Unspoken Her

6th January 1980 — 10:00 AM

On a quiet morning, at exactly ten o’clock, the cries of a newborn baby girl echoed through the small house of Eniyan and Mini.

It should have been a moment of celebration.

A moment filled with smiles, blessings, and the warmth of a family welcoming a new life.

Instead, it became the beginning of a life that would spend years fighting for its place in the world.

She was the third child of the family.

Before her came two sons—the eldest, Tim, and the second, Alice.

And then came their little sister.

Her name was Jiya.

But the moment she entered the world, she was rejected for one simple reason.

She was a girl.

Eniyan refused to accept his newborn daughter. Blinded by disappointment, he turned toward his sister, Fana, and gave her an order that no one should ever have to hear.

“Kill the baby.”

Fana froze.

Her eyes fell upon the tiny child sleeping peacefully in her arms, completely unaware of the fate being decided for her.

She looked at Jiya’s little face.

So innocent.

So helpless.

How could she possibly hurt her?

Fana could never bring herself to take an innocent life.

Instead, she fell at her brother’s feet, tears filling her eyes.

“Please... don’t do this. She’s your daughter. Let her live.”

For a moment, there was only silence.

Her desperate plea finally reached something human inside Eniyan.

His anger slowly faded.

And Jiya’s life was spared.

But being allowed to live did not mean she was accepted.

Jiya grew up as the unwanted child of the family.

Love rarely found its way to her.

Yet somehow, she never stopped smiling.

She was cheerful, playful, and carried an innocence that even rejection could not take away from her.

Her eldest brother, Tim, was the biggest troublemaker in the family. Mischief seemed to follow him wherever he went.

Alice was playful too, though nowhere near as naughty as Tim.

Jiya was different.

She was quiet.

Gentle.

And she rarely caused trouble.

While her brothers filled the house with noise and chaos, Jiya filled it with silent smiles.

She never demanded attention.

Never complained.

Never asked why she wasn’t loved the way her brothers were.

Perhaps she had simply learned to accept the little love that came her way.

Life was never easy for the family.

Eniyan worked as a government employee, while Mini was a housewife.

Every rupee that entered their home came through hard work, sacrifice, and countless responsibilities.

Among them, Mini carried the heaviest burden.

She had a deep love for plants and flowers. What began as something she enjoyed slowly became another way of supporting her family.

She grew flowers, gathered them carefully, and sold them to earn a little extra money.

But selling flowers was only one part of her life.

From the moment the sun rose until the house finally fell silent at night, Mini worked.

Cooking.

Cleaning.

Taking care of the children.

Managing the household.

And somehow, finding the strength to do it all again the next morning.

She rarely complained.

She simply kept going.

Quietly holding the family together with a strength no one noticed.

And somewhere inside that house lived little Jiya.

A girl whose life had almost ended before it had even begun.

A girl who had been rejected before she could understand what rejection meant.

A girl who still smiled despite having every reason not to.

Little did Jiya know that her journey had only just begun.

The life that had nearly been taken from her on the day she was born would one day take her through struggles far greater than anyone could imagine.

And this...

was only the beginning.

As the days passed, something slowly began to change.

Mini started holding Jiya more often.

At first, it was only because she had to.

Jiya was still a small child, and someone had to take care of her.

But gradually, Mini began to look at her differently.

Jiya was no longer just the unwanted third child.

She was a little girl who needed her mother.

One day, while holding Jiya close to her, Mini looked at her tiny face for a long moment.

A thought crossed her mind.

Just because she is a girl, how can I avoid her?

She was her daughter.

She was innocent.

And perhaps, for the first time, Mini began to understand the feelings of a girl child.

From that day onward, Mini slowly started becoming kinder toward Jiya.

She began to hold her.

Feed her.

Talk to her.

And care for her.

It wasn’t perfect.

But for Jiya, even that little bit of affection meant everything.

Three Years Later

By the time Jiya turned three, Mini had a problem.

There was no one at home to look after her.

Mini often had to go to the agricultural fields for plantation work. She couldn’t leave a three-year-old child alone at home.

