The Mist Had Lifted

The sun was just rising from the Eastern celestial zone.

It seemed like a newborn coming from the heart of the ocean,

sprinkling its coral lapis lazuli hues on its calm wrinkles.

With a cuppa of Darjeeling, she looked out the window

and inhaled the morning glory –

the dancing of the trees, and lazily waking up of flowers --

tulips, poppies, crocuses, and osteospermums.

It was a new day! A new birth!

The smoke from the steaming Darjeeling momentarily blurred her vision,

and she remembered yesterday’s mist

when the ocean and the sky were immersed in the oneness of the fog.

Then, all she could hear was the roaring of the sea.

It was like her unspoken anguish and desperation of years back.

She drifted back to the days

when her life was like a dense mist –

hopeless, helpless with nothing forward to look!

Arranged marriage, an abusive husband,

and a house she could never call home.

In-laws were constantly pestering her for dowry money.

Then the conflicting social and cultural boundaries stood like rocks.

How could she shame her parents with the taboo of divorce?

Would they be able to bear the shock in their old age?

Then to think of her children --

how would she manage their nurturing alone?

How would they grow up fatherless?

Would he and his family let her be in peace?

Many unanswered questions shackled her in chains.

And those thirty years of her life –

she lived in pain and agony.

Then, one day her turbulent journey in life crossed its limits –

when she caught him red-handed with another woman.

She questioned him,

and in return, he physically abused her badly.

It was her son who called the police and the ambulance.

She ended up in the hospital.

Then, with the help of social workers,

She gathered her strength and courage,

and filed for divorce.

The divorce was the turning point of her life.

Like Medusa, she rose from her curse.

Social and cultural taboos did not matter then.

She studied and found a decent job.

She educated her children and settled them well in their lives.

God’s grace gave her strength and courage,

and she managed to live her life comfortably and in peace.

She looked outside the window.

The sun was stretching upwards slowly,

still wrapped in its tangerine blanket.

She sipped her tea slowly.

A hummingbird sang outside.

Her granddaughter came running to her to hug her.

It was a new day, a new birth, a new life for her.

The mist of her life had lifted.

Dr. Meenakshi Mohan is a scholar, art critic, children’s writer, painter, and poet. She has published worldwide both in the academic and creative areas. She is on the Editorial Team for Inquiry in Education, a peer-reviewed journal published by National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois. Mohan received Panoramic International Poetry Award in 2022.