Short Story: Fish in the Womb by Mickey Suman

Mickey Suman’s story is a captivating read that captures food, relationships, and everything in between beautifully.

“Ma, will you be cooking the eggs too?”

Janaki Devi continued scooping the slippery sac of roe from the punctured belly of the fish. The mouth of the fish was wide open as if frozen in a state of shock from the moment it found itself entangled in the fisherman’s net. Visibly squeamish but determined to express her disgust, Jamuna spoke again in a garbled murmur.

 “Tch-tch … So many eggs, they could have …” 

Pausing rather irritably, Janaki Devi looked into Jamuna’s eyes with the exhausted wrath of a weakening storm. 

“The fish is already dead and so are the eggs. Now stop mourning and get the mustard paste ready.”