Sunday Story: Some Time for Herself

It had been an otherwise slow night. The chime of the clock as it struck twelve broke the silence that enveloped the surroundings. Malvika was sitting on the dining table by the window, scribbling away in one of her many notebooks that lay on the table, interspersed with countless bills. She had been sitting there since 10 pm after everybody else had had dinner and dispersed to their respective rooms after calling it a night.

This had been Malvika's ritual for years now, ever since her father passed away following a sudden cardiac arrest, and she took over his role of being the bread-earner of the family; she was the eldest child, after all. Her mother had left them long ago when cancer silently took over her body and then took her away with itself. Though she had already started contributing since she started working, her father's sudden death meant that the entire responsibility of supporting the family and ensuring her siblings completed their education was now on her shoulders.

Like the responsible daughter she had always been, Malvika took over this role with as much sincerity and dedication. To ensure that her siblings never once felt the slightest inconvenience, she started taking up side projects whenever she could. The extra work did take its toll on her at times, but the well-being of her siblings gave her the strength to keep pushing forward.

Over these years, people around her—her friends, relatives, colleagues, siblings and other well-wishers—saw her grow; they saw her transform from the bubbly, adorable, and everybody's favourite "little" big girl to the extremely responsible, mature, and independent woman on whom everybody could count without any second thought; she was always there for everybody.

After spending more than three hours at it, Malvika was finally done with planning the finances for the coming month. Tired, but content, she got off the dining table and gathered all her things into a pile, ready to head to her bedroom to finally call it a night. On her way, she stopped by the window in the hall to glance outside. The full moon shone magnificently in the otherwise dark night sky, casting a blanket of white light across the street outside and the trees and houses that flanked it on both sides. The view immediately filled her with calm. It made her forget every problem that was on her mind and drew her mind back into the present, which otherwise was most of the time in the future.

It was not until her arms started to strain because of the huge pile of notebooks in her arms did she realise that she had been standing there all this while with that pile. She took one last look at the moon before resuming her journey to her bedroom. This time, instead of being filled with worries and plans for the future, her mind was filled with the beauty of the scene she had just witnessed outside.

That night, Malvika slept quite peacefully after a very long time and woke up the next morning feeling fresher than the rest of the days. The entire time she worked around the house, waking others up, getting breakfast ready, and doing other tasks that were part of her daily routine, she was happier and more energetic than usual. And it was manifestly noticeable by all. Nobody knew the reason behind it but were nonetheless happy that she was well that morning. Who would have guessed that one glance at the moon, one night with some time to herself doing nothing but appreciating the present would have had such an effect.

Liked this story? Here is another to put a smile on your face—Rekindled