Sunday Story- Unfortunately Deserving

28-year-old Shaina had been a timid girl since childhood. Her elder sister, Kalpana, who always looked after her, was kind and confident. But today, she was alone. Walking on the footpath, although there seemed to be no danger lurking in her vicinity, she felt jittery.

It was her first day at this new job she was excited to land. It had been quite long since she had left the last one as she had to move to a new place post marriage. Getting acquainted with unfamiliar surroundings took some time. Although she was slow to settle, she enjoyed her pace. She was happy with how prim and patient she was at handling situations.

And today, she had been in another unknown environment - her workplace. It wasn't very far from where she lived, which meant that she could walk the distance. And because she had to visit her workplace every weekday, it meant that she would have to take the same footpath every weekday for as long as she had the job or didn't move houses. It was very clear to her that she couldn't afford to feel this jittery every evening.

"Shrey, I think I ought to join some martial arts classes," she told her husband as soon as she reached home. "Oh! Is that so?" replied Shrey. "Yes. The footpath is fishy to me. And I can't bear this insecurity every night," said Shaina. "Alright, if that's what you want! I think I might have a discount voucher for a BJJ centre nearby."

Right after work the following day, she went to the centre to enquire. The charges seemed manageable, especially with the discount applied. The women self-defence batches were right before her office hours on alternate days M-W-F. The timing fit well. So she paid the fees.

On returning home, she was extremely excited for the learning experience about to unfold. She had already started to fantasize about herself as a ninja under training. It was all going well up until the next morning when the training actually started.

Not being a fan of exercise all her life was really taking a toll on her now that the batches had started. Not only did she have to wear the uniform, but here she was, the perennially timid girl Shaina, practising ankle lock and gable grip. All of this was quite new to her, even difficult, but she vividly remembered that jittery feeling she experienced on that first walk in the evening from her office to home. It was that feeling that motivated her to go through the training sessions one after the other as days, weeks, and months passed by. In fact, besides feeling much more secure in the evenings while returning, she felt highly energetic going to work on those three days of training.

Time passed, and she was now almost an expert at the skill. She finished her last session before her final BJJ exam and was headed to her office. To her absolute misfortune, she discovered that she was going to be replaced by the business owner's relative. Distraught, she returned home after what was her last day at work. She shared her sorrowful experience with Shrey, but to no avail. That evening he had been in an extremely romantic mood. Although Shaina had made it clear that she was in no similar state of mind, he kept making advancements. It got to a point wherein she could hold herself no more. Conveniently situated in the bottom position, she attempted the triangle choke and took Shrey by surprise. He tapped himself out and immediately understood that he had crossed his limits.

A dejected Shaina couldn't stop crying on realising that her husband, although deservedly, had become the first real-life recipient of her attack.

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