Maya held the bunch of yellow tulips and took in the fragrance. This was the only constant thing in her insane life which shifted gears every other day. 5 years of marital bliss, being as much in love with her man, at the pinnacle of her career, what else did she need? A barren womb is what made her otherwise beautiful life dull and colorless. They had been trying to conceive for 3 years but she had not gotten pregnant.
Nothing is wrong with the two of you, give it time is what the doctors told them. Fingers were pointed at her, “effects of a sedentary lifestyle and taking the pill, all because you were not ready to embrace motherhood”. She endured them for she had started feeling it’s her fault. Over time, like those tulips which had withered away, she had started to wither. Her job, reading, photography- nothing excited her anymore.
The day she overheard her MIL talk about getting her son remarried to a fertile girl who could bear them the family heir, something snapped in her.
The constant struggle to become a mother was more of an attempt to prove to the world that she was not barren, she realized she was losing herself in the midst of this mindless battle. She needed time, to get away and refocus on other things. When the time was right and she was ready to be a mother, she would become one. A child not born of her womb would nevertheless be her child, she would be no less of a mother if she did not give birth.
With that she signed up for the year long assignment in Zurich. She hoped Rohan would understand. As she stood at the airport,the yellow tulips from him were with her today. Their fragrance made her smile, she promised to nurture them, they symbolized her once battered soul which was now slowly recuperating.
Image courtesy: Teloflora
((This post has been written for the second edition of BAR-A-THON, the fortnight-long blogging marathon for bloggers everywhere! My theme is “7 colours of the rainbow ROYGBIV”. I present a Flash Fiction in 300 words based on one colour for each day of the challenge and blend it with something that personifies that colour))
It is a lovely story Akshata..in our society who put too much emphasis on becoming a mother..I have friends who are going through painful IVF to conceive..however the essence of motherhood is not in giving birth but in raising the child…great post.
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Thanks a ton Balika! The pressure is immense and more on women to marry, have kids and be the perfect mom. These labels need to be done away with and the change can only come from us women
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Marriage and kids have got nothing to do with perfection..however our society doesn’t seem to understand..Good that you took up this issue.
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I love the hope at the end of your story. And I like that her husband is with her.
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Thanks Tulika! True the support of a loved one makes the journey easier
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One needs support during this time, not constant finger pointing. Our society needs to grow up. Adoption is another way to feel the beauty of motherhood. Loved this empowering story.
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Thanks Rajlakshmi! The pressure on women is immense and hopefully we be the change we want to see
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Great story! You have handled an important topic that is still equated with a lady being a complete woman for the society.
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Thanks Neha! I hope we can change this perception over time
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Time mindsets changed and embraced people for what they are. Too much importance to societal thinking does impact one’s life. Loved that the story embraced a positive step to move on ahead despite the apparent setback.
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Thanks Kala! Be the change you want to see – that should be everyone’s motto in life
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How would her MIL know that the girl she intended to marry off her is fertile? why doesn’t society point fingers at a man in the absence of a child in a marriage? this thought provoking post raises a host of questions. very well written.
http://ideasolsi65.blogspot.in/2017/06/of-ice-and-men.html
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Thanks Kalpana! The fingers always point against the woman whereas the truth may be the man is impotent. A long way to go to bring about change in our society
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Good point. But their standard reply would be along the lines of of ‘I’m a mother of x children. I became pregnant at y age. I know.’ Now that would be a lose-lose argument to get into.
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It’s time to defy their age old beliefs though than let them affect us and bow down
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Such an innovative theme, Akshata and your story was truly the cheery yellow of hope. My 1st visit to your blog, and I loved reading you . Keep writing 🙂
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Thanks so much Mayuri for the cheer sweet words. So glad that you visited and liked my blog. Do hope we can have a long association
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I am so glad to hear that she owned up her choices and decided for herself what to do!! Nice one Aks
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It’s sad that we are in 2017, and we have to still deal with such regressive attitudes. But I loved the way you have shared a glimpse of the unfortunate reality, and yet ended it on a positive note.
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