Zeal #ATOZCHALLENGE-Z
Elisa Fernandes had a way of reading the room before anything was said. As a child she could hear silences screaming louder than words. They meant disapproval or even rejection. What more could an eleven-year-old want from life? What more than to be understood? From the bedroom she could hear the loud hollering of her parents fighting. All she could hear is why neither could give her the attention they should have, how spoiled she already was because of the neglect, and how nothing can undo what has already been lost. Holding on tightly to the pillow, she was grappled in fear and sadness, numb to everything else that was going on. Why were they blaming each other? How bad was the situation already? Gradually, the self-blame took over and manifested in different ways. Elisa became a recluse, resorted to comfort eating and started to have digestive issues. That too became her fault in the course of time. There was never a talk of showing her to a physician or even a counsellor. It would ...