Duty Of A Woman

Serena decided to stay away for a while, when she saw that he did not bother to come after her even though she sat on their porch for a while.

She wouldn’t go back. No, she wouldn’t go back inside to beg him. She was not wrong. She deserved to live her own life too, even though she was married, right? He was the selfish one. Serena thought to herself over and over again as she trekked to her mother’s place that evening.

“Mother should be able to talk some sense into him. Or at least talk to his parents so they could talk some sense into him. How I wish Dad were still alive.” She thought on her way to her mother’s place.

Her dad had been her best friend before she met Amara in college. He was her confidant.

She loved her mum, of course, but her dad had been the person she always waited for on their porch to come home. She would squeal and jump as he parked his car before she launched herself on him the moment he got out. He was the one who taught her a lot of things even when her mother frowned upon it.

When her mom felt that swimming might give her hypothermia, her dad had taught her how to swim in her mother's absence.

And they had both caught hell for it when she caught them.

When her mother thought that learning to ride a bicycle was not ladylike, her father would borrow their neighbour’s bicycle, stack it in the trunk of his car, and inform his wife that they were going for a ride.

They have their special open field where her dad would park, bring out the bicycle, and teach her.

The day she had skinned her knees...well, suffice to say that it had been difficult indeed to explain to his wife how their daughter had gone from sitting in the car to having bruised knees.

He taught her the many things she knew today. Those that had come in handy for her and the ones she did not understand the need for yet.

“What your mother did not know won't hurt her” was his mantra.

Bayu Angrov loved his wife, and he would say to anyone that shielding his wife from what could upset her was a way of loving her. Meimu Angrov got upset easily.

As her feet crunched the dried leaves on the path that led to their house, Serena sighed and thought of how much she missed her dad.

He had died in her fourth year in college, and that was the first time Serena had felt the true meaning of the word “heartbreak.”

She was unable to function properly for months. Her grades dropped, and it took the memory of how her father had stood his ground to send her to school when his wife kicked against sending their only daughter to a nursing school.

Meimu believed that a daughter should study things like baking, cooking, and interior decoration.

“That way she would be ready to build her home, not by running around to learn how to give injections and coming back to her husband’s home late,” was her mother’s reasoning.

But for the first time since she could remember, her father stood up to her mother and told her firmly that his daughter would be allowed to do what she wanted.

“The fact that you choose to be a full housewife doesn’t mean that our child would choose the same path too,” her father had said in anger.

Meimu’s eyes widened. “So you are saying that it was my fault. That I chose to sacrifice myself by staying in this house to take care of you and our child like a good wife should do. Now it is my fault?” her lips had thinned.

By the time her husband understood his mistake and tried to move toward her, she had dashed inside after tossing her last words, “The two of you should do what you like. Nobody listens to me anyway,”

Bayu was about to rush after his wife as he always did, but then he sighed and looked back at his daughter. Then he opened his arms to her and hugged her.

After which he whispered to her with determination, “You will go to the school of your choice, my dear. Never allow anything to stop you from achieving your dream. Not me, not your mother, not even your fears. Have believed in your dreams and pursue them.

Serena cried that day as she hugged him tighter and told him that she loved him.

“Don’t be upset at your mother; she is only scared because you are all she has, and she would want to see you have your own family as soon as possible. I shouldn’t have said that to her” he said the last sentence more to himself than to his daughter.

Serena nodded and vowed not to disappoint him.

That memory was what spurred her on to complete her remaining one and a half years of the program after his death.

She couldn’t disappoint him. Not after all he had done to ensure that she was able to achieve her dream.

The dream that her husband seemed bent on letting her let go of. She wished badly that her father was still alive, as she was sure that he would have talked some sense into him, but all she had was her mother now to help convince him.

About an hour later, Serena walked down that same path with sadness, disappointment, and frustration. Her mother had said what a part of her knew she might say even as she hoped that she would be wrong.

“A good wife should learn to obey and respect her husband. What did you think your vow on your wedding day was about? Just mere words? Girl, go back to your husband and honour him as the Lord said. His wish is your command."

That was what she had gotten for her trouble. His parents had said a varied version of what her mother had said as well. The only person who had sided with her and called her husband a gentleman asshole was Amara.

“How could he do that to you? Did he not realise that you were at school for a purpose when he asked you out? What the hell? How disappointing! I would never have believed that he would be so selfish. Still waters do run deep, as they say." Amara had been outraged and had even offered to speak with him.

An offer that Serena had declined as she knew that Amara’s mode of speaking to someone she did not agree with might include some choice of insulting words. She only wanted her husband to reason with her, not that she intended to disrespect him.

Amara’s words wouldn’t have counted in the end anyway. The only one who could have probably swayed him was her mother, and she had made it known that she supported Mathew.

Serena refused to speak to Mathew when she got back home, and he stopped trying to make her have a conversation with him after telling her, “I know you have not seen my point yet, so I will leave you alone to come to terms. When you are ready to be reasonable, we will talk,” he said before he carried his suitcase and left.

She couldn’t believe her ears as she wondered if this was the same man she had felt so secure with, the one who would never hurt her with his words and deeds. In anger, she got dressed that morning and went out to apply at the hospitals she had marked out.

Some had promised to get back to her, and she had been elated.

She was going to show Mathew that she was not just a woman meant to stay at home. She would manage both her family and her career so well that they would be amazed.

So she had thought.