Prerna sat on the swing, sipping on a cup of green tea laced with lemon and honey, her favorite pick me up.. It had been a long day at work. And the evening at home had been even more demanding.. The night air was crisp, with just a hint of coming winter in the air.. She set the swing moving gently with her legs and shivered ever so slightly through her thin Kurta and Pyjama. Maybe I should go in and get a shawl, she thought idly just as she felt one go around her. She smiled and shifted slightly as she felt his weight settle down on the swing beside her.. How did you know? "she murmered wrapping the shawl more securely around herself." I just did", he said and wrapped his arm around her as she snuggled contentedly into him. For a while there was no sound around them but the chirp of the night crickets, the rustling leaves in the gentle night breeze and their own heartbeats..
"Anurag", she whispered suddenly, "it's 25th September tomorrow". " I remember", he chuckled quietly. "I was just thinking about all that happened on this day, all those years back and in the one year that followed.. It was probably the most eventful year of our lives, don't you agree?".
"I don't know", she frowned, lost in thought.. "you know that day as we stood on the pandal in front of devi Maa, I prayed for a storm in my life. One that would change everything", she smiled at those memories, as fresh and crystal clear in her mind as though they had just happened yesterday..
"you did, did you?", he smiled, dropping a gentle kiss on the top of her head. " and look what that wish got you.. I hope you learnt your lesson after that, always be careful what you wish for..", he grinned at his wife, as she turned around to face him, gently cupping his face in her hands..
"I don't know about that", she said, smiling into his eyes.. "You were the storm that I yearned for, but also the calm that followed.. And in all these years you've been the calm port that has been by my side as I've weathered every storm that life has thrown my way. The way I see it, I got all that I wished for and far more that I ever did. "
Anurag held her hands against his cheeks a moment longer and basked in her words. His wife, the most precious thing in his world.. She had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember but it was on this day, 25th September, all those long years back, that had really started changing their lives for ever.. Little by little, day by day she had crept into his heart, so silently that he never realized it until one fine day, she was all there was. That girl, that beautiful, vivacious crazy girl had changed him to the point where all that he was, made sense as long as she was with him.. What he felt for her, all that she had come to mean to him since then till now filled his heart and pricked his eyes and he could do nothing more that pull her to him and hold her tight..
Prerna held on, for she knew what he was thinking and feeling then.. Hadn't she herself relived that 1 year over and over in her mind, that year which was both the best and worst in her life? .. It was the year she had found anurag, her mate, her other half and also the year when she had lost him, not once but twice.. He had shattered her with his cruelty when he married komolika. She had hated him then but through that hate her heart had still believed and trusted him.. It was this faith and trust that had propelled her to Basu Bari and claim her rights as his wife. She had thought then that she had survived the worst. But the worst was to come.. The worst was the day she sat next to a total stranger and married him, the day she had sacrificed her entire life to save anurag. That day as she walked into Mr Bajaj's house as his lawful wife, she felt for the first time, the life she was carrying, stir in her womb. It broke her, shattered her heart until she saw no way out but to build a wall around her heart and go about the rest of her life. And that is just what she did.. She built a wall, hard around herself, determined to never let the agony that shrieked inside her ever be heard. Determined to never let anyone break her defences. But he found a way. Anurag refused to give up. Little by little he chipped away at her wall and found all his answers. And then he gave her the strength, to fight back, to call out the man who had cruelly destroyed her life. She remembered the day he had quietly held her hand and told her to trust him, to know for sure that he would be there to take care of her, their families and himself. That the man she had married would never be able to harm them. She then found the courage to walk out of all the legal bonds that held her back and walk forward to the only bond that held her heart. Together the had then built the happy life they had once dreamed of, brought two beautiful kids into the world and watched them grow up into wonderful adults. They had seen every season in life and through it all, sure as morning, they had always found one another. That, for prerna was the miracle of it all..
"oye Ladki", anurag whispered, resting his chin on her head, "happy anniversary"
"happy anniversary Ladke", prerna said smiling in joy.
"Anurag", she whispered suddenly, "it's 25th September tomorrow". " I remember", he chuckled quietly. "I was just thinking about all that happened on this day, all those years back and in the one year that followed.. It was probably the most eventful year of our lives, don't you agree?".
"I don't know", she frowned, lost in thought.. "you know that day as we stood on the pandal in front of devi Maa, I prayed for a storm in my life. One that would change everything", she smiled at those memories, as fresh and crystal clear in her mind as though they had just happened yesterday..
"you did, did you?", he smiled, dropping a gentle kiss on the top of her head. " and look what that wish got you.. I hope you learnt your lesson after that, always be careful what you wish for..", he grinned at his wife, as she turned around to face him, gently cupping his face in her hands..
"I don't know about that", she said, smiling into his eyes.. "You were the storm that I yearned for, but also the calm that followed.. And in all these years you've been the calm port that has been by my side as I've weathered every storm that life has thrown my way. The way I see it, I got all that I wished for and far more that I ever did. "
Anurag held her hands against his cheeks a moment longer and basked in her words. His wife, the most precious thing in his world.. She had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember but it was on this day, 25th September, all those long years back, that had really started changing their lives for ever.. Little by little, day by day she had crept into his heart, so silently that he never realized it until one fine day, she was all there was. That girl, that beautiful, vivacious crazy girl had changed him to the point where all that he was, made sense as long as she was with him.. What he felt for her, all that she had come to mean to him since then till now filled his heart and pricked his eyes and he could do nothing more that pull her to him and hold her tight..
Prerna held on, for she knew what he was thinking and feeling then.. Hadn't she herself relived that 1 year over and over in her mind, that year which was both the best and worst in her life? .. It was the year she had found anurag, her mate, her other half and also the year when she had lost him, not once but twice.. He had shattered her with his cruelty when he married komolika. She had hated him then but through that hate her heart had still believed and trusted him.. It was this faith and trust that had propelled her to Basu Bari and claim her rights as his wife. She had thought then that she had survived the worst. But the worst was to come.. The worst was the day she sat next to a total stranger and married him, the day she had sacrificed her entire life to save anurag. That day as she walked into Mr Bajaj's house as his lawful wife, she felt for the first time, the life she was carrying, stir in her womb. It broke her, shattered her heart until she saw no way out but to build a wall around her heart and go about the rest of her life. And that is just what she did.. She built a wall, hard around herself, determined to never let the agony that shrieked inside her ever be heard. Determined to never let anyone break her defences. But he found a way. Anurag refused to give up. Little by little he chipped away at her wall and found all his answers. And then he gave her the strength, to fight back, to call out the man who had cruelly destroyed her life. She remembered the day he had quietly held her hand and told her to trust him, to know for sure that he would be there to take care of her, their families and himself. That the man she had married would never be able to harm them. She then found the courage to walk out of all the legal bonds that held her back and walk forward to the only bond that held her heart. Together the had then built the happy life they had once dreamed of, brought two beautiful kids into the world and watched them grow up into wonderful adults. They had seen every season in life and through it all, sure as morning, they had always found one another. That, for prerna was the miracle of it all..
"oye Ladki", anurag whispered, resting his chin on her head, "happy anniversary"
"happy anniversary Ladke", prerna said smiling in joy.
