Once upon a time, there was a beautiful wife. She wore a pink frock, pink lipstick & blonde hair. Everybody who saw her would scream to buy her. Everybody who bought her would play with her. Slowly, she changed the people she lived with. They wanted to become like her. They wanted to become pink. They wanted to become The Wife.
The Wife was carved by a beautiful woman named Gratis who spend her days writing words in the barks of the mango tree her mother had planted 20 years ago. One day, her mother asked her, 'Gratis why do you hurt trees?' I don't hurt my mango tree Ma, I draw with powder on its brown canvas'.
Days passed when her drawings were rubbed & removed by the blue rains. It looked as if the words were melting snow. Slowly removed, drop by drop. Her mother's tinkering laugh sounded like bamboo's flute to Gratis until she said, 'your words are not permanent.' 'But my happiness on carving them is' thought she.
Another day in her forest brought lightning along with a family of 3 rabbits under her mango tree. Her mother opened her mouth & said a meaningless word, 'aww'. Inspired, Gratis decided to write it on her tree. Her actions made her mother angry. 'Gratis, these words are not permanent. Look at those rabbits. Pink ears & a pair with a kit. They are a family. Their happiness is permanent.'
Gratis was hurt. She decided to make something pink & permanent & happy. She picked up the wood her mother had kept for making fire & carved her own self. She used all of her mother's wisdom. 'Its time for you to get married; don't wander or you will be lost; If you lose your way home, you will forget me...'
Her creature was pink like their ears, white like their fur, soft like their eyes & beautiful like their walk. A few days later, when the rabbits left, she gifted the doll to her now, a sad mother. 'You look like a wife', smiled her mother. She placed it on her kitchen window sill & started crying.
