Anjali stared into space, immune to the frenzied conversations taking place around her. She had heard of the phrase “the world coming to an end” but had never known this is what it felt like. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life- her engagement to the guy she loved. And yet, it had somehow turned into one of the darkest moments of her life.
She knew what she was expected to do. She also knew what she was supposed to do. But would she be able to do it? Wasn’t there some way a solution could be found? Maybe if she spoke to Gaurav, they would find a way. After all, he loved her as much as she loved him. Didn’t he? He wouldn’t have lied to you if he loved you; a poisonous voice seemed to whisper in her ear. Anjali jumped up and ran out of the room. She needed air. She needed to get away from all these well meaning people who were looking at her so pityingly.
Getting into the car, she decided to go meet Gaurav. After all, he was her fiancé (almost) and he would want this mess sorted out as much as she did. Her mom would be horrified if she knew where Anjali was going but this was something she just needed to do. She wiped away the continuous stream of tears as she drove the short distance to Gaurav’s house. She let herself in through the unlatched gate and walked into the house. She could hear voices from the drawing room. Going closer, something made her stop from announcing her presence.
“What is all this Gaurav, you had promised us she would come on board. We have relatives coming from out of town for the engagement and that girl is creating such a fuss. What is the big deal about shifting to Canada?” Anjali heard Gaurav’s mother speaking.
“Mom, relax. She will come around. She’s just upset since at the start of this relationship she had asked me about my plans and I had assured her I had no desire to migrate from India. She doesn’t want to leave her mom. It’s just the two of them after all. It's sheer bad luck that she overheard my conversation with the embassy about my interview. Else she would never have known anything till we were married. She had no reason to suspect my passport was with the embassy for consideration." Gaurav sounded unconcerned about the crises at hand.
“How can I relax? What if she calls off the engagement? What will we do?”
“She won’t call it off. Don’t forget she’s the daughter of a single mother. That’s their biggest weakness. They can’t afford the financial loss of calling off the engagement, or the loss of face."
Anjali stood rooted to the spot for a long time. Then she quietly turned and walked away.
Going home she found that the gaggle of visitors had left. Her mom sat at the dining table, looking unbearably sad. She recalled that her mom had never taken to Gaurav and had, in fact, tried to warn her daughter about his intentions. But Anjali had been blinded by love and a desperate need to get married. In hindsight, she now realised the small white lies and evasions that Gaurav had done every time the topic of shifting to Canada had come up. What was done was done. The point was what needed to be done now.
“What do you mean the engagement is off? Mrs. Sharma, surely you don’t mean that. Do you realise the consequences of this?” Anjali heard Gaurav’s mother shouting through the phone.
“Yes, I don’t think anyone realises the consequences better than Anjali or me. But you see, Mrs. Khurana, she has asked me to give Gaurav and you a message. She says and I quote ‘What you considered to be our biggest weakness is actually our greatest strength. So thank you for your plans to whisk her away overseas, but no thank you.”
Anjali walked over to hug her mom. Being the daughter of a single mother had taught her the value of independence and self-respect. It wasn’t a weakness
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