Short story: Beach, Sandhya and a Stranger

 

She sat at the beach looking at the waves coming and hitting the people standing at the shore. There are different people enjoying it in different ways. There are people of different ages. She looked at a 5-year-old child going towards the shore and running back again while giggling. How pure the smile on the child is!! Wouldn’t it be nice to be a child forever… to be loved and cared by everyone? No one talks ill about you and no one will have negative thoughts regarding you. She turned her head to the other side and found a young couple, who are probably in college, holding hands and walking along the shore. They are laughing to something and she can see they are happy. She observed them and wondered if their relation stays the same as time progresses or fades away with time. It’s been 2 years since she is married and she is feeling like her relation with her husband has lost its charm which they initially had. They had a fight 2 days back and now she left the home to stay away from her husband and calm down herself at the beach, observing the sea and the people here. She sighed while still observing the couple, when she heard someone clearing their throat. She turned and looked at that person who started talking immediately.

 

“Hey, I hope you don’t mind if I sit here with you”, he said in a cheerful tone.

 

“I do mind, sorry”, she said and looked ahead.

 

“I know that it’s not good to entertain strangers but who knows I might be full of surprises and you might actually enjoy my company”, he said cheekily.

 

She raised her eyebrows immediately, not believing what she just heard. She looked at him for few seconds before responding.

 

“Really? I don’t think so”, she answered.

 

Dismissing her negative reply, he sat beside her and she moved a bit creating some space between them which didn’t get unnoticed by him.

 

“You will know after talking to me”, he said.

 

“I don’t want to talk to a stranger”

 

“It’s better than ogling at all the couples present in the beach here”

 

“Excuse me… but I don’t want to know what is better for me from you. You can go away and do your business for which you are here”

 

“I am not going away. Let’s just talk for a while and I will leave you alone after that. I am bored here you know. I like talking too much. So, give me company to get rid of this boredom”

 

“I don’t really have a habit of accompanying some stranger, you know”, she says sarcastically while stressing on the word stranger.

 

“Oh, come on. Don’t be such a bore. Just give me a chance. You also look like a person who is in desperate need to talk. You can share your thoughts with me. I won’t judge you. In turn, you can listen to whatever I speak”

 

She doesn’t answer but keeps looking at him.

 

“Promise”, he adds while pinching his neck.

 

She sighs and asks, “What do you want to talk that desperately?”

 

“Let’s introduce each other first. Tell me your name”

 

“Really? Now you ask my name?” she questions dumbfounded.

 

“Arey, don’t worry. I can’t empty your bank balance just by knowing your name. And I am definitely not going to create a fake facebook account on your name. I am positive, I leave a good impression on people I meet”

 

She sighs but answers.

 

“Sandhya.. but I doubt if you would really leave a good impression on me”

 

He observed her face like he was checking what her face expression is and then continues.

 

“I already think that you have a tainted good impression on me. Maybe you just have some misunderstandings and assumptions which have to be cleared”

 

“I don’t think so”, she replies with irritation.

 

“Sandhya, don’t get angry. As I said, I am here for one hour. Let’s have a nice talk”

 

“I am not angry”, she replies looking sideways.

 

“Of course, you are not”, he replies sarcastically and continues, “Let’s leave about me and talk about you. Did something happen? You look sad”

 

“I don’t share my personal problems with some stranger, sorry”

 

“Arey, I can analyze the situation and give you some solution, you know. Maybe, your problems will be solved. I don’t seem like one but I am a very intelligent person”

 

“Sorry, but I am that kind of a person who goes with the looks of a person. And seeing you, I don’t think you are an intelligent person who can solve my problems.”

 

“You know, you are insulting me when all I want to do is help you”

 

She looked at his serious face this time and took a deep breathe.

 

“Then please leave from here. Why are you sitting with a person like me who only knows to insult others. And I am capable enough to look after my problems”, she said looking back to the sea.

 

There was only silence for 2 minutes and then, he finally spoke.

 

“Ok. Let’s not discuss about your problems. You look like a married woman. At least tell me your story. What are all the things happened before and after marriage? Any interesting stories?”

 

“There is nothing interesting to share”

 

“Arey arey please. What is the problem? I am already bored here and I would like to listen to what you have to say. Tell me what kind of a person your husband is? Was your marriage love or arranged? I would like to hear please. I promise, I won’t judge anyone”

 

“Ours is arranged marriage”

 

He waits for her to say something which doesn’t happen.

