Mona Bedi
The burden
A pretty young village girl has set up a balloon stall near our house. Every evening, local boys linger around her shop, pretending to browse while stealing glances at her. I worry for her safety, but my husband tells me not to fret.
Then, one day, she disappears.
A year later, I spot her again on the street. She looks older somehow, her smile dimmer than I remember. A baby is cradled in her arms. I hurry over to congratulate her, but before I can stop myself, a question escapes.
“Who is the baby’s father?”
A sad smirk crosses her face.
“I don’t know,” she replies.
hometown visit
untold stories lurk
in the bylanes
About the Author
Mona Bedi is a medical doctor in Delhi, India. She has published two books of poetry, they you and me and dancing moonlight, and her haiku and senryu have been published in Failed Haiku, Haiku in Action, The Haiku Dialogue, cold moon journal, tsuri-doro, and many others. She lives with her husband, two children, and a dog.
From light and airy to leaden and deep, your haibun takes me to a place unexpected and requiring time to ponder.