Two days of LOVE..

This story is about how love lives and makes people live. This story is narrated to you in Mohamed Milla’s voice. Does the number of years a relationship lasts influence the purity of love? This story is about how just ‘Two Days’ of togetherness made a man’s life misserable and death peaceful.

I was thankful to my cousin who had invited me to her daughter’s school for an annual day program. I was a loner, I lived or I’d rather say I survived in a small house all alone for 30 long years. I was 50 and I wasn’t married yet. There was a very short story behind my long lonely years. I loved a girl. I really don’t know how it happened but it did. She was Gayathri, a Hindu girl. I won’t say she was gorgeous looking but she looked beautiful to my eyes at least. I started speaking to her and started falling for the way she spoke. I was not aware that she had a liking for me too. I did not plan for it but words slipped through my fingers and I typed those 3 words of love. She first refused, brought up the issues of religion, language, customs and the pain that will queue up in our life if things happened as I wish. But I knew she too fell for me. Finally I somehow convinced her that things could happen and we could face, whatever the problem is, together. That is where ‘Beautiful 2 days’ of my entire life begun. We loved talking to eachother so much. We were always thinking of eachother and were in touch with eachother the next two days. I still remember each and every word she spoke to me. She was a Tamil Hindu and I was an Urdhu Musalman but all the differences melted as we spoke. But why am I telling you it was just for 2 days? Before that let me tell you what happened at the school that day and why I was thankful to my cousin for the invite.

        I went to that school for the annual day program. The whole ground was crowded with lot of couples who were very eager to see their children performing on stage. My cousin was busy with her husband in watching their kids singing songs on stage. I shrank within. I wanted to have such a happy family but I did not have kids, I did not have a wife, I did not have a family, I did not live my life. There came the biggest shock that reminded me one of our conversations. That school had an award called “best family in school award” given every year to siblings studying in the same school. They called out names of a brother and a sister and those names made my heart ache in her memories. It wasn’t her name though. “Rohith” “Aditi” and there came two cute kids to receive their award. 

 
    I can remember that conversation through out my lifetime in all my births. The First day of the ‘two beautiful days’ begun with a simple “Good morning” but later on made us talk seriously about how we were going to become a family in few years. I told her everything about my family and she told me about hers. She was telling me about how she would change herself to fit in my family and I told her that she was already fitting in. I knew she’d be the best daughter-in-law for my mother, best sister-in-law for my sister and best mother for my kids. The moment this cropped up in my mind I told her “Let’s have 2 kids” 

      
  She is basically a very naughty person who loves to crack jokes. She immidiately asked “only 2? We will have 21 kids, 20 like me and just one like you.” I said “No I want all 21 to be like you. But you will die taking care of so many kids. Your happiness is what is important so let’s have just 2, one boy and one girl. We will name them “Aditi” and “Rohith”. She smiled and kissed me on my cheek. I can still feel her lipstick sticking on my cheek after 30 years.

           The same names and same kind of family I wanted. Tears filled my eyes and there was no one around who bothered even if I died in the same spot. They were all busy enjoying, unlike me; they had a family to enjoy. But my tears rolled back into my eyes the moment the mother of these kids came on to the stage It was Gayathri and she came smiling to the stage as a proud mother. I always wanted her to live happily in a well settled family. I lived all my life in her memories and now im very happy to know that she respected my love. If not she wouldn’t have named her kids with the names I wanted. She is in the same family she dreamt of being in but the only change was that I was replaced by another man. I clapped for the first time that day.Tears reached my chin but those were happy tears so I did not want to disturb their dance at the edge of my chin. She got the award and came down. Her face hadn’t changed much other than the 49-year wrinkles, but still she looked beautiful to my eyes. She smiled and that reminded me of the last few words she had spoken to me before she went away. 

She loved me so strong, so deep and so truly. Everything went on well till the second day evening when we started the discussion about the differences. That was an argument I hated the most. I was the one who messed up everything knowing well that it’d hurt her hard. I said “I want you to sit and think. I want you to sit and think about the differences in religion, language and customs.I like you but I don’t want to ruin your life.” 

She said “I love you in the truest way. You be a Muslim, an African or an alien I still love you.” 

