Short Story:

Renunciation

M.A. MUNAISNGHE

She touched her arm and felt it was swollen. Then she ran her fingers along the hard line emerged out of the skin by the cut made when he swished her hand with a blade.

She had been treated like this from the beginning. Harsh words, cruelty, exploitation - endless. She tried to recollect her past for a while. It had not only been since her marriage.

The so called despicable marriage, but even before that. People may argue that there’s no smoke without fire or you cannot clap single handed. Yet, in a society that everything goes topsy-turvy such things can happen.

Sanoja felt her heart weigh and squeeze discharging pain throughout each and every vein, artery and capillary. Her head was radiating heat and her mouth got dried as she realised how that man had trifled with her life. Sanoja had no tears spared to shed. The very words he uttered the previous night were still echoing in her ears.

“You were so angry that I touched your hand, the other day, you almost slapped me with the slipper.

Do you remember? So high minded you were then.” For no reason he wanted to pinch her.

“High minded? No, it was the discipline. We’re not toys for men to handle as they want,” was her reply. Her words made the cat come out of the sack. He was though too late to realise his mistake when he revealed his inner mind saying.

“Huh! the holy virgin. Aren’t you a toy for me now? You’ll become a toy of some more. That’s what I married you for.”

“You revenged upon me then?” she looked into his eyes. Moved by her gaze he didn’t utter any other word.

She couldn’t understand whether he was lying, teasing or telling the truth. Some coldness ran up from the bottom of her spine. She shivered with contempt. She was dumb found, but was ready to take up the challenge.

Sanoja was not a rude, qurrelsome woman. Being a sensitive, kind hearted and helpful girl she was admired by all before.

Actually, she had succumbed to that pitfall owing to her innocence. She lacked the knowledge of the poisonous serpents like him in the society.

The man was such a schemer that he made his plan well making her marry him, neither with her parents nor her own consent.

However, she took it up as her destiny while fulfilling her duty as a wife. As such it had not been a happy, peaceful life for her. It was full of harassments, bullying, insults and tears.

“If you didn’t like him, you could have refused him at the very beginning.” I wanted to know.

“Everything happened within a very short period and that man was more than a fox. I can tell you only that,” was her abrupt answer. It was too late when she realised that he had lied to her, to her parents and her friends. He had been pushing her towards a precipice.

“Why didn’t you talk to any one about that? You could have written to your parents.”

“He didn’t allow me to have any connection with others. Specially with my parents and friends. He was guarding me like a watchdog. I became a prisoner.” Sanoja sighed.

No one would ever believe it. Even I could not. But it was the truth. Her so called husband was suspicious that she would disclose her real situation.

“You could have talked to his parents at least, Sanoja.” When I told her Sanoja smiled.

“What he had told me about them were all lies. Through his own behaviour and braggings I understood that he was a penniless man with only an old mother. He never wanted to take me there,” she continued.

Being thoughtful and vigilant she learnt to avoid many hardships in fear of committing sins. She agreed when he suggested a transfer for her to a remote area, many miles away from the hometown.

She just wanted to hide her face from her people, those she loved to be with as she had brought disgrace on them though unintentionally.

After all she didn’t have high hopes of life then. However, she expected a change of his behaviour after her transfer. But it was not so. She was forlon and was subjected to his dictatorship. In the meantime he did nothing except tracking and tricking over her while living like a parasite. Yet he demanded her love.

“I think he loved you very much. That’s why he wanted to be with you all the time.”

“He loved himself not me. Can you harm anyone you love?” she retorted.

“You wont’ believe that he even wished me to have an accidental death.”

“Did he try to harm you to that extent really?” I asked her.

“Why not? One day he dragged me into a very dangerous spot of a river that I was almost drowned when only some people cried out and made him take me back.

“What a brute.” I couldn’t help saying.

“Another day I noticed his shadow on the wall aiming a log of firewood at my head behind me.”

I instantly turned back and he pretended that he was going to put it to the fire.”

“Still you kept quiet and was patient. You’re a wonderful woman. If I were you I would have ......” my jaws tightened with anger.

“I was helpless. I knew very well that I was within the reach of my death,” Sanoja said indifferently.

However, she was reluctant to talk much about the past. She said it was loathsome.

“I can write two or three books on it. I’ll do it one day to make others aware how virtue was punished,” she said.

I was highly curious to know how she escaped from that inhuman husband of hers.

“Had you been planning for that?” I asked her.

“No, I was waiting and waiting till the time comes,” she explained.

It was the insult which gave her the courage.

She wanted to run away from the sight of him forever. He had ruined her already. She should not let him torment her any more. Sanoja took a firm decision. She knew that there would be no one other than her parents to help her. She believed in the Tripple Gem and she had been protected by God. She wished her parents would not turn away at that moment.

After the revelation of his mean intention, she got the opportunity to start her revolution. Her unfaithful husband had left home for the town an hour ago grabbing her money. She thought of not wasting a minute of that precious time. Sanoja opened the case in which her belongings were.

Took her file of all kinds of certificates out. It was her future. She didn’t take anything else. The money in her purse was sufficient for the journey. She then changed herself into a saree and adjusted her hair as quickly as possible. Got her hand bag.

Rushed out of the house, closed the door, and handed over the key to the watcher who happened to arrive there on time. It was about 3.30 in the evening.

“I’m going to a friend of mine. Give the key to the master.” she said

The watcher was still looking at her thoughtfully, when she stepped on the main road.

Sanoja knew the direction from which her husband would appear at any moment. With no hesitation she faced the opposite direction of the road and quickened her steps.