Time

The pattern on the floor drew her attention. Sunlight crawled across the room, but always chopped by the window bars. Vaguely she wondered as to who was behind the bars – she or the world?

Ever since Gautami had got married at sixteen, she lived under the protective eyes of her newly acquired family. As she had stepped into her marital home for the first time, her mother-in-law gently entrusted her with the household keys. She had a duplicate set with her but that too was handed over once she was sure that Gautami could run the home without her help.

It had been easy to learn the new set of dos and don’ts, where and how. She had an expert tutor in Ma. Her husband, Shantanu, was also very supportive. Their patience and her practical nature made short work of the learning period. Within a year she was expertly directing the large number of household help and also held their everlasting allegiance and love, was a darling of Ma and fondly cherished by her husband.

This left her with lots of time to dream.

The dreams led to questions.

will continue......