She walked. Stopped. Walked. Stopped. Walked again.

The big bag she carried was heavy. All that was a part of her past was inside.

The world was all nice and happy. Smiling faces. Young girls eating candy with their dads. Old men singing in the square where someone played the violin.  The rains had come. The heat had died. But her state of mind was different. She had seen the light of day after ages.

So is this what it feels like? The sun, the dew, the water and the air had touched her. She wasn’t used to this feeling. Especially after one year of abuse, by a man who was supposed to care for her.

A man who was supposed to be her husband. A man who had lived with the sole aim of hurting her… Emotionally… Mentally…

The last time he beat her was because she’d asked him to take her out for dinner, to his favourite place, to eat his favourite food, because it was his birthday. ‘It is not necessary.’ he’d said. This was one among many moments of hurt and hate from a man who was supposed to love her. That was the moment she’d decided…

He was no longer necessary.

She stopped by the canal and took a heavy breath… Picked the heavy bag to throw it into the water. SPLASH! The sound echoed…

‘Freedom, is that what this is called?’ she thought… The silence nodded.

She made her way back to the car and got inside. She drove aimlessly for most part of the day, taking the highway, inside tunnels, and small streets. They all welcomed her and not once did anyone say… ‘Go back to your room.’ All that had drowned.

After a long time driving, she halted the car at a place that used to be her favourite restaurant—at a time when she had the right to choose—a time that felt like a lifetime ago. She stopped, got off the car and entered. The waiter got the menu. She ordered. The pungent wasabi atop a perfectly rolled maki roll sat there temptingly. She dipped it in a bowl of soy and savoured the ginger that came with it. Time had stopped ticking. She  savoured this meal for long time, long after she left.