STIGMA

CHAPTER 4

It was a Friday morning and Salamat woke up to the sound of her alarm. It was 5:15 am.

She quickly stood up to observe her morning prayer. After praying, she moved close to her dressing mirror, opened her drawer, and brought out her diary and fountain pen.

She sat on a stool in front of the dressing mirror and started scribbling on the diary.

Life is beautiful only if we open our eyes to see its beauty.

Life is full of ups and downs,

Life of challenges, full of lessons.

Life is a teacher and we live to lesson every day,

The lessons learned are what makes us experienced as humans.

Tough times should not stop us from living,

Rather it ought to make us stronger.

It's just a test of time and it will surely pass.

So, therefore, be like a mountain, big, strong, and unshakeable,

And no wind nor sand will ever shake you.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life!!!

Reading and writing was Salamat's hobby and she writes majorly as a form of motivation. Her state of mind and mood inspire her to write.

Reading is a passion while writing is a hobby that developed out of reading books.

She encouraged herself by writing and it made her see beyond spoken words. She pours out her heart by writing to replace the missing attention and companion that she is so much in need of and it also makes her see life from a different perspective.

Salamat read through her write-up, smiled, and closed the diary. She put her diary and pen back into the drawer and locked it.

She looked up at the clock which was directly above her head while stretching and yawning. It was already 6 am.

She stood up and went into the bathroom to take a piss, then took her toothpaste and brush to clean her teeth.

After brushing, she went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She toasted some bread, made scrambled eggs which was her mum's favorite, and boiled water for tea.

After making breakfast, she quickly set the dining table and went to knock on her parent's door. She knocked twice and got no response, so she pushed open the door and entered the room.

She looked around and noticed that the room was actually in a mess because their cleaner has been away for almost a week.

Guilt washed through her as she realized its been long she entered her parent's bedroom. Her mum who was hardly around doesn't have the time for cleaning even on weekends and her dad who was not so tidy doesn't seem to bother.

Salamat then decided to help clean it up later in the day.

As a financial accountant, her mum normally resumes work at 8:00 am and closes by 10:00 pm daily and at times 11 pm. That was one of the reasons why she hardly stays at home or even has time to discuss personal and girly issues with her daughter.

Sometimes, they hardly see each other for two consecutive days.

During Salamat's puberty, her mum was not available to provide and guide her through counseling but her dad who had little knowledge tried the counseling session. Though he avoided the aspect of sex education to avoid another traumatic session.