The Healer's Guardian

A Shot In The Dark Can Sometimes Hit The Target!

Sometimes a blind guess will yield the truth and a blind chance is worth the risk to achieve what you want.
Viren would always think of events in life as something he would plan. Growing up in an ordinary neighborhood with conservative parents had made him confident of this fact. Viren was 24 years old, working in the sales department of a pharmaceutical company. The middle child with an elder sister and a younger brother, Viren had a very normal life till date.

Life became interesting with the entry of Leena in his life. Leena happened to be his boss' Mr. Raj Kumar's executive assistant. She was 27 years old, attractive, smart and had a knowing air about her. The attraction between them was instant and mutual. The age difference did not bother either of them. Within a week of meeting each other they were inseparable. Soon the rest of the staff at the office was abuzz with gossip about this couple. Many guys had been jealous as most of them had been attracted to Leena and had been trying to convince her to go out with them. The girls at the office had been openly critical of Leena for "trapping" a much younger man.

Viren was content for the relationship to pan out at its own pace. He knew telling his parents about Leena was going to be really difficult. They were bound to hit the ceiling. However he was sure that once his elder sister Sitara was married off, they would be more open to the idea of Leena in his life. Anyway he and Leena had not discussed the future of their relationship. He figured both of them would talk about it when the time was right; he was only 24 years after all!

The only thing that continued to puzzle and confuse Viren was the fact that Leena would never openly admit that she loved him. Anytime he mentioned love, she would shy away and change the topic. He wondered if she was bothered by the age difference. He was prepared to be patient about things as he really loved Leena.

Soon it was time to bring up the relationship into the open; Sitara had chosen a life partner and was to get married in the next two months. Viren was really happy for his sister and was looking forward to introducing Leena to his parents. But he was extremely puzzled when Leena showed no enthusiasm for the event. In fact it seemed to Viren as though she was looking for excuses not to meet his parents.

When the day of the wedding arrived, when Viren had planned on introducing Leena to his parents as a friend, she flatly refused to go. Puzzled and hurt at this harsh rejection, Viren decided to leave the matter alone till the wedding was over. Once the buzz associated with the wedding had settled, Viren called Leena with the intention of meeting her and discussing things out. Leena agreed to meet him after a great deal of hesitation.

Once they were comfortably settled in their favorite coffee shop, Viren looked at Leena thoughtfully and asked her, "Why did you refuse to attend the wedding? All our colleagues attended, you could have casually come as part of the group."

Leena looked at him sadly and said, "I did not want to. Anyway, I think we should stop seeing each other. I don't want to marry you!"

Viren could not have been more shocked. "What? What do you mean? What is wrong with you? Why are you being so cruel?"

Leena would not meet his eyes as she said, "Well, I never said that I loved you. You simply assumed that we would have a future together! What can I do? I don't think we are suited. I am older than you for God's sake!"

Saying this she walked away. Viren knew it was not the age difference that was bothering her, there had to be something else. After all he had not pushed her into anything. From the start, both had been open about their attraction to each other.

He knew there was something else and he was clearly missing the point. The next day at office, both of them had an uncomfortable time, avoiding each other and speaking very formally to each other. This change in the way the normally fun couple was behaving had been observed by everybody. The whole office was abuzz with gossip and rumors. The rumors ranged from the mundane to the bizarre.

After a couple of weeks, the tension in the office whenever Leena and Viren were in the same room was palpable. Not being able to ignore it anymore, Raj Kumar, called Viren to one side and said, "Listen Viren, I know it is none of my business. But this thing between you and Leena has started affecting your work as well as hers. Moreover people are spending too much time talking about it. I think you guys should resolve this matter, in one way or another."

Though feeling a little hurt over the situation and what his boss had said, Viren knew what he was saying made sense. Nodding his agreement, he said, "Okay! Sir, I will talk to Leena and solve this problem."

