When one heart spoke to another

“All right, Ma. For you, I will do this just once. I will meet the girl; I will be kind and polite to her but don’t expect me to marry her. I can’t do it okay...It’s out of my bounds. I will never know how to handle her.” Manish listened as his mother muttered her thanks over the phone. He shook his head in exasperation. “Just promise me one thing Ma. Please don’t do any such thing again before consulting me, okay. It is, after all, the question of my marriage and I need to take the decision here.” “I promise I won’t do any such thing hereafter. So shall I tell them that we would be arriving at their house by 4 in the evening?” “Yes Ma. But let’s make it short. I don’t want to linger there for hours. It is going to awkward as it is.” “Sure. See you in the evening.” The call ended and Manish slowly expelled a breath as he kept the receiver down. He buzzed for his receptionist. “Please send the next patient after five minutes. I need a small break. I will buzz you myself when I am ready.” “Right, Sir. Do you need anything? Tea or coffee?” “No thanks. Just a break.” After his receptionist left the room, he put his head down on the table, feeling miserable. His mother had put him in the most awkward of all situations. Not only had she arranged for him to meet a girl at her home, along with her parents, for a marriage alliance – she had actually looked out for a girl who couldn’t speak. Some defect in her vocal cord since birth, his mother had informed him. While he felt bad for the girl, he just couldn’t marry her out of sympathy. How was he going to communicate with her? He felt more and more frustrated when he thought of his situation. He had agreed only for two reasons – first being, the girl was the daughter of his mother’s best friend from school and secondly, his mother had promised that he would meet the girl. The two best friends had apparently met after ages, not knowing that they were staying in the same city since almost three years. Why her, of all the girls, Ma? It is going to be so difficult to meet her and then reject the alliance...He thought of a plan to escape but he couldn’t find any. He slowly got up from his seat and walked inside his room, taking some deep breaths as he walked. It somewhat calmed him and he prepared himself for his next patient. “Don’t be nervous and just be yourself. There is no pressure from either side. You can take whatever decision you want.” His mother said for the umpteenth time and when he rolled his eyes she said. “Just reminding you, that’s all. Concentrate on the road ahead and don’t roll your eyes while driving.” They were on their way to visit the girl and her parents. Aditi was her name and she was an interior decorator. Manish had got this information from his mother. Frankly, he was intrigued in how she handled her business without speaking. But that was his extent of interest. He would meet her, be pleasant and then reject as gently as possible. They reached Aditi’s home after an hour. There was a colony of individual row houses and Aditi’s home was the fifth one in the lane. Manish had no problem in locating it. After parking his car at the parking lot in the entrance of the colony, Manish and his mother walked towards Aditi’s home. They rang the bell and the door was opened by a woman who defined the word ‘beautiful’. She was slightly on the heavier side but her face was, by far, the most attractive face Manish had ever seen. She was wearing a simple cotton sari and looked very beautiful and elegant. And that was before she smiled. When she smiled brightly at Manish and his mother, two pretty dimples appeared on her cheeks, making her look like an angel. “Jyothi!” She hugged his mother and then shifted her gaze to him. “And you must be Manish. So glad to meet you! I am Devyani, Aditi’s mother. Please come inside!” Manish found himself smiling at her enthusiastic welcome. Oh Please, compose yourself. You are going to reject her girl and wipe off Devyani’s killer smile! His conscience nagged at him and he felt an irritating sense of guilt. Not my fault, they cannot expect me to marry out of pity – he muttered to himself and sat down in a sofa. Seconds later, a guy, whom Manish guessed to be Aditi’s father, came out and greeted them warmly. He was a good-looking guy, presumably in his early fifties. He didn’t get to speak much as Devyani did most of the talking for everyone. Manish didn’t mind, in fact he decided he was already crazy about her. She was one of those rare individuals blessed with both internal and external beauty. Beware, don’t get too sentimental on the woman whose daughter you are going to reject... His conscience was on a roll today and he ignored it, though feeling a bit uncomfortable. Devyani could have gone on, if her husband Raghav hadn’t interrupted her. “Dev, it’s time.” He reminded her gently. “Oh, yes, yes. I am sorry I sort of got carried away. Of course, I will call Aditi right now.” She said in a very flustered way and for the first time, Manish observed, she appeared less confident than before. Her face took on a pensive look, like she was afraid of something. Manish felt a heavy stab of guilt and compassion for her. I can’t help it, I just can’t help it... He kept reminding himself desperately. “Aditi, come Beta.” The three words quivered while Devyani called her out. Manish had imagined that Aditi would come draped in a sari and her head held down, balancing a tray of tea or coffee and some snacks. What he hadn’t expected was a beautiful girl wearing a summer-green salwar-kameez with her long hair held back in a pony tail and a pretty smile on her face. Long ear-rings dangled from her ears and she seemed to shine with happiness and joy. She walked towards them, empty-handed and with confidence. She held