Her shoulder length brown hair flowed down as she stood in the balcony waiting for him. She enjoyed the pleasant summer breeze blowing. The evening sun had long set and the street lights just clicked on. He looked quite worked up as he pedaled slowly. She noted that his fair skin was much tanned. He smiled through his eyes; his long side glance was enough to make her weak in her knees. She felt her soul singing. He was gone. She was in love with him.
He seldom smiled with his lips but his captivating eyes intoxicated her with his love. It was a magical evening and he decided to meet her. Little hesitant but he walked ahead with quick strides. She was in scarlet smiles in between the coffee sips as she saw him coming. He was alone. As he approached her house he looked up at the sky, the silver glow of the moon filled him with dreamy thoughts. She heard a knock and met his eyes; her cheeks flushed red as she opened the door in the romantic ambience of the moon light.
He took her hand, kept a love note in her palm and was gone. She got lost for a while. He always smiled without a curve and it fascinated her. Freedom to love is not always tolerated. Love is often nipped before it can blossom. He knew it was infatuation and stayed quiet. Her family was happy as it was the nuptial knot time. Detailed horoscope studies were done. They were overawed as the horoscope said that the groom would come from the western world. It was a matter of great concern for the conservative family. It was cross checked again and again to find the remedies for the best suitable groom and compatibility.
She wanted to spread her wings and soar high but kept hitting against the gilded cage sides for the sake of society norms, conservative traditions and happiness of the family. The last horoscope remedy was finally announced. It said, balancing the west with the east and keeping the effect nullified would bring the best results but warned that the groom from the west could appear if the nullification grew weaker. And she got married with a groom from the eastern countryside with the demographic configuration that worked the best.
She was a gentle autumn rain, a soft star that shines at night. She adjusted in her life. She did not believe in horoscopes. She realised that Astrology depends on whoever is doing the interpretation and like any other area of knowledge, there are good and bad interpreters. She is calm and much concealed as she listens to the sound of her own silence. She is subtle standing alone in her fears. As time passes by her fears grow stronger, the fog so dense she can hardly see. Oh, how her Western groom haunts her dreams; with a soft voice and a different frame.
Her heart beats endlessly pondering on what remains like a mystery. The fragmented images in her mind shows her how he fights his own despair. He kisses, whistles a song and breaks her silence. He steals her soul as he tenderly murmurs love words into her ears. She dreads if he appears and says “Can’t go back now”. A situation she knows, she can’t handle. Will she accept him, when he finally comes? Though her pain needs a warm embrace yet she builds a wall around her heart. She is bound in chains trapped in a mystery. Nobody knows but the smile she wears is empty. Perhaps she unconsciously and nervously awaits him.