Chapter 8 Part III-3

One day, I asked Sister Sandia why my husband didn't like me to visit Sister Shastia.She said, "You won't understand." But when I got to the bottom of the matter, she said, "Don't you see that they're all married but don't live with their husbands?" "But because of this, do they become bad people?" I asked. "Listen, I'll tell you about them. When Shashiti's sister got married, she asked her husband if her mother could live with them, and her husband agreed. Not long after, Shashiti and her sister went to see her sister. Brother-in-law, and lived in their house. The brother-in-law called his mother-in-law Mom, and treated the two sister-in-laws like sisters. He arranged the marriage of the two sister-in-laws. However, the third sister could not live in the new home.

"After the death of her husband's elder brother, the elder sister found it very hard to carry the burden of two families, and her husband had an improper relationship with the widowed elder sister-in-law, which troubled her. She tried to reason, but it was in vain. In the end , She returned to her natal family and never left after that. "As for Shashiti himself, er, her husband remarried because his first wife passed away and he wanted to find someone to take care of his son. But soon after they got married, he left home, saying that he was going out to work, and he would Come back. She wrote several letters to him, and he would reply from time to time. One day, he came back and stayed with her at home for nearly a year. Then, he sent her to her mother’s house again, saying that he would pick her up soon. Sha Shi Ti was pregnant at the time. He never came back."

That's the story. What I can't understand is, what's wrong with the sisters?I knew that my husband didn't like me going to their house, so I went to see them while he was away, but I couldn't hide it from my husband.Why shouldn't I go?I don't think they are wrong, they are very good to me and the children. Both Shasti and her mother are believers, and Shasti is often possessed by Devis.I used to think how could Devi be a bad person if she could get inside her?One afternoon, I was staying at their house when my husband came home suddenly.Shashiti's mother said, "Shankar is back! Hurry up, go home!" I was so frightened that I picked up the child and rushed home.When my husband saw me, without saying a word, he grabbed my hair roughly, kicked and hit me.Then he started cursing loudly, "You bitch, I told you not to go there and you just wouldn't listen." Curses and fists rained down on me.Someone passed by on the road and could see what was going on, but no one came to stop it.In fact, some people seemed to enjoy watching the spectacle.I lay peacefully on the ground, and the child was so frightened that he cried loudly.But none of these can stop me from seeing the Three Sisters of Shastia.

It was hard for me to understand that the neighbors could say anything about the three sisters.They claim that men have visited them, but I wonder, so what?After all, there are women who go to see them.I don't want to think badly about them.They are women, like me, and as a woman, it is impossible, and never will be, to see other women in this way. A community leader named Pratap often visited them, but people's respect for him has never changed because of this incident.It is always women who are treated differently.I've often wondered why this is happening, but somehow just can't.Maybe they see me that way too.In fact, most people spend their minds on who eloped with whom, whose daughter ran away with whom, whose wife was seen talking to whom, and so on.Most people are narrow-minded and don't see good in others.It makes me sad because it seems to me that if everyone wants to do what they want, why should anyone else be against it?

Living in such a place, meeting a man like Aijiet is also inevitable.He lives across the road and calls me sister-in-law.He was straightforward and had a great time with everyone.He used to play with my son and buy him candy and small toys in the store.But it all started to go too far, and I soon realized what he was trying to do.I once told him that we should keep our distance, or we will be gossiped by others.But he said he didn't care, he could do whatever he wanted.The more I didn't talk to him, the more he chased me.I was really worried that my husband would misunderstand and take it all on me.I began to keep an eye on his whereabouts: as soon as I knew he was coming to my house, I would visit the neighbors across the street.But he's smarter than I thought.He'd hang around until he figured out where I was, and popped up in front of me out of the blue.Although it was not my fault, I became a bad woman in the eyes of the neighbors, and he was safe and sound.

