Appa woke me up when we reached home. I went to the toilet to brush my teeth. My younger sisters were already asleep. Maria, my eldest sister and I share one bedroom. My younger sisters Liza and sally sleep in the 2nd bedroom and My parents sleep in the master bedroom.
Before I went to bed Amma asked me
“Nina, have you done all your home work?”
“Yes Amma, I completed all my work before we went to Chengannur”.
Maria was already asleep and I really wanted to wake her up and tell her that Appa and amma were fighting earlier. We take turns to watch our parents so nothing untoward happens in the middle of the night. I tried shaking her. She was sound asleep. I was tired and wanted to sleep. Before I went to bed I quietly tiptoed to my parents bedroom and stood outside listening to any sound from inside. There was no sound and I went back to my room and knealt down and prayed to Parumala Thirumeni to keep my mother safe and grant my parents long life, sense and sensibilty.
My father was working as an engineer for the Malaysian Public service. My parents decided to come back to Kerala so we can study in Indian Universities. Every time when my parents fight Ammachi would say “God was taking a nap when he decided to join these two people in holy matrimony”. It was absolutely true, if marriages were made in heaven, then there has to be a major mistake that made my parents get married to each other.
It was a marriage that joined Ms. Perfect to Mr. Macho man, and their marriage life was like a pressure cooker on the fire. The tension was omnipresent and sometimes it would just sizzle, sometimes the pressure would be released and most of the time it just exploded. Maria and I are the peacekeepers always on duty. I was scared to sleep. I thought of a day that we would live peacefully and happy and sometime in the night I slept off.

Akkachi, our maid woke me up at 6.30 in the morning. I quickly went my parents room to check if my mother is alive. Amma was brushing her hair and getting ready for work. She worked as an accountant for the Indian telecommunications. I quietly walked to the kitchen and told Maria and Akkachi about the fight in the night. I warned my younger sisters Liza and Sally not to make any sound and get ready for school. I didn’t want them to do anything that would trigger my parents to start another fight. I brushed my teeth and quickly wore my uniform,Yellow blouse and green skirt. Akkachi hand wash my uniform and irons it every morning. It is a great feeling to wear freshly ironed uniform each morning. Akkachi got my younger sisters ready for school. My father would drop them to school on his way to work.
Every monday, we have Chapathi for breakfast and I no longer like to eat it. The chapathi at our house is rock hard. Akkachi used to make soft Chapathi earlier. It all changed when my American unlce and his family came home for a visit.