 

“You have only that much to say?”, he questions, “arey, tell me more. Who is he and how did it go when you guys met for the first time.”

 

“I am not telling you anything”

 

“If you tell me, I will leave from here with in half-an-hour. If not, I will follow you around wherever you go… and think what might happen if your husband sees you with me”, he replies dramatically.

 

She looks at him with an expression as if he has gone mad.

 

“I can’t believe this”, she mutters while shaking her head.

 

“But I am serious. I am not leaving without hearing you speak.”

 

She starts speaking after few seconds.

 

“His name is Arpit”

 

She was about to continue when he interferes.

 

“Whose?”

 

“Arey, my husband’s”, she replies with irritation.

 

“Acha fine fine. Sorry. I won’t interrupt you again. continue”, he says while suppressing his laugh.

 

“Ours is arranged marriage. We got married two years ago. He is an ok type of guy”

 

“OK type of guy?” he interrupted, “let me see. Can you tell me where you guys met for the first time and how it lead to your marriage?”

 

“We met at a café for our first meet. I liked him because he was funny and a nice guy. I thought he would take care of me and would be never careless towards family. His mother also was very welcoming. So, I agreed and the marriage happened”, she explained.

 

“Seems to be a good guy to me”, he commented.

 

“I also thought the same”, she explained, “but now I have realized that I couldn’t judge a movie by watching its trailer.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Arey before marriage and during the first one year of our married life, he was very good to me. He used to follow me around at home or call me when he is not around and he used to take me to a date every weekend.”

 

“He sounds to be a romantic person who keeps in mind about his wife’s feelings”

 

“Of course, you will like the trailer. The whole movie runs after this one year of marriage.”

 

“And your husband is both hero and villain of this movie?”

 

“Exactly”

 

“Arey yaar. What did that poor guy do to deserve to be a villain in your life”

 

“You know it already”

 

“No no, I don’t know. Please explain”

 

“I am not playing this game of answering all these questions. You said only half-an-hour”

 

“Ha Sandhya, I remember. But I guess you can just cooperate for”, he looks at his watch and continues speaking, “more 20 mins. Ok, at least tell me something. Did you have a fight with him recently? You look like you had one”

 

“Ha, I had because he doesn’t care about me anymore”, she pouts angrily.

 

“I don’t agree. Maybe he still does care about you and you are spoiling your mood unnecessarily”

 

“No, he doesn’t care. I know”

 

“Acha, let’s do this to make you think clearly.”

 

“What?”

 

“I will ask few questions about your husband, you and your relationship. You have to answer those”

 

“Oh come on. What is this new drama now?”

 

“Just accept it Sandhya. I will just ask you few questions. You think and answer and then, finally decide if he cares for you or not”

 

She just looks at him and agrees after a while, “I know you will take his side only but okay. Ask whatever you want to”

 

“Thanks. Can you share anything about him which you like or which you remember? Some incident which you remember the most. I mean there should be something special about him which made you like him more”

 

“The point where I liked him the most is when I got to know how much he supports me. After I got married, few of his distant relatives came to visit us and I was working over-time on some important project. So, he said that he will take care of them. In fact, he cooked for them too. I told that I would be late and would come by the time they have dinner. They are little old-fashioned and I don’t know what exactly they complained on me being not there at home and attending their needs but I got to know something after I returned to home that night. I got to know that when they complained, my husband tried to explain them that I had some work and couldn’t come. When they were still complaining, he gave an earful to them on their misconception on how they were always ready to keep boundaries and judge women but he wouldn’t like to hear anything against me. It was so sweet of him and it increased my respect towards him. He was always like that. He will always speak for the right ones and always supported me at many times later also. I know how much he like babies but he is still waiting for my consent and told that I can take my time. He always says that I should have more right to decide when to have a baby because I should be the one handling my professional life while carrying our child. Yet when people questions on when we would be having babies, he tells them that he is busy these days and is not ready to start a family in such conditions.”

 

“Wow… You have this much to share about him. You looked happy while talking about him, you know”

 

“There is a difference. I was talking about the old him”

 

“Acha, then let us come this way. Tell me the most recent incident when you are extremely happy because of him”

 

She thinks and smiles before answering.