My husband hits me now and then and I have asked him why he hit me and not the man who was harassing me.After all, he used to be my husband's friend and visited him often.Finally, I decided that I would never be silent again, and when my husband scolded me, I started talking back.We were screaming and screaming all night and all night.I hate his talking, I hate being beaten, I really want to pack up my things and run away.A few times, I just told him that and ran to Dad's house.However, after two or three days, my father sent me back again. One day Papa saw Edgeett hanging around our house and called him over and asked, "What do you think, boy? What are you doing here? Don't you see how much the poor girl gets beaten for you?"

"But her husband used to beat her too. Why do you say she was beaten because of me?" "Yes, I know that, boy. Maybe it's neither your fault nor hers. Maybe it's fate. I didn't know son of a bitch Shankar would be such a virtue. We met for the first time He seemed blunt at the time. But listen to me, boy, stay away from her." Hearing this, Edgeett walked away. Some neighbors talked to Edget's father and gently told him to keep his son away from us.The situation improved a bit, but after a few days, Edgeett revealed his true colors again.I had to dodge his shadow and walk in the opposite direction when I saw him, but he always found a chance to catch me and start harassing me.Sometimes, when I got really annoyed, I would yell at him, badly, and even his parents, but it didn't help.

One day, Shashiti and her mother called Ajit to their home and asked him why he was pestering me like this. "Didn't you see," they said, "how many beatings she got because of you?" "You can't imagine," he told them, "how much I love her." "But she's married and has kids." "So what?" he said, "I still love her." The next day, Shashiti told me these words.I said, "I see. He said he loves me. To him, that's love, right? He can see me being beaten because of him, and think it's normal? Is that love? Does he understand? What is love? I hate him, I hate him so much that I want to spit on him! Shashiti, please tell him: I don’t even want to see his shadow!"

However, instead of giving up, he became more persistent.Everyone tried to communicate with him, but he refused to back down a step.Some even took it as their own business and beat him up.However, the result of making things big is that everything is public, and even those who knew nothing before are now familiar with the inside story.They started arguing over who was primarily responsible, me or Ajette.Some of the mistakes are on the woman's side, and some are on the man's side.The whole thing became an out-and-out farce. There was a lot of noise and I locked myself in the house, crying against the wall.I started thinking maybe I was wrong too, maybe the whole thing was my fault.I know everyone is talking gossip, and now I'm hesitant to even leave the house because I don't know how to deal with them.However, without a doubt, I don't have a choice.I have to step out of the house, and there are many chores to do.I kept telling myself that if I go on like this, I might as well just walk away.While thinking this way, while dawdling.My son is three years old and I am four months pregnant.Raising a child in this environment is already difficult, let alone raising another.

One day, the local boys went door-to-door to ask for money, scraped together a few rupees, and bought a DVD to watch.I saw that everyone had given them money, so I gave them a little too.I used to love watching movies and Gatlass.So, I finished the housework very early that day.When my husband got home, I asked him if he wanted to bring out his meal, but he said he wasn't hungry.He didn't want to eat all the time, and the time passed by.So, I let him eat again and told him that I wanted to go to the movies.He said there was no need to see it.I asked why.After all, the neighbor will go, if he agrees, I can go back early.I don't see what's wrong with that, but he just won't.I was so annoyed that I yelled at him, everything, without thinking.However, I couldn't go to the movies.

