It
was the same old story. She woke up and looked outside her window. The sun was
shining. Kanika then checked her phone to see if she had received any new
messages as always her inbox was full but no one important or she particularly
cared about had messaged. As she locked her phone, the calendar notified it was
a Sunday. It then struck Kanika that it was going to be yet another dreadful
Sunday.
Kanika heard her mother calling, “Get ready! The guests might come
anytime.” Kanika knew that the guests would not arrive till mid afternoon. For
the last three years Kanika had spent most of her Sundays hiding her beautiful
face, under the mask of her make up, so she could look artificially beautiful.
But
this Sunday afternoon she had to wait for the guests to come. Once the guests
arrived she greeted them with a fake smile. After the initial formalities the
guests would then start shooting questions at her. Many had come and gone, many
asked the same questions, while some asked unexpected ones, some questions, she
thought were really stupid. At times she tried hard not to laugh at and at
times she answered them in a sarcastic way. And after spending merely half an
hour with her and on the basis of Kanika’s answer they knew whether or not she
is the daughter-in-law they were looking for.
Kanika’s diary on the 6th of April, 2014:
Sometimes
I wonder whether all the sacrifices I made are worth it. I could have made
different choices but I did not. Yes, I love my parents and just don’t want to
see them hurt. But it’s been three years that I have been waiting for someone
to approve me as their daughter-in-law. It’s a joke right. I know I am not that
bad and I also know that I am better than most of them but how long do I have
to wait. And how can one decide whether or not I can be a good daughter-in-law
when all they do is ask me unnecessary questions. Is this how it’s supposed to
work? I want to run away and go far away from all this. You know what hurts me
the most is that every time someone comes they bring a hope that may be, this
times things will work out and bring an end to all my agony. But look at the
cruelty, some of them won’t even call back. And with all hopes are crushed. I
am tired, very tired. I simply want to rewind my life back to my college days
where I was surrounded by happiness. I want to travel the world. I want to see
new places and here I am trapped in my own apathy.
Kanika
was tired but she never complained because she had learnt to hide that pain
behind her smile. She never talked about herself. She never bragged about her
problems. She would keep all the secrets to herself and then write it down in
her diary. And that made Kanika so strong that even tears had dried out. She
just wanted to end this nightmare.
Her
mom shouted once again, “Are you ready? They might arrive any time.”
She
was looking beautiful as ever. The door bell rang. The guests had arrived. She
was called to the hall. She gazed through the room to see who all had
come. Everyone was present except the boy. She had never met these people. She
had never seen them but they knew everything about her. And surprisingly not
many questions were asked.
Days
passed Kanika got busy with her work life. At the end of everyday she would
hope to receive some news from the groom’s side. But there was no news came.
Kanika and her family waited anxiously to know if the family had approved of
her. Then one fine day the groom's father called and informed that Kanika’s
horoscopes had matched with their son. And that they would like to hold another
meeting to discuss further details.
Kanika
had still not seen the boy. She just knew his name. She was anxious at
same time she was happy. Kanika was going to meeting her to be husband
next day. She was having yet another sleepless night, when Kanika’s
phone beeped, “So will you marry me?” There was a big smile on her face as she
typed a ‘Yes’. Kanika knew who she was going to marry. It was her long lost
friend who she had loved dearly during her college days. How did it all happen?
How did he manage? She did not bother to ask she had lifetime to find. As for
now Kanika was happy once again.
And
today when Kanika narrates her story to their grandchildren, it’s one of the
most romantic stories they have heard they say. Though their love was not love
at first sight, it was an extraordinary story. May be her wait was just worth
it.
