Love Lasts Forever

by Khanna, Vikrant

  ‘But both of us love you too,’ she’d replied instantly. ‘So we’ll have north Indian food today.’

  ‘Shikha, that’s not fair, you want to have fast food,’ I’d protested.

  ‘Yeah, but you want to have north Indian food,’ she’d countered.

  ‘But you don’t like north Indian food, Shikha.’

  ‘And you don’t like fast food, Shekhar.’

  And so we settled for a south Indian restaurant after five minutes of bickering.

  After lunch we made our way to visit the geographical centre of India – the zero mile marker. Nagpur is precisely at the centre point of India; hence this marker is located here. The distances of various major cities from here are carved on a pillar that is erected at this zero mile site. It was marked by the Britishers and is located at the central part of Nagpur city. However the site didn’t excite us much. There was hardly any prominent indication for locating the spot and the place although very significant, was mostly obscured. It was preserved in a small garden and we didn’t even spend more than five minutes at the place.

  After our boring visit to the zero mile marker both of us wanted to see something romantic and ethereal. And what could be better than lakes. Nagpur is home to many natural and man-made lakes. Sauntering on their banks, our hands together made for the perfect idea of a romantic walk. Whenever on a date, we made it a point to visit at least one of them. We’d seen most of them – Futula Lake, Telankadi Lake, Sakkardara Lake, Ambazari Lake, Gorewada and the Sonegaon Lake. Out of all of them, our favourite was the Futula Lake.

  Mesmerizing sight, a good side walk, and a line of food joints at the foot of the lake brought us here often. It was a beautiful lake and a perfect destination to relax, enjoy and indulge in romantic conversations.

  As we walked along its banks, Shikha rested her head on my shoulders. The entire world around me was out of focus and I was lost in her thoughts. We had made the decision of getting married few years later when I get settled in my life with a good job. Shikha gently nudged me and nodded to a nearby bench. We made our way toward it.

  It was a beautiful day, I observed, as I slipped my arms around her shoulders. Faraway, the sun was an orange ball suspended in the sky. There were no clouds today making the sky appear a beautiful kaleidoscope of a hundred different colours. A gentle breeze carried the smell of wet sand. Together, we marveled at the beauty that lay in front of us.

  A smile emanated from her face. ‘OK, baby, time for dos and don’ts.’

  ‘OK.’ I took a deep breath, retracted my hands, and looked ahead toward the beautiful lake. ‘So I’ll start with the dos first…’

  In the last one year since the time we’d been discussing our marriage, she’d listed a few dos and don’ts for me. And almost every day she wanted to hear it so I never forget them.

  ‘…I will always love you, respect you and care for you. I would say “I love you” innumerable times in a day. I would always surprise you and shower you with gifts. I’ll always make you feel special and would always compliment you on your looks. On weekends, when at home, I’ll cook and other days, I’ll assist you with dinner when back from office. I would always kiss you and make love to you…’

  ‘Ok, ok…’ She brought her hands to her ears. ‘Stop! Got it! Enough of the dos! Now the don’ts!’

  ‘I’ll never fight with you, will never argue, whatever you tell me will be the final verdict. I’ll never abuse or hit you. I’ll never even look at any other woman. I’ll never do your bitching to anyone except you…’ I trailed off, playfully cocking my head toward her.

  ‘No, you won’t even do that,’ she warned me, wagging her finger.

  ‘OK, I won’t even do that. I’ll never leave you and-’

  ‘Never, ever!’ she asserted, holding my arms tight.

  ‘Yeah, never, ever,’ I repeated. ‘I’ll never go to bed without resolving a fight that is to say if at all we have one-’

  ‘OK, Shekhar,’ she interjected. ‘That’s enough; now remember each and every word of what you just said for the rest of your life.’

  ‘I will,’ I promised and we grazed our noses against each other.

  Over the next few minutes we were silent and appreciated the picturesque surrounding. We both knew there was still a lot of time before all that was to happen. We’d thought of getting married in our twenties, so there were still five years left. I needed that much time anyway to be somewhere in my life by then. But honestly, that felt too far. We wished if the next five years of our life vanished in a click and the next moment we were in each other’s arms in our own house.