The next morning, the girls were all talking about how good the movie was.A girl asked me why I didn't go.Annoyed and sad, I asked myself, what have I done to deserve this?Why is there no joy in my life?I think those families where the husband and wife get along well must be happy and beautiful.Could it be that my whole life is going to go on this endless path of suffering?However, God didn't seem to hear my heart at all. Edget reappeared out of nowhere, wandering around my house.As soon as I saw him, I ran into the house.Then one day, when I was fetching water, he appeared in front of me again.That day, my husband saw him too.When I went in to put the bucket down, my husband said, "Were you talking to him just now?" "No. Do you really think people stop because of me? He's just passing there, and so are other people. Why does this bother me so much? What will the neighbors say if you're so suspicious of me? " One day, Shashiti's mother asked me to go to their house.I got there only to find out my husband was following me.Without saying a word, he picked up a stone from the ground and threw it on my head.There was a gash on my forehead, and blood gushed out all of a sudden.I stood there, motionless.Shashiti's mother began to curse: "Which eye of yours saw a man standing here talking to her? Why did you beat her like this?" She yelled, "There are all women here, she is just a thin Girl, you broke her head before she even arrived!" Then, she turned to me and said, "I don't know how you can bear to live with this kind of man, if someone else would have dumped him long ago .” I hugged the baby and went home without saying a word.I just asked my husband one question: what on earth did I do to beat me like this.Before he finished speaking, he picked up a strong wooden stick and swung it towards my back.After a while, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.At night, the pain was unbearable, and he lay down crying for his mother.My stomach hurts, I can't sit, I can't stand, I can't do anything.I struggled, howled, and stayed up all night. My husband just slept and didn't care about me.It is impossible for him not to hear my cries, but to ignore me.I yelled that I was going to die but he didn't respond at all.I begged him to call someone.I told him that childbirth was not as painful as it is now, but he just said, "Who can I call when it's so late?" and turned back to sleep. In the end, I took the child, hugged my stomach tightly, endured the pain, and ran to Mahadev's house opposite, crying, and asked him if he could inform my brother.I kept pleading with him that I was in so much pain that if he didn't go, I couldn't live. "But I don't even know where your brother's house is," he said. "Take my son with him, he knows how to go." So the poor man took my son by the hand and went to my brother.He told his brother that I had a terrible stomachache and told him to rush to my house immediately. "What is Shankar doing?" asked the brother. "What do you think?" he answered. "He's sleeping." My brother came, put me in a bag, and took me away.It was two in the morning.No pharmacy will be open at this time.We searched all over Dagapo but couldn't find a single doctor.So my brother took me to his house and told me to lie down.My sister-in-law started to massage my stomach with essential oils, but it didn't work.I was in so much pain that I wanted to beat everyone around me, not knowing what to do.The poor sister-in-law ran from house to house in the middle of the night and finally found some medicine.The meds were supposed to reduce the pain, but they still didn't work for me.Then my brother brought home a friend he called Sassi.He rubbed my belly here and there, then walked outside with my brother.After a while, my brother called his sister-in-law out too.When she came back, she asked me when I last had my period and I told her it was four months ago.She asked me if I had ever fallen or been hurt anywhere.I told her that my husband beat me yesterday, and after that, my stomach hurt badly.The sister-in-law said: "You are pregnant, but the baby cannot be kept. Brother Saxi will give you some medicine, and it will be effective in about five minutes." However, five minutes passed, fifteen minutes passed, and the medicine I took had no effect at all.Sassi began to worry.He asked my brother to take me to the hospital as soon as possible. "We can't save her," he said, "if you don't take her to the hospital, she will die." My brother also panicked, and immediately packed up his things and took me to the hospital.My sister-in-law helped me sit up.Suddenly, I felt something slip out of my body, and I was dizzy with fright.My brother also opened his eyes wide in fright.Moreover, I found that I couldn't make a sound, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't speak, I could only groan in pain.I saw my brother and sister-in-law standing by my bed, and I heard Brother Sassi say to them, "This is the end, take her to another bed." He turned to my sister-in-law and asked her to prepare some hot tea for me.He asked me how I was feeling.I couldn't speak, but I tried my best, opened my eyes with great effort, wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a word.They carried me to another bed.My brother and Sassi cleaned up the filth that was coming out of me and threw it into the woods.The next day, my sister-in-law got up early in the morning to wash the dirty and blood-stained sheets by the pond.I also reluctantly went with her.I am very weak physically, but I know that there are some things I have to do by myself.I waited for her to bring the water up from the well, then laboriously washed the sheets. The whole day passed like this.The husband didn't show up at all.At about five o'clock in the evening, he sent his son over to ask me how I was doing.My son saw me and said, "Mom, go home." My husband didn't look for me, but my son ran a long way to see his mother. How ironic!After the neighbors heard about it, they also started to talk about it.They blamed my husband for sending our son so late.Everything is fine now, but what if I died last night?My sister-in-law told me that my father-in-law was here and suggested that I go home and meet him.When I got home, I found that my father-in-law was here to take me back to attend the wedding.