out a hand to Manish’s mother, who got up from her seat and after shaking Aditi’s hands, hugged her tightly. After a surprised second Aditi hugged her back. She then held out a hand towards Manish who was staring at her in awe. He gulped and shook her hand. It felt smooth and soft, just like her, he thought. Half an hour later, they both were seated in Aditi’s room. Their parents had insisted that they spend some time with each other to help them take a decision. And now comes the awkward part... how will I communicate with her when she can’t speak? Manish thought miserably. This was the moment he was dreading. She took a small notepad and a pen from her table and smiled at him, showing him those. Manish got her point and smiled back, relieved a bit. She held out a finger, gesturing him to give her a minute and then she started writing something in her note pad. Manish gazed at her while she kept writing. She then showed the note to him and shrugged. Let me start by saying that it’s really nice of you to have come here and met us all. But I know that we cannot get married because of my problem. So, just relax and don’t worry. I agreed for this only for my mother’s sake. I know I probably can never get married and have a normal life. I am happy, the way I am and have no regrets. So, all is cool from my end. I will explain to my mother after you people leave. She will surely understand. And no hard feelings okay? He read, feeling thoroughly confused by now. He had come fully prepared to reject her and instead, it felt like she had already rejected him. He asked her seriously, “So you have already rejected me, I guess?” She laughed, the sound of her laughter, the best music in the world – Manish felt. He then thought with a pang that her laughter was the only voice he would ever hear from her. The moment the thought came, panic struck. Had he already imagined that he would be with her? What happened to awkwardness, communication problem and the list of thousand excuses his brain had invented? “How do you manage your business without talking to your clients?” Manish asked, feeling no trace of embarrassment. She smiled and started writing in her notepad. My clients tell me their expectations and preferences. Not being able to speak is actually a blessing here because it makes me a good listener. I listen to them, their choices and I offer them sketches of how their room or house would look. It is actually fun and most of the people are very nice to me. “You mean to say there are exceptions? Do some people give you a hard time?” Manish asked, feeling a wave of anger and disgust well up within him, thinking about such people. Sometimes. Some people get irritated when they have to wait for me to write. She didn’t specify more and Manish was thankful, for it would have only made him angrier. “You deserve the best. I admire you for the way you have overcome your difficulties and raised yourself to become a successful person. My Ma has been telling me all about you since two days. I hate to say, it burned my ears off.” Again that beautiful laughter... Manish looked at her for a while, not knowing what to say anymore. She asked him about his work, about his hobbies and friends. She wrote and he answered. Manish felt like there were only two people in the whole world- himself and the silent-forever Aditi. He looked at his watch with regret. An hour had already passed. He didn’t want to leave, he realised. He was totally smitten by her positive attitude and the calm way that she handled her difficulty. This was not sympathy that he felt for her. It was admiration, awe and something more... Something which he refused to recognize but which he felt was the pure truth. He had succumbed to the one thing that he had never believed in – it was love at first sight. She saw him gaze at his watch and her face took on a serious expression. She started writing on her notepad. I had a great time with you Manish. I wish you get someone as awesome as you are. If you wish, we can leave now to join the others. I have already told my parents to not to ask your opinion here. Dont worry, I will explain it to them and we will manage it fine ok. He read the note and nodded. They both went out of the room. Devyani and Jyothi looked at them as they entered the hall room. Manish saw a myriad of expressions cross Devyani’s face. First there was a happy anticipation, then her face visibly dropped when she saw the serious expressions on both their faces and then she put her head down for a second, trying to hide her disappointment and grief. He waited till Aditi sat down on the sofa beside Devyani and held her hand, as if to soothe her. Then, Manish, the ‘practical’ doctor who had never believed in things like love at first sight or romance or sentiments, got down on one knee in front of Aditi and asked with a smile, “Aditi, will you marry me?” She could only stare at him while Devyani and Jyothi clapped their hands in pure delight and Raghav stood beside the sofa with his arms folded, looking at Aditi with love and affection. She nodded her head and laughed softly. Manish got up, feeling like all his dreams had come true. He looked at Devyani, saw the happiness that shone from her eyes and couldn’t help himself. He went over and hugged her and Jyothi together. “It must have been a hard decision for you, isn’t it?” Devyani asked in a low voice, still afraid that he might change his decision. He said with a straight face. “Yes, the decision was the hardest, whether to propose to you or your daughter. I thought if I go for the daughter, I will get the mother too.” Devyani laughed and hugged him tightly while Raghav shook a finger at him and said “Watch it out, young man.” Manish laughed and his eyes met Aditi’s. He saw happiness in them, and winked at her.