What happened now ???

She is waiting, the frustration of the wait is written all over her face... she is checking the mobile every few minutes, checking to see if it is getting signal, if the battery is charged. At one point she just puts the mobile down and tells it that, enough is enough I wont check you anymore, if he wants to call, he will call.. am not wasting any more of my time.

 

A wave of thoughts enter her mind, how happy they were, how much in love, he used to call every few hours, just to say I Love You... What happened now.... They were fighting from last three days, she was giving him cold treatment from yesterday night.. he acts as if he is least bothered... She stamps her foot and goes to the kitchen to start cooking for dinner..... and the thought process starts again.. he didnt call from morning, her mind thinks up the worst possible scenario.. is he alright.. did he get hurt... maybe he was in an accident .. OH MY GOD! She runs to the mobile, picks it up to call his office.. then stops herself.. No it cant be, if anything like that had happened, somebody would have informed me. All her anger comes back with full force and with some extra energy. She throws the mobile on the couch and returns to cooking. While cutting vegetables, she thinks he loves bindi, shall i make that today, maybe if i come forward with truce he will also compromise. Then she remembers she is angry and pushes the thought of truce away, why should i be the first to offer truce, let him do it. It is me who is the victim here.

 

She starts making dough for roti, she thinks about the question that had entered her mind "What happened now, what is different", we are the same people who loved each other and married. What has changed now, she used to be the epitome of patience before, tolerating all his eccentricities, well if I think now even he was very supportive, the encouraging force behind her artistic success. She smiles, then by force remembers that she is angry with him, but the shadow of the smile is still at the end of her lips. She remembers how he used to encourage her to pursue her talent, how to be brave and confident while talking about it.

 

She covers the dough with cloth and returns to making vegetables. The question returns, then what happpened now, why is he not supportive anymore. A small voice of her conscience reminds her that even she is not a patient person anymore, she silences it and continues her thinking. Suddenly deciphering the question "What happened now" seemed like the most necessary step to save her marriage.

 

Ah marriage, she remembered the process of their marriage, the telling to the parents, making them understand that they were perfect for each other, the arrangement, the huge party called "WEDDING". Little did she know how imperfect they are.. are they??? she is confused. Those were wonderful days, What happened now.

 

She gives tadka to the vegetables and starts making rotis. She starts rolling out the roti and suddenly the answer hits her mind with so much force and conviction that she staggers back. Oh my god, thats it.. Wedding happened. She leaves the kitchen to sit down for a minute, to give herself time to process this information, to absorb and understand it.

 

When they fell in love, they were as different as they are now, they were never perfect, they were imperfectly matched, but still it worked, Why?? because they made it work, they wanted it to work. And then the Wedding happened, but marriage never happened. They thought once they get married, thats it, everything will work out on its own. They never realised that marriage needs more work than any other relationship. They had a wedding not a marriage.

 

The realisation rattled the foundations of her marriage but strengthed the power of her love for him. I Love Him, there is no other truth, there is no winner or loser, if I need a marriage, i need to work. She gets up with new determination, there is new energy in her step.

 

She retrieves her abandoned mobile and types him a message "I LOVE YOU". She smiles, a new spark in her eyes. She returns to kitchen and starts cooking bindi. Later she cleans up and starts dressing. She gets ready with new patience, a new recognition.

 

She is waiting, the anticipation of seeing him is written all over her face. She checks her mobile and sees a message from him "I LOVE YOU TOO". She smiles.