Sunday Story: Accidental Finding

It was a big day for Preeti and her family. While they were all happy and excited, she was morose and terrified—it was her wedding day. The reason behind Preeti’s dread and her family’s excitement was the same: they had managed to get her married way before there was even any chance of her passing the golden age—at the age of 18, to be precise.

While her parents may have felt the heaviest societal burden finally lifted off their chest, Preeti felt as if an immense one had been put on her shoulders under the weight of which her dreams and future plans seemed to have been crushed.

Preeti was not an exceptionally bright student, but she was definitely a hardworking one. And she loved to learn. She would devour her school books in the same way her younger brother devoured aloo paranthas. Unfortunately, she was the only person who was happy with her being engrossed with her books—her parents, especially her mother, worried that if things continued the way they were, she would not learn the things she was actually supposed to know, being a girl, and would not make for a good wife and daughter-in-law when she became of marriageable age.

While it was inconsiderate on part of her parents, such thinking was enforced upon them due to A) the society, and B) their poverty. To ensure her daughter did not get out of hand, Preeti’s mother started keeping Preeti busy with some task or the other so that she would dedicate most of her time, if not all, to honing the required skills.

When Preeti turned 18, her parents came upon an advantageous prospect. They considered it to be a blessing from their god and immediately fixed Preeti’s marriage without her knowledge or consent. Though she did end up getting married, she was not happy about it. She did not know what the future held for her, and nor was she anymore interested in knowing.

A few weeks had passed since her marriage. It had not been as dreadful as she had imagined it to be—her in-laws, to her surprise, were quite supportive and loving. While Preeti still missed her studies and books, she thought of her life as not being as dreadful as she had imagined earlier.

One day, when she was arranging her room, Preeti chanced upon her husband’s books. Her eyes lit up on coming across a book after such a long time. She immediately dropped whatever she was doing and was lost in it in no time. So engrossed was she that she did not notice the time passing and the afternoon turning into evening.

When her husband returned home, he was surprised to not find her tending to the garden outside like every other evening. The sight he came across, when he went inside looking for his wife, he could not help but smile warmly. He had learned about Preeti’s love for books through her brother and her friends at their wedding. Ever since then, he wanted to do something to reunite her with them.

He walked across the room to where Preeti was happily lost in the books and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Startled, Preeti dropped the books as if she had been caught red-handed doing something she should not have dared. He calmed her down and revealed to her that it was actually him who had accidentally left those books out in the open earlier that day for her to come across them.

That moment was the first time ever since she got married that Preeti felt genuine happiness rise inside her. It was the first time in weeks that she actually felt that her husband cared for her—that he was hers.

Liked this story? Here is another to lift your spirits—Better Late Than Never.