“But see! I am confused. I don’t want to ruin everything. Let me take a break and think. Give me sometime” 

“Ok take you time” 

She logged off and went. I was very much confused. I took another two days to decide but before I told her what I had decided she mailed me something which I still remember word by word. She said she doesn’t want to know what my decision was and that she wasn’t interested in talking to me anymore. At the end she had added “Keep smiling Mohi (that’s how she used to call me) you look smart when you smile.Bye.”

        She was stubborn not to talk to me after that. I did not want to disturb her anymore. I walked away from her life and started living my life all alone in her memories. When I was 25, I thought she would have got married as she used to say girls get married early in her community. I prayed god that she should get the best man and the best family. Again it was her happiness that was important. 

         Now when I saw her smile I am happy that at least she settled down well unlike me. I never regretted for wasting a lifetime for my gayathri. I went to her and said a hello. I got scared and got a doubt if I had said something wrong. This Doubt cropped as the moment I said a hello her eyes, which I love the most, got filled with tears. I was afraid if I had spoiled her happy mood. I said “im sorry. I thought it was someone I know madam. I had mistaken you to be someone else.” 

“No Mohi. I am Gayathri only. How are you?” 

I just smiled. I didn’t want her to know my status as I was sure that would create problem in her happy life with her family. 

“You still look good when you smile.” She said and smiled. She invited me with my family to her house and she compelled me to come immediately from the school. I went to her place and waited for the coffee I had promised to have. That is when I spoke to Aditi and Rohith. I asked them about their father and they said that their father was not living with them. I was shocked. The only person I wanted to see smiling was Gayathri but the tears behing her smiles shook me. I did not feel comfortable staying there. The moment I stood up to leave there was a big frame hanging in the wall near door. It looked similar to me but it wasn’t a photo of someone. I was shocked and I started crying. It was a mail from me to her in those two lovely days of my life. She had framed it. But why did she do that. Now I was sure why her husband had left her alone. Maybe this was the reason. But why should she do that after having two kids? I was afraid. I should be the possible reason for all her tears now. I did not want her to cry that is why I left her and went but now?! I wanted to set this all fine for her. I went back to the sofa and sat there till she came out with the coffee. She did not change a bit, she was very talkative even in her late 40s. She asked me about how many kids I had and about my wife. I did not want her to know anything about me. I asked her about why she had hung that mail of mine on her wall and why her husband had left her. She tried telling me a lot of stories without logic. But finally I found tears flooding her face. I wasn’t able to bear seeing her cry. I held her hands and asked her why she was crying. 

           She angrily pushed me and said “Go away Mohi” and ran inside. I kissed the kids and said “Bye” to them. Aditi pulled me down to her height and asked me if I knew who her father was. I was shocked. She further explained saying “We have not seen our dad. We love him loads. Uncle,if you know him, can you ask him to come and see us just once. Tell him that mom daily cries seeing reading his mail.”

          I was speechless. I did not understand what the kid was telling me. I asked her “What mail?” and she pointed at the one that was hanging on the wall. She came out running and slapped the kid. I held her hands

        She said “Mohi! I am not yet married. I wasn’t able to forget you but I did not want to disturb your life. I knew well you will be happily settled with a family. But I wanted to live my dreams of having 2 kids and you. So I married your memories and adopted two kids. I named them as you wished. I did no want to have a photo of yours and mess up, so I hung that mail I value the most. Im sorry I wasn’t able to hide it from you now. But you needn’t worry about me. I know I’ll manage.Now you please go away.Bye.” 

          “How can I leave here now?” I said to myself. Now I was the happiest man on earth. Maybe we did not marry, maybe we did not even meet after that but we loved eachother and we will love in the future too. That two days has filled our entire life with love. This girl whom I thought was just in love proved that she lived in love.

“I am not married Gayu.I lived for my love and I got my love back now.”

“Can we get married at least now,Mohi?”  

What could I say other than a yes? IT was too late for a love marriage. I was 50 and she was 49 but that did not matter much. We decided to marry after convincing our kids that I was their father. Tomorrow is our marriage. We survived loving and we will start living from now on. So I think I will have to go help our kids with the arrangements, after all it’s my marriage. So see you all soon. 

“Gayathri, where are you?...” 

And the story ends, their life just started