Sunday Story: Eye-opener

Shalvi dropped down to the floor, dumbfounded. She was yet to process what had just happened a couple of moments ago. The silence that had just fallen was welcome after the poisonous diatribe that had just passed. Her mind was not ready to believe that whatever happened was real—the love of her life, her dear husband, had just walked out on her, saying that marrying her was the biggest mistake he had ever committed.

Shalvi considered herself the luckiest woman in the world, as did her friends and family. She had been happily married for the past five years, living a life that some envied and many dreamt of having—a loving husband, a perfect family, a comfortable home, and a secured future—she had it all. Nothing could ever go wrong, she thought, and she had been right for the past five years, until the day before.

Shalvi came from a financially and societally weaker background; she was the first person in five generations of her family to receive a formal education, go live in the city, and have a proper job. Though exceptional at everything else that she did, she was still not entirely used to the ways of the city. This drawback had never bothered her much, though, nor did it affect any of her relationships.

Her husband had always been supportive and encouraging since the first day the two met. He loved her for who she was as a person. Her skills and personality overshadowed any drawbacks that her background may have tried to impose. Ever since he interacted with her, he had decided that Shalvi was the woman that he wanted to marry.

He received resistance from his peers and family, but he did not budge, and ultimately the two of them got married. The first year or so seemed like a dream come true, happily ever after. They were living the life that many envisioned and dreamt of having. With time, however, the differences that they had in their core and had been dormant all this while started returning to the surface.

The two started having frequent fights, even for the most trivial matters. At first, it used to be once or twice a month; the frequency then increased to a couple of times a week, but as time passed, the situation reached a stage where they were fighting almost every single day. With every fight, the words became more and more bitter, and the name-calling increased. However, the worst was yet to come.

Shalvi’s husband started bringing up her background—how it affected his “image” in society and how he did her a favour by still agreeing to marry her despite it. Every time he spoke, he spewed poison. And it only became more and more venomous with every succeeding fight.

He hit the final nail in the coffin during the fight the two had the previous night. Filled with disgust to the brim, he snapped at Shalvi, telling her that marrying her was the worst decision he had ever made in his life so far, and how she had tricked him into falling for her and marrying her so that she could take advantage of his wealth.

Before Shalvi could process what had just passed and react, her husband was already at the door, with his bags packed, leaving, as he muttered about his “foolishness” for not having listened to his “well-wishers” when he should have. And with that, he slammed the door shut on his way out.

At first, it felt like all hell had broken loose. Shalvi dropped to the floor, and her mind went numb. But as she gathered her senses, it also seemed to have opened her eyes to everything in her “seemingly” perfect marriage that she was choosing to ignore.

Liked this story? Here is another one to pass the time as you commute—The Harsh Reality