A to Z Series Post # 12 Love.......

I kept thinking of Mahita’s statement about kindness for a long time, but nothing could stop me from idolizing her, and falling in love with her again and again.

The thought that she was the woman I’d waited for all my life kept coming back to me.

I loved everything about her, her talks, her thoughts, her intelligence, her efficiency, everything.

The thought that she hadn’t spoken more about herself to me nagged me once in a while. I consoled myself , that her status as a widow was what kept her from opening up. Probably she still smarted under that hurt, I thought.

Or perhaps she was waiting for the right moment to speak.

Kamini used to ring me up every alternate day to keep me aware of the situation at home. Dadima was getting better each day; I spoke to her a couple of times and she spoke at length about how Kamini was taking good care of her, how her health had improved and how they both loved each other’s soothing company. I was happy to hear Dadima’s cheerful voice, and I had to admit that Kamini was good at her job.

Not a big thing ; she’s good at what she has been trained to do, I thought to myself, as if to make myself believe that I was still justified in nursing my resentment towards her.

It was quite a busy time for us at office, because some of our showrooms had been closed for renovation prior to Eid-ul-Fitr, which was a season for our booming sales. My hands were full with things to organize, and renovation contracts to be taken care of. The IT Dept had to be ‘on-the-call’ always, as system requirements  and issues had to be resolved on an ‘as-and-when’ basis. We hardly had time for a chat, or a talk, but I ensured that I spoke to Mahita at least once a day.

One day, I got some free time for tea. I arranged for  some snacks from  Al Noor, the arab restaurant next to our office.

Mahita joined me , and as we sat sipping tea, munching on Falafel, I couldn’t help noticing, again, how young, beautiful and lively she looked.

Her brown eyes were deep, and for a moment I fancied a  melancholy shade in them.

She caught me staring at her, and asked, “ What’s up, Vinod ? Why so silent ? And why are you looking at me as if you’re seeing me for the first time?”

The penetrating gaze of  those brown eyes triggered my sleeping thoughts.

I had to do it, now.

“ I love you, Mahita,” I said. “ I really do”.

For a moment, she sat still, her pretty eyes exploring the expression on my face.

“ So do I, Vinod,” she said, pausing for a moment.

Yippeeeee ! I wanted to yell in the joy of having heard something that I’d been craving to hear for a long time !!

But before I could do exactly that, she resumed talking.

“ We all do, Vinod. We all love each other, don’t we ? This world is not  beautiful, if there’s no love, Vinod. Love is the force that keeps you, me and everyone else alive. Lively. Cheerful. Happy. And we exist because we love each other. No life is complete without love, Vinod. And we all complete each other by spreading the love,” she said.

As my mouth opened wide, unable to understand what this interpretation signified, the woman who had made me fall in love walked out of the pantry, smiling beautifully...

Was I the fool here ?  or was it the woman who told me what she thought love was ?

To be contd.....

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Linking this to A toZ 2014 and the Ultimate Blogging Challenge.