A Poetic Love Story

Reena did extraordinarily well as a psychologist. Her colleagues appreciated her deft skills in navigating through complex problems of the human mind to come up with the best possible solutions. Intrigued by the air of mystery she carried around her shoulders, one of her colleagues asked her about her past. Reena had never shared about her mysterious past ever since she became a psychologist. She had channelized all her energy towards her profession to enhance the quality of human lives. Today, she decided to break the shackles and walk down memory lane to reveal her concealed past. She felt a sense of urge to confide in her colleague who was in awe of her intellect. Her colleague who loved listening to the gripping stories had no idea about the story that was to unfold.

Ten years ago (Uttar Pradesh):

Mahadeva Arts College nestled at the backdrop of a rocky hill was a dream college for many aspiring students who dreamt of adding wings to their artistic talent. The boisterous students loitered around the college and also enjoyed the picturesque hills that were a perfect destination spot for the tourists. Tushar, a young, introverted guy was always found alone in the college. He seldom used to appear in groups. Some of them who spoke to him either wanted to misuse his silence or show off their garrulous nature. He couldn't find a soul who could connect with him and understand the nuances of his personality. Being alone rarely bothered him since he enjoyed his solitude. He had a knack for creating poems that soothed his soul. Reena observed Tushar few days and found him very mysterious. She had seldom encountered guys who felt comfortable in their solitude. Some feeling inside drew her close to him.

One day, she took a leave from her friends who went about creating noise pollution on the captivating hills. She saw Tushar sitting alone on the boulder away from people. She ambled her way towards the boulder to strike up a conversation with him even if it was to turn awkward. Reena looked at his glittering eyes immersed in the joy of soothing sunlight.

"The plight of my life vanishes when I suck the light from the bosom of the sun," he whispered.

Reena was blown away by what he just whispered. She predicted him to be an ocean of creativity. A bit of hesitation that had hung around evaporated and she did make the first move to breach the silence.

"I wish I knew how to blend with the silence just like the wind does," she said.

Tushar slowly darted his gaze on her.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Tushar," he said in a low tone.

"I love poetry. Don't you ask my name?" she smiled.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Well, my name is Reena," her countenance illuminated by the presence of sunlight.

Tushar went back to his shell.

"Looks like, you don't like to talk to strangers, but the reality is we marry a person who is also a stranger at first."

Tushar glanced at her curly hair that tried to pierce the beauty of her eyes. Her gorgeous smile depicted the pure love she had hidden inside her heart.

"I don't consider silence to be rude," she said.

Tushar was surprised because many misunderstood and hated him but here was a girl who continued to talk despite his proclivity towards silence.

"You shine like a bright sunlight. May the world bathe you with abundant joy that soothes your heart," he said.

Reena's eyes widened in awe and she couldn't believe what she just heard. She felt it to be special and by no means wanted to break the love that was brewing between the two. She looked at him in the eyes and took stock of the situation which was to end the conversation.

"Meet you again," she looked him in the eyes which conveyed a secret message that got decoded in his heart.

Reena and Tushar met at the same spot again to continue their poetic love story amidst the blue hues glittering in the sky. They looked to be confined in a magical corner spot of the hill steeped in silence. No one interrupted their poetic conversation.

"I want to have a nap on your lap. I hope you won't give me a tight slap," she said.

Pretty impressed with her use of words, he too joined the poetic celebration.

"Nestling on the lap of silence, I got the assurance to hang around with the one loaded with patience."

"I am not a fool as long as I am with a beautiful soul for whom reaching the zenith of poetry is the ultimate goal," she smiled.

An unprecedented wave of love brushed past his soul rendering a soothing effect.

"My heart is dancing to the tunes of your words. Am I beckoned by the flying birds to receive the love beads?" he said.

Tushar churned out poetry before they strode back to their homes with pleasant thoughts still lingering in their minds.

Sun dominates the sky landscape

You have conquered my mind's landscape

And our heart is not longing for an escape

Drenched in the poetic rain,

Travelling in the thoughts train

We free ourselves from all the pain

Quaffing the elixir of silence,

We slipped into a deep penance

That helped us find the right balance

This hill has ushered in a new beginning

Which is blissfully soothing

And grippingly endearing

We are tucked away in the secret room of the hill

This is indeed an enchanting paradise to chill

Which doesn't compel us to pay the money bill

We can toy with these memories

Without any worries

Because it is part of our poetic series

They frequented the spot immersing themselves in creative poetries that invigorated their souls. Will their love story see a happy ending or a bitter ending? The time had the answer.

Reena's father happened to see her daughter being with a stranger. He understood that her daughter had fallen head over heels for an unknown guy. He sent one of his henchmen to ascertain the family details of the guy. When he came to know that the guy was poor and had no parents, he jumped out of his chair livid. He didn't like the idea of marrying his daughter to a poor guy which he deemed as a humiliation in front of society. He was now desperate to marry his daughter to a rich businessman to ensure his rich standard wouldn't go for a toss. When Reena came to the house, he decided to quickly put forth her marriage topic.

