Contestant Name: Tasneem Hashim
Topic: Voices
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She knew he had forgotten. But how could he? It was not as if she hadn’t reminded him. Well, not explicitly, but she had dropped enough hints for even a child to know something was up. But he had gone about his morning routine exactly as he did every day. He threw his towel on the bed as always and contradictorily, folded the newspaper carefully after reading it. The same hug and peck, the same ‘bye darling, I love you’, and he was out the front door.
He must be happy to leave the house and put distance between himself and her, she thought. Even the loving farewell was just an automated action. There can’t be any real meaning in it. He did not love her after all. Otherwise he would understand what she was trying to say.
The tears flowed down her face as she went about the cooking and cleaning. Was it because she’d become fat? Or because she wasn’t pretty? Or maybe she wasn’t who he wanted?
As the tears flowed faster and she wallowed deeper into her self-pity, she struggled to remember what it was that had caused this fresh bout of intense wretchedness.
But that was no longer important. She was enjoying this addictive, self-inflicted misery. Deep down, she knew it was all just in her head. She also knew for sure that if she kept up with it, she would eventually lose him.
But the voices in her head did not rest.
Total words: 248
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This is a short story entry by PLB member Tasneem Hashim.
Send in your entries to tpwmedia@gmail.com
For more details about this contest, visit: http://plb.thepakistaniwoman.com/contest
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