Thursday, May 8, 2014

Gluttony

I come back exhausted. My feet ache, my back aches. My whole body aches. I remember a hot bath that I had ages ago. I remember splashing hot water on my face a few weeks ago. They are not the same. It offers but a small peek into the larger pleasure. My face is dusty and my hair streaked with sweat and grime. I hold a small packet. Our food.
My stomach grumbles. I am just done with 13 hrs of manual labour. Breakfast was a thin watery coffee that they gave us at the plantation. That was at 7 in the morning. Lunch was a few spoonsful of rice served with mushy vegetables, potatoes and cabbage I think. To my parched belly, that was sustenance. And I bring home dinner with the money I earn that day. It is a few minutes to 9. Not a dinnertime I prefer, but dinner time all the same.
I see the little one crawling to me. I pick her up, all my aches again reiterate themselves. But then she babbles and touches my face and I temporarily lose the pain. My older one comes to my side and opens the packet. A few mouthfuls of rice and bread. I make him eat first. I have never seen him with a swollen belly and yet he doesnt complain. I feed the little one some of my milk, she seems content. I coax a few morsels down her throat too. There is still some left. My son looks at me and goes to reach for the rice.
I grab the packet and gulp it down. My stomach still growls. I am still hungry. Maybe they will give us some bread with the coffee tomorrow.

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