Week 9 Storytelling: The Strength of a Woman

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Inez and her husband Victor did not make much money, but they were a happily married couple. The couple had two adopted children from Victor’s deceased sister who they loved as their own. They did not spend money on things that they knew they couldn’t afford, but they always had enough and lived a much more fruitful life than most people. The one thing that they thought would really make a difference to their happiness was their want for a biological child. After trying to conceive for five years, they were finally blessed with the news that Inez was pregnant. Not only that, but she was carrying triplets, two girls and one boy.

The prospect of three children altogether was nice, but five was more of a financial burden than the couple expected. Still, Inez and Victor were looking forward to the additions to their family. Victor took up extra hours at work, and the couple prepared everything they needed for the delivery of the three infants.

Once the children were born, the family of seven lived frugally, but contently, for ten years. One day, however, the most unfortunate event took place. Victor was involved in a car accident and was not expected to live through the night. Distraught, Inez took the children to the hospital where they said their early goodbyes to their father.

Inez was torn, but she found the strength to carry on for her children. Adrienne, the oldest of the triplets, was the most empathetic child out of the five. She knew how hard her mother was struggling for her family. She went to Inez privately and said to her, “Mother, I know that the coming years will be the hardest of your life. We all appreciate what you are doing for us, and we will be the best children we can be for you.” Inez hugged her daughter and sent her off.

Over the next years, Inez worked two jobs. No matter what, though, she always made time to attend her children’s school events, took them to birthday parties, and ensured that they had everything they needed to live like normal kids. Her children were always grateful for her hard work and never took her for granted. This was especially true of bright Adrienne.

Inez encountered a number of hardships that she never let her children see. At the grocery store, she experienced stares because she used government issued food stamps. She also experienced harassment from family members who told her that she needed to find a new husband. After working two jobs for years and taking care of her five children before taking care of herself, the two eldest went off to college. The three younger children were still in high school and taking extracurricular activities and preparing for the ACT. They eventually left for college, too, and Inez was left at home alone.

Inez’s children never forgot how dedicated their mother was to their happiness, and they always helped her out. They all pitched in so that their mother only worked one job, and they all returned home for the holidays. Although Victor’s passing had broken Inez’s heart, her spirit knew no bounds.

Author’s Note: For this story, I used Kunti from the Mahabharata for inspiration. In the epic, Kunti’s husband dies and his other wife follows him into the funeral pyre. Kunti is left to take care of her three boys and the other wife’s two. These five children together are known as the Pandavas. This week, I decided to write in modern times for both Epics of India and Mythology and Folklore. This was an experiment for me, because I had avoided writing in the present day. I had also stayed away from inventing new characters. Overall, I am pleased with the two stories that I wrote this week. In my story here, Inez’s husband dies. The other woman is not her husband’s other wife in my version, but her husband’s sister. I made this change because I could not realistically talk about a “normal” man in our society having two wives. Through Inez, I wanted to show the strength that one woman is capable of. Also, it is evident that there is a stigma against single mothers today, especially those on government assistance. While it is true that some will take advantage of this system, many single moms are simply doing the best that they can for their kids. Also, I used the wise Pandava, Yudhishthira, as inspiration for my character, Adrienne. If you would like to explore my blog further, I wrote a separate story on the power of Yudhisthira’s wisdom.

For this week, I watched the Karmic Revolution version of the Mahabharata on YouTube. You can access the videos here: link.