The Blue Envelope
Mallika had no desire whatsoever to open the envelope. The maid had dropped it casually on the table, half-hidden under the newspaper, as though it carried no weight at all. But it did. The small, familiar, blue envelope had already darkened her mother’s face the moment she saw it. Mallika, hurriedly arranging her college bag, tried to pretend it wasn’t there. Why must the postman, week after week, deliver these blue envelopes? Every time one arrived, the atmosphere of the house grew heavy, thick with silence and suspicion. Everyone blamed Mallika. But was it really her fault? If someone on the street stared at her endlessly, or if letters came stuffed into blue envelopes every week—what could she possibly do? How could she stop it? And yet she bore the consequences. Among relatives and friends, her head sank low. She was mocked, whispered about, ridiculed. Even at home, her mother often withheld words from her, or refused to let her step outside when she wished. College to home,...