Salma bit her lower lip as she looked for answers to her misery. Should she give her consent to marry Habid? A boy she had not even seen in real life. She had great dreams about her life partner. She wasn’t keen on the tall dark handsome thing, it felt like a farce to her. Her idea of a life partner was a friend, a soul mate who would respect her, encourage her and be the wind beneath her wings. For she had many a dream, but her orthodox parents had never let her live a day of her life as per her wishes.
Born in a conservative Muslim family, Salma’s life was enclosed in a veil- not just physically. She was allowed to study in a all girls college but she had to come straight home after school. She wasn’t allowed the liberties that her brothers enjoyed. Her mother’s primary focus in raising her was ensuring she sharpened her culinary skills. What better way to keep your husband and in laws happy?
Now that she had completed her graduation, they promptly started looking for a groom. Should I stay back with my dominating overbearing parents who don’t care for me or should I agree to this alliance and take the risk of marrying this stranger who might turn out to be a moron? Choosing the lesser of the 2 evils is what she decided.
Perhaps he may be a sensitive an sensible young man. After all he has studied in the best of universities.
But how wrong she was. Hamid’s only interest was food and sex.
After toiling in the kitchen from dawn to dusk dishing out something new each day, her tired body could not even rest as he would pounce upon her once her head touched the pillow. Love making felt like a dreadful task to her. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes, waiting for him to ejaculate. Thankfully it happened soon.
She then went into her blissful world of sleep and dreams where she pictured herself visiting exotic places, wearing a bikini, drinking a glass of wine and completing her studies.
Habid had a lot of money but was a miser when it came to doling it out to his wife. He however spent generously when it came to stocking up the kitchen and entertaining guests.
His cholesterol was already high with his sedentary lifestyle. His fat rich diet only added to the risk of heart disease. His doctor had already warned him that he was overweight and there was a risk of a heart attack. He had to cut down on his diet.
Salma had accompanied him to the doctor and after the checkup , Dr Shah gave a “everything’s NOT fine” look at her. He took her aside and told her “his test results are not good. The cholesterol has gone up. He is just 29. You need to cut all the meat and fried items from his diet. If this continues, I am sorry to say but he may not live for long.”
Salma looked at him with tearful eyes “No please don’t say that Doctor, I will try my best. Its just that he loves his ghosh (meat) and fried samosas so much and he keeps calling relatives and friends over. Its really difficult to stop him from eating when the table is full of his favorite dishes. But I will try, I promise.”
They returned home and she went to the kitchen to cook. I will make salad today she decided. As she added the vegetables and sprinkled some salt, she reached out for the olive oil bottle. The salad was ready.
Lunch was served.
Habid devoured the fried chicken and beef burger with extra cheese while she idly played with her salad.
(Image source https://www.hungrygowhere.com)
The doctor’s words were ringing in her ears “I am sorry to say he may not live for long”. How eagerly she was waiting for this day. What a sweet death this would be. Death due to overeating. She hated her mother but she would be thankful for the culinary skills her mother had passed on to her. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. The irony of this quote made her laugh.
“Have some halwa, you will love it” she told him , thinking of how she had emptied the ghee bottle this morning by pouring everything into the halwa. Probably this would be the best and last meal of his life.
I am participating in the Bar-a-thon Edition 3 and the prompt for today is “Lesser of the two evils”
Image source https://ru.depositphotos.com
hahhaha.. aks, your twists amazes me every time. brilliant take on the prompt. But somewhere in the corner of my heart, I applaud Salma for emptying the ghee bottle for the sweet venom. A deserving treat for Habid.
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You know, what you have written reflects the true plight of many Indian women. I am hopeful Salma’s plight would soon come to an end and she would be free to chase her dreams.
Here is my barathon Day 2 post
http://www.jaispoetryblog.com/2018/07/lesser-of-two-evils-commander-maritz.html
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Yes hopefully she is free soon
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ha ha ha sweet revenge is it.Loved the twist and the story
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Hamid deserves it. I really hope that Salma is free soon. Beautiful take on the prompt.
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Thx Sonia hope she is free
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Killing with calories ! Fantastic . Really some people are so obsessed with what they eat that they deserved to die.
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lol in this case he certainly does
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So much craving for freedom. I feel a bit bad for her
#Barathon Day 2: Lesser of the Two Evils
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It’s sad but her whole life has been sad. That’s why she craves to be free
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I liked the story, Akshata. I know of a couple of real life Salmas too. Sadly, they still aren’t out of their plights yet.
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Thanks Varad.. but did the real life Salmas come up with such devious plans? 😀
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Whoa! A brilliant take on the prompt. Now this is why they say revenge is best served cold! Well done, Aksh. 😀
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Indeed chilling cold!
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That is so sadistic Aks! Your devilish mind plotted to kill that a**h*** in such a yummy manner. Hands down tribute to you.
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Haha indeed devilish when it comes to putting murder of useless husbands!
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Oh serves him right and what a way to conjure up her freedom- brilliantly done Aks. Love your take on mixing a realist issue with fiction and providing us with an extremely entertaining read.
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Thx so much Shalz! Loved how you summarised it!
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And it is not just a Salma who faces this plight; but a Radha and a Cheryl as well. As you said, the veils need not be physical. And they are present in every community. A bitter truth of life.
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Thats so true Sunita! As savage as it may sound glad she’s not taking it head down
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I like it!! That is a sweet revenge. Serves him right. Excellent Akshata.
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Thx Aesha! So glad you liked it
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Haha….lovely read. Good for Salma, her clever brain’s working right!
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Lol! Thanks
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wow, what an interesting twisted meaning of the cliche. A way to a man’s heart (attack( is through his stomach. At least this version has loads of correlation studies to back it up 😉
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The pic at the beginning was so inviting! Akshata I spent a good time in checking it out again and again. And then came the story…as spicy, tasty as the pic. You served a great twist as desert. Couldnt ask for more!!!
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Lol meant to trap the food lovers!
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Hahahaha….what a delightful tale! Superb take on the prompt….You are on a roll where your imagination is concerned, Akshata! This one is very clever..from the title to the narrative. Love love love!
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You are very generous Tina thx a ton
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This was sinister Akshata. What imagination. Loved it!!!
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Haha Thx Meha! I am becoming more wicked day by day
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So clever but quite sinister. Enjoyed this.
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Thx so much Suzy
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What a devil she is but I would want every woman in her place to be like her.
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Yes Vidhi sometimes one has no choice but to think about themselves
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Wow,rightly served.
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Thanks!
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