Whispers of Rebellion
“I am sorry, it’s a girl,” said the doctor. I wanted to stop crying and shout, “No, you’re a sexist.”
“Those toys are meant for boys, not girls,” said my dad. I wanted to throw away all the girl toys and shout, “But what if I like to play with those, Dad?”
“I just want to see how strong you are.”, said an uncle who is a family friend and loves touching girls inappropriately. I wanted to slap him hard in front of my family and shout, “But what if I don’t like you and your touch.”
“Can you wear clothes just like the girls in the neighborhood?” said my mom. I wanted to tear all their clothes and shout, “But what if I like to wear clothes like I like, Mom?”
“Can you not hang out with just the girls of your age?” asked the aunt next door, who had a son. I wanted to hold his hand before her and shout, “But what about your son, who likes to hang out with me?”
“You can marry now and then study later as well,” said my mom’s brother after I fought with Mom and Dad. I wanted to point at his wife and her struggles and shout, “But what about my choice of when and who I want to marry, uncle?”
“Let’s have a kid now, and then you have your whole life ahead of you.”, said my husband. I wanted to show him how much more intelligent and capable I was than him and shout, “But what about my choice of deciding when I want to give birth to our kid?”
“It’s important to be at home and take care of your husband, kids, and elders.”, said my mother-in-law. I wanted to tell her to her face that she had wasted her life and shout, “But who is going to take care of me and my desires?”
“I am in a meeting and will call you later.” These are the most famous words by my son. I wanted him to look at me in my eye and shout, “But what about checking on me to see how I am doing?”
“But I want to watch TV, and it’s so boring to play with you.”, said my grandson, who is five years old. I wanted to shout, but I couldn’t. Instead, I smiled at him, patted his cheeks, and played his favorite show.
“Please take rest, ma’am. Your family is on the way.”, said the nurse in the hospital. I wanted to get up, remove all the medical attachments from my body, and shout, “But I want to die.”
“You’ve led a good life,” said God, opening the gates to heaven. I shouted, “Fuck off,” and walked away.