Secrets!

“Hey, Ma! I’m here. Where are you?” Raina called out as she let herself into the house.

“ In here, in the living room.” her mother replied. 

Raina walked into the living room and stopped short. Her mother was standing in front of a painting, a finger on her lips, her head tilted as she considered it. 

“What are you doing?” 

“There’s this new artist in town. Everyone is raving about her. I just went to an exhibition of her work and picked this one up.”

“Wow! How much did you pay for it?” Raina asked.

“Well, let’s say it is worth the price because now all my friends and colleagues will know that I own an SR original!”

“That means it is expensive!” Raina teased her mother who just smiled

A few years ago 

“Raina, what are you doing?” her mother called. Raina sighed as she hid her sketch book under her clothes in the closet and replied, “Studying, Ma.”

“Good! You know you need to take these entrance exams very seriously. Though your dad and I can get you into medical school because of our contacts, it would make it so much easier if you got it on your own merits.”

“Yes, Ma. I know. I will not let you down.”

As Raina looked at her books, she remembered the conversation she had had with her parents, the previous night.

“Why do I have to give this entrance exam?” she had asked. “I don’t want to become a doctor. I want to go to art school and become an artist.”

“Raina,” her mother said in a cajoling voice. “It’s okay to draw as a hobby, but it’s not going to earn you much.”

“And it’s not as respectable as being a doctor.” her father added. “See how much people respect your mom and me. We have waiting lists that run into months.”

“But I am good at painting…” 

“You are also very good at studies. You topped your school and came close to topping the board. Now I don’t want to hear any nonsense about being an artist anymore. You are meant to become a doctor and take over the hospital that your mom and I built up from scratch. Why do you think we did this, if not for you?  We are willing to pay for your medical studies but not if you want to do anything else.”

Her father has never spoken so sternly to her before. Raina was stunned, but she also acknowledged the fact that her parents actually did give her the best of everything and she knew they loved her. Sacrificing her art was a small price to pay for their happiness.

Present day

Raina thought of all the days when she had studied medicine through the day and painted secretly through the night in her hostel room. Her friend and room mate knew of a gallery that displayed the work of young, unknown artists. She had started sending her paintings there and was surprised when the owner told her that all of them had sold for a good sum. 

Over the years she had got better and her paintings were in more demand. She just wished she could give her passion the time it deserved. 

Raina closed the door to her bedroom and smiled a secretive smile. She wondered what her mom would say if she knew that the artist she was raving about was none other than her own daughter Raina, whose brand name SR stood for Simply Raina. 

This post is written in response to the ninety first edition of Fiction Monday hosted on Reflections by Vinitha Dileep.  I chose the word prompt, “secrets”. If you like it, do say so in the comments. I would love to hear from you.