Saturday, January 17, 2009

A Matter Of Choice

She had nothing to complain of; she had a husband who loved her, supporting and loving in-laws, a stable family life and a good job. Yet, she could not stop thinking about the life she could have had. The life she had planned for those three years; down to the colour of the walls of her dream-home and the name of her kids.

"He was a loser. You did the right thing!" that's what friends told her as she struggled to deal with the break-up. "You have to get married" said her family as they fixed her marriage. "You have to forget him now." said her friend on the day of her wedding. "You made a decision, so stick to it." said her reflection in the mirror.

She knew she was being foolish. And yet, she was not able to let go of the past. She couldn't talk about this problem with anyone.Maybe they would have understood, if her husband didn't love her or her in-laws ill-treated her. In that case, even she would have understood why she couldn't move on. But how could she explain it to people (or even to herself) why she chose to be miserable.

She had always been decisive. Had never really depended on anyone to make a decision for her. And yet, she couldn't make up her mind over this... Do I choose to end my marriage or my life?; she thought as she absentmindedly played with the coin in her hand. "Heads" she called out as she tossed the coin...

10 comments:

KParthasarathi said...

You have left the reader on tenterhooks.What did she get?What does 'Heads'opt for?You have left everything to the imagination of readers and transferred her problem on them.Is there a second part?
A briliant story

Rambler said...

@KParthasarathi
I know the story seems a bit incomplete, but there isn't any second part. How could I add details, the protagonist in my story was so confused.

As for the outcome of the coin toss, that I have left upto the reader to interpret. Those who have faced this situation will understand her depression, those who haven't will think that she was foolish for using a coin to decide her fate.

KParthasarathi said...

Your reply is clever but leaves me more confused. A good story strategy.Congrats!1

Anonymous said...

I believe she is afraid to end up the marriage coz if she could have an option not to go for it, then she wud have gone against it in the first place...u know the social stigmas and bindings...

and i believe if HEADS stand for ending the marriage then she will toss again and again until she gets TAILS...Coz ending the life seems more easier and a non-answerable deal...

But I guess, if this was the easiest option, she would have tried this long ago or she doesnt have even guts to go ahead with TAILS... Or maybe she is in some unfortunate circumstances where Taking Life is also not an easy deal...

She wants everything to be served to her on a platter... Right from instant solutions to her life's problems to the End of her life...Everything should be done for her coz maybe shez scared to go for anything !!!

And then if its served to her there, then I dont think she would mind going ahead along with marriage...Who wouldnt want such an easy life???


Wat Say???
-------------------------

Wow..Sheba...Amazing Story..i never knew you could write short stories so well... u r just like O'Henry of school textbooks..an abrupt unassumed ending...wow...i m really impressed by the protagonist...would love to meet her in real life...

u have got a real gift for writing.. U know this movie Raaz-2 thats coming up...he's a painter who paints a particular lady and incidents happening to her...he doesnt know this lady and doesnt know why he is painting all those scenes and yet whateva he paints comes true in her real life...


Ur stories might have a link in the same way with ur protagonist... I wonder what she is upto right now and what options she is considering now?

Rambler said...

@Anonymous
You have interpreted the story exactly as I thought it through in my head!!! It's so uncanny!!!!!! Now if there's someone who didn't get the story, they can understand it from your comment. I didn't add all these details in the story coz it would have spoiled the flow. Thanks! You saved me the trouble of explaining it to everyone.

Well this is my first attempt at short stories, so better reserve your judgement until you read a few more! Almost, everyone seems to be inspired by O'Henry; if a story starts with something, you can be 99% sure that it will end differently!

Just to set the record straight, the protagonist is not just one person, she is a mix of people I have met, similar kind of incidents that I have heard and has a little bit of me in her too.

I sincerely hope that the Raaz-2 similarity doesn't count! If I had that ability, then I will have to
write happy stories, coz I would never want to hurt anyone intentionally!!!

rahul m said...

there can be diff endings if bollywood options this story

(a) YRF:- she asks rabji wit to do

(b) RGV:- she kills everyone including herself

(c)SLB:-her husband sends her back after she tells him

(d)Vishal Bhardwaj:-her husband kills her and himself

may be many more

Anonymous said...

That is a touching story and I love such unfinished endings.

As you say she is a confused soul and that's why she chose a coin to decide her fate. She doesn't have guts to face real life. She is just an escapist.

Came here through twisted DNA. Will come back for more.

Rambler said...

@Rahul
That was a good one :-)

@Solilo
Even I love such endings, but sometimes it seems frustrating not knowing what happened next.

Ya, maybe she was was an escapist. But unless you are in that person's shoes, you can never tell what he/she is feeling.

Amrit said...

I think life is too significant to decide its fate through a coin!! I can understand her situation..and I believe so many on this earth face breakups and smudge in the same dilemma.

But those who take this strongly and move forward..is the winner.

Rambler said...

@Amrit
Yes, I agree life is too significant to even think of ending it this way.
But sometimes, one does feel helpless and wants to take this drastic step.
Though, I seriously believe that this is not the solution.

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