episode 3

Aganagai's mother-in-law told her elder sister, who had come to her house, about the fight that happened between her younger son and daughter-in-law.

"If you don't choose a bride by looking at status, this is what happens," said Semmalar's elder sister.

"We got trapped without knowing any of this. What can we say now?" lamented Semmalar. "Look, even now. She knew you were coming. Still, she's gone out," she said.

At that same time, an auto stopped at the gate. Aganagai got down carrying her son.

Her son threw a tantrum again, insisting he wanted to go back in the auto.

"Be quiet, Krish," she scolded him. When she entered the house, the elder mother-in-law, who was sitting in the hall, stood up.

"Where did you go and come back from?" she asked.

If her own mother-in-law asked, there would at least be some sense to it. Who are they to question me, she thought, and anger naturally rose in her.

"I went to my mother's house. Why, is even that wrong?" she snapped back.

"What is this? I just asked one word. For that itself, she's hissing like a cobra? How do you keep her in the house? She won't stop until she ruins this family," said the elder mother-in-law to her sister.

Aganagai's anger swelled beyond control. But thinking it was useless to show her anger, she went to her room.

"Look at her and her flashy airs and graces," the elder mother-in-law mocked, swaying her hips as she imitated her walk.

Semmalar laughed as if her elder sister had cracked some big joke.

From inside her room, Aganagai was watching what the two of them were doing. Every single one of their actions only made her angrier.

She slammed the door shut, laid the child on the bed, and tried to sleep next to him.

As soon as the door was shut, anger burst out of the two mothers-in-law outside.

"It's all because you give her too much freedom," her elder sister scolded Semmalar.

They were talking about Aganagai. Aganagai cried silently. It felt like her mother-in-law had suddenly turned extremely cruel.

She even wondered, confused, whether they had only scolded her mildly all this time for the sake of the jewelry, and now their true colors were coming out.

She covered both her ears and closed her eyes. But sleep refused to come.

She cried silently. In the evening, her sister-in-law returned from college. Her father-in-law came home after work.

Her sister-in-law came straight over and knocked on her room door. Aganagai got up and opened the door.

Without speaking to her Anicham took the child and left.

Just as Aganagai thought of going back into the room, her mother-in-law said, "The cook is working alone. Go cut a couple of onions for her. You're just eating free food at home.."

She could no longer control her rage. She pushed down the alarm clock that was placed on the nearby shelf. At the sound of it falling, the maid came running. Her sister-in-law came too.

Her mother-in-law and elder mother-in-law stood up from their seats. They looked at her as if they were seeing a ghost.

"What happened?" Hearing that voice, Aganagai looked toward the entrance.

Her husband had entered the house. He must have just arrived.

He handed the seer fish he had bought to the cook who was there. She took it and went to the kitchen.

"Your mother says I'm eating here for free," she said, her eyes filled with tears.

"Why are all of you ganging up and torturing me like this? Should I leave my nursing baby and go look for a job? If you had considered me a part of this family, would you have called me a freeloader?" she asked, overcome with sobs.

"Now what did I even say that you're shedding these crocodile tears?" her mother-in-law asked, and she shoved a book off the table.

"I'm not shedding crocodile tears," she screamed.

Kabilan slapped her hard across the cheek. "Why are you wandering around with such arrogance? In a house, there will be all sorts of things. You have to adjust. What else does it mean to be a woman?" he asked.

Her tension shot to her head. Her heart kept asking over and over, "Is there not even one person who understands me?"

"I just told her to cut some onions. For that she's putting on this drama. God, from now on I won't say a single word to your wife," said Semmalar. "I'm coming to your house akka. If I stay here, she will definitely frame me for something and kill me. As punishment for not being able to join an orphanage, I'm coming to your house. Just pour me some gruel three times a day," she said.

Kabilan glared at his wife. "Why can't you just stay quiet for a few days? I already said I'll get the jewelry back!" he said.

