Diary of a Married Woman- A Horror/Thriller Story

Date: 6th May 1975

He waited for me to come home every night, to our son and our life that seemed to be going on and on for years now. It will never end. Marriage after all has no end, no contract. And I envied my single friend, Asmara. She had no worries, except maybe paying the bills and keeping her flat going with her 9 to 5 job. I had no job. Maybe that's why I had to do it secretly. I wore a saree at home but outside I was a different woman. A woman who wanted it all. Who could tell that a simple married woman was in fact a prostitute? My job gave me pleasure. I know I am supposed to crib but I don't. I like being manhandled and wanted. It makes me feel like a woman.

Date: 17th May 1975

Today there were riots and Indira Gandhi has declared emergency in the state. Everything was weird. But my clients were more than ever. Maybe it was the stress of what was happening. The man was handsome. He had a wife and an infant of two days at home. But he came to me. He says he is attracted to me but I find an instant dislike to such an insensitive man. After he pushed me against his car, I didnt't feel like being a part of the act. So I just pretended it was my husband. 

Date: 20th May 1975

Asmara was unhappy. She cried that her boyfriend had to undergo vasectomy. The rules were strict. And she wanted children. They were about to get married too. I felt nothing except perhaps, my husband should go to the camp. He should be sterilized. Already her son was showing signs of autism. I shouldn't tell him though. I killed our second baby when it was born. I took his tiny neck in my hands and cracked it into two. And I felt happy. My body was mine again. 

Date: 25th May 1975

They were going to kill me. I just knew that. Yet when he just felt my breasts, I realized like every other man, he wanted to do it. A woman found in the streets so late in the night despite the State emergency, was a serious offence. The police officer gave me a lewd stare and asked me to get with it. When I reached home, tired and scared, I never wanted to go out of the home now. But he hit me again. Did I tell you that he didn't know I was a woman of streets? He thinks I got and sell those horrible puppets he makes at home. And all that money I earn is his. But how can i let him know the truth? Hurt and male ego didn't go well together.

Date 30th May 1975

Killing a man for money was easier now. It wasn't necessary to do anything else. That handsome man met me again. It was easier to work late in the nights now in exchange of physical favors. I stood with blood in my hands and my mouth, his guts were out and he looked like a scary picture of 1950's. Black and white and no color in his cheeks. Dead people made an interesting subject to describe. No wonder the police spent hours on them. But they were not going to find the culprit. 

***

The tank bund on the roads of Necklace road was deep. Osman Lake was filled with uneven shores. There wasn't a soul walking around. She raised her hands high up in the air, closing her eyes, enjoying the fresh air and a faint order of fish mingled with blood. Then there was a splash. The old beggar on the road twitched his nose and collected the money she threw on his clothes. He removed his blind glasses and walked his way home. Finally he could afford the drugs and a bottle of rum for dinner. 



(C) Sonia Kundra Singh
Do Not Copy
(c) Copyright 1957