Heyyo guys! Turns out I am having severe withdrawal syndrome from my own ff! It’s unbelievable and I know it too, but as so many of you asked me to give you an epilogue, I decided to put myself out of my misery and write it at 03:30 in the morning! Also, many of you asked me to come up with another one soon. So I wanted to tell you guys I am so overwhelmed that you guys are excited about my writing. But it will take some time to come up with another story. It has been some time since I started thinking of Mahi’s story, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to pen down my ideas properly. So sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long and thanks again for your love and encouraging words 🙂 I love you guys a lot 🙂
LUCKY EPILOGUE
BY ISHU
The wide dark eyes framed by long, thick lashes stared back at me in wonder. I stood motionlessly for a long minute until my husband walked up behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder. “What’s so unbelievable?” he asked softly. I smiled at his reflection in the mirror, amazed at his mind reading powers once again. The light blue floor length frock-suit with simple golden embroidery at the top cast a different glow on my face, complementing the soft peach lipstick enhancing my lips as the vermilion in my hairline stood out. On instinct I tilted my head as he moved my open hair to a side and planted a kiss on my neck. His hold across my waist tightened and I turned to face him. Holding myself back from kissing him and ruining my carefully applied makeup for the day out, I settled for holding my palm against his warm cheeks.
“Om, turns out it is younger FIL’s birthday tomorrow! Dadi wants me to help her with selecting a gift”, I told him. He immediately turned protective, “Should I come with you guys? I don’t have anything important going on this afternoon.” I had to reassure him multiple times that I’ll be fine before he finally agreed to it.
Later that evening, all of the youngsters sat in the hall discussing love stories. The kids, that are Prinku and Sahil were sent away on some errand and the oldies, that is the fathers and mothers had gone to some party. Anika, Rudy and Saumya were busy preparing for the surprise midnight birthday party while Shivaay Bhaiya, Om and I lounged around. Our evergreen lovely Dadi was enjoying hot and spicy samosas (against Shivaay Bhaiya’s health-cautions) while reliving her own love story with Dadaji. “In our times, loving translated to being daring. Your Dadaji came to see my father when another guy had come for my alliance. The entire village gossiped about how dashing he looked when he asked my father for his blessings while the other guy could only gape at the unbelievable situation!” she chuckled.
“Billu, you always used to say marriage is a deal. What do you think now?” Dadi suddenly asked amidst the laughter, making everyone go quiet and hold their breaths. Shivaay Bhaiya exchanged a wary glance with an evidently curious Anika before replying, “I still think the same, but there’s some modification now. Marriage is a deal of trust, giving your all, being surprised with everything you get and yet always wanting more. In short, love is sweet pain.” Cue world’s most intense eye-lock ever! While everyone was busy bringing Shivika back to the land of the living, I was lost in my own thoughts.
‘So that’s what he feels like! It’s all so different for me, even though it’s the same thing! Isn’t it?’ I thought to myself. I looked at his smiling profile and wondered what it’s like for my artist husband. “Sweet pain.” That’s how Bhaiya described this weird thing called love. Did my Om feel this sweet pain too? Does it hurt? I didn’t know because it was the exact opposite for me. I took Om’s hand in mine and continued on my train of thoughts. ‘He’s absolutely one of a kind! Whenever I’m in contact with his warmth, an exceptional feeling spreads through my body; the feeling that everything will be okay and the belief that I’m strong enough to overcome any challenge. All my apprehensions, indecisions, troubles and pains run away simply by being in his vicinity. I never feel like I have to give anything to receive so much in return, unlike Shivaay Bhaiya. The thought saddened me and Dadi noticed the change in my expression.
“What happened, Ishu? Is something bothering you?” she asked in her trademark sweet way. I was shocked for a minute but shook my head quickly. The sudden attention unnerved me and I blurted the truth under their unwavering gaze. “I feel really selfish next to you guys. I mean, what did I ever do to deserve so much love?” Om appeared dazed by my short speech but then he shook his head a little and declared, “Conceit, thy name is Ishu Singh Oberoi!” Everyone burst laughing at his remark while I frowned. But like all other times, it passed soon enough, dissolving into mirth, harmony and amity.
To be honest, I really am very lucky to have such a loving family. All my life, someone or the other in this family had been watching over me. In the orphanage and after being adopted, it was Anika. And then after the passing of my Momma and Daddy, it was Tej Singh Oberoi, if we ignore his motivation for sending me the money while I lived alone. And then there was Om and his entire family who taught me that loving someone always made you vulnerable to pain, but as long as you have love, no kind of pain can ever touch you. Rather than living one day at a time like finishing homework, I now dream of our bright future and enjoy watching them come true one by one.
In Om’s words:
“Veiled was his face, but was he even real?
Vagueness at its zenith,
How will you strike a deal?
Different names for the shape shifter!
Another mirage, which decides your meal!”
But I liked to think of it a little differently.
“A knife washed in milk,
And a drop of tear,
Both have the power to slay
As long as the victim is near;
Unless the hunter turns prey
And holds the victim dear,
Then comes love into play!
And that’s all the luck you need…”
And with that I ran out of my poetic juices! I’m not as creative as my better half, but there are definitely things I got right, especially in the matter of love and luck.
So what did I learn? To truly be happy with whatever turn the weather takes, because you know that no matter what, ‘that person’ has got it all covered for you, even if you can’t do much about controlling the weather. The person who would share his umbrella with you in the rain and wrap you up in warm blankets when it gets cold, that person who stands by you in good times as well as bad is your luck. And with my own experience, I know that such luck awaits everyone in their lives at the very least once or twice, to turn your life into a fairytale with your own happily ever after, no matter when they appear. Everyone gets lucky at some point or the other after all!