Prologue
There are times in every individual's life when they hit rock bottom even when you've invested every ounce of your life but things never work that way.
Prerna Sharma and Mr.Bajaj are in the same phase of their lives but they come from different issues surrounding them and a whole baggage of their past which none of them are ready to open up. One is young like a newly bloomed flower and other is almost on the verge of withering away.....
Instead of solving their whole lives and tending to their wounds they decide to add a few good things, one at a time in their lives.
Whether their good additions will pile up or crash down, only time will tell.
Will their love be beautiful?
Writer: BeautifulAngelofLife
' Rejected '
One year ago,
"It's very easy for a man like you to get married again inspite of a failed marriage but I'm not that girl for you Mr.Bajaj. I cannot compromise in this situation especially when it's related to a sacred institution like marriage"Prerna affirmed proudly, instead of knowing what she wanted from life she very well knew what she didn't want in life. It automatically simplified things for her and a marriage with a divorcee was never on her terms.
"Divorces don't happen just for the sake of it......"Mr.Bajaj replied back as they sat in an uncomfortable position infront of each other. The view outside the restaurant was serene and calm but they had vigorous storms of if's and but's inside each other. This meeting was one of the most unwanted ones.
"I'm sorry Mr.Bajaj but I can't marry a divorcee like you"prerna got up in a haste and even before Mr.Bajaj could react to that she had already left the place. He sat there feeling dejected, through the glass window he could see her annoyingly crossing the road and hopping in an autorickshaw on the other side. Life was tough for people like him. He yearned for a family whom he could call his own and most importantly he yearned for a love that was made for him.
One year later,
"You're my wife and you ought to listen to me prerna. If I say no then its a no and if its a yes that means yes.......you should respect your husband and if you can't then I know how to handle you !!" Prerna twisted and turned in her sleep and suddenly got up all covered up in sweat due to her past memories. The sun was scorching its heat right on her face through its rays coming from a wide opened window. It was her mom, she always slided the curtains and windows to wake her up because she knew everyday was a bright day for her daughter to leave her past behind and accept the new beginnings.1
"Mom ! Mom !"prerna called out to her while covering her face with the duvet. Her mom was busy preparing breakfast and on her third call she came running inside her room.
"What happened? Are you alright? Tell me prerna?"Veena rushed upto her hurriedly. When she saw prerna's face covered with duvet she understood why the commotion was about.
"No more 5 minutes. Get up now"she commanded prerna as she pulled the duvet off her face. Prerna wasn't sleeping but instead she was lifelessly staring at the ceiling, her face was abashed with agony and hopelessness.
"Prerna ! Please get up and move on......"Veena sat beside her and caressed her hairs. Prerna's eyes pooled with tears and she immediately laid her head in her lap. It had been months since her marriage had ended but it was so difficult for her to overcome her anxiety issues. She hadn't informed her mother about her mental health and nor was she seeking help. Either of it had to be done before things could go out of hand.
"Life is easy even now. It's just in your brain that you're feeling everything is difficult......"veena tried to explain as she made prerna look at her.
"It's very easy to say....but......anyways......it's gonna be only me......I have to deal with it everyday"prerna replied as she got out of the bed disheartendly. Everyday felt as a burden and since her divorce it seemed like her life had come to a standstill.
"I've prerpared your breakfast and mind you if you skip it today......and yes.....please dress well.......beautify yourself the way you used to do it......please prerna"Veena adviced her as prerna was hurrying for a shower. Her mom always gave her the same advice everyday and she used to be encouraged to follow it but at the end she would do something extremely contradicting and upset herself even more. She had lost interest even in making herself look good.
She came out of the shower dressed in a lowkey simple outfit, her hairs were wrapped in the towel. She quickly applied her moisturiser and then applied kohl, she opened the drawer below the dresser and decided to apply lipstick but she kept staring at it and at the end she shut the drawer closed and chucked the idea of doing anything else. Her hairs were still wrapped in the towel and she straightly went and sat on the dining table.
Her mom had made fresh parathas with homemade curd and chutney. Her stomach growled seeing the stuffed plate and she pounced on it without wasting a second. The rest of the family members were still asleep and she always managed to whisk away before they were awake. People and their accusations never stopped so she abstained from giving them any chances.
"Prerna di.....good morning !"Taani, her cousin sister greeted her in her sleepy tone. She came and sat infront of her but prerna wondered why was she up so early.1
"Taani? Are you alright? You leave for college by 10 right?"she asked for a confirmation from Taani.
"Yep ! I actually wanted your guidance di....."Taani said while rubbing her eyes so that she could properly witness prerna and even hear her advice on the matter that was going in her head.
"Guidance? For what?"prerna questioned.
"Actually.....its like this......we have an inter college badminton championship......which is really good.....but its for the doubles and even though I have a partner I feel he is not that capable enough.......I mean I can't just rely on his defending skills.....I want him to make more serves than me"she explained to which prerna kept nodding at her. She knew exactly how serious was the situation for a skilled player like Taani.
"Just trust your partner.......for once and see"prerna adviced her nonchalantly.
