03-06-2026, 08:29 PM
Chapter 47: Maya (Act 10)
“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Rahim said finally, his voice sincere. He glanced at the soft glow of the oil lamps and then at Maya, who was sitting across from him, her expression calm yet tinged with something deeper. A part of him felt it was time to leave, to head back to the train station before the mood shifted further.
But before he could speak, Maya leaned forward, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that kept him rooted in place.
“You know,” she began, her voice low and thoughtful, “I’ve been blessed with a husband who cares for me, trusts me, and treats me well. He’s a good man, Rahim-ji. But… there are things even he doesn’t know about me. Things I’ve never told anyone.”
Rahim raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite himself. “What kind of things?”
Maya hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “Well, for starters, I love children. I’ve always wanted a big family. But after three daughters, I was hoping for a son. When I got pregnant again, I prayed so hard for a boy. And yet…” She paused, her expression softening as she looked down at her hands. “Our fourth child turned out to be another girl.”
Rahim nodded sympathetically. “That must have been difficult.”
“It was,” Maya admitted, her voice tinged with both regret and determination. “I still want a son...just one more child, my fifth and final one. But I’m starting to feel like my husband… well, his strength isn’t what it used to be.”
Rahim blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone. “His strength? You mean…”
“Yes,” Maya said matter-of-factly, her lips curving into a wry smile. “Let’s just say prior to me conceiving my fourth, I had to practically force him to… perform on my ovulation days. I even put him on supplements, traditional herbs, and pills just to make sure he could keep up.” She chuckled, though there was a hint of embarrassment in her laughter. “I was desperate, Rahim-ji. I wanted that baby boy so badly.”
Rahim shifted uncomfortably in his chair, unsure how to respond. “That’s… quite the commitment,” he said awkwardly.
Maya waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. It’s not like I’m the only woman in the world who’s gone to such lengths. But here’s the thing before I got pregnant with my fourth daughter, I did something… unconventional.”
Rahim leaned forward slightly, curiosity overriding his discomfort. “What did you do?”
Maya hesitated again, her gaze drifting to the window as if weighing her words carefully. “I took samples of my husband’s sperm… after we were intimate, of course and had them tested at a local clinic. They sent the samples to a lab in town, and it took a week to get the results.”
Rahim’s eyes widened. “You tested his sperm?”
Maya nodded, her expression turning somber. “The doctor told me my husband’s sperm is defective. The medical term is oligozoospermia...low sperm count, poor motility, and abnormal morphology. Basically, his sperm can’t fertilize an egg.”
She let out a long, weary sigh. “According to the doctor, I’ll never be able to get pregnant from him.”
Rahim stared at her, stunned into silence. For a moment, the room seemed to spin as he processed her words. “But… your fourth daughter…”
The words hung in the air between them, heavy and unspoken. Rahim felt a chill run down his spine as Maya looked away, her expression betraying a mixture of guilt and resignation.
“I never told him,” she said softly, almost to herself. “How could I? It would destroy him. So I kept it to myself… and now I carry this secret every day.”
Rahim sat back in his chair, his mind racing. The serene atmosphere of the hut now felt suffused with tension, the weight of Maya’s confession pressing down on them both. He didn’t know what to say or if he should say anything at all.
Finally, he broke the silence with a hesitant question. “Maya....how did you conceive your fourth daughter?”
“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Rahim said finally, his voice sincere. He glanced at the soft glow of the oil lamps and then at Maya, who was sitting across from him, her expression calm yet tinged with something deeper. A part of him felt it was time to leave, to head back to the train station before the mood shifted further.
But before he could speak, Maya leaned forward, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that kept him rooted in place.
“You know,” she began, her voice low and thoughtful, “I’ve been blessed with a husband who cares for me, trusts me, and treats me well. He’s a good man, Rahim-ji. But… there are things even he doesn’t know about me. Things I’ve never told anyone.”
Rahim raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite himself. “What kind of things?”
Maya hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. “Well, for starters, I love children. I’ve always wanted a big family. But after three daughters, I was hoping for a son. When I got pregnant again, I prayed so hard for a boy. And yet…” She paused, her expression softening as she looked down at her hands. “Our fourth child turned out to be another girl.”
Rahim nodded sympathetically. “That must have been difficult.”
“It was,” Maya admitted, her voice tinged with both regret and determination. “I still want a son...just one more child, my fifth and final one. But I’m starting to feel like my husband… well, his strength isn’t what it used to be.”
Rahim blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone. “His strength? You mean…”
“Yes,” Maya said matter-of-factly, her lips curving into a wry smile. “Let’s just say prior to me conceiving my fourth, I had to practically force him to… perform on my ovulation days. I even put him on supplements, traditional herbs, and pills just to make sure he could keep up.” She chuckled, though there was a hint of embarrassment in her laughter. “I was desperate, Rahim-ji. I wanted that baby boy so badly.”
Rahim shifted uncomfortably in his chair, unsure how to respond. “That’s… quite the commitment,” he said awkwardly.
Maya waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. It’s not like I’m the only woman in the world who’s gone to such lengths. But here’s the thing before I got pregnant with my fourth daughter, I did something… unconventional.”
Rahim leaned forward slightly, curiosity overriding his discomfort. “What did you do?”
Maya hesitated again, her gaze drifting to the window as if weighing her words carefully. “I took samples of my husband’s sperm… after we were intimate, of course and had them tested at a local clinic. They sent the samples to a lab in town, and it took a week to get the results.”
Rahim’s eyes widened. “You tested his sperm?”
Maya nodded, her expression turning somber. “The doctor told me my husband’s sperm is defective. The medical term is oligozoospermia...low sperm count, poor motility, and abnormal morphology. Basically, his sperm can’t fertilize an egg.”
She let out a long, weary sigh. “According to the doctor, I’ll never be able to get pregnant from him.”
Rahim stared at her, stunned into silence. For a moment, the room seemed to spin as he processed her words. “But… your fourth daughter…”
The words hung in the air between them, heavy and unspoken. Rahim felt a chill run down his spine as Maya looked away, her expression betraying a mixture of guilt and resignation.
“I never told him,” she said softly, almost to herself. “How could I? It would destroy him. So I kept it to myself… and now I carry this secret every day.”
Rahim sat back in his chair, his mind racing. The serene atmosphere of the hut now felt suffused with tension, the weight of Maya’s confession pressing down on them both. He didn’t know what to say or if he should say anything at all.
Finally, he broke the silence with a hesitant question. “Maya....how did you conceive your fourth daughter?”
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