So she found a simple solution.

Her friend Mirza ran a small school nearby.

Mini knew Mirza well.

She trusted her.

So whenever Mini had to go to the fields, she would take Jiya to Mirza.

“Keep her with you for some time. I’ll come back after finishing the work,” Mini would say.

Mirza always smiled.

“Don’t worry. Leave her with me.”

At first, Jiya didn’t officially go to school to study.

She was only three.

Mini simply left her there because she had nowhere else to keep her safely.

It was almost like a way to keep the little girl occupied.

But Jiya had other plans.

She was an unusually active child.

She loved moving around.

She asked questions.

She watched everything carefully.

She wanted to learn whatever she saw.

She was curious about the other children, the books, the classroom, and even the smallest things around her.

Mirza noticed it immediately.

Unlike the others, Jiya never seemed bored.

She was always doing something.

Always exploring.

Always smiling.

Mirza slowly became fond of the little girl.

She wasn’t just Mini’s daughter anymore.

Jiya had become someone special to her.

One day, after watching Jiya interact with the other children, Mirza looked at Mini and said,

“Why don’t you let her come to school regularly?”

Mini looked surprised.

“She is only three.”

“I know,” Mirza replied with a smile. “But she is different. She is active, curious, and she loves being here.”

Mini remained silent.

She had never thought of Jiya as a child who could actually enjoy school.

Until then, school had simply been a place where she could leave Jiya safely while she worked.

But Mirza saw something else.

She saw a little girl who wanted to learn.

A little girl who was eager to discover the world.

And perhaps, without realizing it, Mirza became the reason Jiya’s journey with education began.

What started as a simple arrangement to keep a three-year-old child safe...

slowly became the beginning of her life at school.

And Jiya didn’t know it yet.

But the little classroom where she had been sent merely to pass the time would eventually become one of the most important places in her life.

From that day onward, Jiya started going to school happily.

What had begun as a place where Mini could leave her safely while she worked slowly became a place Jiya genuinely loved.

Every morning, she would get ready with excitement.

She loved the little routines of school—the classroom, her teacher Mirza, the other children, the books, and most of all, the freedom to learn and play.

For Jiya, school was never a burden.

It was an adventure.

At home, however, things were different.

Eniyan never really cared for Jiya.

His heart had always belonged to his eldest son, Tim.

Tim was the child he trusted the most.

Whatever Tim did, Eniyan seemed proud of him.

If Tim wanted something, Eniyan tried to give it to him.

If Tim needed help, Eniyan was there.

His love for Tim was obvious to everyone in the house.

Alice received some of that affection too.

But Jiya...

She received the least.

Sometimes, it felt as though Eniyan barely noticed that she was there.

Yet Jiya never allowed that to steal her happiness.

She was a playful little girl.

She loved running around the house, playing with whatever she could find, and turning ordinary moments into something fun.

She enjoyed reading whenever she got the chance.

She was also fascinated by cricket.

Whenever a cricket match was playing on television, Jiya would sit nearby and watch it with complete attention.

Sometimes she didn’t even understand the rules.

She simply enjoyed watching the players run, the bat hitting the ball, and her family reacting to every moment of the match.

And when she wasn’t watching cricket, she was often playing it herself.

Her brothers became her favourite teammates.

Especially Tim.

The same brother who received most of their father’s love was still her brother.

And Jiya loved him without keeping score.

She would run behind him, play with him, copy whatever he did, and laugh at his silly jokes.

Sometimes the three siblings would spend hours playing together.

Their laughter would fill the house.

For those moments, Jiya didn’t feel unwanted.

She was simply a little sister playing with her brothers.

She didn’t understand why her father loved Tim more.

She didn’t understand why Alice received more attention than she did.

She was too young to understand the difference.

All she knew was that she loved her family.

She loved school.

She loved books.

She loved cricket.

She loved playing with her brothers.

And most importantly, she loved being happy.

Perhaps that was what made Jiya different.

Even though love was given to her in pieces, she never stopped giving it completely.

She was just a little girl...

who had no idea how much life was going to test that innocent smile.