  And yeah, we wished pigs could fly.

  Our line of sight passed to a young couple and their two babies. Instantly, we looked at each other wistfully. We hankered for that life.

  ‘So how many kids do you want Shekhar?’ she suddenly asked, her eyes fixated at the family.

  ‘At least five,’ I replied without a thought.

  ‘Yeah, me too,’ she agreed. ‘We should have a big family, something we never had. One child every two years, that would keep me busy for at least ten years straight. And maybe we can have more later if we still want to. Wow, that’ll be so wonderful and then…’

  She wasn’t talking to me anymore, just mumbled words under her breath. I faintly nodded when something conjured up in my head. I turned my gaze toward her.

  ‘Hey listen, why do we have to wait for so long to get married? Why can’t we do it right away?’

  Shikha frowned. ‘I’m not even eighteen yet Shekhar, what are you saying?’

  ‘OK then, we’ll get married when you turn eighteen, that’s only few months away anyway.’

  Her arms flew to her mouth. ‘Really, we can do that,’ she squealed in excitement.

  ‘Of course! Why not? We’ll just have to struggle initially but at least we can be together.’ I looked in her eyes before resuming excitedly. ‘So it’s decided then, we’ll get married the day you turn eighteen,’ I declared.

  Shikha only stared back at me in silence. And then, ever so slowly, little tear drops trickled down her eyes. I scooted closer and wiped them one by one. A little smile unleashed from her and I moved my face closer to hers. When she sensed what I was about to do, she hesitated initially, but then later closed her eyes and leaned forward.

  And there, when our lips met for the first time, I knew it then, I would cherish this moment forever.

  17. Captain’s story - 5

  October 1980, Nagpur

  It was a bright, sunny day with neither the crispness of winter nor the sweltering heat of summers.

  The entire morning had been very exciting for all of us at the orphanage. It had taken a few hours for us to bid our good bye to each one of the wonderful people we’d grown with, in the last decade. All of them had tears in their eyes and best wishes on their lips. As we hugged each one of them, one moment we were crying, and the next instant a wide smile swept past our faces.

  We were getting married today.

  At nineteen and eighteen respectively, both Shikha and I were too young for marriage, we’d been told by all our elders in the orphanage. But then later, they thought, come on, it was us – the perfect candidates for marriage. It didn’t matter if we were young or old. Absolutely nothing could have gone wrong in our case and we got their support eventually.

  I had told Shikha after our marriage we’ll move out of the orphanage and get a place of our own. I’d work during the day, she’d cook food for both of us, we’d make love at night, and well…lead a life like a normal couple does. She was hesitant initially but later had concurred with me. Staying in the orphanage after the marriage would take the fun of our new relationship. We knew it would be difficult for us to pay the rent while I go scouting for jobs, but then that didn’t deter us. We had been through enough difficult times anyway.

  So here we were, outside the district court of Nagpur, awaiting our witnesses – Alka Mam, Rajiv and Shikha’s best friend Swati.

&n
bsp; Shikha was dressed in a sparkling red sari that wasn’t too snazzy, did minimal make up, and left her hair open on my insistence. We were holding hands outside facing each other awaiting our turn.

  ‘You remember all your dos and don’ts Shekhar?’ she grinned cheekily. ‘Time to apply them.’

  I gently lifted her chin with my forefinger. Her face dazzled in the warm sunshine and a gentle breeze blew past her hair. A lock of hair flew across her cheeks and I stretched my arms to tuck it behind her ears. I marveled in the ethereal beauty in front of me that would be my wife in a few minutes from now.

  ‘Each and every word of it,’ I replied as I pulled her closer and she wrapped her arms around me. ‘I love you so much,’ I said.

  ‘I love you too,’ she replied and we pulled apart at the sight of our witnesses. We could see sweets and garlands in their hands.

  Ten minutes later, our names were called and we hopped our way inside to the office.

