Silhouette underneath

"This must not happen, this is bad! Why me? Why me god?" she kept on saying this all her way. the door opened and then closed, "who is this? Are you home meera?"her mom asked but no reply." Let's have lunch together then?" Mom said. "No need for that, I am sleepy" Meera replied. her room's door opened and a woman with deep wrinkled skin and slightly bent was at the door. her light brown eyes were genuinely requesting as well as commanding at the same time that meera has to put her face out of the pillow. "What happened? Is there anything bothering you? tell me" the woman asked. "Nothing,”Meera replied," that's good to hear, but I have something to share with you," the lady said."I am not in that mood dadu!"Meera replied, "please listen na, I have nobody to share with" the woman insisted, "okay go ahead" Meera approved half heartedly."it's then when I was 15" the old lady started,"what?? When you were..."Meera Interrupted! "Yes my dear when I was 15",the old lady said. "I was one of those girls who don't bother themselves to have make up and other things to look good" the woman continued, "Were you Spartan?" Meera interrupted again. "Kind of" old lady smiled coyly and again continued " I always wished to have a career, I always topped the class, but when I was in my ninth standard I got a position third, I am not a very expressive person" the woman added, "so i ran behind the tree and start weeping Soundlessly, then a sudden warm, unknown touch held my breath and then I turned, you know what I saw?" The woman curiously asked. " what?"Meera replied enthusiastically, " a thin but strong, fair Skinned boy with the same colour of eyes as of mine". "then?" Meera asked (this time more involved), " though my heart beats were loud enough to make me numb, I stood up and he smiled towards me and I did the same. he then asked me the reason for my crying. I really don't know why first time in my life I have shared something with a stranger, he assured me by words and then we both turn to our paths, after that day, I don't know why but i always wished to see him all the time", "what about him, did he want the same?"Meera asked. The lady smiled with all her teeth left, a smile full of memories, " he didn't put his eyes off me, then one day he asked me to meet at the same place where we have met for the first time, though I was scared, but I really wanna meet him". "then?" Meera asked again."Then I saw him sitting under the same tree drawing something with his finger, this time my heart came into my mouth but I kept on moving towards him, he turned towards me, and smiled. we both sat together, shared all those things which we have never thought to share with anyone, the next two years were like this only but now we were lovers ". "Did you kiss him? "Meera asked. "promise me you won't tell anybody?" The lady asked "no! no! Not at all "Meera replied. "okay once he asked me for permission to do so” the laly said putting her gaze lower. “What did you reply?” Meera asked while bouncing at her place.” I didn't say anything, but he got my reply through my eyes, and we did. We both sat together and dreamed for our future.he wanted me to be a doctor, so that when we have our children I didn't need to have much labour, funny right?" The lady laughed and continued the tale "he kept on saying that he would be the homemaker, so that I could achieve whatever I wanted to. One day, a Monday morning! One of our uncles came to my father's place, and talked about something really serious that after seeing him off, my father was in deep thought". “What did they talk about?"Meera asked. " there were some bandits, who were planning to rob us, and my father knew that if they found me there, they would not leave me. my uncle got this news through police and didn’t want to get me married to his son, who was one and half times of my age, my father was never that helpless before, I can see the pain in his eyes, he knew that I really wanted to be a doctor, and he knew that I will definitely be" the lady described in a sombre tone. "but you are not a doctor dadu!" Meera hesitated. "Yes because that was a silhouette underneath" the lady replied partially broken. " My father married me after this news, and saved my dignity or of his, I don't know, '' the lady said confusingly. "is this the reason mumma never visited her maternal home?"Meera asked. "No!" The lady replied. " you must have cried a lot?" Meera asked while holding the old lady’s hand. "No, not even on the day of marriage" the lady replied in her candid words. "hmm!" Meera, in deep thought." but if it's not the reason then what makes you to be away from your home?" Meera asked. "the silhouette!" Lady replied. "what?" Mera is confused now. "on the day of my marriage I had made myself hidden under the bed and somebody forcefully pulled me out, but you know what he pulled out? 'me’not the one who had dreamed to be a doctor or the one who was in love, she is still there, whenever you will visit my home, you will find a reflection of that 15 year old growing girl, you still find the silhouette underneath" the old woman ended the story with a pat on meera's back, and left the room. This whole real life story left meera into some deep thoughts, and she murmured to herself that "how true love or dream can be left so easily? Is this the beauty of love, does sacrifice make the feeling of love stronger? How can we as a new generation be unable to understand the truth of love? Everybody has one or the other reflection of itself which is uncarved but still there. Is this the beauty of life? and we are wasting our time by being sad of little things and complaining every now and then. This whole episode made Meera forget about her boyfriend's affair, and she had lunch with her mumma and dadu.