Collection of heart-breaking short stories

Daughter

Alarm ringed at 6 a.m.Ahhhh.....Wake up, Malika, my consciousness whispered.Remember dad's yesterday order for something special for breakfast not just fried eggs and sausage? It kept talking until I stood up.Having washed myself, I headed downstairs to the kitchen.Mom was already fussy with baking.
"Morning, mom", - I half yawned
"Morning, Malika.Give up yawning habit of yours while speaking ", - she scolded
"Pass me flour, three eggs and two cups of sugar.And get yourself doing pancakes"
"Mom, apple pie is enough.Why do we need to trouble ourselves with extra baking of pancakes?", - I inquired
"Didnt you hear dad yesterday? He is fed up with just eggs and sausages.He wants something unusual"
" But mom..."
"Shut up and Get the work done."
After an hour of hard work our morning table shined with homemade cookies , pie , jam and etc.
"Wake your brother up for breakfast, Malika".
"I already tried, but he would not budge.He said he doesn't have first lesson."
Having escorted dad to work with full stomach of delicacies which one way or another will go out, I started clearing the table.
"Malika, set the table for your brother"-mom ordered
"What? I will be late for school.Besides, I am not done with washing plates.He better do it by himself."
"He is a boy.He won't do it by himself.He will skip breakfast rather than setting the table"
"Then let him"
"Malika, stop arguing with me.Just lay the table and go to school, I will do others."
"But you will be late for work."
"I know, it turns out that you will often come work late when your  daughter is so disobedient "
My nerves were on edge.How possibly she can accuse me when it is her son's fault? He was just too lazy to wake up to fill his stomach.
I came school irritated.But when I saw him ,that guy from upper grade, my bad mood vanished.He looked at me with glistening eyes.Though I ' ve never talked to him, somehow I felt that unsaid feeling in us is mutual.I am just 16 and he is 18 , he is kinda adult and.... I don't know.
"Hey, sis." My brother was waving hand at me.
I stepped out of my thoughts to reality and it dawned on me that I am irritated.
"That is because of you ,mom scolded at me in the morning and was late to work just because you didn't want to lift your lazy ass on time."- I was shouting at him with a finger pinched at his chest.
"I am not the one to blame.It is not my fault you are a girl" And with this sheer true statement he headed to his class.
Exhausted from school subjects, I went home.When I was passing by a cafe, it seemed that I saw a glimpse of familiar face.I looked intensely and a handsome face of my little brother came into view.He was holding a hand of some girl and whispering probably fake statements about her beauty,uniqueness and eyes.It was not the same girl he talked to mom the other day, she was a new prey.How many hearts he is going to break I wondered.When I came home, a list of to do things was sticked to the fridge.A pile of housework awaiting me and next to that was a list for my brother with just one task to plant seeds which would be my duty hadn't I over watered them last time.At six o'clock everyone gathered around the table for dinner.
"Malika, clear the table."-mom ordered.
"No need for thanks.I just prepared three different types of food, baked a pie and cleaned 5 rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen"-i said sarcastically.
"And what? We don't show gratitude to the work assigned to you by nature.You are a girl.It is your duty.Besides, if I hear you talk in this manner next time, I will have to teach what manners a girl should have.Understood?"-dad said seriously with darkened eyes.
I nodded silently.Though my face was still and unchanged, my heart broke.I don't have dad talk every day and I thought he was different from societies' stereotypes about role of women.Having him say those words made me ponder about my gender.Till this time I never appreciated of being a girl, but this feeling wasn't deep.Now I wonder for what kind of misdoings or sins God gifted me the position to be a woman.Why he cursed me?
I was laying on bed, my bloodshot eyes never ceased crying.My phone buzzed, I looked at screen :there was a new message from Facebook.I tapped on it. The message read:
"Hello.Recognized me?"
I looked at sender's account and...OMG...it was guy from upper class from my school..Yes...Yes...Yes..the one with whom we share unsaid feelings.I can't believe my eyes.He wrote to me.I have to think of a witty reply I decided.When I was about to type a reply, a face of mom and dad flashed in front.Then it made me think if they would approve of this of chatting with a strange guy from my school.I almost decided to delete and ignore him, when I heard my brother talking on the phone with his girlfriend.He was 14 and had about 12 romantic relationships.So this gave me justification to chat with that guy.
"Of course I recognized you.You are the most popular guy in my school.Everybody knows you.So that was a silly question to ask!" I pressed button "send"
"Did you expect me to say this? "-this was my  next message .I giggled.Wasnt it a pretty witty answer?
"At least you know we study in the same school "-came an immediate reply from him.Damn it.He got me trapped.So now he knows that I know him.We chatted all night.He turned out to be smart and we had much in common.I felt goosebumps all over my body, when the thought of going to school tomorrow hit me.Several days passed after that.Going to school became a happy journey to a little bit of paradise.Though we didn't talk face to face, I felt shy every time I saw him.We were just exchanging happy smiles until the tenth day of our chatting ,when he came to me and offered to buy coffee.In Facebook he already proposed to be his girlfriend and after some days of hesitation I agreed.
"Hello, Mali." His real voice was even sweeter.When he called me like this in Facebook, it didn't sound so touching and warm.I wish my mom called me this.