  And then, when we were back outside in the open, we knew our life would never be the same again.

  I lifted her above my head and she spread out her arms, gazing at the sky above. She closed her eyes and her lips parted. I could sense she did a little prayer, perhaps, for a prosperous life ahead. I followed her gaze and when she looked down at me, her eyes were moist.

  ‘Happy birthday, wify,’ I said.

  18. The afternoon before the pirates boarded - 2

  25th June 2011, Transiting Indian Ocean

  ‘Wow!’ I exhaled a sharp breath. ‘What a love story!’

  ‘Hmm…,’ Captain sighed, twirling his glass.

  By his expression I was sure his mind was still in his story. His eyes were damp and he tried his best to avoid looking into mine. I felt my breath caught in my throat and I found it hard to speak. I wasn’t sure anything I said would make a difference at this time anyway. His childhood sweetheart divorced him, and…three decades later he is still madly in love with her. I stayed silent and found myself overwhelmed by his grief.

  ‘You want another drink?’ he murmured. He still didn’t meet my eyes.

  ‘Sure sir.’ I handed him my glass.

  He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed loudly before getting up. While he was inside preparing drinks, I marveled at the simplicity and innocence of his story.

  ‘So…,’ I cleared my throat, ‘you were madly in love with her when you were just fourteen?’ I asked him incredulously when he returned with the drinks. I could hear my voice shaking. ‘Thanks,’ I added when he handed over my glass.

  He drew a deep breath. ‘Yes, I was,’ he replied and settled in his chair. A faint smile bordered his lips. He appeared slightly more composed now.

  ‘In fact,’ he added dreamily, ‘I thought I was in love with her at the age of eight, barely few months after I first met her.’

  ‘So then the million dollar question is why did you guys divorce, sir?’ I said quickly. I had been struggling to find the answer to this question ever since he began narrating his story.

  His face fell again and his expression grew solemn. He rolled his eyes sadly before turning them to me. ‘Let’s just say it was my mistake, I didn’t understand her after our marriage.’

  ‘You guys were one hell of a couple, come on, sir,’ I replied in an animated expression. ‘I mean you guys always thought about your partner before yourself. What was more to understand than that?’

  ‘Yeah…I know…but…,’ he trailed off and stared through the window toward the rippled gray water.

  ‘So did you…um…file for the divorce?’

  ‘No, no,’ he yelped, ‘I would have never done that. She…she filed the divorce papers.’

  ‘So, then sir, where is your fault?’ I tried convincing him. I didn’t like the glum expression on his face.

  ‘Of course it is.’ He thumped his fist on the table. ‘It was my entire bloody fault.’

  And it was then when I found myself crying along with him. It happened all of a sudden. One moment he appeared alright and the next moment he sobbed profusely, his shoulders shaking with the heaving motion of his chest. Never in my life had I seen a fifty year old man cry like that. And that made the situation all the more pitiful. I heard his pain-filled wails and it all turned out too much for me.

  My stomach roiled and I cursed myself for asking him that question. It triggered all these emotions. I must have reminded him of…something.

  ‘I’m sorry sir, so sorry.’ It was all I could say.

  He shook his head. ‘I…I should have known the reason first.’ He grunted through his tears. ‘Instead my male ego took over and I threw the signed papers at her face and then slammed out of our house.’ His words came out in broken gasps, filled with sorrow, anger…guilt.

  I had nothing to offer other than a customary nod. Silence fell between us for a while and I couldn’t believe the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. I came to his room for a single drink and had thought of leaving immediately after that. And here I was, patting his back, and was so drawn to his story that absolutely nothing else mattered. Surprisingly, I had even forgotten about my own story for a while.

  He gathered himself together and his wails reduced to quiet whimpers. He wiped his tears and met my gaze.

  ‘You know we were together for only six months after our marriage before we split, and I never even saw her face after that.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Can you believe that? With so much love and affection, all it lasted was six months…only six bloody months?’

  I nodded weakly, still struggling to come in terms with the reason. Why? What happened?

