Mugdhaa Ranade
At dawn, Kaveri’s lovebirds begin singing. At dawn, when Kaveri’s lovebirds begin singing, Kaveri, afraid of her snoring husband’s wrath, slips out of bed, and tip-toes to the kitchen to fetch flaxseed. At dawn, when Kaveri, afraid of her snoring husband’s wrath, slips out of bed and tip-toes to the kitchen to fetch flaxseed, the tiny bells on Kaveri’s silver anklets jingle merrily. At dawn, when the tiny bells on Kaveri’s silver anklets jingle merrily, Kaveri bristles. At dawn, when Kaveri bristles, she thinks about the history of the silver anklets. At dawn, when Kaveri thinks about the history of the silver anklets, she remembers how her mother-in-law told her they were a family heirloom and gifted them to her. At dawn, when Kaveri remembers how her mother-in-law told her they were a family heirloom and gifted them to her, the instructions the silver anklets came with echo in her mind. At dawn, when the instructions the silver anklets came with echo in her mind, Kaveri mumbles the words to herself, “Treasure them more than your life, but less than my son’s.” At dawn, when Kaveri mumbles the words to herself, “Treasure them more than your life, but less than my son’s,” she adds, “Birth a son within a year, and pass them on to your future daughter-in-law.” At dawn, when Kaveri adds, “Birth a son within a year, and pass them on to your future daughter-in-law,” Kaveri feels rage welling inside her caged heart. At dawn, when Kaveri feels rage welling inside her caged heart, she wishes she could kill her husband. At dawn, when Kaveri wishes she could kill her husband, Kaveri’s trembling hand reaches for the knife. At dawn, when Kaveri’s trembling hand reaches for the knife, Kaveri imagines slitting her husband’s throat. At dawn, when Kaveri imagines slitting her husband’s throat, she savors the thought of killing him in bed as he confesses to loving the jingling of the anklets when he throws her legs over his shoulders to take her roughly. At dawn, when Kaveri savors the thought of killing him in bed as he confesses to loving the jingling of the anklets when he throws her legs over his shoulders to take her roughly, her husband bellows, “Make your stupid birds shut up or else I’ll wring their necks!” At dawn, when Kaveri’s husband bellows, “Make your stupid birds shut up or else I’ll wring their necks!” Kaveri snatches her hand back. At dawn, when Kaveri snatches her hand back, she accidentally knocks over the glass jar full of flaxseed. At dawn, when Kaveri accidentally knocks over the glass jar full of flaxseed, the shards of glass hurt Kaveri’s bare feet. At dawn, when the shards of glass hurt Kaveri’s bare feet, Kaveri bites down on her lower lip from screaming out in pain. At dawn, when Kaveri bites down on her lower lip from screaming out in pain, she hears her husband loudly cursing as he stomps over to her. At dawn, when Kaveri hears her husband loudly cursing as he stomps over to her, she quickly bends down to pull the biggest shard of glass out of her bleeding foot. At dawn, when Kaveri quickly bends down to pull the biggest shard of glass out of her bleeding foot, she waits for her husband to pull her up by her hair. At dawn, as Kaveri waits for her husband to pull her up by her hair, she clutches the shard of glass in her hand. At dawn, Kaveri clutches the shard of glass in her hand.
#
Mugdhaa Ranade wakes up everyday hoping to find dry leaves to crunch underfoot, and stray cats to pet. She can be found in person in Mumbai, India, and online on Twitter @swxchhxnd.