From Hate to Love

From Hate to Love

-I told you that I will do the dishes in the morning.

-No no no no… It will get dirty, which will lead to all sort of insects lying around in the kitchen

-I can't now, I am tired and I am going to bed.

-So you think you are the only one who gets tired? Try running the household for an entire day!

-I'm going for a walk. I need some space

-Oh so now you are not tired?

-What kind of biryani is this? This does not even taste half as good as my mothers.

-I'm sorry King, I am new at cooking. If you want to eat flawless food order from outside and become unhealthy

-I will get unhealthy by eating your food also.

This is how Pavan and Payal, the newly wedded couple would fight every day. The problem was not with the dishes or the food. The problem was that they do not love each other. They fell into an arranged marriage after their broken love affairs, both of them were not ready to fall in love again. Seeing their significant other would only make them more furious and they repel each other without giving it a proper thought. They did not have a reason behind their hate. Payal's parents say that she lost all of her memories before college. This happened after an accident where she got an injury to her head. She was a calm girl before the accident and turned impatient and hot-tempered later in her life.

The only thing they agreed on was to keep their parents on first priority. They loved their parents to the core. After almost six months of marriage, they knew that they need to keep their parents happy by giving birth to a baby. But how? Both of them don't even like being in the same room.

To create chemistry, both of them decided to talk to each other. After all, you can't simply sleep with a person unless you have some sort of chemistry… at least for them.

They started talking frequently and began to know more about each other. Even though they stayed in the same room, one would sleep on the bed and the other would sleep on the floor. They would take turns to sleep on the floor. There were no lust nor love developed in their relationship. One week passed and they started to go for dates.

On one such date, they had a good time in the pub followed by lots of drinks. They reached home in a drunken state and also got drenched in rain. It was one of the coldest nights of the month. They reached their house and quickly changed into their nightclothes and got into bed. They didn't really argue about who will sleep on the floor because the weather was very cold to sleep on the floor. Both of them fell asleep soon. In the morning, they found themselves hugging each other as the beautiful melody of birds woke them up.

The next day morning at the breakfast table was unusually quiet. Normally during this time, Pavan would start a fight about the taste of food.

-I want to appreciate you waking up early to cook food. Said Pavan.

Payal didn't know what to answer.

-Oh… no problem.

After thinking for a couple of seconds she continued.

-I am sorry the consistency of chutney did not come out good.

Pavan immediately replied

-don't worry about it. It's the thought which counts, not the end product.

Pavan could see a pinch of shyness in her face which made him smile. After that night's soothing journey the couple's frequency of fights lessened.  The couple who hated each other now started have a soft corner for each other.

Six months later they found out there was some issue as they were not able to give birth to a baby. They checked with the doctor and found that both of them can't have babies. This left them deeply disturbed. They also felt bad for their parents who were expecting a grandchild soon.

The following months both of them spoke less and were sleeping on the very end of the beds. After taking up one day Payal saw Pavan sitting right next to her. It was as though he was waiting for her to wake up. As soon as she woke up he blindfolded her and made her walk up to a room. He took off her blindfold as soon as the door opened. It was a room with a spread of children's toys, colouring books, alphabets, lego blocks, train set, stuffed animals, toy cars etc. Payal was puzzled to see toys inside a house where a child's laughter can't be heard.

Pavan said Giving birth to a child is not the only way to become a mother or a father. We can adopt a child. It does not matter which gene the child inherits. The child will still be our child when we bring her up.

Payal replied but… we are not in a position to have kids which is not ours.

Do you think you can only love a child which is genetically yours? Questioned Pavan.

It's not about whose child it is. It's about us. We are not close enough to raise a child. Said Payal.

We were ready to raise a child when we know it is ours. What difference does it make when we adopt? Asked Pavan

That is because it is our child we can take the risk. However, we cannot take the same risk as an adopted child. We need to give him/her special attention and care. Said Payal

So, your telling we can experiment on our own child but can't do the same for an adopted one? Asked Pavan

Payal broke down and started to cry. I don't know why I am very upset and nervous about adoption.

