"What are you upto?"
Mrs Walter looked at the girl who was staring out at the sea from the window. It was evening and the weather today was way more pleasant then the rest of the days.
The wind was not as harsh upon them as other days.
The golden rays of the sun fell upon her when Mrs Walter came close to the girl.
The girl had been there with them for three weeks now.
In the past three weeks, a lot of changes were apparent in the girl.
She was less frightened and less uncomfortable with them. Although the young girl had still not talked but the way she responded to them with her actions was enough proof that she would one day.
The young lady looked at her and shook her head.
This response was more then enough for Mrs Walter.
And if it were upto her, she would have never forced this young lady to tell something that must have been extremely traumatic for her but she needed to.
The one month was going to end within a week's time and Mrs Walter knew what awaited this young child there. The officials would be soon here to take her away with them.
She would be slapped with the questions. Brutal questions without any mercy and empathy.
And before they arrived to that point, Mrs Walter wanted to ensure that this young girl was okay to talk about that matter.
"If you don't mind, can we walk in the garden? I had something important to discuss with you."
The young lady did not say anything and simply followed her to the garden. Mr Walter was not home yet.
"It's a nice weather today." Mrs Walter smiled as she felt the gentle breeze cross them. "You know I have been married for the past twenty-six years. I was young, really young and madly in love."
The young lady turned her face to her, waiting for Mrs Walter to continue.
"I was only twenty at that time. It was the time when I was suffering at the hands of my Uncle's family after my father was dead for two years when I first met my husband." Mrs Walter remembered with a small smile on her face.
"My mother used to be sick so she could not say anything against my Uncle because she thought if something happened to her, no one would be left to look after me."
A far away look appeared in her eyes. But with that look came memories and the pain that she had held in her heart all these years.
"And I used to detest her this thinking. I hated my Uncle and his wife with a passion so strong at the time that I made mistakes which I regretted my whole life."
Mrs Walter stopped for a while and took a deep breath. It was hard even after all these years.
"My husband used to come at the library I worked in the city. He was studying in the university. It started with the accidental bumping into each other and a coincidental eye contact. From then on, he would come to the library everyday and each time he came, I used to have a new bruise on my body. My aunt was abusive and so were my uncle."
"They would beat me just to vent out their anger. And the more they beat me, the more I began hating my mother. I always thought that she was to be blamed when in reality even she was helpless."
"Our entire property was taken by my uncle through conspiracies. He was the guardian of everything we had. My mother could do nothing to stop him. He was not letting us leave and definitely not live."
A tear escaped Mrs Walter's eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have done that but the easiest was to blame my mother."
The young lady watched as Mrs Walter gently wiped the tear from her cheeks.
"One day, my husband learnt about my abusive uncle and aunt and that was also the day he confessed. We were in love, so in love that I did not think of my mother for even once while running away with him. We came here and got married. Surprisingly my husband's family was extremely good."
"I continued my studies and my husband began working. My life was going blissfully. Everyday I used to think of my mother and the more I thought about her, more I would drown in guilt. I knew I was wrong and was too ashamed to go in front of her again. I did not even know how she was."
"When three years had passed, I went to visit her one day. She had died by then. Later on, neighbours told us how she was tortured by my uncle and aunt after I ran away. She was starved for days, was be-beaten to the point she seeked death. My mother had sent letters to reach out to me but my uncle destroyed them before they could even reach."