“How many weeks more?” Priya enquired nonchalantly, as the woman muffled through the wet sock duct taped onto her mouth. Lightly scraping the butter knife at the womans exposed baby bump, she continued, “Ten? More than ten? This ones a fighter, isnt it? I bet itd have popped out a couple weeks before it was due.” she smiled lightly at her quip as the tears continued to roll down the womans cheeks. “Im sorry about the sock, I really am,” Priya continued, “its just that movies make the duct tape thing look much more effective than it really is. Dad once did it to me, and I just smeared spit on it with my tongue, and it came off before he was...” She sighed, shrugging briefly before going on, “Dont worry, its clean. Brand new too.” Priya moved a strand of hair in front of the womans eyes and tucked it safely behind her reddened ear. “Know this, Im saving you a lot of time and pain today,” she assured the woman, “I dont want you to be so afraid of all this. It only gets better from here,” she grinned, her own eyes oblivious to her smile. “You know, youre older than my usual. Not like the teenage sluts who think they could be goody two shoes stay-at-home moms who eventually end up shooting up before they even give birth. No. Youre... more well-informed. Or at least you think you are. Who knows, you might have even planned this.” Priya stared longingly at her butter knife, as the woman widened her eyes as the sound of sirens passed the street, and broke out into silent sobs again as the sirens blaring faded out. “Youre wrong, you know. Wrong. Your money doesnt even come close to ensuring your sanity after a while. No number of breast pumps and adaptable diapers will stop that monster the kid will become from growing into an ungrateful brat as you look back on your decision to leave a sign, some sign, of your existence before you die, with regret. You will see what that sign has become. You would much likely have wished you just faded into oblivion,” Priya paused, inhaling deeply. “But you are better informed. I cant deny you that. And I dont want you to end up in a gutter with a host of clumsy cuts, slowly bleeding out like those other whores. I disagree with you more than you could possibly imagine, but I respect you.” Priya threw the butter knife into the plastic bin, as the woman flinched at the sudden movement. The womans nails were broken, the braided rope hardly damaged, and her fingers were pale and unmoving, unlike her relentlessly struggling arms. “Im so sorry-- what was it? Rani, right? Queen. God save you,” she chuckled again, before slipping seamlessly back into a blank face, as if she were a defendant in a courtroom. Priya reached for her left foot and pulled out a silver finger knife, spinning it around her fore finger with a practiced flourish. “Never got a chance to use this. Unworthiness and everything.” Priya got up, stretching her limbs and massaging her neck. Blood circulated through her thighs after a long while. Staring at the woman the whole time, she slowly walked around her chair, the woman struggling ferociously to no end the whole time. Priya held the womans forehead in her left hand, pressing her head against her chest, as the woman tried her best to shriek through the cotton. The woman felt cold metal on her neck as Priya whispered into her ear, “Im so sorry.”
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:40:29 +0000