"We have found a suitable groom for you, Reena," he continued, "He is a rich businessman and is a perfect match for our family. You can get settled in Canada following your marriage."

This news sent shivers down her spine since she was madly in love with Tushar. She couldn't conceal her love anymore and did confide in her father.

"Who is that guy who has hypnotized you? I have learnt that he is a poor guy who doesn't even have a family history," he fumed.

"Love doesn't happen based on family history. It just happens when we find our true soulmate," she replied.

"Oh, stop your gyan. Who knows from where he dropped into this world? He might be a product of a prostitute. It's a shame to fall in love with such an obnoxious guy. I will never entertain your broken love story. You forget him and marry the businessman who will keep you happy," he demanded.

"I can't forget him. He has breathed a soul into my life. I will never find a partner like him. Please do not force me," she pleaded.

"You know that I am a minister. You are also aware of the significance of our rich family history. I will never let you spoil that. If you don't forget him, he will no longer be alive to see you ever again. I will murder him. Do you want him to be alive or want to see him dead? The choice is yours," he walked up the stairs in anger.

Reena's knees buckled under pressure and she fell unable to come to terms with the catch-22 situation. She had created an imaginary future with Tushar but to see him dead was too much to bear. She didn't know how to free herself from the entangled misery that threatened to hurt her in its grim hold. After a painful night, she decided to forget Tushar. She was aware of her father's power and what he could do with it. She didn't want to see an innocent guy lose his life because of her. Tushar grew restless with the absence of Reena. He felt something to be fishy. One of the guys confronted him to issue a verbal warning, "Reena is getting married to a rich businessman. Never try to get in her way. If you do so, you will bleed to death."

This warning came as a shocker to Tushar who couldn't fathom the bitter reality that unveiled itself. His intuition made him believe that Reena might have fallen to the pressure of her father. It was agonizing for him to forget Reena who had painted colours to his black and white life. Her captivating gaze and mesmerizing smile came back to haunt him. Her beautiful heart free of weeds propelled tears off his eyes. He just wanted to see her one last time before burying this love story once and for all.

The wedding of the minister's daughter Reena and the rich businessman Mukhesh was to materialize in the large conventional hall. A plethora of people had thronged there to witness the nuptials. Reena had lost the beautiful smile she always used to carry on her face. A bunch of women adorned her neck with necklaces, and hairs with jasmine flowers. She looked like a goddess with a red saree draped around her. She just rushed to the bathroom and vented out the pain that had bottled up. It was difficult for her to put a full stop to the poetic love story bereft of expectations, and devoid of material desires. She had to serve the obligation of her father or else Tushar would be dead. Tushar came to the marriage hall to behold Reena one last time but her father saw him. He couldn't control his fury and ordered his henchmen to kill him. One of them sprayed chemicals on his nose which made him lose consciousness. They didn't want to create chaos near the marriage hall so took him to the hills. He was taken aback when he opened his eyes. Six ruthless men stared at him as if they were bloodthirsty. They punched him one after the other in delight. Reena who was oblivious to the plight of her lover, felt a stinging sensation in her heart. The rich businessman tied the holy thread around her neck to end the nuptials. People hurled holy rice at them as a token of blessing. He had now become the owner of her life. Tushar couldn't fight against the six merciless freaks who stabbed him one after the other to render him a horrible death. Tushar's dead body was now covered in a pool of blood. Reena's father secretly revelled his death. It didn't take much time for the news to drop into Reena's ears courtesy of her friend.

"No.... This is a gross injustice," Reena clambered up the hill.

She felt like a ton of bricks hit her head the moment she saw the motionless body of Tushar.

"Why did you kill him? You betrayed me," she cursed her father.

"He never hurt anyone his entire life. How can you render such a heinous death to an innocent soul? You bloody pack of wolves. I am ashamed to be your daughter," she didn't mince her words that poured out incessantly out of her mouth.

She placed her face on his blood-stained clothes and the painful tears seeped through her eyes.

Her father got paralysed out of nowhere and her husband died in a car accident on his way towards the hill. Her friends cremated the dead body of Tushar. Reena was haunted by his death and decided to move out of Uttar Pradesh to heal herself from the bitter memories She came to Bengaluru and pursued a career in psychology and felt relieved in solving the mental health issues of people.

Back to Present (Bengaluru):

Reena's bitter past life moved her colleague to tears who embraced her with affection. She didn't even have an inkling about the pain Reena underwent in her life.

The terrible circumstances not only demolished her love story but also rendered a tragic fate for Tushar. Despite going through that ordeal, she did not let the pain swallow her life. She worked alone without any substantial support to become one of the top women psychologists in India through her sheer hard work.

Do not treat pain with disdain

There is no gain without pain

It may whack your brain

May disrupt your thought train

Eventually, it grants you a boon

So peace comes back to see you soon