A to Z Series Post # 18 Revelation !!

Married at 19, widowed at 21.

That was shocking !

And the mother of a six-year old.

I kept thinking for some time, how that was possible.

All the while, Mahita was looking at me, as if daring me to go further with my questions.

Then it dawned on me.

She must have adopted him, when she was left alone after the death of her husband.

I mellowed down a bit and looked at her.

She was dressed in a green saree, the pallav adorning her shoulder in a single, flowing layer. Her long hair was braided neatly, and it lazily fell on her lap from behind the nape of her neck. She had the same calm face, that she had had the first time I saw her walking into the interview hall. Those same brown, big, deep eyes. With the fading line of kohl in them.

A faint smile played on her lips, concealing her anguish and tiredness, if she ever felt them.

She looked lovely.

I found it hard to believe that this pretty woman had lived and  struggled alone for the past ten years.

I began to see why she’d told me she knew about love.

This made me love her all the more.

Why should she suffer more, when I was ready to bestow all the love in the world upon her  and her kid?

But the photograph nagged me now.

Perhaps she was still in love with her dead husband, my inner voice told me.

What’s the point ? He’s not coming back, is he ? You must ask her to move on, the heart argued.  

I took a deep breath before speaking again.

“ I know, Mahita. I understand how difficult it must’ve been for you. I didn’t know you had so much in your heart”.

“ Yes, I know you never knew this , Vinod. Mostly because I haven’t shared much with you about my personal life, have I ? But then, you were never bothered much, were you?”, she asked.

“ Of course, yes. I was indeed bothered, ever since I found myself drawn to you. But you hardly talked to me about your life. I’ve wanted to ask you about the photograph ever since I saw it inside the book,” I spoke, hoping that she would see my sincerity.

She smiled. A sad, painful smile.

“ Love is strange, Vinod. You don’t get it back sometimes, despite giving it in full. Sometimes when you don’t want it,  it would come knocking from nowhere. At other times, the paths of love shall intersect and leave a bloody  trail,” she said, closing her eyes softly.

“ I can understand, Mahita. It must be difficult for you to leave the thoughts about Mohan behind. But it’s been almost ten years , as you said. Don’t you feel the need to move on ? Take your time, Mahita, but you must definitely move on. You mustn’t simply hang on to the memories of someone who’s not going to return. You are still young , Mahita. You can’t waste your life ,” I spoke.

She opened her eyes, wide in surprise.

“Who said I haven’t moved on ? Who said I’m still hanging on to memories? And what’s that about wasting my life ? ”, she asked.

I was taken aback.

“ Then why do you still have that snap of yours and your husband’s hidden away in that book?”, I asked, irritated.

“ I don’t understand the logic, Vinod. What’s wrong in me having the snap of someone I love ? And what’s wrong in loving dead people ? Is there any problem in reliving the love ? Does death wipe out everything about a person  ? ”, she shot at me a volley of questions.

I looked at her in confusion. She’d just said she had moved on.  But now she was defending herself on loving a dead person.

“How will you move on, if you keep looking at your late husband’s photograph ? And what kind of happiness can you offer your son, after adopting him with all promises and all that, if you cling on to the past  ?”, I questioned back.

She got up from her seat, visibly agitated.

“ Did I tell you that it is my husband’s photograph ? And who the hell told you I had adopted Saarthak? Did  I ? Come on, Vinod, did I tell you he was adopted ? ”, she asked, her voice raised beyond usual, a mixture of anger and irritation lining her expressive face.

I was utterly lost now. I couldn’t explain my thoughts to her. I thought she was irritated at me having found out the truth about her son.

And if that wasn’t her husband, who was he ?

I looked down , unable to meet the fire that her eyes were breathing.

A few minutes passed, before she spoke again.

“ I’m sorry , Vinod. But your obvious conclusions are wrong.”

I looked up at her.

“ The guy you saw in that photograph, is Siddhanth. And the woman is, Sanjana,” she said.

I looked at her in instant realization.

“Oh ! So, she’s your?”,I asked,  astonished at this revelation.

“ Yes,” she nodded, “ She’s my identical twin, elder to me.”

I sank back on the sofa.

Sanjana.

Sanju.

Is that where Sanju came from ?

To be contd...

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