Mai&MoNa

*Novel: Mai and Mona (Part 1)*

My name is Mai. I was born on 24th April 2009. When I was born, my family loved me a lot. Especially my father loved me immensely. Wherever he went, he would take me along with him.

We had a large joint family with three uncles and five aunts. One uncle passed away in his youth, and the other uncle died in a car accident. Two of my aunts were already married, while three still lived at home. They didn’t like my mother, but my mother was strong and kept enduring their words. Time passed in this environment, and I grew up a little.

Then in 2013, the worst time of our lives came when my dear father passed away. I was only 4 years old at that time. Everyone thought I was too small to understand anything, but that wasn’t true; I saw and understood everything. Since childhood, it was my habit not to tell anyone my pain or anything at all. That’s why everyone thought I was a carefree child, but inside I cried alone for my father’s absence.

Time passed very quickly. After my father’s death, to hide my grief and loneliness, I adopted a new way. I became very mischievous, laughing and talking excessively. I didn’t play with other children at all; I just kept talking at home all the time.

But no one at home liked this behavior of mine. Everyone started scolding me. They would say, “Don’t talk to us, we don’t like you. I wish you had been born a boy instead of a girl, at least then you’d be of some use.” They kept saying such things constantly, and it felt like everyone had started hating me. At first, I didn’t take these words to heart because I thought they were joking, but it didn’t stop.

Finally, at the age of 12, fed up, I completely stopped talking and laughing and started sitting alone in a dark room. With time, I even forgot how to talk, and because of the trauma, I couldn’t even walk properly. Seeing this, my family got worried and started telling me, “Learn something from your friends.” They gave me examples of others, but I had even forgotten what a friend was. I had forgotten how to live life. I started hating people and had even forgotten that I myself was a human being.

My family was worried because my condition had become completely abnormal. They tried a lot, but nothing worked. My life was getting worse, and I was just waiting for death. Finally, on my insistence, they decided to change my school because I had said, “I won’t go to any private school anymore. If I have to study, I’ll only study in a government school.”

And from here, my new school life began…

When I changed schools, on the very first day I met new girls. A girl from 6th grade, Soni, introduced me to everyone:

“Hey girls! She’s come from the village and is new in our class.”

Everyone looked at me strangely because I had covered my face with a shawl. It was my first day, and everything felt very strange to me. At the same time, Luna quietly said to her friend, “She’s our neighbor. I know her.”

Despite the unfamiliarity of the first day, I really liked that school. I went home and said happily, “Whatever happens, I will study in this school only.” My family said, “Really? That’s a government school; the studies there aren’t good.” But I didn’t listen to them and started going to school regularly from the next day.

The girls in class asked me, “Which school did you come from?” I told them, “From a village school.” They said, “Show us your face.” I said shyly, “No, I feel awkward.” But they praised me a lot—I don’t know if they were being sincere or joking, but I liked the praise.

On the third day, Meena also got admission to the same school. I already knew Meena, so I could talk openly with her. When break time came, all the girls went out to play, but the two of us stayed in the classroom. We didn’t have many friends yet.

Then some girls from 7th, 8th, and 9th grade came to meet us. Among them was a girl named Mona. Mona came forward, shook hands, said “Hi,” talked a little, and left.

Meena asked, “Who was that? Where is she from?”

Luna replied, “That’s Mona. She lives nearby.”

A few days later, the teacher changed our classroom, and our new room was right next to Mona’s class. One day a girl from Mona’s class came to us, and somehow the topic of songs came up.

I asked, “Does anyone in your class sing?”

She said, “Yes, there’s a girl named Mona. She’s not good at studies, but she sings all day long.”

I said curiously, “Oh really? I want to meet her.”

That girl called Mona, and our conversation started. As soon as Mona saw me, she said, “Your name is Mai, right? You’re from the village, and I know you.”

I was surprised but didn’t say anything. I asked, “Who are you? And how do you know me?”

Mona smiled, “I’m Yanik’s sister. Do you know my brother?”

I immediately said, “Oh! You’re Yanik’s sister? Yes, I know him. He had a shop, right?”

Mona said, “Yes, that’s right.” His shop had opened in 2016 and closed after some time, which is why I knew him.

Since Mona already knew me, we started meeting every day. I really liked her personality and manners. In my heart, I started considering her like my real sister. But in our school, especially the girls in my class, hated Mona because she had a very good heart but was a bit strict about principles.

I learned a lot from Mona. She called me her friend, but I never said out loud, “You’re my friend.” I didn’t talk to her much either, because that childhood fear was sitting inside me that if I talked too much, just like my family started hating me, Mona would also go away from me. I was scared that something I said might offend her. Because of that fear, I only spoke when she asked me something.

But fate had written something else for me. The girls in class didn’t like Mona, and whenever she came to our class, someone or the other would start fighting with her. When people said bad things about Mona, it hurt me a lot because I considered her my sister, but I always stayed silent. Despite this silence, I started hating the girls in my heart who spoke badly about Mona.

Mona misunderstood my constant silence. She thought maybe I didn’t like her and only came to her to bother her. The girls in my class also added fuel to the fire to make Mona’s doubt come true. As a result, Mona started talking to me less, until in 2018 she stopped talking to me altogether.

And now it’s 2022, and she doesn’t even look at me. I want to talk to her, but even now a strange hesitation comes in the way. I’m scared she might make fun of me and say, “Who do you think you are? Why would I be friends with a girl like you?”

This thought troubles me day and night. What should I do so that she starts talking to me like before? I talk to my other friends—Luna, Leena, and Meena—every day, but my heart only wants to talk to Mona. Now she hates me so much that no one can even imagine. What was my fault in all this? I just wanted her heart not to hurt because of me.

But now, when I can’t talk to her, only I feel the pain… every single day!

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