"Trust? Look who is talking......."Taani's mom, Revathi interveened and both the girls got startled. The only person that taunted prerna in her own house was her Revathi chachi. She wasn't like this earlier but since her divorce happened she had been behaving very inconsiderable towards her. It came at the cost of being a divorcee, prerna thought.
"Chachi......I was just"prerna decided to explain but her chachi acted rudely.
"Please don't prerna. Don't give your guidance to my innocent daughter...... we all know how capable you were as a partner so please don't preach her on trust and other issues.........we don't want her to be like you"Revathi replied in a fit of anger on her face and eyed Taani to walkout from there. Prerna's food choked in her throat because instead of being embarassed infront of her cousin sister she felt small and insulted and to herself she felt helpless because she had nothing to say in reply.
"Enough Revathi ! Don't you repeat this again......."Veena who was busy in the kitchen rushed out listening to the commotion. This was the only reason why prerna avoided meeting anyone in the house. She used to leave early for work and come back late. She was done giving explanations and proving her innocence.
"There is no point in shutting my mouth......even if you did bhabhi.......how will you stop the world from talking about your divorced daughter"Revathi scowled at Veena and in a jiffy walked back inside her room taking Taani with her.
A pin drop of silence prevailed between the mother daughter and after a second prerna stormed inside her room feeling dejected. Veena didn't follow her this time because she knew prerna needed space at the moment, she needed to gather herself everytime she was crashed by people who tagged her incapable women or wife of a failed marriage.
Prerna went and stood infront of the mirror. She kept starring at herself rageously and then huge beads of tears trickled down her face. She took in a puff of air and again looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was such a pity to look at oneself and see yourself crying when God had made you so delicately to just be happy.
She unwrapped the towel and flung it on the bed. Her hair was damp but she slided a rubber band and pulled it up in a high bun on her head. She had no desire to make herself look good or presentable to anyone.
She left her house after sometime and reached for work an hour later. Today morning's issue was still swinging in ber head and no matter how much she tried she couldnt forget it.
"There was a study which says that one of the most important signs of a person who falls in love the second time is generally overthinking or daydreaming.......so what should I conclude prerna?"her best friend shifa, nudged her when she saw her drowned in deep thinking. Only she was the one who managed to uplift her mood while others tried to ruin it.
"That was sooo lame"prerna shoved out her tongue to tease her.
"I'm serious dude!"Shifa held up her hands in surrender.
"Still ! Let me just say to you that please.......stop showing sympathy and always trying to make things sound so easier when in reality they are not. Can't you just let me be"prerna pleaded when her patience broke lose that day. Shifa was indeed her best friend cum colleague but prerna was done surviving on her optimistic words and advices. She wished that people actually talked about reality than just expecting it from others.
"Did you visit the therapist that I had recommended back then"shifa ignored her pleas because she knew this was an everyday routine by prerna to be mad on her but it was just a consequence of her frustration of a failed marriage and she was still bearing the trauma of it.
"No!"prerna replied softly.
"Then just go.....for once......you really need someome to talk to and I'm sure that the therapist would help you out......so pleaseeeee"she persisted as prerna kept doing her work. She decided to not portray that she was very attentive to what shifa was saying. She finally decided to drop by the therapist once for sure.
The day went by like any of her regular days. People judged her at home and so did at the office. She was used to it but she had no idea how to deal with it whilst not being affected by it. This incapability was eating her from inside and she wished a miracle to happen in her life.
In evening,
Prerna was returing back from work but was stuck in traffic. She waited impatiently for the road to clear and started looking outside the window randomly but something caught her eye. She immediately searched something in her bag and took out a visiting card. It was the therpaists card that shifa had shared with her and she was in a fix whether she should resort to a therapist or not. There was never a situation in her life when she had to seek help for mental health but today she had no option. She decided to give it a shot as well since her car was just infront of the clinic.
She parked her car and walked inside the clinic. The ambience was radiant and the soft music playing in the lobby was soothing. The woman at the receptionist welcomed her with a wide smile and asked about her appointment. Since it was her first time as a new comer she was asked to wait in the lobby until the appointments were done for the day.
She decided to go through the magzines that were kept on the centre table and then she glanced at the glossy posters pasted on the wall. The place was calming but she hoped the doctor was even more understanding and his treatment would be reliable.
"Ms.Prerna sharma !"the receptionist called out to her.
"Yes?"prerna asked her with perplexion.
"Once the patient comes out you'll go next"she informed a startled prerna and continued doing her work. Prerna nodded at her obidiently and kept looking at the door of the cabin. An hour had passed since she was waiting in the lobby. She was so curious to know the patient inside, not all people were as free as that patient, she cribbed thinking about him.
And when she had decided to walk off from there since it was taking too long, she heard the click of the door and it opened wide and clear infront of her. She stood up subconciously and was stunned to see the man walking out from it as the patient. The very first proposal that she had recieved since she had decided to get married was his but had very ruthlessly rejected him because he was divorced then. The tables had now turned and she was in his place instead. That day was very fresh in her mind when rudely she had rejected Mr.Bajaj's marriage proposal a year ago.
Prerna's POV
"If I had not rejected his proposal then, would I have been happy now?"