"Hi, how are you doing?"- I was blushing.I felt my cheeks turn red.
"Great now you are here."-maybe I was too naive but he sounded like he meant it.Then we took a stroll to the park near our school.After some time I got tired and hot because of the hot weather and he offered to sit under the oak tree on lawn.We talked about daily things like study, our dreams and family.All of sudden, he looked at me with the penetrating gaze that crawled into my chest.I could not take my eyes off him.Then I felt warmth on my hand;he was touching it.He leaned closer and I heard his heartbeating along how heavily he was breathing.The tip of his nose touched mine.When his lips parted, I turned my face away.
"Is something wrong?"-he seemed worried.
"I think it is too early and besides my parents would not approve of this.I don't want to betray their trust.I think we should end it here until we didn't get too far.I am not that type of girl.Sorry."
Then I stood up my heart broken, eyes on the edge of crying.
"Wait" he was lost.I stopped from going
"If you mean that this is wrong until marriage.I don't insist.I just like to be with you and these things are just mere when it comes to what I feel towards you.Sorry if I hurt you in some way or another "
It was hard to speak though I wanted to cry out my soul:
"No.We will have to break up.I am sorry.Please don't insist."
Then with the fastest walking pace I could muster without running I headed home.It was Saturday so mom was at home.Before greeting her, I wanted to take grip on myself and was just standing behind the closed door of kitchen trying to pretend every thing was okay.But I heard them talking with my brother.He was the first one to speak:
"So you see what she is doing behind your back. I ran to inform you as soon as I saw them"
"I will have to be more careful and I will be.I will tell your father." There was a pause for some time then she carried on:
"I am so happy that you were born, son. You know, when I gave birth to your sister, the first thing I asked was whether it is a boy or girl.When they said it is a girl, I immediately planned that I have to get pregnant again in a month or so,because your dad always said that even if we had 10 daughters, I would give birth to the next one until it is a boy. So I am really happy that God gave me a son as a second child.So that is why the difference between you and your sister is just one year and a month."
Then she added:" I love you"
Having overheard this, I dashed to my room.I burst into tears.Sometimes the thought that I could be an adopted child and that is the reason they don't love me that much dawned on me and it somehow soothed me, but now hearing that being a blood child and just because I am girl I am not loved is heart breaking.It could get any worse.I wondered maybe I hurt her during pregnancy more than my brother did, maybe because of me her stretch marks were, maybe while giving birth to me she felt deeper pain than did to my brother, these would be reasons that would not hurt so much.
"Malika, open the door." I did not want to hide my tears, to hide how much I am hurt.So I opened immediately.She slapped me.
"Malika, who gave you right to date with someone?" I was numb.If I wasn't this broken I would say Why do I need right to be happy?
"Is it because of that jerk you are crying?", - she asked
I wish it was because it would not hurt this much.
"Why are not you speaking?",- she continued
"Mom, please tell me I am not your own child, tell me you adopted me or that you are my step-mother.Tell me please", - I was almost pleading
"What nonsense you are talking about? Of course you are my own blood child.I carried you nine months in this belly, I fed you from this breast.I am your mother"
"Did I hurt more while you were pregnant with me? Did my brother was a quick delivery than I was? Did I caused any physical pain being a baby in your womb?" I wanted to hear YES.If I heard it, my pain would be lessened.She was lost and surprised, was it any other situation she would not answer, but now seeing me in this state she felt that I need an answer.
"No. l would not say so"
I fell onto the floor with my knees.She took my phone off the drawer and left the room.
"You will forget him, You will be okay then" was her last words. After some time pronoun "him" hit me and It all came clear why she was furious, why she took my phone and why she slapped me.Without knocking I entered to my brother's room
"Why you told her?" at first he fumbled for words
"Because you can't date"
"Why? Because he is a bad guy?"
"No, he is good, very good. "
" Then why you date with so many girls ,you kiss them and tell me I can't "
" Because I am a boy and you are a girl. If you date, it will ruin your reputation of a decent girl.For boys it is okay..." he was talking but I did not hear him.I went out of his room.When I was to enter my own room,I caught my reflection on the glass of the window. I looked intensely at myself.Hundreads thoughts in my mind.Then with a bare first I smashed it.Pieces of glass in my skin.My hand was bleeding.

Since that 4 years had passed. I got married and soon got pregnant. I waited until baby is three months so to know its gender. I didn't tell anyone about pregnancy even to its father.

"Baby is developing well.Water is transparent and limbs are also in good condition", -doctor said.
When the doc revealed gender, I closed my eyes for this feeling to be deeper, internally I apologized to it touching my belly.
Before operation began, I was waiting in the corridor. I put a hand on my not yet swollen belly.
"I am sorry but i have to do it. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want you to be unloved.I don't want you to be broken. I can't be a loving mom because i don't know how it is to be like that. Believe me i am saving you from suffering. It is better for you to be in heavens than here where people will reject you, where unwritten rules will be hanged on you, where your body will be seen for lust where you will not have the right to be happy. Sorry, daughter."