  ‘I still love her so much; much more than I had ever loved her. I didn’t marry again…actually, never even thought of it; her memories had always been enough for me. But all this wasn’t until I realized that-’

  The phone in his cabin rang. He reached for it.

  ‘Good afternoon, Captain speaking.’ He tried sounding normal. ‘…Okay…I see…how far…hmm…Okay, keep a watch on them. I’ll be up shortly.’

  I faintly listened to his conversation but my mind actually wandered. With the love they had for each other, their marriage could only last six months. No wonder Aisha and I couldn’t even last a few months. Getting married is the root cause of misery for all men, I decided.

  ‘We have company here,’ he announced, breaking into my thoughts.

  ‘I am sorry sir, what?’

  ‘The second officer just called.’ He nodded toward the phone. ‘He’s getting satellite warnings about pirate attacks in the vicinity.’

  ‘Oh that,’ I dismissed.

  ‘I wouldn’t worry too much,’ he said airily. ‘I’ve been here too many times, never got caught.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be okay,’ I agreed.

  ‘Okay,’ he said, getting back on his seat and wiping his moist eyes. ‘Let’s just forget my past and move on. What about your story, what brings you guys on the brink of a divorce so early in your marriage?’ A brief smile parted his lips.

  It felt good to see him smiling after a long time. ‘Aw sir,’ I cried, ‘let it be, you don’t want to be hearing it.’

  ‘No, I do,’ he pressed. ‘It sounds eerily similar to my story.’

  I smiled. ‘But before I do that you have to tell me something, sir.’

  He nodded.

  ‘Why do you still love her three decades after your divorce, and what had happened between you guys? You loved each other so much. And why do you feel so guilty about the whole thing? What did you do, sir?’ I found the questions rushing out of my mouth.

  ‘Oh dear, you’ll know everything once I complete my story,’ he replied leaning back in his chair. After a thoughtful glance at me, he added, ‘you know when I look at you I think I see myself. I want to help you; I hope you are not making the same mistake as I did.’

  What mistake?

  I shook my head and forced a smile. ‘So then sir, go on and complete your story. We’ll know it then.’

&nb
sp; ‘I’ll do that,’ he said, ‘but first you must complete yours. My story might just end up inspiring you in the end, and well, who knows, you’ll fall back in love with your wife…all over again.’

  ‘Ha, ha, ha,’ I laughed. ‘You can be funny sir. That can never, ever happen.’

  ‘Why not?’ he asked. ‘I could see you were madly in love with Aisha till then. I mean you yourself convinced everybody. Ha, ha, even your friend Joe for that matter. So what happened to all the love then?’

  ‘I don’t know sir about this love and all!’ I shrugged. ‘We were madly in love with each other for seven years before we got married and now…’ I cleared my throat ‘…now there’s everything, but love in our relationship. I think our marriage screwed it up. We shouldn’t have married at all. Ours was a classic example of “From Yippee! We’re getting married! to Why the hell did we get married? in seven flat days.”’

  ‘OK,’ he said throwing out his arm, ‘would you stop intriguing me and just tell me what happened? We don’t have much time here, have to go on the bridge and take care of those Somalian bastards too.’

  ‘Alright sir,’ I slumped backward. ‘This is a very tragic story, listen carefully.’

  He threw a smile and waved at me to proceed.

  19. Yippee! We are married!

  DAY – 1, February 2011, Delhi

  I had never imagined life could be so wonderful. The warm sunshine percolating into our room, the trills of birdsongs, and a white smoke of mist outside made the morning ethereal. I had just woken up from one of my most satiating sleeps and rolled my eyes toward my wife. Aisha was still asleep beside me, her pretty face peeping out through the cozy blanket that wrapped her body.

  We made love twice last night, then laughed and nattered through the entire night before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Though I had barely slept a few hours, I felt fresh. We had a long last night and we reached our home way past midnight after our marriage. By the time we made our way to our room away from the prying eyes of a horde of my relatives in the living room, it was already three. And then we were on top of each other.