 

“My birthday. I was sleeping and I suddenly heard a voice which broke my sleep. I opened my eyes and the first thought which come into my mind was that a ghost was there in the room. So, I screamed but slowly I realized that it was my husband who put on a mask of a ghost to scare me off. He removed it and started laughing while I cursed him and got down the bed. When he started running, I followed him and we reached the living room. I got stopped seeing the lights and the decoration. There was also a cake standing at the centre. More than those, the thing which made me smile was how he wrote happy birthday by using chocolates, on the ground, in front of the table on which the cake was placed. He arranged the chocolates to form the words ‘Happy Birthday Sandhya’ and that was because he knows how much I love chocolates. He wished me and then expressed his feelings towards me. What I liked the most that day was his simple way of celebrating my birthday without anyone between us and the way he expressed his feelings. It was as if whatever he was saying was so exact but at the same time, made me feel special. It was not cheesy”, she giggled while saying that, “He made me cut the cake. It was a beautiful night which I could never erase from my mind. It was 2 am when I finally looked at my phone and replied to all the bday wishes I got and I was smiling remembering the past 2 hours even while doing that.”

 

She said all these, looking towards the sea while he was just staring at her smile when she explained the incident. After she narrated, she looked at him and her expression turned little sad. She turned towards the sea again but didn’t speak anything. She was silent and so was he. After 2 more minutes, he took a deep breathe and spoke again.

 

“You are happy with him then. What’s the problem?”

 

After being silent for a minute, she answers.

 

“I think he is loosing interest in me”

 

“I don’t think he is… especially, not when he has a beautiful and a good woman like you with him”

 

“Acha, how do you know that I am a good woman?”

 

“Just like that. I know things”, he shrugs.

 

“Oh really?”, she says sarcastically looking sideways

 

“Of course”

 

When she stays silent, he speaks again.

 

“Did your husband ever restrict you or tried to control you?”

 

“Even if he tries, I won’t bend under him”, she says proudly

 

“Arey I know, my Jhansi ki Rani… I am just saying that he is a good person. So, why don’t you end your fight and get back with him”

 

“He is good. I agree. Why don’t you ask questions like when did he take me out last time? When was the last time that we both ate together peacefully while talking to each other, sharing our routine? When was the last time he teased me about my nose like he used to do before? My birthday was 5 months back. Ask me how many times did he give me chocolates after that. I am telling you na. He has lost interest in me.”

 

“Arey, those many chocolates given on your birthday were not enough for you? And if you have all these issues, why don’t you talk directly and ask why the change is there in him? You could avoid the fight, you know”

 

“I don’t want to talk”, she says angrily.

 

“Acha ok fine. I will just tell you one thing. If you ever saw your husband crying for you or because you are in pain, you might have observed what he was going through that time. Analyze what you saw in his eyes and you will find the answers if he could ever loose interest in you”

 

She thinks on his lines and tears come in her eyes after a while. She lifts her hand and is about to cup his cheek but she suddenly withdraws her hand and speaks again.

 

‘’I don’t want to be manipulated. Whatever I saw he had for me is not there now”

 

“Arey, how should I make you understand”

 

“No need to. You can go. Walk away from me”, she taunts

 

He sighs and speaks again after some time.

 

“Chalo, I have an idea”

 

“What?” she suspiciously asks

 

“Let’s do a thing. Take me with you and show off in front of your husband, how much close we are. He will definitely become jealous and then, he will start roaming around you”

 

She raises her eyebrows and looks at him like he has gone mad. ”Really?”

 

“yeah really. I am telling you he will come around”

 

“No thanks. I don’t want my husband to roam around me just because he is jealous or because of insecurities and by the way, I don’t take favours from strangers. You didn’t even introduce yourself to me till now”, she taunts

 

“arey arey. First of all, he won’t be roaming around you because of some insecurity. Jealousy is a characteristic of love. And secondly, you didn’t ask about me till now. So, I didn’t introduce myself. But if you are this much eager to know, I will introduce myself”

 

“I am nothing but eager”

 

“It’s fine. It will happen sometimes. Girls get curious seeing a handsome face like this”, he says pointing towards his face and continues, “I don’t know why God has created me with all the handsome features pouring in my face. Ufff. It’s so tiring you know.”

 

“I know it’s good to be in dreams. But I guess you would not prefer to spend the rest of the 10 mins dreaming like this definitely. We have just 10 mins after which you said you will leave”

 

“Oh, thanks for reminding me. Seems like you are worried about leaving me after 10 mins. Don’t worry, I will stay back if you want. Anyways, I will introduce myself to you. I am Arpita”

 

Sandhya chuckles immediately after listening to it but controls it while acting as if she is coughing.

