“I was born as the last of 4 kids to my father. He was married once earlier and was happy with two daughters until his first wife passed away unexpectedly. While it happened in her sleep and doctors suspected it to be a minor cardiac arrest, the villagers were convinced by then the mishap took place only because their horoscopes hadn’t been matched properly.

But following that is when I came into the picture and I believe we are a lovely family of six, today. People expected there to be an undercurrent of bitterness between the kids but that’s far from the truth. And what made me realize that, in fact, was the pandemic and its lockdowns. You see, schools haven’t reopened till date and our village doesn’t have enough facilities for online classes. So I spent my time playing and even working in my father’s fields everyday. But no matter what I did, days didn’t seem to end. And more importantly the ongoing pause spurred panic, making me wonder if I’d ever get back the opportunity to resume studies for I had aspirations of becoming a lawyer.

The question loomed heavily in my head especially since there were three elder sisters now and my father had to get them married first before he could pay attention to my education. And the lack of an answer to my worries made even the peaceful silence of our village feel deafening! I went home crying, worrying over what’s to come!

Seeing me in tears, my eldest sister came along and started enquiring. I expected it to be another pep talk from her end, but her next move came in a complete surprise. She quickly headed to the loft and took out a cloth sack, reaching for its deepest end. And in a minute she pulled out a money bundle, asking me to keep it safe! It was her lifetime savings that she was willing to hand over immediately for my further education. She then went on to explain how progressive our father was to get all his daughter’s graduated in a village that hadn’t seen women educated till then and assured how, even in case of financial constraints, all the sisters would eventually pool in their money for me. Her answer did get me embarrassed and weeping profusely but I realized then the magical bond of family. No matter what, they always have your back!”