A Mother's loss

It is 11pm in the night and Priya is anxiously waiting for her 16 year old daughter, Shelly, to return home. Considering the unfortunate fact that her husband, Jay, is out of town on a business venture, she decides not to bother him with calls and goes out looking for Shelly at her friends’ place. Gratefully, she finds her daughter sleeping comfortably in her friend’s room and decides to get her back home in the morning.

Soon after bringing her home the next day, Priya discovers the reason behind Shelly’s actions- her failure to get through the 10th grade examinations. She is, no doubt, furious at first; nevertheless, being a sensible and caring mother, she tries to comfort her daughter by starting up a conversation.

“What’d you like to have for breakfast?” asks Priya, to which Shelly rudely replies, “Nothing” and goes to her room, leaving Priya to herself and her thoughts. 

Priya takes this as a time of trying out different approaches since she reckons that there is an uneven quality to adolescents’ behavior. Sometimes they get it just right and sometimes they don’t. She is aware of the fact that feelings of anger and resentment combined with exaggerated guilt can lead to impulsive, self-destructive acts. So it is not the exam failed that is leading to Shelly’s dramatic change in personality, rather it is months of pent up emotions which is triggered by any one incident. She is very well acquainted with her daughter’s inimitable quality of burying her emotions within herself till she reaches bursting point and commits irrational acts. She knows her to be a chirpy vivacious teenager who is the heart and soul of any gathering proving that the ones with a poor self-esteem aren't the introverts who hardly open their mouth.

She is now wary of Shelly’s abnormally quiet or even more-boisterous-than-usual behaviour and makes up her mind to wait for the right time to have a heart to heart conversation with her daughter, meanwhile indulging herself in other sundry household chores.

Time passes, sun sets and dusk approaches. Priya, an empathizing mother, walks towards her daughter’s room to comfort her and to tell her, “I understand that because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one. I want you to know that you are still loved and treasured and even though you are upset with yourself, you are not a failure and just because you are losing doesn’t mean you will stop progressing, but you will work harder the next time and make yourself proud of yourself.”

Smiling, the unfortunate mother opens the door of her daughter’s room just to see her hanging from the ceiling fan…