Continued in following order:
Part 1:Him
Part 2:Her
Part 3:The Other Her
Part 4:Him - 2
She
finished her breakfast, touched up on her appearance and got ready for the 41st
day believing that 41 is going to be her lucky number.
Part 1:Him
Part 2:Her
Part 3:The Other Her
Part 4:Him - 2
The door slammed behind him. He was not being himself today.
The usual efforts that he put in to appear normal were missing. He clearly had
a lot on his mind otherwise it was unlikely for him to be this disjoint.
She wondered how many people actually knew the real him. To the casual observer
he would fit in the normal bracket; amicable, humorous and overall a decent
average person. Not a lot of people looked beyond his veil which hid the other
half, his fractured identity struggling to come to terms with the world, his
constant conflict for meaning and reason. The picture behind the canvass was
poignant and heartbreaking at times. The hiding act was admirable if not
perfect. Only a handful few really knew him, she knew him.
Sometimes, not very often though, she regretted the fact that
she looked through him without much effort. The pleasant exterior never confused
her and to add to her misery she was always attracted to this concealed damaged
persona. This inexplicable attraction has been a constant source of heartache
for her, from the very moment she met him, but despite of this all she couldn’t
bear the thought of pulling away from him.
She never thought her life would be arranged for her in the
traditional way. She was always a free spirit, full of dreams and above all a diehard
feminist. She blatantly mocked the whole traditional drama of arranged
marriages. The very idea of it was always unbearable for her. Although she did
agreed to her parent’s constant request to meet prospective guys, handpicked by
them, but she only thought of it as an appeasement policy for her haggling
parents. She was sure once she had rejected enough guys they would take the
point and leave her alone to figure her life out. Ironically he was the first
one in her “rejection” drama.
He was different than most guys she knew. Most were instantly
enchanted by her. She was readily accepted as someone who is beautiful, warm,
comfortable and humorous; the kind of girl most people craved for. Contrary to
the majority he was calculated and normally distant. His action dictated a
gracious yet controlled admiration for her. It was not the reaction she
normally received from guys, especially from simpletons like him. She was both
mildly agitated and intrigued.
This very intrigue was soon driving her, for she wanted to
solve this puzzle, she wanted to solve him. She elicited an enthusiastic
surprise from her parents when she declared her interest in him and even a
possibility, subject to a few more meets with him. She looked forward to
meeting him still certain that she can always start her “rejection” routine
once she finishes finding her answers. She was strangely excited about it,
which was unheard of.
If the first meet was intriguing the second one was equally
refreshing. His broken demeanor kept aside, he was really the kind of person
she would have hoped for; naturally intelligent, knowledgeable and with a clever
sense of humor. His natural appearance was effortful and quite convincing but
the cracks were exposed every now and than, in the pauses or in the long
glances he threw around. It was uncanny how alike they really were. Like,
dislikes, outlooks, interests; they shared almost each of them. His mystery
along with his personality was alluring to her. The “rejection” endgame was slowly
chipping away.
Her parents were really confused when she requested a few
more meets with him to be certain. She could sense that the decision was
already made, albeit a risky one. She was convinced of breaking through, what
she was not certain of was what she will find underneath and how will she react to it. She hoped that some
time together will help her ascertain whether to follow on her unjustified
instincts or not. However hard she tried she couldn’t find a reason to reject and move past him. Mockingly her “rejection”
drama never moved past the first scene.
It is her 41st day with him and some part of him is still a
mystery to her. She often wondered if her decision was a mistake or not and surprisingly
she still can’t convince herself that it was. He was as she had always expected;
cold, distant but affable and a good husband, at least superficially. She has given her crazy experiment 100 days;
she always thought 100 would be enough to determine her future, their future or
the lack of it.
Her faith is waning everyday but she still hopes often without reason. She still seeks her answers but now she is not sure if she wants them anymore.
Her faith is waning everyday but she still hopes often without reason. She still seeks her answers but now she is not sure if she wants them anymore.
