Just Listen

(Part 1/4) "It was during the 4th month of pregnancy, he left Nepal to find work abroad. He never came back. I do not know if we even had a relationship as a husband and wife. I waited for him in his parent’s house attending to his family with some hope that one day he would return. If not for me then for his daughter. He would call but he would not talk to me. And if by fluke he did, he never had good words for me. I would ask him if he was coming back. I would tell him that our daughter was growing up and soon she will need to go to school. I would tell him that she needed her father. But he would threaten me instead. He would say, ‘You are lucky that my parents are letting you and your daughter stay in my house even when I am not there. Do not demand me of attention and do not demand me of money. If you wish to leave, you can pack and leave.’ I would tie my heart and just listen. I never retaliated. His family was also not kind to me. I would work all day and night but they never appreciated me. I never knew the color of the money that my husband was sending. His family did not give me a single note. I and my daughter were a burden to them. The day my husband cursed me in the phone, I would go hide in the cowshed and cry all day. My daughter knew where to find me as she knew that if her father called then it was a sad day for me. She would just come and sit near me quiet and heartbroken to see her mother in such desperation. I would wipe my tears and act like everything was normal. I would tell her that everything was okay.”