 

“Arpita? I thought you are a guy”

 

“And I am a guy. What can I do if my wife gets her share of fun while calling me as Arpita instead of Arpit”, he sighs.

 

She speaks while controlling her smile, ”She is right you know. Arpita suits you more than Arpit. By the way, my husband’s name is also Arpit and I also call him as Arpita whenever I want to tease him”

 

“Oh god. I can understand completely what that poor guy is going through”

 

“And I can understand what your poor wife is going through”

 

“I didn’t even talk about her yet”

 

“There is no need to tell about her. I can understand by looking at you.”

 

“Wow. You have a nice skill then”, he says sarcastically.

 

“I know, thank you”, she says

 

“You are overestimating yourself Sandhya madam”

 

“Just leave it. Normal people like you can’t understand what skills I have”

 

“Yeah, just like I don’t understand how God could create you with such a small nose”

 

She gulps and looks away, without answering back and he understands why she suddenly became emotional.

 

“What happened? Are you worried about your nose?”

 

“What do you want Arpit? You think, you can play a game with me and know what is wrong with me and then, you can settle everything that went wrong since 2 months just like that?”

 

“I want to sort out our differences Sandhya. And I am trying the same. Didn’t you feel anything while remembering what we had between us? Let’s just forget what happened and be like before?”

 

“How can I forget Arpit? What we had is in the past. Just 2 days back, you called me crazy, left home, and came back the next morning”, she said with tears in her eyes.

 

“I know, I shouldn’t have left home Sandhya but I was angry. You have thrown the ice-cream I brought for you on my face. I was trying to mend things between us and instead of acknowledging, you are insulting whatever efforts I am putting.”

 

“Trying to mend things? You just kept the ice-cream box at the door and told which I quote ‘Hope this ice-cream cools you off’. What do you mean by that Arpit? Are you doing me some favour and I show temper without any reason? You can’t talk to me but the bloody ice-cream will cool me?” she says while the tears flow down.

 

He couldn’t see her like that. He cupped her cheeks and wiped off her tears with his thumbs.

 

“Sshhh… Don’t cry… Please”, he whispered

 

“I don’t want any insecurities or fights or any sort of differences between us Arpit”

 

“You think I want?” he explains soothingly, “I hate fighting with you Sandhya. We didn’t talk with each other for 2 days. I can’t bear it. That’s why I came here to talk. Please, let us talk and sort this out”, he says while leaving her cheeks.

 

“I didn’t mean anything like you were saying Sandhya. I wanted to calm you down so that we can be like before. So, I brought your favourite ice-cream and I didn’t want to enter our room when you are still angry. I thought to give you some time for you to calm down. Maybe I talked in such a way which gave a wrong impression to you and maybe I was a bit angry too. I am sorry for that but I didn’t mean it like that. I have taken tickets for the movie we planned by standing in line for 30 mins and you are not ready to listen to me when I am trying to explain.”

 

“But you came late. You are supposed to be at home at 5:30 pm for our movie date. Did I do something stupid by not listening to you?” she asks making a scary face.

 

“Yeah, I got some work and I got late by an hour. So, I thought to take tickets for the next show at the theatre as all tickets are booked online.”

 

“You should have told me before”

 

“I thought to apologize and then explain you, after coming back to home but I guess your anger is more powerful. You just went to the bedroom and kept the bolt after telling me not to interfere. I was shouting but you didn’t care”, he commented with a chuckle.

 

“I was listening to the songs. Guess, the new earphones you got me are doing their job perfectly”, she adds with a chuckle to which he too smiles.

 

She becomes sad and starts talking again with a pout, “I am sorry. I should have talked to you that night. I should have shown more patience. I was tired you know. Since the past 2 months, you are not the one whom I got used to. You went to a trip with your friends for 5 days. I was alone for the 5 days and after coming back, you start working overtime. It seemed like while I was expecting things from you, you are not at all interested to spend some time with me. So, all that anger piled up you know”

 

“I told you that I have some tasks which have to be completed right. You know that. It was my best friend’s marriage and you have your own office work. So, I didn’t force you to come. Because of that, the work load just got increased after coming back. Mom and dad came to visit us on one of the weekend. I was trying to get us a whole day but it wasn’t possible amidst all these.”

 

She nods in approval as if understanding his point of view.

 

“I understand what you are saying Arpit”

 

“Just say what you are feeling right now. Tell me if you think I am wrong somewhere and I will also tell you. Let’s sort this out so that we won’t repeat these in future”

 

She nods her head in denial.

