Asha Calls Her Mom a Phony [Short Story]
As a child, I liked stories that had a moral. The earliest collection that I remember reading was Panchatantra. But as we grow older, the kind of stories we read was more open to interpretation. We had to read in between the lines, empathize with characters, and derive what lesson we want to take away from the story.
For a change, I decided to write a short story with a moral for adults.
“Asha! Get inside.”
Asha was not sure she heard her mom correctly.
“What?” she asked, the confusion evident in her voice.
“Get inside,” her mom repeated, this time forcefully. The look that was shot in her direction told Asha that she better not argue. So she rose and made her way inside.
She sat in the hall, fiddling with her phone. She was starting to get annoyed at the lack of a proper signal. She could hear voices coming from outside, her grandfather’s voice being the loudest. A few minutes later, her mom entered the house and started heading to the kitchen.
“I am making tea. Would you like some?” she asked.
Asha nodded. A minute later, she got up and went to the kitchen to give her mom company. She lazed by the counter, watching her mom from the corner of her eyes.
“Why did you ask me to go inside?”
Her mom sighed.
“You know the reason.”
“No, I don’t know,” Asha replied, feigning confusion.
“The workers were here. And you were dressed like that.”
Her mom pointedly looked at her shorts.
“I am always dressed like this,” said Asha.
“I know. But back in London, it is ok. Here, it is different.”
Asha looked at her mom for a stunned second before exclaiming, “You are a phony.”
Her mom gave her an offended look. But Asha was too riled up to care.
“I am not taking it back. You are an accomplished surgeon. You attend talk shows and talk about how you are a feminist, supporting women in carving out an identity for themselves. And here you are. Showing your true self.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” her mom asked angrily.
Asha slid down the counter and started pacing the kitchen floor. She stopped suddenly and looked at her mom.
“You asked me to go inside because it is deemed inappropriate to be dressed like this around men.” she clarified. “People will think bad of us if they see me dressed like this?”
“This is a village, Asha. This is how it always has been. We are here temporarily. Why can’t we just adjust to whatever the norms there are? Besides, if I hadn’t told you to go inside, grandpa would have.”
“If he had told me, I would have refused.”
“And caused a scene,” her mom said with certainty.
“When is stating your opinion, or standing up for what you believe in labeled as causing a scene?” questioned Asha.
“You don’t understand. When you are married, you will understand the complexity of all this.”
“No, mama,” Asha said, shaking her head in disappointment. “You don’t understand. There will always be these complexities. But your education, your success…all that you have strived hard to achieve is so that you have the upper hand over such situations. It is to empower you, so you don’t have to cower down to patriarchy and stupid systems. And maybe even cause a change.”
“Asha,” her mom started. “It is difficult.”
“I know. But I rather make a difficult choice than lie to myself.”
“You are blowing this out of proportion.”
Asha sighed.
“No, mama. You are the one who is downplaying it. Think about what I said. I look up to you. You are my role model. Do not make me reconsider.”
Saying so, Asha walked away.
Key takeaway: We grow up within the confines of a society and its rules that we don’t fully comprehend. However, education empowers us to ask questions and seek answers. Instead of conforming to unfair systems, we now have to voice to stand up and make a change. We should try to utilize such opportunities so we can improve the quality of life we are leading.
