Innocent Crime

This girl in my class, had
Scribbled in her class-book
"I want to marry Ajay".
The other girls found it
And brought it to my notice.

This was in the second standard.
I was the class monitor.
It was a big issue. I was
Embarrassed and kept crying.

The whole class booed her,
She ran out of the class.
I caught up to her to beat
Her up with my chappals-
Innocent mishaps can be a
Big crime in a rural setting.

The incident didn't end there.
My aunt went to her house
To create a ruckus- my
Family Pride was in danger
Because of a little girl.

How unfairly a girl of hardly
Seven can be treated?
I feel ashamed of it.

Sometimes when she passes
By my house with her kid,
Head down.
I too look away, out of shame.

Maybe in a parallel life,
We exchange awkward smiles.
But in this one, the damage
Is done.