Da..

Just as Sneha was typing the last word she heard her mom scream behind her.” Sneha….!!..... what on earth do you think are you doing? How many times have I told you not to speak to him?”

Sneha was jolted by her sudden outburst. ‘Why don’t you understand Mom… I have told you I like talking to him… why should I stop doing that?’

‘Sneha how many times do we need to go through the same story again and again?’

‘As many number of times that I need to tell you that a piece of paper cannot change things for me!!’ saying this Sneha turned back to complete her mail:

Missing you a lot Dad.

Love

Sneha

She finished typing and clicked on send.

P.S: This is an isolated fragment of my imagination where one is trying to grab both the things but in the end is left empty handed. By narrating this piece I am not advocating for or against divorces. I totally respect the decisions that make two people take this step. I understand just the way people come together, fall in love and get married, the same way they fight, not get-along and decide to get divorced too. 

But I also understand that a child has to go through a lot sometimes for no fault of theirs. Having to choose between either of the parents is perhaps the harshest punishment that can be given to a child. Sometimes the parents themselves are hapless as they are also going through a lot themselves because of which they fail to notice what a child goes through because of their actions and reactions. Perhaps it’s nobody’s fault. Perhaps it’s everybody’s fault. As of now I thought from a child’s perspective and wrote this. Maybe sometime later will write from their perspective as well!