The Signature

He signed the dotted line…

Everyone around felt a sigh of relief. At last sanity prevailed in him.

Some people in that room hid their smile. With this signature their bank balance will grow, because there is no dearth of people like him. Men are increasingly made to be like him and buy peace. Only a few people wearing black suits know that he has just bought peace.

The other side was not happy. They also signed but they wanted a residence right under DV act but that was denied by court. She was only given alimony. The amount was less for her but now she has to manage until she finds another him.

One little kid was involved too but he didn’t know what happened. Actually he was not around too. He was playing with other toddlers in his play school.

House or home

The man came back to his house..alone.

No one came running. No one wanted to go to his lap and play. No one tried to snatch his mobile and play, no one was looking for those occasional toys that he brought. He silently kept his laptop bag aside. There was no shouting, no running around, no smell stuff, no Hindi serials.

He was greeted by deafening silence.

He changed his clothes and wanted to take showers and …..as he entered the bathroom of his flat he faced the man on the other side of the mirror. They looked at each other’s eyes for the first time ever since the morning. Both of them were silent, clueless as to whether they should rejoice or mourn. Rejoice because he has made himself free from abuse. Mourn because he has just killed a dad.

 

The monster

The sixth clause in that application that he has signed that day read –

“That the child ******** born on 24/08/2009 staying with the mother (first petitioner), since the date of her living separately from the second petitioner till date shall remain and live permanently under the care and custody of first petitioner.”

By signing the dotted line he has just killed a father, a father who lived in him. He has nurtured the kid for first few years like his soul, he admitted him to school, took him to school everyday on his lap. The child always loved to play with him at nights, love to demand food from his plate or tea from his cup. The kid used to come running to him once he is back to home after slogging in office. Those were the golden moments of his life that he will cherish forever. That is the reason he was tolerating all these for so long. But when it became unbearable he had to break free of the fear of the monster called Indian Legal System. This giant monster is created and safeguarded only for criminals and extortionists like her.

The face-off

Today as he faced himself for the first time in the day in his own bathroom he remembered everything. He thought that those little hands might be looking for those broad shoulders to ride, that strong back to jump on or those rough cheeks to slap and laugh. That naughty little mind may be missing the smartphone he used to toss and still get pampered by the owner of the phone this man himself. That kid may be missing playing with the laptop that this man uses. Today he remembers only that child who brought only good memories to him – the memories to cherish for.

The eyes of the person on the other side of the mirror were turning red. He could not hold his tears back. He did not even realize when he started crying. He cried inconsolably and didn’t know when to stop. The child was appearing all over as if he is calling him papa from every corner of that flat, as if he was still running around, throwing things and giggling.

He hugged the washbasin and hugged it tight. His tears rolled down and drained through the basin. He didn’t feel joy or happiness or relief. It was deep rooted pain coming out from each cell of his body.

He was stuck in the bathroom for hours. And he was not concerned. Everything he touched or seen around thrown some memory of the child. He hugged every single thing in his flat that his child has ever touched and tried to feel the child in them. He hugged them as if he hugged his child giving him that heavenly feeling.

He cried the whole night as he went on a hugging spree in his own flat. Every little thing spoke to him in the language of the child.

Daybreak

When he opened his eyes, it was late in the morning. He discovered himself hugging the small sofa set that was his child’s favorite spot in the flat. The cushion was still wet but not because the child did wet it. It was the father who cried the whole night hugging the cushion.

He freshened himself up slowly. It was a weekend so he didn’t need to go to office. He was not feeling hungry either to go out for his breakfast. So he tried to login to social networking sites to get some updates and freshen up his mind.

He came across this video on FB –

He knew it was his story too. He stared at the sky and started thinking – did he do the right thing when he killed the father in him.

He remembered that the little kid has seen his mother beating up his father like mad for days together and the father tolerating that like little boys. The kid might be surprised to see his helpless father. Probably the kid’s mind was altered forever and he will ever be frightful of others as his toddler mind has seen extreme violence in house. Probably by living with his mother the kid will also grow up as a criminal. But when he becomes a criminal, he will be hanged by the society or given other cruel punishments because he does not have a vagina.

Probably the kid would realize how important it is to have a vagina to get justice or to avoid punishment today.

Killed

The court pronounced the decree. They are now legally divorced – divorce under mutual consent. No punishment to anyone. Only the child remains with the mother for his better future. The father could have got visitation right but he didn’t want to confuse the child with his identity. When a boy sees his father as weak and helpless he will start growing hatred towards his gender and will probably grow up suicidal. When a child’s psyche is completely damaged by the violence at home, he grows up as a scared, incompetent and insecure living matter.

The judge signed on the order granting divorce to the couple on mutual consent. And as he signed on the dotted line a loving father was killed at that instant.

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