She wiped her face hard with both hands. "I'm not asking for jewelry. You're the ones showing your true colors because there's no more jewelry left to take from me," she shouted back.

"Shut your mouth about the jewelry," Kabilan scolded.

"I can't take this anymore. Keep that jewelry as equal compensation for the free food I ate. Give me a divorce. I'm going to my house," she said.

Kabilan and his mother were stunned.

"How dare she ask for a divorce right off the bat!? Couldn't you find a good family girl? You bring this street woman," Semmalar's elder sister asked her younger sister.

Kabilan's father peered down from upstairs. "What's the problem?" he asked.

"Nothing, Dad," he said, and pulled his wife by the arm into his room.

He shoved her inside, locked the door, and tossed his bag aside.

Standing in front of his wife, he said, "Look, this is all just a misunderstanding. Why are you talking about unnecessary things? A husband-wife relationship won't break over a small fight."

She looked at him with eyes filled with tears. "I'm not a child. Your mother calls me a freeloader. You can't even say one word in my support. You can't get me a simple pair of covering earrings. You can't bring me flowers worth ten rupees. You can't even speak a single word to support me. What's the point of this relationship? I can't stay with you anymore. I'm leaving for my house. Final decision," she said, and went to the wardrobe, took out a bag, and started packing her clothes.

Kabilan came up beside her. "This is how a family is!" he said, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.

"A family doesn't have to be like this. If this is how a family is supposed to be, then there's no need for such a family to exist at all..." As she said that, he cupped her face.

He kissed her face. When he tried to press his lips to hers, she angrily pushed him away.

"Do you think four kisses will fix all of this?" she asked, touching her tears to show him.

"This isn't just salt water. It's the blood of my inner heart. Why should I even tell you? Whatever I say, it just looks like acting to you. Enough, I have a limit too. I'm not destined to die here anymore," she said.

"Don't make a mistake. If you want, I'll take leave this week. We can go somewhere outside..."

She tossed the dress in her hand into the bag. "Is this a bribe? I see a lot of fakery in you, Kabila. You can wake someone who's sleeping. You can't wake someone who's pretending to sleep. The fight is between you and me. But you go and spill everything in front of your mother. A husband is someone who understands what's in his wife's heart without her even saying it. But you, even when I open my mouth and say it, you take it some other way," she said.

Kabilan ran his hand through his hair. "It's not like that, Ammu..."

She shook her head with a faint smile. "Don't act. I won't be fooled anymore. I have self-respect too. If I want to protect it, I have to leave this house," she said.

He knelt down in front of her. He fell at her feet.

As she stood frozen, he said, "I am sorry. Really, no mistake will happen again. I'll try to understand you."

After all, she had an innocent, naive heart! The moment a man set aside his pride and fell at her feet, she softened immediately.

With tears streaming from her eyes, she looked at him.

"Give me just one chance. Please..." he said.

She sat down on the floor. He too got up and pulled her into his embrace.

"I am sorry, Ammu! I work only for you, right? Why don't you understand that? I love you," he said.

"I don't need you to earn crores of rupees for me. Just don't fight with me. Don't misunderstand me. Don't let me down in front of others. Stand by me," she said.

He kissed her on the forehead. "I promise, from now on I'll do right," he said.

Two weeks later...

Aganagai was undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit. Kantha rushed to the hospital.

Only his father and stepmother were present at the hospital.

"What happened?" he asked.

His father clutched his head. "I feel like I'm losing my mind! Who knows what they said to her at that house? She came straight home and swallowed poison. I gave her hand in marriage believing it was a good family. But now, it looks like they're going to return her to us as a corpse..." he lamented.

He wondered anxiously why his sister had done such a thing. Inside, doctors were inserting a tube down her throat.

"Let me go! Let me die! I don't want to live anymore..." Aganagai scream in distress.

What exactly had happened there? Why had she reached such a decision?

To be continued..

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