Friend from the past

My phone buzzed. I had received a text message from an unknown number. I first decided to ignore but thought maybe someone texted me in emergency instead of texting their friend or relative, so I decided to check. The sender was a woman. Somehow her face looked familiar but I could not remember where I had seen her. The woman introduced herself and also told me her maiden name. That did ring a bell, she was Lata, my classmate from school. I was delighted to get in touch with her after so many years. We chatted for a while and I invited her to come to my home for lunch someday.

Finally the day had come when Lata came for lunch. I was surprised to see Lata wearing saree, because I had always seen her in school uniform. We chatted for some time and then had our lunch. After the lunch, we decided to spend more time together by seeing old photos from our school. Suddenly her phone rang. Lata who had been so happy became tensed. She answered the call and informed that she was with me. Then she handed over the phone to me suggesting that her husband wanted to speak.

"Hello madam. I wanted to speak with you because I never met you. I know Lata's friends but she never mentioned you. That is why I was curious", her husband said he was curious but clearly he was being suspicious. I introduced myself to assure him that his wife was in good hands.

After he hung up, I expressed my concern to Lata. I told her that her husband had been unnecessarily suspicious. Lata broke down and told me the truth, "he is my dad's friend's son. We knew each other from childhood that is why he knows all my friends. When I was 21, my family forced me to marry him. Initially everything was fine. A few months later, I realised he was insecure. Whenever I would receive a call, he wanted to know who I was speaking with. If I went out, he suspected that I had been having an affair. He made me leave my job. At 23 I had my first baby. His behavior worsened after welcoming our baby. Every time I go out I have to seek his permission. I cannot even go to my parent's home without asking him first. Even after 10 years of marriage he still does not trust me. I am stuck in a life I never wanted. Now with my daughter, I have no other way that staying with such a man". Lata had been sobbing. I felt terrible and helpless.

Lata wiped her tears, "today I did not ask him to come here. Now when I will go home, I will have to answer him". I tried to console Lata but all she care about was her 7 year old daughter.

Lata left my home giving me an emptiness. I felt empty not because I was unmarried but because I did not feel strong enough to help her. I felt empty because I knew she was trapped in a bad marriage but I had no power to take her out of it.

Finally, I decided to meet her more often so that she could find a little time for herself to relax. To avoid any suspicion I decided to go to her home when her husband too would be present. That was all I could do as her friend.