JUST HAVE FATE

Art by MOrtiz. IG: _miiart_

Shradha fixed her veil and sighed. It was finally time for her to meet her husband.

She had never met him before so she hated her prospective groom with a passion. It was a hatred equivalent to the love she felt for Anupam, the love of her life, stolen away by antiquated traditions that valued security over love. 

Thinking about her mystery groom always led her to thinking about Anupam. Handsome, intelligent, graceful, Anupam brought to life her idea of the perfect man, a man she could live the rest of her life with. And the moment she came to that conclusion was when, in their Quantum Physics 101, he detailed in his cigarette-hoarsened voice exactly the terrible mistake Albert Einstein made in 1933. He won not just the day but, more importantly, her soul.

With Max Planck in her brain and Anupam in her heart, the next ten months were the happiest in her life. Days spent arguing the merits of the Higgs boson were punctuated by nights of tea gone cold and forgotten in the heat of the night.

And then came her mother, with a pronouncement as dire as death calling.

“We’ve arranged a husband for you”, her mother said. Without even giving her a chance to mount an argument, pack a bag or say goodbye to anyone, her brothers took her by the arms and led her to the car.

“You’ll get married in three days” her mother said. Her brothers tightened their grips on her arms as she tensed, and Rakesh, her eldest brother, clapped a hand over her mouth and shook his head in warning. It would be of no use, his disapproving look seemed to say.

Shradha shook her head, trying to clear away the memories of the last three days. Maybe things would have been different, had she seen Anupam one last time. Maybe they could have devised a plan to throw away everything they were for the chance to be something they wanted to be.

But it never happened so it never came to be. And this was her future now.

“It’s time”, her mother said. Shradha headed for the door and tried to steady her trembling hands. She took one last breath as a free woman, closed her eyes, then took her first step to being a maritally indentured one.

“Shradha?” A familiar cigarette-hoarsened voice whispered in shock.