From Me To You: A Tale Untold

Santosh

13th April, 2019.

Dear Diary,

Today was a long day. With my parents, I went to the receive my sister-in-law, Meera and brand new niece- Naintara, at the SVP airport. The Abu Dhabi flight from Australia, was on schedule at 2:30 pm and they were outside in 30 minutes. My 6-month-old niece is so adorable. She is so tiny, soft, and is pink all over.  And she resembles her daddy and my brother, Sikander in so many ways! A miniature version of him. Do you remember the time when we—his siblings, used to tease Sikander? We used to tease him with "If you were a girl, you'd look so cute, Siku!" Lol. Thirty years down the line, his daughter made our wish come true.

Meera's family had also come to receive her and it was fun interacting with them. They are such sweet people which always makes it a pleasure to talk to them and have them around. Sometimes I feel I wish I had such nice in-laws. My life would have been so different. Raj and I would haven't fought so much then. Maybe not even got divorced. I'd have kids of my own. Okay, I'm going down a hole into the past. A past that has no relevance with my present or future. Does it help that I still care about Raj till today? I know I shouldn't and it's wrong, but then, maybe we were wrong or never meant to be.

The fact our divorce was the brain-child of my idiotic in-laws who never liked me in the first place, to be honest. It was on Raj's insistence and the fact he declared he'd marry only me or no one else that made them reconsider their decision and tolerate me. All they cared for was the 10 lakhs cash dowry and the presents I brought along with me. Not to mention the 3-lakh Maruti Fiat car which my daddy gave Raj as a wedding present. It was a prenuptial demand from my mother-in-law. Else they wouldn't solemnise the wedding date or bring along their pandit at the auspicious muhurat to match our janam-kundlis at the Swaminarayan Temple. I understood they were pressurising my parents to bow to their demands, and I asked my parents to call them out on their demands. Not buckle under pressure. But, like thousands of parents in India, they had dreams of getting their daughter married at the earliest. Never mind the fact she wasn't ready or didn't give her approval. But then who cares anyway? My parents ceded to their demands of everything they had listed as required. Just because Raj's family was affluent and had a high social standing in society.

I was ashamed at not being able to do nothing except protest and even that voice was drowned by our seemingly well-wishers. I was so inhibited. We were taught never to speak against the elders are talking, even if they were clearly making a terrible mistake.

Where were those well-wishers when my in-laws showed their true colours and assaulted me? Beat me up and threw me out of the house?  But-- Yawns loudly ... God, 1:30 am already! How time flies when I talk to you, Diary. You are the only one I'm true with.