The morning felt strangely different. There was no one yelling at me to cook breakfast or lunch, no rush to wash dishes, no pressure to pick clothes for some ungrateful man. For the first time in years, I had slept peacefully without fear, without tension.
I woke up to the sound of Aarthi hurrying around the room, getting ready for work. Still half-drowsy, I sat up against the wall, watching her rush about. She flashed me a quick smile, and I returned it.
“Bye, Meera, See you in the evening,” she said cheerfully before leaving the room.
I closed the door, twirled once playfully, and allowed myself a few minutes to simply exist — to breathe without worry. Then, with renewed energy, I got ready. I wore a simple salwar, braided my hair while humming an old tune, picked up my handbag, and headed to the dining hall.
Most of the women had already left for work. A few still sat there, silently scrolling through their phones as they picked at the khichdi on their plates. I got myself a plate and immediately understood why they all looked so distracted, the khichdi was bland and sticky. Still, I didn’t complain. I ate quietly, grateful for the meal.
I had no fixed plan for the day, but I knew I had to start somewhere. At the bus stop, I sat for a few minutes, thinking where to begin. After a short prayer, I started walking along the main road, scanning the textile and electronics showrooms for any “Vacancy” boards. When I found none, I decided to step in and ask directly.
The first showroom I entered gave me my first rejection — a polite “Sorry, no openings right now.” I smiled, thanked them, and walked out. The next few shops said the same. By the time I walked out of the tenth store, my smile was fading.
The sun was scorching, my throat dry, my legs heavy from walking. It was already three in the afternoon, and I hadn’t eaten anything. To my bad luck, there wasn’t a single roadside food stall nearby. Finally, I spotted a small tea shop and stopped there, ordering a cup of tea and a sandwich. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep me going until dinner.
By the time I returned to the hostel, exhaustion hit me like a wave. I took a quick bath, changed into my nighty, and lay on the bed. But my aching legs made it impossible to sleep. Sitting up, I pressed my toes and soles, trying to ease the pain.
“Everything will be fine… very soon… I’ll be fine,” I whispered to myself, clinging to that fragile hope before drifting into sleep.
I woke to a knock on the door. The clock showed 7:30. I quickly got up and opened the door to find Aarthi smiling tiredly. I wanted to have dinner with her, but she said she’d already eaten with a friend on her way back.
Hunger gnawed at me, so I rushed to the dining hall. The food was simple, hard chapathi and watery gravy, but to me, it tasted like heaven. I savored every bite and felt content as I returned to my bed.
Aarthi was busy working on her laptop, her face lit by the screen’s glow. I sat quietly beside her, flipping through the Tamil magazine I had borrowed from the cook the previous day.
“Aarthi… would you suggest some place where I can find more shopping complexes or showrooms? I need to look for a job,” I asked her that night.
She immediately listed a few areas, places she said were famous for shopping — which also meant there would be more stores, and hopefully, more vacancies. I thanked her and carefully wrote down the names on a piece of paper.
The next morning, both of us woke early and got ready. Together, we went to the dining hall and had idly before stepping out of the hostel. Aarthi headed in one direction and I took the other. I reached the bus stop and boarded a heavily crowded bus. It took almost two hours to reach the place she mentioned, the morning traffic crawling inch by inch.
” If I ever get a job here, I’ll have to leave home really early every day”, I thought as I got off the bus.
Aarthi was right, the entire stretch was filled with textile showrooms, shopping complexes, and electronic stores. It gave me hope. I waited for a bit, letting the shops settle into their morning routine before I began my rounds.
The first showroom I entered was willing to hire me, but the moment they heard I had no experience, they offered only ₹8,000. That wouldn’t be enough for even the basics. With a polite smile, I was the one who rejected the offer and moved to the next.
But store after store, seven in a row gave me the exact same offer. ₹8,000.
It felt like they all had the same rule carved into their walls.
I still had to pay for the hostel, buy my essentials, and simply survive… and ₹8,000 couldn’t cover any of that. So, I tried the electronic showrooms next. They were slightly more generous ready to offer ₹10,000. But even that wasn’t enough, and I felt my confidence drain as I walked out of the last store.
My legs were hurting, and hunger gnawed at me. I found a roadside stall, bought a simple meal, and sat at a corner table. As I ate, I watched people walk around spending thousands, even lakhs, without a second thought. And then there was me… struggling to even find a job, struggling for the minimum that life demanded.
By the time I reached the hostel, it was already six in the evening. The return journey had been just as slow, just as packed. I got refreshed and sat on the bed, staring at nothing… my legs, my head, my whole body aching from the day. But what hurt more was the uncertainty, “How will I survive? How will I manage?”
