Chapter 4: Worlds Collide

In the morning, I wake up feeling really weird. It suddenly intensifies while having breakfast. I run to the nearest basin where I puke.

When I lift my head from the basin, I see Mom looking at me with alarm. Her eyes suddenly drop down to my chest. Suddenly the blood from her face drains out.

Fuck No! No! No!

I am just sick!

I scream into my head.

“We have to go to the hospital!”, she tells Dad.

“It’s nothing. She might have some stomach...”, Dad starts to say but Mom shouts “Now!”.

The look on Mom’s face settles it. I look at my uncle who has his devilish smile, like he knows something. Dad and Mom get ready in a hurry. I do too.

Even my uncle knows.

No! I am just sick.

Uncle accompanies us. Mom doesn’t let us go to the nearest hospital, she asks my father to drive to the hospital three towns over.

Dad looks horrified but Mom doesn’t bulge. So we sit for hours in the car.

Before a doctor meets me, Mom goes in. I go in after a few minutes. The doctor asks me some generic questions, like if I have eaten from outside recently, when did I start feeling like this and stuff like that. Then I am asked to give a blood sample.

By this time even Dad is looking grave. Uncle is pretending to look serious, he gives me a villainous smile every time my parents are not looking.

Please, God! Everyone in heaven, please let me be sick.

But I know what is happening. I have known for a month. I have locked it in a box and kept it in a dark corner of my brain. I have forced myself to believe it doesn’t exist. Somehow I had made myself believe if I didn’t think about it, it’s not real, it is not happening.

Now the box is whispering. I try not to hear it but surrounded by grave-looking mom and dad, in a lighted hospital it’s impossible to ignore it.

“No period since two months”

My worlds are colliding and breaking apart. Darkness is filling in.

I start crying. They ignore me. Nobody wants to say anything.

The report comes. In a hurry, Dad looks at it and then turns his face towards me.

His face is covered in pure rage. His eyes are wide and his nostrils are flaring. I look at Mom. She is looking at me in disgust and tears start falling from her eyes.

I didn’t need to read the report. Dad takes a few threatening steps towards me.

“Not here!” Mom says. She had started crying silently. Dad nods but breathes loudly.

All of us go back to the car. I can hear Dad’s breaths even though he sits in the back seat, even with Mom crying.

My heart is beating loudly. I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. Fear has completely overwhelmed me. I can’t think of anything. But nobody cares.

Once we are on the deserted road, Dad asks Uncle to stop the car.

“It’s the middle of the road”, uncle says calmly.

“Now!”, Dad shouts.

Uncle stops abruptly. Dad jumps out of the car, opens my car door, grabs my hair and drags me out of the car.

“How can you do this? How!”, He shouts as he slaps me so hard that I fall on the ground.

“Come on! Someone will see”, I hear uncle say.

“Why does it matter? She has burnt all the family honour!”, he shouts with tears rolling down his face.

I lie on the ground. I can hardly breathe from the pain. But that is not keeping me on the ground.