We used to meet once in an year during our college days, I had a habit of looking at his mobile, flipping the messages, photos and ring tones and once his wall paper was a photo of some girl and I freaked out asking “ oye kaun hai yeh?” He said “ Shreya” and with swollen face I said “ hhmmmm” and put back the mobile and kept thinking and then finally I couldn’t resist and asked “ is that your girlfriend in the mobile wallpaper?” he grinned and replied “ Tamil heroine hai”.
I was waiting at the Delhi airport for him. He called and said ship has arrived at Mumbai port and I reached Delhi airport even before he could board his flight from Mumbai to Delhi.
I stood there waiting, when he called and said “ shona just three more hours, I will be there with you”. I replied “ I am already waiting at airport” and we hung up.
As I was waiting I was reminded of the day, when he called and said “ I have cleared the interview for marine engineer, they want me to sign a bond of four years involving few trips and start my journey next week. I said, “Can we meet and talk?” I knew if we would talk more over the phone, it would land up to a fight.
We met at GIP, pind balluchi, I reached directly from office and was in formals. He was somewhere near Noida as a part of marketing cum sales job, so managed to squeeze in time and meet there.
We ordered for food, rather we don’t need to order, the service people would automatically bring, as we had been there for so many times that they would know what we usually order. I was working on the laptop while he kept looking outside the window and when food arrived, I shut it and we started having food. So I started “ haan abhi batao”. He knew I would start and so I did, after all we met to discuss the topic.
He said “ kya bataun? Wohi bataya na, cleared the interview, bas aur kya?” I said, “ so what have you decided?” he looked at me with shock “ decide ka kya hai? I told you pehle hi I am giving interview for interview experience”. Somewhere at heart, we both knew, it was great necessity for him to get a better job. He wanted because he was not satisfied in the current and I wanted because my parents wouldn’t want me to get married to a person in fieldwork profile. Well marine engineer would not be preferred too, because I remember when my parents were looking out for a guy for my sister, if some one would say guy is marine engineer, would you look for your daughter? My mom would immediately say “No”. I also would be part of it and make fun “haan wohh 6 mahine ship pe hoga, tab yeh tumhari jaan khaegi, rehne do”.
Coming back to reality I was harsh but I said “ I hope you realize what you are earning now is too less, and after marriage , no families would be supporting us monetarily” . He looked at me asking “so? You want me to live away from you, just because we need to earn well?” I was blank and replied “I can live without you, for few years , if its for our better future” . He sighed and again looked out of the glass window and said “ theek hai , kal I ll go and sign the bond, I bet you will regret for having said this”…..we planned to meet next day and decide the plans for next week for his packing and all.
He lived there six months, without any communications, or very few. I focused on my career and worked harder to save money and studied further to keep myself occupied. Every now and then parents wanted me to see and a guy and he had said before leaving “don’t revolt and see if you like some one, because living life with a marine engineer would not be easy” and I had shouted “you are mad, I don’t want you to go, so that I can marry someone else and settle, its for our future, you are going to join”.
But I had to see guys and would cry day and night, thinking how do I handle things and answer to my parents “no” and state what reasons. Finally the first six months was over and he had come back. We talked to both are families; we had saved in money that we could do a decent wedding, without troubling our parents. But wedding plans had taken away the entire six months and we got married, 10 days before his next journey. We got married and we got involved in packing and planning for things required for next 6 months. Still I didn’t realize anything. I had convinced families that I would live these six months at my parents place though it was hard to convince, and finally today I was waiting for him, regretting why at all I told him to go and join as a “marine engineer”.
So here I was, now for the first time, going to live a life of married women. I had dressed up, as he would like me to. I was wearing a simple dull shaded, white suit, kurta with small blue flowered prints, with the chain (which we south Indian girls have to wear after marriage) and a watch he had gifted me on our wedding. When I saw him coming, I realized he had grown up. He looked mature than I had seen him last. He gave a tight hug and said “ you are looking pretty as ever.” I was broken and almost crying and whispered “ I missed you” but his voice was strong and clear “ I missed you too”. I didn’t want to show my weakness and made fun of him “mera motu , smart lagne laga hai”.
While he was driving, (well he had so much of ego that he cant let me drive when I am sitting right next to him) I knew this, and may be it was for this ego that I fell in love with him. And as ever, I found his mobile in my hands, so I started looking at it. It had a photo of mine, of my college days, which he used to love. I looked at him, he laughed “ kya dekh rahi hai?” I showed the picture to him and asked “ in this your girlfriend in the mobile wallpaper?”……………
I regretted my decision as he had said, but I learnt one thing, there is no turning back in life. I can change the things of future but not the past decision. I decided to be happy with the decision I took for us and live the moments, which I get with him and after all it was for our better future.
Note: The story is purely imaginative and any resemblance to any person or incident is fictions.
Should i comment as "WINK" ;)
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