The Yellow Shirt

Story

Mira Gotame

“Mummy, can you get my yellow shirt? I have been rummaging in the cupboard for a long while. But still unable to get it.” Prashamsha snapped at her mother.

Mummy was still busy in the kitchen. She ignored her and continued her chores. She still had to finish a heap of chores. She had put a vessel on gas stove for tea. Her hands were busy with the dishes in the sink. The laundry bucket was waiting to be kept in the washing machine.

She was talking to father in the cell phone too. He was away from home for his job. Prashamsha’s daddy is rarely at home. He is a government official. So, he gets posted in almost all the districts.

Mummy was busy then. In fact, she is always busy. These 14 years of her life, Prashamsha has always seen her mother in haste no matter what. She seldom gets her own leisure time. Apart from those household chores, she is a diligent working lady too.

Having known this fact, Prashamsha always takes her mother for granted. She behaves as if only mother has to perform all these tasks. Only she is responsible for the entire chores. Because she is a mother, she is a wife and a house manager.

“Mummy, are you listening to me? I am not getting my yellow shirt. I have to put on this house dress today. I am sure you’ve forgotten to iron it. Oh God! What am I going to wear?” She queried angrily.

“When are you going to grow up darling? You are already a teenager now. You have completed 14 years of your life but still dependent on me. Start doing your tasks yourself.” Mummy answered softly.

She continued, “When I was your age, I had to accomplish a whole lot of things. I had to wash my dresses myself. Not only that, I also had to wash my brother and sister’s dresses. On top of that, I had to do the grocery shop for my mother. I rarely got time to do the lessons even when I wanted seriously.”

Mummy was in her reverie when she heard a loud bang of the door suddenly.  Prashamsha was already out of the room in a fit of anger. From the dining room, mummy heard the mumbling of her daughter. ‘Always the same old things, I can’t bear them anymore.’

Mummy was perplexed either Prashamsha was angry. Her facial expressions changed. She frowned. Mummy too had feelings. She too needed sympathy. She too felt that her life is devoid of love. But who would understand? Daddy was out of the town most of the time. Prashamsha would only grow up physically.  She had only become taller in height.

Prashamsha left for school with her bright well ironed yellow shirt. She didn’t even give heed to her mother’s effort. She thought it was not necessary to thank her mother. It was her duty after all.

Upon reaching her school, the teachers praised her for her neat uniform in assembly. It was not speculated at all. Her friends also envied her for the first time. They said that she was lucky enough to have such a helpful mother.

However, Prashamsha couldn’t have a good day in school. The statements that she said against her mother that morning recurred in her mind. She had behaved very badly with her. In return, mom had managed all her belongings properly. She started feeling guilty for what she had said. 

Oops! Prashamsha’s first menstrual period began at school. Out of shame, she couldn’t tell any of her friends. She felt that was the worst day of her life.  When the situation went haywire she decided to tell her best friend Aditi about the issue. But instead of helping, Aditi made fun of her.  She started spreading the rumor. That day she literally felt abandoned. Nothing was left except grumbling.

The whole day she felt wet and shabby. It was the class just after lunch, when she had an extreme stomach ache.  She had no control over her body and mind. It was then, her Science teacher found out that something was wrong with her. When the teacher asked her, she cried out of pain. Then she took her to the infirmary.

After the discovery, her mother was called in school to take her home. Mummy had her own busy schedule in her office. She’d got a lot on her plate.  But the call from her school made her so impatient that she was in the school premises within 20 minutes.  Prashamsha could understand her mother’s state of mind at that moment.

Mummy was always there for her. It was her, who was never there for her mom. She regretted for what she did in the morning. She was devoid of words.  Her mouth became dry. It was not only because of her physical pain but also because of her misbehavior in the morning. She felt sorry for all those things she had said.

As soon as they reached their home, Mummy guided her about what to do and what not. In fact, she had been telling her to be ready for that very thing to happen. As per her careless behavior, she never gave heed to what her mom meant.

She waited for her mom to blurt out saying, “I had told you already, now face it yourself.” Instead, Mummy was very kind to her words. She pacified the weeping daughter. She also assured that she was always ready to help her in need. She admitted one more time that her daughter was the most precious thing for her in the entire world.

Prashamsha now acknowledged her mom’s love towards her. She was smitten by her caresses towards her. She couldn’t resist embracing her Mummy. They hugged each other for a long time. Then she apologized for all her misconducts.

Prashamsha started explaining, “Mummy, from now onwards, I will never ever repeat any of my mistakes. I vow to take some responsibilities of the house. I swear I will never answer you back. I am so sorry, Mummy. Forgive me for not following your instructions. I’ve got to know how much you love me. I too love you a lot.”

Mummy could do nothing than to forgive. Her eyes were teary seeing her daughter growing up suddenly. Prashamsha’s every word touched her heart. Though, she didn’t say anything immediately, her heart was full of love and warmth for her darling daughter.

Now , Prashamsha is in grade 10. After two years of that incident, she has transformed herself completely. She has started assisting her mom in her household chores. She tries to do all her tasks by herself. The sense of accountability can be perceived in her.

Mummy was not expecting Prashamsha to be genuinely conscientious. She had never thought her daughter would actually do what she had said.  Nevertheless, Prashamsha proved all her promises to be true. She is no more a messy girl like before. She has learnt to manage time. There are not only physical changes in her. There are emotional changes too.

Of course, she focuses more on her study, but does not ignore the other sides of human life. She has understood the value of her parents. If you ask her about her mother now, she replies, “No one will ever love you as much as your mother.”

Indeed, mothers love their children regardless of anything.

…

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