Over a Cup of Coffee

How it begins

Sheltered by the August summer sky, Vasu sits on the marble windowsill with her legs stretched out, sipping her morning coffee. The morning, as it has always been in Karpagam Colony, 6th Cross Street, is textured with the pleasing sounds of Subbulakshmi’s Suprabhatham broken by the sharp whistles of the kitchen cooker and the softly swelling noises of the street. Creaky main gates let in keenly awaited housemaids. A dusty brown rat darts up the electric pole wire like a busy office commuter, and runs along the stale, mossy compound wall into the neighbour’s kitchen window.It has been seventeen hours since Vasu saw the last of her natal home. Her married life has only just begun, and already there are silent borders drawn, loyalties firmly set, and resentment snuggled comfortably into toasty nooks and corners.She sits there on the windowsill, looking out into the open front courtyard, bl…

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