My sister-in-law has been deaf and dumb for the past seven years. When my brother died, the whole family gathered to talk about the inheritance—and suddenly she burst into tears and said something that left us speechless.

My sister-in-law was deaf and mute for seven years. When my brother died, we gathered to distribute the inheritance – then he uttered a sentence that shocked us all.

In our small town near Lucknow, my sister-in-law, Anika, used to be a vivacious and happy woman. He loved singing bhajans at festivals, talking to neighbours and filling the house with energy.

But seven years ago, fate struck mercilessly.

One evening while returning from work, his hearing was badly affected in a road accident. His hearing loss was complete. Since then, they have never spoken again.

For seven years, she lived quietly with my elder brother, Ramesh. Not once did he complain.

She juggled all the responsibilities of the house – from cooking for the family, to taking care of my elderly in-laws and raising her younger son – she has done it quietly, never asking for help.

She would only communicate with pen and paper, or sometimes by writing short messages on the phone.

To be honest, I always admired his courage.

But then once again a tragedy befell us.

My brother passed away suddenly,
Ramesh died of a sudden stroke while working in a garment factory.

He did not leave any will. He didn’t even get a chance to speak to his wife and son for the last time.

Our parents passed away long ago, so the matter of sharing the family inheritance fell on the relatives.

We had two sons: my elder brother Ramesh, and me, the younger brother who handled all the legal documents.

Soon after the funeral rituals, one of our uncles said in a cold voice:

“The house and land are in the name of your late parents. It is a family property. Now that Ramesh is gone, it should be divided equally. You can’t allow a widow to keep everything. ”

Anika remained
silent, she was dressed in a white widow’s sari, her long hair was disheveled, her hands trembling as she poured water for the guests.
He didn’t say a word. He didn’t even react.

“She’s been dependent on the family for years,” muttered relatives. Now her husband is gone, she is dumb, and now is the end of it…”

Some even offered to sell the house and divide the money into three parts – one part for Anika, one for me, and the rest among uncles and cousins.

I was angry, but I was outnumbered. Everyone assumed that since Anika was dumb, she could not understand anything.
But then, she spoke.

As the papers were about to be signed, Anika suddenly stood up from her chair.

His eyes turned red. He slammed his hand the table, tears streaming down his face.
And then, in a heavy but steady voice he said:

“This house… It’s made with the money I sold my kidneys…!”

The room froze into stunned silence.

With trembling hands, he slipped his hands into his bag and pulled out an old, yellowed photocopy—a medical certificate from a kidney removal surgery that was from eight years ago.

I took it from him, my hands were snow.

His words were slowly coming out, each one pricking like a blade:

“When Ramesh lost his job and was about to return to the village empty-handed… I sold my kidney. The land was secured with the same money. With that money, these walls were built in which you are sitting now. ”

The room turned to stone

The uncle who had demanded partition broke into a sweat.

The gossiping relatives hung their heads in shame.

The woman whom they had dismissed as “dumb” for seven years had not remained silent because of ignorance or weakness—she had suffered silently.

That day, his voice returned, only to protect the house he had sacrificed his body to build.

She picked up the documents, hugged them to her chest and went back to her room.

From that moment onward, no one ever dared to mention the word “division” again.

After seven years of silence, the same sentence…

It was enough to silence the whole family.