Story 12

Shut Up” she yelled at her 6 and 8 year old kids who were talking incessantly; sometimes quarreling and sometimes displaying sibling love and were following her around the house as if they were attached to her.
They were attached to you once, a little voice inside her head said. 


She looked at the kids who had turned silent, realizing that their mom was in one of ‘those’ moods. She felt bad instantly. She bent down on her knees and hugged the kids; both at the same time, so that they knew she loved them equally.


The next moment the kids were their usual self again but she felt they were trying their best to hold back their tantrums because they knew she was in a bad mood. She joined them, played with them, ran around the house, shouting and laughing out loud.


The damage is already done, the little voice inside her head said.
She willed the voice to stop messing with her. There was no damage, she could see in the eyes of her children. 



Nevertheless, she hated the way she had behaved earlier. She was having one of her mood swings. She was menstruating, the cramps were horrible and the backache made it impossible to stand, with all this and the headache she was having – she was a ticking bomb ready to explode and that is what had happened. She had exploded. Her troubles were multiplied by the fact that her maid had chosen this time to take a leave. 
She envied her husband who was working in the office, in the silence of his cabin cooled by an air conditioner.


She switched on the television and selected cartoon network for her kids to watch as she finished her cooking and whatever she had to do that the maid usually did. She did not like an untidy house and as she glanced around she felt fatigued without moving a limb. She asked her children to sit on the couch and watch the television in silence.


She walked back to the kitchen and continued with her cooking. The kids continued watching television in silence; it was weird. She was worried when she did not hear a single sound coming out from the living room apart from the ones coming from the television.


“Guys! Mom loves you…” she yelled from the kitchen and winced because of the headache.
“I love you, mom.” Both the kids said in unison.
She smiled as she continued her work. It was only after she was done that she noticed the silence in the living room. The television was switched off.


She assumed the kids must have gone to their room. She decided to take a short break before heading to the kids’ room to clean their mess. The living room was tidier than before. The remote was on the center-table and not on the couch. She relaxed on the couch and closed her eyes. 


She woke up suddenly not knowing how long she had slept. It was almost lunch time, the kids must be hungry, she thought. She got up from the couch and stretched. The headache was gone but the rest of her body was still screaming.


She called out to the kids to come out for lunch. She readied their plates and waited for them to sit on their chairs before placing the plates on the table. She filled her plate as well and sat with them. She watched them as the kids ate their lunch, careful not to spill anything out of the plate.


This is because you yelled at them earlier, they are scared of you, the voice was back. She closed her eyes. She did not want her kids to be scared of her. It was good to be disciplined but not because they were scared of her. 


A moment later the kids started their usual banter and she was happy to be around listening to it. The short break had worked wonders. With the headache gone, it was a lot easier; rest of the issues, she could manage to put a lid on. 
She joined her kids in the conversation, which was fun. They spoke of everything and nothing at all.
After lunch the kids made a run towards the couch, yelling and laughing. 


“Only for half an hour” she said following them to the living room. The elder sibling switched on the television, which was still set on cartoon network, the younger one looked at her and smiled, she smiled back.


She walked towards the kids’ room; opened the door and peeked in. She was surprised by what she saw. She entered the room and looked around, still not believing what she was seeing. The room was clean. There were no toys on the floor, the kids’ desks were neat, the blankets were neatly folded and the bed was made. 
They are not scared of me, they are understanding kids, she said to herself to silence the little voice inside her head, an outcome of the mood swings.


 She walked out of the room and watched the kids from a distance. The younger one was sprawled on the couch with his head resting on the elder kid’s lap. She walked to her room. For a change, it was messier than her children’s room. She picked up the clothes her husband had thrown on the chair, picked up the wet towel from the bed and placed it on the rod in the bathroom to dry.


She decided to do the laundry later. She went to the bathroom and freshened up. She walked out of the bedroom and called out to the kids to turn of the television, which they did without a fuss and got up to go to their room. 
“Love you mom” the kids said as they walked past her.
“Love you too.” She said and followed them to their room. She saw them get into their beds for their nap and closed the door, keeping it slightly open.


She decided to take a nap, too. The pending work in the kitchen could wait a while longer. She slid in bed and pulled up the covers. She fell asleep immediately. When she opened her eyes on waking up, she squinted and closed her eyes again. The lights in her room were switched on. She did not realize she had slept for this long. She opened her eyes and found the kids sitting on the floor, sketching and colouring. She sat up straight in bed and the kids got up and slid in bed next to her.


She heard a noise coming from outside the bedroom. She was about to climb out of bed when her elder son said, “Dad came home early today. He did the laundry and washed the dishes and now he is cooking.” The younger kid giggled. She laughed and got out of bed. 
She walked to the kitchen and saw her husband chopping vegetables.
“Hey honey” he said with a smile on his face when he saw her.
“Hey” she said and walked towards him and gave him a peck on the cheek knowing fully well that the kids must have followed her out to the kitchen. He did the same.


Her eyes filled with tears as she realized how understanding and caring her family was. One of her bad days had transformed into one of the best, thanks to her loving family.


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silent whispers






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