Sourire❣

Scenario 7:

A girl in her teens was fiddling her skirt nervously while sitting in front of her bestie.

"Will they accept it.?" She asked her friend in a low voice.

"They will. If they won't, then it's better to leave this place and stay away from them." Her friend suggested.

"What! How can I leave them?  They love me a lot. I can't leave without them." She retorted.

"See..you have an answer for your own question. Since they love you a lot. They can accept everything about you and they have every right to know about it. So tell them." Her friend in a soft tone.

"It's not that I am doubting their love on me but I don't know why I am afraid of rejection. What if they started to hate me after I come out to them. I read so many incidents online. They said that staying in the closet is a better thing. They shared their experiences on that platform. They said that some of them got ejected from their homes, some of them were ceased with financial support and the worst thing is, the parents who showered with love till then, started physical abuse on them and even blackmailed them to keep their mouths shut. You know, reading all these made me cower in fear just thinking about their reaction." She said to her friend, with a fearful expression on her face.

"Then didn't those platforms mention about merits of coming out to your parents.? Girl..every situation has good and bad as an outcome. Research findings said that coming out is a good thing. It strengthens their relationship with parents and increases their mental health and self-esteem. It may even inoculate them from suicidal thoughts and substance abuse. So come out to your parents. It will give you a sense of relief and solidify your identity. If you trust your parents. Tell them now." Her friend said to her in an encouraging manner and she nodded firmly at her.

"Yeah. I will do it. I can do it. Arvi.Do you still want to be my friend even after knowing about this.? Don't you repel me.?" She asked the thing that was bugging her since she told this truth to her friend. She expected her friend to leave her instead she stood up for her as a supporting pillar.

"Idiot. Where do you get all these thoughts from? You are my best friend and being lesbian doesn't change that fact. I'll still bug you and annoy you with my irritating rants. It doesn't change anything between us." Her friend said while rolling her eyes. Suddenly they heard her mom calling them down to have their dinner.

They had their dinner where she passed nervous glances to her friend and got ignored by her friend as her whole focus was completely on food.

"Aunty, your daughter has something to say to both of you. I am going to her room. Bhoomi, be confident, and tell them everything." Her friend fist-bumped in her direction before making her way upstairs. She shook her head and turned her face to see the confusion marred faces of her parents.

"Well. I do have something to say or most likely something to confess. Can we talk about it in your room.?" She asked them nervously.

They instantly agreed and they all three went to inside their room. After that she made them sit on the bed and stood in front of them meekly with her head bowed down.

"Recently. I started noticing some changes in myself. I noticed that I am getting attracted to the same gender. That was when I realize my sexuality. I don't like men, I like girls. I am a lesbian. I know this is a huge shock to both of you but I wasn't given a chance to choose my gender..right. Since I am born like this, I decided to accept myself first and I feared a lot to say this to you both. I am afraid of the outcome but I love you both a lot. I want an honest, loving relationship with you. I am really happy about being myself. I don't argue into accepting me and also I don't expect you to adjust right away. Take your time. If you still don't want me, I can understand your feelings. So I will try my best to stay away from you." She confessed and released a sigh in relief as she was feeling like some burden was lifted off from her shoulders.

She looked at her parents to gauze their expression but all she saw was blank faces of their parents.

"I am really sorry for saying this now but it has to be done someday. It took me a lot of courage to confess it and I know it is very hard to accept it. So I am leaving with Arvi to her house. Call me when you made up your mind." she said while wiping her tears and turned around to leave.

"Where are you going leaving both of us alone.? Do you think we are so narrow-minded to not accept who you are.? I didn't give birth to you to reject you after knowing your gender. It doesn't matter to me. I just want my daughter's happiness. If she is a lesbian, then so be it. There is nothing shameful in that." Her mom said while looking in her direction with tears flowing down her eyes.

"Silly girl. How can you think that we don't accept you after knowing about it? You are my princess. I know how much courage it took you to come out to us. It's a good thing and it should be applauded. You are my strong girl. Instead of getting depressed, you are brave to accept the truth. We both love you and nothing can change our love for you." Her father said while opening his arms to welcome her in a hug. Bhoomi immediately went into his arms and started weeping so badly.

Her mom too hugged her from the side and caressed her head. The three smiled at each other brightly.

Sourire for accepting who you are.

.........

Scenario 8:

"Abort it." Her MIL demanded her.

"Over my dead body." She said to her stubbornly.

"You useless piece of shit. You already gave birth to a daughter and it is confirmed that the thing in you is also a girl. You can't even give birth to a boy who will carry my bloodline. Abort it or get ready to go out along with your worthless daughter." Her MIL shouted at her angrily and she stood there without showing any fear.

"I won't abort my baby. If I can't give birth to a boy, then the fault is not mine. It's your son's incompetency." She spat out

"What did you say about my son.?" Saying this, her MIL was about to slap her but she held her hand tightly and pushed her back.

"What I have said is true. Since you guys are uneducated and uncultured people, it is a waste of my breath to give you sex education but remember this thing, I am no at fault. I already keep up with all your unusual demands. Today I can't. I have to stand up for myself and for my baby."

"I want a divorce. In your view since I can't give you a grandson, make your son divorce me. I will leave this place quietly or else I have to file a case against you about how you always abused me to give birth to a boy and how you took me to identify the fetal gender illegally though it is banned in our country." She told her MIL and MIL stepped back at her aggressive tone.

Her MIL agreed with her as she didn't want to waste her son's hard-earned money to feed those useless mother and daughter duo.

When that girl's husband came to know about this news, he hurriedly rushed to their house and begged his wife to not divorce him but she didn't budge at all.

"There is no use of begging me now. You never once stood up for me against your mother even when you knew she was the one at fault. Even when she scolded my daughter in front of me, I never once hold any grudge against her. I bore with all this because I have a hope that she will change and you will start supporting me. But today's incident proved me wrong." She said without facing her husband.

"She wanted me to kill my baby. I will never do that even if you threatened me with my life. So I realized it is not worth to live with a man who can't even stand up for his wife and protect his children. So we don't need you. I can bring them up on my own. With my qualifications, I can easily bag a job anywhere."

"So Goodbye. I will ask my Brother to send you the divorce papers. Sign them without making any fuss." Saying this, she walked out by holding the hand of her daughter. While walking, she rubbed the head of her daughter and caressed her own belly lightly with a smile on her face. A smile for choosing her children over everything.

Sourire for your immeasurable motherly love.

.........