"After five days you are the first person who came to talk to me........."

After five days you are the first person who came to talk to me. Five days ago I went to someone to ask about the time and the lady waved me by saying she had no change. I am not a beggar; I work hard to eat for three times. I do not feel bad that I have no one to talk anymore. Now a days I speak to myself all the time. At night I go to police station and sleep nearby. I feel secure to sleep beside police station because they are the only people who care to talk to me sometimes. Once upon a time I had a family. I used to go to market with my husband to buy my favorite red rose bed sheet. At the beginning everything was beautiful. I felt my life was happier than anyone I knew. But after sometime my husband had changed suddenly. Whenever I wanted to know what wrong I did, without explaining anything he had beaten up me hard. People started to tell me he was in love, I did not trust that. I tried for a year to change him and his torture increased with every passing day. Some days I hold his legs and asked for forgiveness of the crime I knew nothing. My face was full of scars and teeth broken. I felt shame to go in front of people. And my mother-in-law kept taunting me by saying how horrible kind of wife I was who had no capacity to hold her husband at home. I really had no idea how to hold a husband, how to impress him when he never looked at my face. My mother died when I was born, I knew no one who could teach me the trick how to get back love of my husband. He broke my one leg which still hurts but that was not painful than the ache of my heart. When he was about to kill me, I ran, I just ran away. I walked how many kilometers with a broken leg I do not know. I left my house which was never mine. Once up on a time I was very afraid. Afraid of pain, heartache, humiliation, I was afraid to hear the truth that I had no place in his life. Since I ran away I am no more afraid of anything, living in street, seeing strangers nothing fear me anymore. I do not know where I will go, what I will do tomorrow. But now in this moment I am free and happy. I do not need to force anyone to like or love me. When I had everything, I had nothing. Now at least I am with me.

• Soniya