Natasha & Clara — A Short Story

Two sisters, two different life paths, two hopeful beginnings

Natasha was aware that she wouldn’t be able to do a regular job post marriage, but she was hoping she could.

She yearned for better job opportunities for housewives.

She wanted to support her husband, Roger, a taxi driver.

He drove long hours to make ends meet.

Seeing his tired, pale face every evening, she got worried.

“Roger, I want to work! I want to support you!”

“Do you have any choices within this house?”

“No.”

She wanted him to show a solution.

She was ready to do anything for him.

“You know that my parents were both paddy field workers. They have toiled all their lives under the scorching heat. At a young age, my mother died in the paddy field due to ill-health. My father struggled a lot with my upbringing. I do not want you to suffer!”

Natasha knew his monologues for the past ten years.

“My best friend Jack and his wife, Tina, will be visiting us next week. Their bakery is earning considerable business. You can learn from Tina how to make pickles, snacks, biscuits, and bread. You can write the recipes, seek their advice. They will arrange the baking equipment for us, we can convert our kitchen to a bakehouse. I can reach the bakery items to each house in our neighbourhood.”

Natasha hearing the news got ecstatic.

“Why did you not discuss this before, Roger?”

“I never knew, people we know would show us a workable plan to make ends meet together.”

Four years later, Natasha’s sister Clara just got promoted at her job and to add to her happiness she found out that she was pregnant. But something happened and frightened her! She got the news that a bike accident happened at Willington, where Roger’s brother, Jason, works.

She rang his friend, Clement to find his whereabouts.

“Clement! I cannot contact Jason! Please help me locate him!”

“Relax, Clara! He is with me sipping a cup of tea! We were in the museum to record a documentary and missed the accident spot!”

“God! Thanks, Clement! I was…”

“I know, Clara! Jason and I will come to meet you this evening!”

“Great! I have some news to share…”

“What news?”

“Let me reach there and I will tell Jason.”

Natasha was budding with happiness! Her parents will be arriving next week. All her dreams and wishes are finally coming true.

“Clara, must we complete the presentation?” her colleague Cicily interrupted her thoughts.

“I am…lost…Cicily!”

“What happened, Clara?” Clara fainted.

Her colleagues rushed her to the hospital.

Jason and Clement and her parents tried to reach out to her but to no avail. Meanwhile, Clara opened her eyes. John, the newly appointed doctor of the public hospital remarked,

“How are you feeling, Clara?”

“Better.”

“Would you like to eat something?”

“Yes.”

“Nurse!”

“Yes, doctor!”

“Arrange some food for Natasha. Call Joe and get some sweets.”

“What is the occasion, doctor?”

“ I will tell you soon.”

The doctor smiled.

“There must be some news, Dr John, otherwise, you would not spend!”

Dr John was blushing with joy.

“My wife, Natasha wanted to give me a surprise. She fainted and reached here. God answered her prayer in no time!”

“So, she is…”

“After a long struggle and a string of therapies, medication, Our prayers are coming true. She is carrying two bundles of joy, I am totally elated!”

Months later, I was born, I was furnished with thoughts. Decorative, imaginative, and wonderful thoughts. All sorts of moving people, colours, and objects surround me. I wondered what is happening around me. I had been held close, tightly wrapped, several eyes prying over me, wondering,

“Does it have a life? Are you really sure?”

My tiny eyes blinked, the size of two peas stuck on my petite face. My nose was as small as open buttons, air flowing to and fro. I had some patchy hair on my head, gifted by my coloured DNA. My mouth was too small not so wide to smile. I am an expert in yawning, raising, and marching my hands too and fro. It did not occur to me that I was literally waking up the already tired, worn-out lady. She glanced at me, worried, her expressions turned to a smile.

A man looked at me, tensed, worried, perplexed. He looked at another white-gowned lady near him, slowly feeling relaxed. His gaze finally rested a long time, at the lady lying close to me, wrapped me tightly, embraced me, my entire body like a ball of cotton, squashed near her side. Well if it was the left side or right side, I wished I cleared the confusion earlier.

She was resting, having waged a battle for survival. I was unaware I could have killed her. I was revolving and got stuck somewhere inside her. Her abdomen was cut open, her breathing was desperate. Both of us struggled, our breaths entangled in war. She was trying to find relief and I was forced to get released.

Nothing mattered, the struggle, the pain, the sorrows, the rash.

“The tiny protoplasm is out here at last!” shouted the five-foot man.

“Gentleman, it’s not one, but two!”

“Two! You mean twins!”

“Yes!”

“Where is the other one?”

“Your friend is holding your second pride, Dr John!”

“So my wife, Clara is holding the first one or second one.”

“The second one.”

“Alright, I am now feeling better!”

Clara and Dr John were happy that their dream of years finally came true. Natasha’s business was booming and its time for the sisters to meet again!