The next day being a Saturday, Viren decided he would pay Leena an unannounced visit, leaving her no choice but to talk to him. He arrived promptly at her doorstep at 10.00 in the morning. As soon as Leena saw him standing at the doorstep, she tried to shut the door. He managed to squeeze past her and sat down on the couch and said, "You have to talk to me. Let us get this over with."

Though Leena looked angry, she nodded and said, "Okay! What do you want to know?"

Viren asked her, "Why are you behaving so strangely? Everything was okay till my sister got married and then suddenly you don't want to see me? What is wrong? If I did not know better, I would think you are married!"

On hearing this, Leena paled and looked as she was about to faint. Viren knew his shot in the dark had hit the target. He was shocked and disappointed. Nevertheless he wanted to know what was going on. He looked at her and shouted, "You mean you are married and did not even bother to tell me?"

Leena looked at him, her eyes were filled with tears and she said, "How could I tell you? You seemed to think I was so perfect and wonderful."

Viren said, "But you managed to hide this for such a long time, why the sudden attack of conscience?"

Leena said, "First of all I had been married and now I am a divorcee. I have been divorced for the past 4 years. I always wanted to tell you but was waiting for the right time. Secondly I had to break it off with you because I realized that your sister is marrying the brother of the guy who divorced me."

Viren was shocked. He felt as though he had stepped into a bizarre world where soap operas spill into real life. He could not believe that the woman he loved had lied and deceived him. She had not told him a vital fact about her life. She had even managed to hide a fact that could affect his sister's life. His first thought was that he would walk away from here and never look back. But one look at Leena's stricken face, made him stop. He felt the time had come for him to get to the root of things.

Leena continued to look at him pleadingly for a long time and then she said, "I am sorry, I did not tell you earlier. I thought about it a lot of times, but somehow my courage would desert me. When the right time came, I realized that my past was much closer than I thought, and would definitely spoil things. Moreover your sister's happiness was at stake. Believe me if at any time I had felt that Jignesh was the wrong choice for Sitara, I would have intervened. But he is a really good guy."

Hearing this Viren's anger came down a little. He was still hurt that Leena had not trusted him enough to tell him the truth, but he was willing to listen to what she had to say. He said, "Okay, I am here now and I want to know the whole story. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Relieved that Viren was at least ready to hear her out, Leena started her story. She said, "You know very little about my background. My father had a footwear shop in partnership with Jignesh's father, Kirat. In fact majority of the funding had come from Kirat uncle. My father always used to look up to him. Kirat uncle had always been a beloved and close family friend. We all looked up to him. He had two sons - Ragesh and Jignesh. One day when I was 21 years old, he came to my father with a proposal for me to marry Ragesh, his elder son. My parents were delighted. I too was willing. After all I had known the family for most of my life. I knew Vanita aunty (Kirat uncle's wife) was a really sweet lady. I had not spent much time with Ragesh, but was sure I would grow to like him as my life partner."

"My troubles started once we were married. I soon realized that Ragesh had no interest in me. He flatly refused to share a room with me, a fact that left me feeling very insecure and low in self-esteem. I still remember the day after our wedding, when he sat me down and said, 'Look Leena, you may find what I am about to say strange. But the thing is I am not attracted to you and we will never have a physical relationship. If that bothers you let me know now. Otherwise we can live as any other couple. I will make sure that you are never unaccompanied for social functions, I will not have any affairs with other women or humiliate you in public'. Thinking that it was just a young man's rebellion against being forced to marry a girl of his parents' choice, I agreed. Though I was hurt at what he had said, I was also confident that I would win him over."

"Both of us settled into an uncomfortable co-existence. We would pretend to be a normal couple in front of everyone. Vanita aunty and Kirat Uncle continued to treat me like a daughter. Jignesh was busy with his work and would always treat me with warm respect. I had not disclosed any of what had transpired between me and Ragesh, to my parents; they believed that I was happily married. I did not want to disillusion them."

