Sunday Story: New Beginnings

Mohini woke up with a jerk, tears streaming down her cheeks and perspiring profusely even at 15°C. Slowly and grudgingly, she came back to her reality. It had been five years since Sudeep passed away in a tragic incident of a failed robbery at their home. Even after all these years, Mohini still had nightmares of the fateful day.

On the insistence of her children, she rekindled her friendship with her batchmates from college and started meeting them on a regular basis to overcome the grief. Though the company made her temporarily forget the pain during the time she was with them, the grief returned every evening she returned to the now-empty home where she lived alone.

Mohini picked up her mobile phone to check the time—12:25 pm. She had one of her regular reunions in an hour, but this particular nightmare had left her dispirited and she was in no mood to meet or talk to anybody. But staying alone was equally unbearable. So, she decided to pull herself out of the bed and go to the reunion anyway.  

She reached the meeting point just in time. There, among the regular faces, she saw one that she didn’t recognise. She had been wondering who that person might have been when one of her friends introduced the gentleman, Revanta, as her close friend from school. He too, like Mohini, was a widower. 

At first glance, Revanta seemed like a quiet man who preferred keeping to himself. But he had a surprisingly magnetic personality; there was something about him that had caught Mohini’s attention and she couldn’t take her attention off of him. Even Revanta seemed to find Mohini interesting. The two eventually got chatting and were together for the rest of the evening, forgetting everybody else that was around. That night, when Mohini returned home, she felt like she had not in ages—she felt happy. For the first time, she looked forward to the next reunion.

The day finally came, and Mohini was already up and getting ready for the day. As she was on her way, she inwardly hoped to meet Revanta there. And luck didn’t disappoint her! A 100-megawatt smile adorned her face when she saw him. Just as during the previous reunion, this time as well the two of them stayed together for most of the time.

As time passed, Mohini and Revanta’s friendship grew deeper and stronger. The two started meeting on occasions other than the reunion as well—first once every two weeks, then once every week, and then almost every other day. They were slowly becoming inseparable. The more they met, the happier and stronger Mohini became to overcome her grief.

On one such rendezvous, Revanta took Mohini to a beautiful rooftop restaurant that was popular for being frequented by romantic couples. He carefully chose the table that offered the most breathtaking view of the city skyline. He had been particularly excited for the day with exuberance manifestly visible in his actions but paradoxically, he was quieter than usual. Mohini didn’t actively notice this for the view had enthralled her and captured her attention for the moment.

After some time had passed, and the two of them had become comfortable in their surroundings, Revanta suddenly said something that left Mohini utterly dumbfounded—he asked for her hand in marriage. He explained the reasons behind his proposal and told her that it was a chance for both of them to start afresh and leave the griefs of their past behind. Mohini remained silent for most of the evening as she tried to wrap her head around what had just passed.

On returning home, Mohini felt a similar feeling she used to feel before meeting Revanta—a feeling of heaviness. She didn’t know what to do or to say. On the one hand, meeting Revanta had actually given her life a new meaning, but on the other hand, she was worried about her family’s reaction. This constant cognitive dissonance left her torn for days.

One day, Mohini suddenly realised that she had found her answer. She called Revanta up, and the moment he received her call, without ever exchanging any pleasantries, Mohini uttered just one word—YES. 

At first, Revanta didn’t understand what happened. But eventually, it dawned upon him, and once he understood it, his happiness knew no bounds! Mohini could feel his happiness through the mobile phone, which mirrored her own. Like Revanta, she too decided to choose her own happiness over society and move forward in life.

Liked this story? Here's another one that would make you as happy as Mohini—Luckiest in the World