Empty Post Box

Synopsis

The story is will-they or won't they kind of love story between a strong-willed woman and a blind to the world man, who never meet till they decide to sleep with each other. After sleeping with each other, do they go their own route or stay with each other, and how do their actions impact the lives of their near and dear. Some decide to grow up, and some feel left out. But no one remains the same.

Chapter 1: Post Box

"My father had only one condition for my marriage, a Central government employee. He selected an IRS for my elder sister, the younger one, to an IPS officer. When it came to me, he chose the officer who never can ask for a bribe, a postal officer."

Sandhya's mother was going on with her morning ritual of ranting about their middle-class life as Sandhya was getting ready for office. The mother saw Sandhya putting on the kajal and lipstick and continued the rant.

"No man in our family let a woman go for work. Especially, a girl up for marriage."

That was nothing new in the household. Sandhya preferred leaving early to skip the daily rant. That day, however, she was delayed. There was a late-night wedding reception the day before. She finished getting ready and started to walk out and saw her father.

"Divorce her Dad. We can live happily."

That was also not new to her Dad. "Let me get a little more fit. I will divorce and marry a beautiful model." Jokingly replied her Dad.

Laughing, she bid goodbye and started to head to the office.

"You be strong, my girl", said the Dad as she was leaving for the office.

Sandhya started to walk to the bus depot. "Be Strong" echoed in her mind. That words brought about unpleasant memories from the reception. 

Why does any man marry someone more educated than himself? I am not going to study beyond my bachelors. If they ask me, I want to get married by now and have two kids. 

The cousins were having a conversation in the reception about marriage. Sandhya wanted to join their conversation, but hearing they talk about her, she stopped.

What would you do with all the education, anyway? Stay home and take care of kids, right? You cannot go to the office and work like Sandhya. I am not rough like her. I am beautiful, and a man sitting in the room all day with me will melt. I don't want to get into trouble that way. 

Sandhya is beautiful, commented another cousin.

What use is that? She talks and walks so rough feels like we are talking to a man wearing a saree. I am telling you, no one will marry unless he is a blind and deaf man. 

Every one of Sandhya's cousins there started laughing. Sandhya left the place, wiping tears off her face.

"How come the cousins never like her? Don't they know their prime minister is a woman who went to war and won? " Sandhya was wondering in her mind. They too studied with her in the same school. They had the same teachers. The only difference she could think of was her father. He always felt a woman should be strong. Husband and marriage can wait. 

One thing, however, kept bothering her. "Deaf and blind man only." 

Am I that ugly? Does no man notice me? Sandhya was questioning herself.

It was not like Sandhya never had any boys ogling at her. When she was 15, a boy came to propose to her. She scolded him for the grammar errors in the letter. Due to the humiliation, he never set foot back in school.

On the first day in office, one officer trying to flirt said, "You don't even try to look beautiful."

She felt he was calling her ugly and replied, "I came here to work, not to look beautiful." She made a reputation of herself from that day.

The loud sound of the bus horn brought Sandhya back to her present. She got on the bus and headed to work.

That evening, as she was walking back from the bus stop to home, the feeling of uneasiness from the morning came back. A few more steps and she saw a woman throwing some garbage away. Garbage was not what caught her attention, but the place she threw the garbage was. She was throwing the garbage on a postal box. Being a postal officers daughter, she felt disrespected.

"Mam, don't you see there is a postal box there?" asked Sandhya in an angry tone.

"Who are you to ask me?" the lady asked a question back to Sandhya.

"Madam, this is wrong. I will complain to the police," warned Sandhya.

"First, go and complain to the postal office. They never bothered about it." replied the lady nonchalantly and left from there.

Sandhya got curious and saw the post box. It looked abandoned and forgotten. On a closer look, she could notice letters in it were trying to escape. Out of nowhere, a wind blew, and with it, a letter came out flying. What she saw next shocked her. The letter had her name and address. She opened the letter and started reading.

"Hi, Sandhya. I have been waiting for this day for many, many years now. All this time, I could only talk to you in my dreams. And every time you rejected me. You are so heartless.

That green saree, that long flowing hair, and the flowers which never wither on your head, and the small bindi, you are an angel walking on earth. But, how can you be so heartless?"

Sandhya checked herself, and she was wearing a green saree that day, and the flowers she had were still fresh.

"I love you. I love how strong are you. The moment you say yes, I want to overpower you and crush your bosom till tears come out of you." 

Sandhya was worried sick. Who was the sicko? Is he following her to know so much about her? Panic started in her, and she pranced from there to reach home. To calm her nerves, she took a bath. The cold water falling on her head settled her down. After finishing her bath, the strong woman in her took control. She wanted to know who it was and teach him a lesson. 

She started searching for the address or name on the letter. There was none. Disappointed, she threw the letter away. After getting ready to go to sleep, something clicked in her mind. She was going to go to the same postal box, next day.

She could hardly sleep the night. She got up, got ready and walked quickly to reach the post box. She was not sure what she was expecting. One more letter? How could that be? The earlier letter was in the wrong postal box. How stupid can one be to send more letters without checking the first one reached? asked the realist in her mind. 

"Did you not receive a letter out of nowhere the day before?" reminded the crazy part of her mind. She walked faster towards the postal box. She went closer to the postal box, ignoring all the garbage around it. She picked a letter which was almost bursting out of it. She scanned through the address. Putting it aside, she picked the next one and continued scanning all of it. 

All the letters in the box had only her name and address.

Sathya finished writing one more of his letters. "With love and hope, Sathya", he signed it before handing it to Ramesh.

"This is new?" exclaimed Ramesh.

"What is new?" asked Sathya.

"You have been writing letters for over a year now. I never saw you signing it", replied Ramesh.

"Oh! that was a mistake. Please give it back, I will write a new one."

"No, I am not giving it back. I am going to send it this way."

"Please, please, no."

"It is was fate decided, let it be", said Ramesh and was ready to leave to post office.

Sathya was worried. What if there was a different Sathya in her life? What if she decided to like him.

Ramesh forgot something and walked back to pick it on Sathya's desk. 

"Please don't send it", begged Sathya.

"Forget it. First, tell me, when are you introducing Sandhya to me?" asked Ramesh.

"Well, the day I meet her, I will introduce her to you," replied Sathya laughing sheepishly.