 

“You are not wrong. But I just want you to take some time and explain me the things like you did now so that we can avoid the fights. I know I am like a child asking you to explain the things without showing any patience but I care for you and I am just scared whether whatever we have between us will fade away one day”

 

He kisses on her forehead and speaks while looking into her eyes.

 

“It won’t fade away. Maybe I couldn’t express my feelings to you daily but please understand that I still care for you. My feelings won’t change. You only say that men are weak in expressing their feelings right. So, please consider me as one and don’t get hurt because of it. And, I know you are a child sometimes but it’s what pulls me towards you”, he adds with a wink

 

She slaps him over his shoulder.

 

“See, I have come to like your manhandling also. So, you can already guess how much I like you… to an extent that I have become a crazy person along with you”

 

“You would have gone completely mad if I am not there with you”

 

“I will agree upon that”, he says with a chuckle.

 

“So, now you agree that men are weak in expressing their feelings huh?” she reminds him of his earlier words, “You used to argue with me on that topic saying men can express their feelings. You say when men talk about their feelings, the depth can be seen in their eyes and their voice”

 

“Yeah, I do say. We can express our feelings but can’t do it daily. When you already know it, why to say again and again making it loose the charm”.

 

“I know. But please talk to me and share about your feelings at least when we can’t spend some time with each other. If we can’t have time for each other, those words will soothe me down and give me enough confidence on our relationship”

 

“yeah sure. I will keep your words in my mind”, he says while touching her forehead with his, “I can share more things with you, you know. You only stop me, not letting me talk”

 

She pulls away from him and replies, “Oh please, I don’t want to talk about your fantasies. They are so weird”

 

“They are funny and entertaining”, he protests.

 

“of course, they are funny”, she replies sarcastically.

 

“Acha, you skipped the part of what we did after cake cutting which made you check your phone at 2 am on your birthday. Don’t you think it’s because of one of my fantasies”, he asks in a teasing tone.

 

“I do remember. How can I forget the day on which my husband resembled a dog”, she teases back.

 

“Excuse me”

 

“yeah, following whatever I say. It involved nothing about your fantasies that night”

 

“Yeah yeah… Just because it’s your birthday, you want to remember things in a way that you like. I can’t stop you from doing so. It was your birthday and you can manipulate things in your head. I won’t stop you”

 

“Wow, how nice of you Arpita”, she teases him.

 

“You know what… Let’s just go back to our home and we will replay that night again so that you can remember it and rewrite your memories”, he says in her ears.

 

“What if I say the sea view is nice here and I totally remember that night, and ask for us to stay here for some more time?”

 

“I am afraid, I can’t allow that Sandhya”, he says and she could already listen the desperation in his voice.

 

She chuckles and speaks, “Someone is very eager to get back to home”

 

“Yes, I am and I agree. And I know, you will be eager once I start correcting your memories”

 

She again punches on his shoulder before continuing, “You know just hearing my name from you makes me agree to you right”

 

“I know, but I have to take the risk of my shoulder being dislocated”, he says while rubbing there, “You know, my shoulder should not be harmed if we want to revisit your birthday night again. So, show some mercy on it”

 

She nods her head while saying, “I can’t believe I got married to you and I have come to like a person like you”

 

“No one can change the destiny, can they? You have to bear me for many more years to come”, he says and smiles.

 

“Of course, I have to”, she smiles back.

 

“So, shall we leave?” he asks.

 

Both of them get up.

 

“So, we have noted down the points that we told each other today, right?” he asks.

 

“Yeah, duly noted not to repeat this kind of fight again”, she says and both of them walk away from the seashore hand-in-hand.

 

 

EIGHT MONTHS LATER:

 

She runs and jumps into the bus. She scans around only to find him sitting on the last but one seat. She could say he is angry and she knows why.

 

“Hi, can I sit here?” she asks pointing at the empty seat beside him.

 

“Your wish. It’s a public transport, not my own vehicle. You can sit wherever you want”, he answers roughly.

 

“You look sad. Is something wrong?” she asks while taking the seat beside him.

 

“I am angry too. So what?”

 

“You can share with me”

 

“I don’t want to”

 

“I know it’s a bit strange to share your problems with a stranger but hey, you can give a chance to me”

 

He looks at her for few seconds with an unreadable expression before responding.

 

“I don’t do personal talking with strangers”

 

“Let me introduce myself then, so that we are no more strangers. Hi, I am Sandhya”

 

The end