C is for Cowardly

Apr 3
NabanitaDhar
“I’m sorry” Arun said with his eyes fixed on the menu at the table “I should have made this clear earlier.”

Diya sat looking at him, her eyes red. She didn’t say a word as Arun continued “I don’t believe in marriage. I really don’t.”

Arun looked up for a moment and as his eyes met her stern gaze he quickly turned away. “But Diya for what it’s worth I really love you. I really do. You are the best girl friend I ever had.”

At this something burst inside Diya and she slammed her fist on the table, stood up and spoke as the rest of the people in the restaurant looked on.

“You don’t believe in marriage? Really? Why don’t you say that you don’t have the guts to stand up for what you may want? In-fact, do you even know what you want?”

Arun didn’t know what to say except gape at her in confusion.

Diya continued “I’ll tell you what you don’t have the balls to admit. You can have a girl friend but when it comes down to marriage you will go in for an arranged one. You can’t muster the courage to go and talk to your parents about what you actually want in life. Oh and don’t you dare say it’s due to respect. It’s just plain old cowardice! You don’t believe in marriage you say? In a year you’ll be married to the girl you mother chooses I can bet on it. And that too with a hefty dowry for that’s all you are capable of. That’s who you are. It was my fault I couldn’t see it. You are just one of those pathetic men that India sadly has in abundance. And yes I was definitely the best you could have had ! I hope you rot in hell!” and she walked out of the restaurant placing a 500 rupee note on the table “For your troubles!”

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/to-z-badges-and-banners.html

Diya was angry with herself for choosing him. She cried a little and then laughed for having fallen for such a man. She knew her life would be better going forward. There was no point in being with a man who lacked courage and the capability of taking charge of his own life. There was no point crying over a man who would have felt and acted cowardly at every big turn of life.

As she walked home in the chilly winter night she told herself ‘What was I thinking? Why did I ever agree to go out with Arun? It makes me so angry but I’ll be fine! I’ll be fine!” and with that she rubbed the tears of her face and walked ahead towards a better future.

***

C is for men who act and feel cowardly….and that’s the tone of today’s tale…

Linking this post for A to Z Challenge. As I promised in the theme reveal post, as part of the Challenge I’m going to write short stories with one or more emotions beginning with the alphabet of the day as the prompt or central idea for the post. Hope you enjoy the challenge!

Linking this to UBC too.

***
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150 thoughts on “C is for Cowardly”

  4. such a pathetic man!! i wonder wer der courage wil b wen they roam with the gal!! am so glad diya stood up for herself and walked out! u bought dat out beautifully 🙂

  5. I have seen such men! Creeps thats what they are! And I really love your theme Naba. Each day a new slice of life story!

  6. COmmitment is something that is not seen at all these days! Hey thats a C word! Well written Naba! Great post!

  7. If I was in that restaurant, I would have stood up and clapped right after she placed that 500 rupees on the table and said "FOR YOUR TROUBLES"
    Aweeeeeeesome!

  9. In love with Diya now ! Good that she saw through the cowardice. Amazing that you have brought out the two opposite traits in the same piece, Cowardice and Courage !

  11. Truly said, these stories are in abundance in our India. Men under family pressure or under anxiety of long term commitment. No point in wasting time and leaving one's comfort zone for cowards who cant stand for you! Enjoying your posts 🙂

  12. Boys are never brought up to be brave and think for themselves by most parents, instead they are emotionally blackmailed. Characters like Arun abound.
    Well written.

  13. But are you sure Arun really was a coward? 🙂 Maybe he really doesn't believe in marriage…..I hope you don't mind my being somewhat of a critic here, but as I read through this story I felt I would really like to know more about this Arun character….maybe in one of your other stories in this series you can build upon him a bit more. Or not. Your choice 🙂 C is for choice too! Of course, I feel sympathy for Diya, but I couldn't help when my mind started wandering off to know more about Arun…I guess that's what good stories do. And good story-tellers like you 🙂

  15. It so happens that due to this cowardice, people don't get what they deserve in life…

  16. I can understand characters like Arun. Mostly they r afraid to spoil their so-called good boy image in front of their parents. what i dont understand is that if u dont have the guts to stand up for what u want…. why begin such a thing in the first place? In Hindi there's a saying, "Jis gaon jaana nahin uska pata kyon poochna?" cowards, really.

  18. I think Diya is better off without Arun. I agree that India has lot of men like Arun who don't think twice before having a girlfriend and when it's time for marriage they are suddenly worried about the society and their parents. But to be fair to men, there are a few genuine men too, who would walk away from everything to be with the girl they love. Hats off to such men 😉

  19. For me the tone of the post was…C for Courage. I know many women who inspite of having all the support in the world won't have the guts to walk out on such a relationship at the correct time. Diya did and kudos to her!

  20. Good story n well written Naba. Diya did well to walk off and be brave but it would be nice to know more about Arun too, was he really a coward or is there some other reason?

  23. Seen many of these type in fiction as well as heard from friends about their existence.
    Brilliantly written Naba…

    P.S: I wanted Diya to curse him a little more..He deserved it..:D

  25. Too many girls have heard those exact lines from guys who eventually do end up in arranged marriages. I am glad Diya walked out! Very well written.

