text: She woke up on a tear stained pillow. Her red swollen eyes gleamed with silent sadness. The eerie silence of her was maddening. I had no strength to see her so broken. But then, no words could erase what she had been through. I stopped uttering words that would pass through her untouched. Her grieving was the only possible sign to know she was alive. Every morning would be the same. She was like a clock; like a machine fit inside her petite figure. She would always cook breakfast for me. It never failed to taste good, but now it lacked her love. It’s been 3 months and I don’t remember the last time we touched each other affectionately. We’ve been married for just 7 months; 7 months and 18 days to be precise. I had always been in love with her. Her careless laughter would captivate me for hours. The way her eyes sparkled when she looked at him was just pure joy. Sometimes I envied what he had, but I knew, I could gain her affection but not the happiness she felt being with him. By the way she saw him, I knew her love was pure and far beyond passion. But for him, she was just another girl. I used to overhear her friends wanting her not to be with him. But she was truly, madly, deeply in love. I was far too beyond to be noticed and so I drifted away. She would cross my mind not all the time but I would lie if I said I forgot her. I met her again a year ago. I was at the hospital for my regular check-up and there I saw her. I recognized her instantly as if we just met yesterday. She was the same, nothing changed. Except I noticed she had bruises all over her which she unsuccessfully tried to cover with make-up. I went up to talk to her. I always knew she could open up to people easily. And so she revealed , she had his baby and he was nowhere to be found after leaving her bruised the other night. My heart sank to see her in pain. I didn’t want to leave her in such situation so I told I would take care of her. Yes, few months later I got her affection and we got married but no, there was no sparkle when she looked at me. Then the baby arrived. For me it was our first child but for her, it was the reminder of her love. I knew she never got over him. She loved him unconditionally. I too loved her unconditionally so I had no intentions to change her. It was the first night of the baby in our house. I was the happiest person at that moment. As the night arrived, so did our lives darkened. He broke into our house and took away our baby as we were out in the porch discussing how she loved him through thick and thin. Then our lives turned upside down. We did our best to find him but we couldn’t. And so did we tried finding love in each other but we failed there too. We tried not to fight but blamed each other for being careless. Since then things aren’t the same. She wakes up in a tear stained pillow with red swollen eyes. But my hands hold back from giving her affection.