Valentine's Day

The streets were crowded. Music could be heard from the restaurants which were decorated with roses, balloons and large red hearts. Young boys and girls were all dressed up. They could be seen in different amorous postures. It was a day different from all others, for it was Valentine’s Day -a day when lovers found full scope to express their love.

            Nina hid behind the curtains of their window and watched the couples walking past, engrossed in each other’s love. She knew she could never have anyone to love her for she was handicapped from childhood. But did anyone realize that she also could love like anyone else and had all the normal desires and instincts like any other girl of her age? She would daydream of having sweet babies of her own but that remained something only in her dreams.

             Nina was the second issue of the Roy family. She was a lovely child. She was so chubby and sweet in appearance that when her mother took her out to the park all the passers-by would pinch her cheeks. But as she grew up her parents noticed that she was an introvert and did not like interacting with people. What became a problem for her when she reached the school-going stage was that because of her reclusive nature, whenever she had to talk to people, she would stutter and stammer. The first year of schooling became an ordeal for her. She had to face a lot of teasing and ridicule. Her playmates used to laugh and make fun of her. They used to mimic her so much so that at one stage she refused to go to school. It was impossible for her parents to persuade her as little Nina had had enough of the mental torture subjected to her. She would just lock herself up and give vent to a deluge of tears.

              Nina’s parents then arranged to have her study at home. They inquired from the school if any of the students who had passed out could teach her at home. It was Nina’s good fortune that one of the meritorious boys volunteered to teach her. The student by the name of Pranab had a very kind nature and hearing about her problem, he was especially interested in taking up the job. Besides, the money would also help him to continue his studies in the Science stream in a good college. So it was that Nina was coached at home by a very good conscientious tutor till she passed out with record marks in her ISC examination. In the meantime, Pranab was also able to pass out of Medical College.

Though he was just a young boy he always maintained the proper teacher-student relationship with Nina. He gave her encouragement and support, not that he did not lavish on her all the affection which was required to bring her out of her shell. But Nina in her heart of hearts began to hero-worship her teacher who knew so much, almost everything about everything. Not only that. He was so kind and gentle with her, so patient and considerate! She felt love creeping into her adolescent heart but she told herself that her blossoming love had to be stifled as she could not ever hope to be loved in return. No man would be proud of a woman who spoke in the way she did. This became a big heart-ache for the girl and she often released her pain and mortification in the privacy of the toilet in tears. There was no hope in her life. She could never ever put her arms around the man she loved, she could never ever tell him how her heart was overflowing with love for him. It was sheer frustration coupled with stark hopelessness. She had no one to call her own. How she wanted to rest her head against his broad shoulders and sob her heart out!

                   It so happened that like a dormant volcano on that particular Valentine’s Day as Nina stood watching all the happy couples, arm in arm, laughing and joking, her forbearance snapped. She could not take it anymore. In a wild emotional outburst, she wanted to end it all. What meaning was there in living a life without even a ray of happiness! Day after day the yearning, the craving for Pranab was tearing her young heart into fragments. She bled and endured but no one had any inkling of her pain and agony.

                  Nina rushed into the toilet and fastened the bolt. The toilet had become her place of refuge and shelter. She was angry with the Almighty. And she would pay Him back. She would show Him that she was not a puppet in His hands. It was cruel and unforgiving for Him to give her this affliction and she would show Him how she could terminate all her suffering in a matter of seconds. She took the blade from the rack. Her hands trembled. Her head throbbed. Her heart beat so loudly that she felt it could be heard. But as she picked up the blade her head reeled, her vision blurred and her world became black. After that she found herself lying on a hospital bed. When she did not come out of the toilet for a very long time, her parents had broken open the door and had called the ambulance.

               As Nina opened her eyes she saw that her parents were anxiously watching over her. Pranab was also there. He had heard about her hospitalization and had rushed to the spot. He was saying something to her parents which at first she could not make out as it sounded like a distant hum. Gradually the words took meaning. He had cleared his doctorate and he had become a Speech-Language Pathologist. He would treat Nina and he was fully confident that in three months’  time she would get over her handicap. Besides he had also got an offer as a Specialist and Consultant in one of the best hospitals in the U.K. After he had given this information, he hesitated a little and asked her parents if he could have a little time with her alone.

                   Pranab looked at Nina for a very long time. That gaze was saturated with tenderness and dripping with love. He then confessed to her that he had lacked the courage to ask her for her hand as she seemed distant and aloof. He had always loved her intensely. He was the one to groom and nurture her from a small insecure girl to a young lady. At first, he loved her in the way a gardener would love his flowers. But as she grew up to be a delicate, attractive lady he had fallen deeply in love with her. But being her teacher and she being the student, he could not tarnish the image of this noble relationship by expressing his feelings for her. He was now asking her to marry him as he was going abroad and would not like to leave her behind. Nina’s eyes welled up with tears once more. It was too explosive an announcement. Nina stretched out her hand to him as he whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day Love!” Soon she was in his arms.