Gopi's head was filled with negative thoughts. It was time to get started studying with her husband, Ahem, but she knew that when she'd enter the room, his face would be hard, masked, unloving. Though she worshipped him like a god, Ahem she knew would never return the love that she showered on him.
She took a deep breath, opened the door, and prepared to make a grand entrance. But all she could do was timidly drape her sari over her head and sit on the floor, her bed, while Ahem sat cross-legged with his laptop on the real bed at Gopi's head.
"Did you learn something at school today?" he asked, looking her straight in the eyes. How Gopi loved those eyes'shining maliciously. They were so delicious.
Instead of voicing her thoughts, she looked down, not daring to meet his glare. "Y-yes, Ahem ji," she stuttered, wishing she had more courage to speak with more robust.
Ahem looked like he was going to roll his eyes'did he really feel that shameful to acknowledge Gopi as his wife? Gopi did understand that he hated her because of her lack of education and sheer stupidity at times. Even Gopi was starting to feel that Rashi may have been taking advantage of her and she had been helping the girl more than she was supposed to.
"Then show me what you learned. Don't make mistakes," he added strictly, breaking Gopi's thoughts. She nodded quickly and whipped out her pencil and notebook, slowly copying the characters she learned while saying them out loud for Ahem to hear.
When she handed him the notebook, he looked over it in a matter of seconds and handed it back to her with no expression of approval. "Copy all of them ten times into your notebook." Ten times?! What did Ahem think she was, a robot? Gopi didn't know much math yet, but she knew that copying ten sentences ten times each would tire her hand and disable her to do any chores the next day.
But Gopi knew that arguing with Ahem ji would prove to be dangerous, so she only silently nodded and began the tedious task. It took her two hours to finish what she had begun, and she looked at the clock before giving her notebook to her husband for him to check her work. It was one in the morning. Gopi yawned, her eyes nearly closing on her but she shook herself awake and blinked several times. She must stay awake to please Ahem.
He looked over her work and failed to find a single mistake, which made him almost'mad in a way. He slammed her notebook onto her hands just as she was getting ready to drift into a fitful sleep.
"Are you mad? It's only one o'clock. Come on, write the sentences I tell you."
"Ahem ji, I'm tired," Gopi forced herself to say, and then immediately regretted it when she saw his furious reaction.
"Gopi, you will do exactly as I tell you. Now shut that mouth of yours and do exactly what I say."
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Sorry, Ahem ji, I will do as you say." She took her notebook, opened to a new page, and held her pencil ready, constantly thinking thoughts that would keep her awake.
He nodded once. "My name is Gopi."
Gopi nearly giggled, as the phrase sounded funny coming from her husband. But she kept her mouth closed and willingly wrote the sentence, flawlessly, in her notebook.
"I am fifty years old."
She gasped, hiding a smile. "Ahem ji, have you really forgotten my age?"
He shook his head and she knew that he was stifling a grin. "No. Just write it."
Again Gopi gave in and wrote the sentence without any mistakes.
"I live in India."
Gopi wrote the sentence.
And on and on the pattern went; Ahem gave her a sentence, and Gopi wrote it quickly and well into her notebook. He pressed on and on and soon the sentences were getting very difficult for Gopi. She tried her hardest but kept getting stuck and making more and more mistakes, and the mistakes were making Ahem very angry.
"Can't you do it right, you fool?" he snapped, glaring at her. It was now four-thirty. If Gopi's head had touched her pillow once, she would have fallen asleep. She felt the tears start to come. Maybe it was because she was working too hard, maybe it was because of the lack of sleep'but she couldn't stand Ahem's rude commentary anymore.
All the emotions that she'd been holding in since the first day she got married to him came tumbling out of her like an angry bird.
"Ahem," she said in a quiet but definitive voice, standing up in front of him. He was still sitting on the bed, so she looked much taller. The expression on her face, she knew, made her look like she was boss.
"I'm sick and tired of this. I really do want to get educated and I love learning new things but what you're asking me to do here is impossible. I will not stay awake all night, wasting my sleep and my health just so you can watch me make mistakes in horribly difficult sentences and laugh evilly." Her voice was getting louder and louder with each sentence, and by this time she was yelling. "Who do you think you are, making me to things that I can't even do and then being rude as hell? Are you stupid, or do you just not know that I've been in school for what, TWO WEEKS?" Gopi's face was burning. "All this time you've never uttered a single good word to me even though I try my hardest and just sit there with your face as hard as rock and emotionless and'and'" she sniffled, blinking her tears back. "Rashi's always trying to take advantage of me and people put the blame on me just because I sit around stupidly all day and don't utter a single word even though it's always been inside me." The tears were rushing down her face and she didn't even bother to hide them. "Ma ji didn't think I could do anything and wanted to take me out of school, and so I thank you! I thank you for talking to the principal and giving me a second chance because you listened to me that night! And I thank you immensely for taking the time to teach me all this but Ahem ji, don't overdo it! I need sleep'and so'do'YOU!" With these words, she pointed straight at him with a defensive, stubborn and menacing look.
Ahem's mouth was hanging open. He only stared at Gopi's red eyes, which were usually calm and a pleasant brown. She knew he'd never expected her to have an outburst like this, and she was ashamed of herself for erupting as she had. She wished none of the words that had escaped her mouth had ever heard her husband's ears.
"I'm sorry, Ahem ji, I'm sorry, I'll never say such things again'" Overwhelmed, she fell to the floor, crying. She knew she'd be kicked out of the house now, hated forever and by everyone. She was supposed to be Gopi the Ideal Housewife, but now she wasn't even that much anymore.
Instead of hearing words of rage, she felt arms come around her. Ahem held her and rocked her back and forth while she cried, murmuring, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I was such a horrible husband." When she'd emptied her eyes, she turned to him. "It's my fault, Ahem. I should not have said such things."
He looked down for the first time. "Gopi, it's not true. Of course you can be annoying at times, but isn't that a quality that everyone possesses? I'm very sorry I've been such a bad husband. I completely understand what you were trying to say and you made me realize it."
Gopi gave him a slight smile, and he looked at her.
"What?" he asked, giving her a small laugh.
"Does this mean I can go to bed now?" He nodded, and she started settling down in bed.
"Wait. Gopi." Gopi looked at him in surprise as he reached a hand out to her. "Don't sleep down there," he said softly. "Come sleep where you're supposed to."
Gopi couldn't help it'the tears started flowing again, but this time they were of a different emotion. She smiled, jubilant, and climbed up onto Ahem's ' and now her ' bed. She finally felt like she had a husband now, not just a cigarette butt as a spouse.
Strong emotions overtook her, and she couldn't help it'she took a startled Ahem's face in her hands and kissed him right on the lips. In response, he only put his arms around her.
Gopi couldn't sleep that night.
~
Yeaah, yeah, yeaaahhh, I know, people usually don't kiss in Hindi TV shows but I'm used to US media, so...that's how my thoughts come out. LOL.
Sorry if I can't update soon...high school takes away most of my life.
Comment and tell me how it was? :)