“Don’t give up, Meera… you can do this. You’ll find a way out. Just stay strong,” I whispered to myself, needing to hear those words more than anyone else could imagine.
I grabbed a paper and pen and began listing out my basic monthly expenses — hostel rent, food, toiletries, sanitary needs, and a few hundred for emergencies. At least ₹12,000, that’s the minimum I needed to simply exist without suffering.
“I hope tomorrow will be my day…” I murmured, keeping my faith alive.
I had an early dinner and drifted into sleep almost instantly, my body too tired to stay awake any longer.
I woke up to the blaring ring of my mobile. Squinting at the screen, I saw Geetha madam’s name flashing. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and answered immediately.
“Hello, madam… how are you?” I asked, still groggy.
She chuckled softly. “I’m fine, Meera. I hope you’re doing good too. I called to tell you that we got the date for the case. Just three more days, Meera and you’ll be free legally as well. I’ll pick you up and take you to the court.”
My heart lightened instantly. I thanked her sincerely before ending the call.
Aarthi was still fast asleep, so I got ready quietly. By the time I stepped out drying my hair, she was just waking up. She was leaving a bit late today, so I wished her well and headed to the dining hall. I ate my breakfast, filled my water bottle, and left the hostel.
I boarded a random bus and got down at a random stop. Another day, the same routine, the same search. But today, something inside me felt heavy, I needed air, space, silence.
I asked a passerby for directions to the beach and boarded the bus. I arrived at the beach and the moment the vast blue stretched before my eyes, I smiled involuntarily. I slipped off my sandals and stepped onto the warm sand. My toes sank into it, grounding me in a way nothing else had.
I walked to the shore, letting the waves wash over my feet again and again, each lap cooling me, calming me. After a while, I sat in the shade of a fishing boat, breathing in the salty breeze. For the first time in days, I felt peaceful… as if the sea had paused everything around me.
An elderly woman selling snacks sat down beside me, placing her two heavy buckets on the sand. She wiped her face with the end of her saree pallu and took a sip of water from a steel bottle.
Something in me nudged, an instinct to speak to her. I smiled before asking, “Aunty, how long have you been selling these snacks?”
Her face brightened at the question. “Ten years,” she said. “My husband passed away in an accident. I had nobody to help me or my children. I had to leave the house we lived in and move to a smaller place with cheap rent. I searched everywhere for a job, but nothing paid enough to run the family… so I started this. I go wherever there’s a crowd. And every evening, I come here. This has been my routine for years.”
Her words made something shift inside me, a spark, a realization.
A group of people walked towards the shore, and she immediately picked up her buckets and went to attend to them.
“She left her home and moved to a place she could afford… so why didn’t I think of that instead of a hostel? I doubt the hostel rules and regulations would bend with the timing I would have to work so I could rent a small single room, something cheaper, something my budget can handle… and survive.” I thought and felt a sudden wave of clarity, as if the universe had whispered the answer directly to me.
Smiling to myself, I rose to my feet. I needed to get back to the hostel before dark. I finally had an idea, a direction.
And this time, nothing was going to hold me back.
The next day, I returned to the hostel earlier than usual after my job hunt and I was genuinely happy. How could I not be? I had finally found a job. A hotel offered me work as a waitress — thirteen thousand for a ten-hour shift, and fifteen thousand if I worked twelve hours. Plus, I could earn tips. It sounded perfect to me.
I told the manager I would join in three days since I needed to be at the court the day after tomorrow.
Now, the next thing on my list was finding a small room with cheap rent. I needed to save as much as I could for a better future. For now, I could stay in the hostel for the month I had paid for, and once I found a single room somewhere affordable, I would move out.
The hotel would provide complimentary meals for staff during working hours, so I only had to arrange dinner. That meant I could save even more.
Aarthi walked in and raised her eyebrows when she saw me grinning from ear to ear.
“I got a job,” I said excitedly.
She laughed and high-fived me before dropping her bag on her bed. “That’s amazing, Meera. Congratulations”
I told her about the court date as well, and we chatted about everything in general until it was time for dinner.
Later, I downloaded Instagram and Facebook, created accounts for myself, and with Aarthi’s help, learned how to use them. She showed me how to follow people, post pictures, and explore reels.
After she went to sleep, I lay awake scrolling through videos… some made me smile, some made me laugh, some even brought tears to my eyes.
But for the first time in years, I didn’t feel alone. Not anymore.
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A/N:
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