Dear Mom Volume IV

By Sankalita Roy

""Selfless and unconditional. I have heard those words many times, but it did

not occur to me before that they were perhaps discovered only to describe a

Mother."

- Rohit Dharupta, Third Button"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: May 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9789361728112

Book preview

Short Story and Poem by Sankalita Roy

Mistakes That Taught Me to be Better

Date: 13/01/2023

Dear Mom,

I hate to say this or write this every time after I see you talking sweetly to me. I don’t trust you somehow. I lost my ability to trust people somehow without even knowing how. I’m glad that you can’t read in English otherwise it would have been difficult for me to vent my anger in one go.

These are the letters dedicated to you so that I can know myself better now. Just like any other day, you came back home after enjoying a party with your friends. You were sleeping on the bed next to my dad telling him how you truly wish me to be an independent woman so that I never suffer the way you have suffered for a single penny of money. I know your life was never easy when my biological father left you when I was inside your body for around seven months then. You wanted me to travel abroad and study the subjects that I love yet I was not happy. I smelled something wrong. I couldn’t trust a single word you said. Thus, instead of showing my distrust, I recorded you knowing that like every other time you are planning to make me cry.

With love,

Yours affectionately,

Moira

Date: 31/01/2023

Dear Mom,

I have always written letters to you to vent out my anger because as your daughter I am as helpless as a wounded bird on the road. Now, we have an ample amount of money which was mostly spent on junk food, ayurvedic karas, your dresses, jewellery, flats and cars. I never thought I would see you as a person who likes to show off to the extent that you can crumple your daughter’s needs. You sleep throughout the day adding a ray of sunlight to my life. At least I don’t have to listen to you, but today, I was annoyed that my cousin came to our house after such a long time and all you did was keep sleeping. He called you several times but instead of encouraging the child to talk, you slept unaware of the existence of the world around you.

Where are you? Where is that mother? Yes, that mother who loved to listen to all my problems and concerns right after I returned from school. Where is the mother who loved to take care of what I ate daily? Moreover, do you eat anything at all—to be honest with you. You rely on all these rubbish medicines, clothes, make-up and jewellery, as if they are your food and oxygen for survival. I wonder how on earth did you change so much in such a short span of time.

I have learned one thing in life based on what I am seeing today: that in order to grow myself as a person, money and achievements are the by-product of my journey but what I become as a human being is a real achievement that lives with me for the rest of my life.

With love,

Yours affectionately,

Moira

Date: 8/03/2023

Dear Mom,

I want to live, not survive anymore. Sometimes, I wonder what exactly made me trust in you in the first place. You are my mother but that’s not the reason why I should trust you blindfolded. I have recently joined my college and met a lot of new people in my life. I saw them to be smarter and brighter than I can possibly ever be in my life. Some of my friends have started to earn their living by providing private tuition to students or working as customer service executives for some company. They are earning their living and continuing their studies so why am I not allowed to do so? I find it so empowering. It can help me to know the world better and live accordingly. But why on earth do you think I need to be protected from evil and the rapists? One of my friends even told me that she does not take money from her father anymore except in times of extreme need. I almost cried after hanging up the call with her.

I’m smart, capable and wise. I want to explore the world and build a strong root for myself. Please believe in me once. Please.

With love,

Yours affectionately,

Moira

Date: 20/03/2023

Dear Mom,

How can I forgive you?

How can I move on from these deep-rooted hatred and resentment within me?

How can I disappear into oblivion?

Just because I went to South City Mall with my friends without your permission, you tried to cut your wrist and hang yourself under a ceiling fan. What kind of a mother are you? You always tell me to be