Shuchi Shukla

A Gift

While my grandma was alive, the most remarkable story, she retold, was of her sister, Komal’s ultimate triumph. Komal was uglier than the proverbial ugly duckling, who won the heart of her beautiful husband in the end. Well, not at the end of her life or anything. But you know how fairy tales end with the “happily ever after.” Nobody tells the story of the “after.” Neither did grandma.