"Six months had passed. One day I was out shopping, when I spotted Ragesh walking into a hotel. The manner in which he was acting struck me as furtive. On an impulse I decided to follow him. Imagine my shock when he walked up to the reception and asked for a room to spend the night. He paid cash and registered under a different name. Casually picking up the keys, he boarded the lift and went up to the 4th floor. Since I had overheard the room number, it was easy enough to follow him."

"I lingered round in the maid's supply room near the room he had taken, hoping to find out what was going on. Even then I was not willing to believe that Ragesh would cheat on me. He was so decent! After about half an hour, a young guy who looked rather thuggish walked up to the room and knocked. I was sure that this was some kind of business dealing, but something kept me rooted to my hiding place. Imagine my surprise, when Ragesh opened the door and hugged the guy in welcome. Both of them walked in to the room with arms around each other. Even at this point my brain was unable to process what I had seen."

"I walked away and somehow managed to make it home. As I walked in to the house, I ran into Jignesh. One look at my face and he knew I was in shock. He hurried to make me sit and forced me to drink some water. With a little persuasion, I spilled the whole story to him. His first reaction was not what I expected. He looked angry as he said, 'I had suspected this, but I cannot believe he (Ragesh) could put you under risk!' As I stared at him it dawned on me that he was concerned about me and my health. Trying to be as tactful as possible, I managed to convey the lack of physical relationship between me and Ragesh to him."

"Hearing this seemed to calm him. He turned to me and said, 'I think the time has come that I should tell my parents about this. You know for a long time I had suspected that Ragesh was gay. But then he married you and you guys seemed so happy that I was sure I was mistaken. Now I know the truth, it would not be fair to tie you down to this relationship.'"

"That night we had a long discussion with Kirat Uncle and Vanita aunty. I was glad that I had Jignesh with me. I could not have faced them alone. At first Vanita aunty went into denial, but Kirat uncle managed to convince her about the situation. Like Jignesh he had had his suspicions. He was feeling very guilty for having spoiled my life. He apologized to me. After a while Ragesh too had come back home. A look at all our faces and he knew his secret was out."

"He made it a point of telling his parents that he had tried to fight it but it was beyond him and that he had always liked me a lot, only not as a wife. Looking at all their faces, I could feel their guilt and concern. Knowing that no one was judging me made me feel marginally better. At that point I knew what I had to do. I told them I would file a divorce and that too on the grounds of adultery. That way their secret would be safe and I would be free from a loveless marriage. Vanita aunty was really grateful that I was willing to go to such an extent to protect them. Both of us managed to convince the rest that this was the best way to go."

"The divorce happened and though my parents were upset, I managed to convince them that I was better off this way. I did not have the heart to tell them the truth. My in-laws gave me this flat as part of my divorce settlement. I started living here, did some courses and started working. I had decided that talking about my past was pointless till I saw Jignesh's name in your sister's wedding card." Finished Leena.

Viren just sat there stupefied. He asked, "So, what happened to Ragesh?"

Leena said sadly, "He passed away a couple of years back."

Viren said, "After hearing your story, I can see why you don't want to talk about it. But still don't you think you could have told me?"

Leena nodded and said, "I should have and I am sorry. But now I want to know what next?"

Viren was in no way prepared for this weird turn in his life. He knew it would be tough enough convincing his parents to accept the age gap between him and Leena, but a divorcee too? And that too with a connection to their daughter's in laws? He knew it would be very difficult to convince them.

But as he looked at Leena, he knew he would have to find a way to make things work; he really loved her. He decided that now was the time to go on a limb and take a shot in the dark, hoping he would reach the target. He looked at Leena and and smiled and said, "I love you and it is going to be difficult. But I am sure we can work this out." Saying that he held out a hand to her and was relieved when she reached out and held his hand.

Author's Note

ignore grammar problems, what do you think of the dialogue