A Place To Belong

And how Suman had found it.

- Ashwina Garg

Suman tried to block out what Vishal was saying. A small childish part of her hoped that if she hadn't heard it, it couldn't happen. She needed a moment to rein in her chaotic emotions, so she rushed into the kitchen, pretending that the vegetable curry simmering on the stove needed a stir. She checked on the rice as hot, fresh tears began to moisten her cheeks. She wished they would be done with dinner quickly.

There was nothing she wanted more than to go to sleep and wake up in the morning to realise that everything that Vishal had said was a bad dream.

Vishal was too excited about his news to notice Suman's despondency. He followed her into the kitchen, enumerating the advantages of moving to Indore. "This promotion is going to be a great opportunity, Sumi. I will leave next month and then you, aai, baba, Anusha and Aarav can come in April when the kids are done with school. There's no need for all of us to rush there together," he walked up to her and put an arm around her waist. "You take your time. You can slowly wind up things here and join me later."

Suman felt like screaming. She hated it when he used affection to manipulate her. Wind up, he had said. He made it all sound so easy. Those two little words could never describe the agony of moving to another city. The anxiety of getting the children admitted to a good school, the stress of packing and unpacking, the pain of resigning from her own job. Could all these be described as winding up? And those were just some of the big jobs.