  26. The person who can not stand up to commitment does not deserve it in return….loved this story 🙂 and the part in which she screamed back was fab 🙂

  29. Yay!! I totally loved her attitude and her optimism. Of course she'll find a decent guy while he will marry a 'dowry girl' and dream of Diya all his life.

  30. I have known a few such men. When a man knows he does not have the courage to stand up to his parents, he has no business to even look at any girl, leave alone have any kind of relationship with her.

  31. Long ago I had written something on similar lines. I know a lot of cowardly men like this. And how many hearts they have broken. If they do not have the balls, they should not get into a relationship in the first place.

    I love Diya for her courage. Obviously, she deserves more.

  33. I am glad that in the end, the girl does not cry for such a man but laughs at her ignorance. Lovely piece naba 🙂

  42. Yep, the best thing a girl can do is move forward in such situations. No point crying over men who don't care enough for them. Nicely written, Naba.

  45. Okay! That's the way to deal with cowardice 🙂 Good work, Naba. I could feel the anger seep through the words!

  46. Men do this all the time, you tell them to take a stand and they start slipping away. They just like the fact that someone wants to be with them, but it is their turn to commit, they are just sissies.

  47. Men!!! He didn't deserve her and she is far better off with out him! ♥ Seems no matter where you find yourself in the world you will always be able to find men that lack a set of balls.

  48. Hi Nabanita, Not sure how to react after going through the post and all the comments. While I was able to hear every bit of Diya shouting and don't accept cowardice , can you give a chance to Arun to explain as well 🙂 ? Be impartial there :-). Thanks for visiting my blog. Is it also possible for you to also kindly tag my blog along with others in your blog as you have done for others ? Regards.

  50. Yes Naba many a times we face these men if not for ourselves then for some loved ones around… how I wish that it was not so, at least the courage to speak the truth lay somewhere..

    Richa

  51. Another Queen in the making, gutsy girl 🙂 I loved her strength of character and positive thinking at the end, of course she will be fine. He won't.

  55. That's quite an angry post. But, you've underlined the crisp emotions and thoughts on something very prevalent in our society. Kudos for coming up with this one:)

  56. There is a lot of emotion in that post,which made me give some serious thought to the concept of arranged marriages (a concept to me, though in other countries like India is too much reality). It seems to me so many people get hurt when we don't speak up! The woman who loves the manm was in a relationship with and whom he won't /can't choose, the man who is afraid to make a stand for her, because the consequences may be dire and even the woman he does end up marrying, because who wants to be with a man who longs for someone else and just be a source of duty?

  57. I am so blessed to have a good man. Coward is an interesting choice of word – I can think of a few others that would describe him!

  58. Atta girl ! What a story. Yes, you have said what a lot of women have faced. Lot of women dnt have the courage to say what Diya said. They would keep wallowing in self pity. I wish there are more women like her !

  59. Well, here's hoping Diya finds herself a better man. 🙂 I wasn't aware that arranged marriages were still prevalent in India. Thanks for the insight.

  60. Oh there are too many of them out there- men as well as women! The cowardice of not daring to admit to yourself what you want! What can be worse than that?
    Dagny

  61. Yey for Diya! Good for her:-) Glad she spoke up. At least she was nothing but a coward — Love your ending:walking in to a better future:-) Yes, sure it has something great in stall for her

  64. Commitment phobics, not worth anyone's time. Glad Diya had the courage (also a C word 🙂 to get rid of him! Well written piece, Nabanita, I enjoy your writing.

  78. Good na that she saw through it..I wish every girl would see through such men..Thanks for dropping by always Sreeja 🙂

  82. I thought about that point you mention here a lot Beloo and I think he should have made that clear before beginning the relationship… He has every right to his beliefs but it's not right to be in a relationship and then say he doesn't believe in marriage…In my world that's what cowards do…and sadly I have seen many men like him do this to many friends of mine…

    And thank you so much for the kinds words and your constant support 🙂

  86. That's a great piece of fiction Nabita and I wish no such things happen to a girl…..I wouldn't even ask you to elaborate Arun's character because I have seen such men who are not only cowardice..but sometimes they do it intentionally.

    And to conclude…do all men have such cowardliness hidden in their character? I would say YES (the amount may vary) to it…we are never certain about things like marriage/relationships and may be that's why very less of this gender has responded to your blogpost 😉

  92. Thanks so much Sunila 🙂 I did think a lot about Arun Sunila and finally decided that if he was against marriage he should have told that before getting into the relationship…In my book he is a coward and a sad breed of men that we have in abundance…

  95. hehe honestly me too..maybe I should have made her throw a drink on his face 😀 or hot boiling tea…ooops 😉

  118. Valid point about Arun's side Jayanta..but I think everything is pretty clear…He got into a relationship and then later says that he doesn't believe in marriage…I have seen many girls face such men who eventually married with a girl of their parent's choice…so really I don't think there is more to it than plane old cowardice 🙂

    And surely I can add ur blog link 🙂

  126. I agree…Arranged marriage in today's context doesn't work especially if the parties involved can't speak their mind before getting into it…

  149. Very nice! Arun deserved this! Did he ask permission from parents before getting into relationship? Then why did he break Diya's heart to please his parents? Simply coward!

  150. Diya was brave & not a coward! Good for her life & future 🙂
    Nice one, Naba 🙂

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