The Restraint

Sad Short Stories That Will Make You Cry

Synopsis: One of the Sad Short Stories That Will Make You Cry. The tale of an ambitious young girl who wants to become a singer amid all the preoccupations and restraints. 

Spring morning exuded a pleasant musk of soil that yearned to be imbued with the pleasures of the niche. Regaling in the bounty of nature, Amaya added a delectable flavour to the scent by sending her musical notes through the open window of her room. But the splendid symphony broke soon, so as her expectation from the newborn day when her mother called after her. A shrill voice that pricked her ears. The song was halted.

She knew what it would be. The onerous task of surfing through the matrimonial matches online once again needed Amaya’s attention.

30 is pretty undeniable stage for marriage as far as general Indian trend is concerned. But she had by now grown exuberantly sick of the match finding business running for the last 5 years.

She checked and rechecked her profile. It was all there. A lucrative job, a slim 5.5 feet tall physique with fair complexioned skin. A good family background with all members working in big firms. Besides, each of her pics showcased her sharp features and expressive black eyes all too well.

Given these sumptuous attributes, Amaya on the contrary had a very simple picture crafted in her mind about her groom.

But it seemed that life laughed at her every day leaving her with repressed tears and sneaking suspecion about her own self. Whether it was the changing scenario of her generation, or an incorrigible defect in her stars, no boy as such would ever turn up to meet her.

On the contrary, the trend setters and the conclusion makers, called ‘people’ would always be around her to remind of her passing age and declining prospects. They rather advised her to drop her stringent criteria. Nevertheless, Amaya indignantly chose to accept the false pride of being too choosy rather than rejected. The only choice she could make. Though, criticism was inevitable either way.

But it was not one area which turned out so dark and blank for her. Every evening, on returning home, her mom was there to suffocate her frazzled frame with worrisome delusions about her future. And no sooner than entering her room,  She would be welcome by the shrills of her new born niece in her bed surrounded by everyone. Holding her composure, she would scootch in the tiny space in her bed, trying to relax after a laborious working day. But before her lethargic body could come back to life, the daily nagging would start pastering her. Again, looping the loop, she would surf the website for a suitable match amidst the irritable din, but would end up only in failure.

Maybe, there was someone really meant for her, who would rescue her from all these occupations and restraints, and let her live her own life. But when she looked around, she realised that her married friends were caught up with an endless pile of duties and problems that made them forget all their dreams, no matter small or big. This made marriage appear to be a bigger trap.

She tried to compose vocal notes and sing in the smallest of interlude available. But music, her unconditional friend too started to follow the wayward paths of her pharynx, not yielding anything satisfactory.

It seemed that the frame of time chose not to fit in her favor until she was chosen as one of the two runner ups for a singing internship programme. It was hosted by a reputed production house offering contract to upcoming singers for which, Amaya was ready to put her job at stake for 6 weeks. But her parents could not allow their daughter for such delinquency which would remove an important star from her matrimonial profile. She was reprimanded to keep audacious decisions at bay till marriage.

Maybe the marriage was a rescue after which she would leave her job, and embark on a fulltime learning business of singing. She would make indoor videos and upload on internet where she might get recognised by production companies or music bands. How exciting would it be to reinvent your life with someone on your side.

Meeting was held with another boy, who lived on his own and had open mindset towards devoting the time for self worth and innovation rather than leading a banal humdrum life.

Amaya was delighted to have found that special someone who would give her freedom she had always craved for. Without restrain, the face of that boy had become the dominating part of her reverie.

But couple of weeks had passed since when, the parents of the boy had been denying his availability for further step aheads. Finally, the ding of the disapproval came in the form of disappearance of the boy’s profile from Amaya’s visible contacts.

She once again acted bold affront her family, asking them to wait for the right time to come. But, she could not be so in front of the mirror. Her eyes would not believe at the reflection that denied to be hers. Few strands of her hair had greyed. The skin of her face was loose and dull. Her eyes had grown limpid and dark underneath.

That day she didn’t talk to anyone, she didn’t sing either. The ocean of her heart was overflowing with an avalanche of tears that rose upto her eyes and started to drip. She kept wiping them off along with the questions no one could answer.

She was afraid of her life slowly decaying to death with no dream ever fulfilled.

‘If you have a dream to chase, and a will to change, you can’t do so until you shred all the bonds of attachment, including your own past.’ 

She recalled the small quote she read in the novel, ‘the living truths’ and noticed everything around her in vivid details that night.

…

Her clothes lay haphazardly in bed. The office bag rested in the corner of the sofa. Her laptop and mobile were connected to the charger on her study table. A comb lay on her dressing with few broken strands of hair entangled in its brushes. Her towel was damp with the fragrance of bath Soap. It was another spring morning, as inviting as before.  But she was not there. A white piece of paper lay folded in her bed which read

“Let go the free bird to explore its sky. Don’t wait for my return.”