Pavan held her hand and kissed it. Whatever problems you are having, is now mine too. Let's face it together. I know you are anxious and worried. Don't be sceptical about adoption. We are giving life to a child who was abandoned by someone. We will love her to the fullest and give all the attention and spoil her with our affection.

The dialogue made Payal smile and she kissed him on the forehead. They started to apply for a foster kid in different agencies and got a call the very next day from one of them. Pavan and Payal were surprised that they got a call within a day. They later came to know that one of Payal's college friend, now works in the foster home as a part of her NGO's work. Rekha called Payal and asked her to come to the foster home with all the documents.

Rekha rushed to hug Payal after seeing her in the foster home. Payal could tell that both of them were close before. However, her memory gave no clue. Rekha, instead of taking her to her office, told to meet with her alone in a nearby park immediately. Upon reaching the park Rekha's eyes started watering up and disclosed a truth which was concealed by her parents. Rekha started to reveal the truth.

A year prior to Payal's accident she was pregnant with her then-boyfriend Rakesh. They decided to get married before her belly started to show up. She also wanted to avoid anyone poking their noses in her life. Unfortunately, Payal found that Rakesh was cheating on her with another girl. She decided to break up with him. However, she was four months pregnant with a girl child and the doctors refused to abort the child as it was a law that no child should be aborted if the mother is pregnant for 16 weeks or more. Hence, with nothing more to do, Payal delivered the child. Payal started her PhD in engineering after she gave birth. Hence, with her college and studies, she will not be able to take care of the child. Her father is a well-known man in society with a lot of contacts. He convinced Payal to send the kid to a foster home. He told Payal that the kid will receive a better life with another family than being with her, who is tied to a busy schedule. With his contacts, he made arrangements to send the child to foster home. It was Rekha who helped with the documentation for the child. After the incident of sending the child away, Payal became guilty and went into depression and was gradually losing her focus on studies. One day while on her way to college, she was overwhelmed with her emotions and started to cry while riding a bike. Her eyes were filled with tears which made her lose her vision for a second and met with an accident which gave her a head injury followed by two months in a coma and a memory loss. She does not remember anything before the accident. Her parents cultivated most of her memories back except for the memories related to her ex-boyfriend and her child. Even though she did not remember any of those memories she always used to get angry and emotional at the sight or talk of love or children. Payal's father also wrapped this truth and did not tell anything to Pavan or his parents during the marriage proposal.

After realising who she is, Payal fell to the ground on her knees in disbelief. Rekha tried to pick her up but she refused to stand up and started to cry. Payal had a lot of thoughts in her mind but one of her main concern is how Pavan will react to all this.

I don't know how I will inform Pavan about all this. We just started to have a spark in our relationship. If he hears all this he would want to file for a divorce. Said Payal.

Rekha sat on the ground with her and said

you do not know Pavan much do you? All these arrangements of you meeting me, the adoption plan, me revealing the truth to you, everything was a set up by Pavan. He already knows about everything about you.

Payal could not believe what she heard. It was too good to be true. By this time Pavan reached the park and was standing behind Payal. When Payal turned he saw Pavan smiling at him. Payal stared at his face still in disbelief. She knew at that moment was special when butterflies were clicking in her stomach. She concluded that Pavan is indeed the love of her life.

She hugged him tight, so tight that it started to choke him. Payal knew what she had to do at that point in time. She kneeled down in front of him and asked

Will you be my hubby forever?

Pavan continued to smile and hugged her.

They went back to the office to fill the form to adopt a child.

Little did Payal knew that Pavan had one more surprise waiting for her. To free her from the guilt and to repay for her sins, Pavan tracked down the child who she abandoned. They were going to adopt the same child because that is how much Pavan loved Payal.