A Decision

 

Two people madly in love with each other made thousands of promises together. Both of them were completely different in nature and the only common thing in them was their love and attachment for each other.

Pratish was cool and smart and also very popular guy in the school while Tripti was pretty but snobbish and quick-tempered. Top of all, they extended each other their best complements.

As the class monitor, Pratish was both proactive and very polite. Tripti’s heart fell for him but never could she collect her guts to talk to him. Many girls liked the guy, and they used to talk to Pratish in a friendly manner. But for Tripti, she never talked to him in this matter and neither did she let him learn her feelings.

One-day Tripti was reading a novel and her cell phone rang. With no interest, she picked up the phone.

“Hello, may I speak to Tripti,” said a voice.

“Yes it’s me,” she replied.

“Tripti, me Pratish. Actually I wanted to ask you—Are you interested in doing a street play? It’s a kind of awareness raising program and I feel you are the best fit for the role therein.”

Hearing Pratish’s words over the phone, Tripti jumped with joy as she was so glad that he gave her a call. All she could do was to hide her excitement and she said, “I am not a good actor, but I’d like to give a try if you don’t mind.”

“Okay, let’s meet in the school tomorrow at 8 am. Bye” said Pratish and he disconnected the phone.

She could not even say him good bye as she felt so sad.

And for about a month, they did their rehearsal together. During the exchange of dialogues, they did not know when they exchanged their hearts. After the play was over, Pratish started ignoring Tripti a bit, maybe because he started realizing that he’s falling for her. She was disappointed with him and tried to avoid him. But she was compelled to think of him and she couldn’t help it.

One day a teacher asked her to call Pratish to the staff room. Tripti went to him where he was with another girl, busy chatting. As she said, “Physics sir wants to see you,” but Pratish looked like he showed no interest in listening to her. Even she had to repeat the message but again there was no reaction from his side.

With huge rage, she went to one of the empty classes. “What the hell he thinks of himself!, bloody flirt,” Tripti shouted as he hit her hand against the window so hard that she had a cut and started bleeding.

All of a sudden, someone caught her hand and said, “These soft hands don’t deserve the rough wall and they deserve my soft heart. Hit me, punish me, not yourself because someone loves your smile, not your tears, someone is dying to be loved by you, not hated. Someone loves you and I am the someone.” He was no other than Pratish. That day their love story began.

Gradually they fell in deep love with each other. Tripti was everything to Pratish as his world started with her and also ended on her. She did not love him only, but she was possessive for her man. As Pratish was of friendly nature, he had many girls and boys as his friends. But his more involvement with the girls was that she did not like. She always feared that his friendship with many girls might take away him from her. But again, Pratish loved her so much that made her ignore all of her thoughts.

As time passed by, through ups and downs further grew their relationship. Later, Pratish had no close friends and for him, there were no priorities as he gave more importance to Tripti. It seemed like his was alive just for that girl. He completely transfigured himself in the way Tripti wanted. He could not maintain a balance between his personal life and love life and he meddled up with the both. Tripti previously was insecure that he’d leave her but now his extreme craze for her stared creating complications.

Besides love, Tripti had another life to live as well. Tripti’s parents had divorce when she was in grade one; some days she passed with her mother and also with her father for some days. She could not make any good friends at her father’s place and neither at her mother’s. Before she met Pratish, she had no best friends ever. For her, he was her best friend, and boyfriend. But being the only child of the divorced parents, what she hated the most was that she could belong to no one. During her stay with mother, she hated her father as her mother always complained and pointed out his faults and vice-versa during her stay with her father.

During childhood, parents psychologically mistreated Tripti. It was like a mental torture for a child. It, consequently, affected her adulthood; however to her knowledge, she never let these things affect the relationship with Pratish.

After few years of separation with her mother, when Tripti’s dad got married to another woman for the second time, the eight-year-old girl had cried a lot but what she could recall was her new mother gave her a doll. She thought of a stepmom to be evil and cruel, but to her surprise, her step mother never treated her badly.

For about 10 years, Tripti had been living with her mother. She was always afraid of being hurt. For the reason, she preferred to avoid the situation that might cause to hurt her. Even her father and step-mother’s treatments were good to her, still she left the place with a fear that their relation might get spoil someday. She did not know whether this was a wise thing to do or a foolish step she has taken.

Although her family life that was all messed up with her love life was running smoothly. But as the time passed by, she stared realizing that her relationship with Pratish was getting complicated and the reason was his excessive love and craze for her. Pratish could hardly pass any day without her single glimpse. It looked like Tripti was a drug to him, of which he had got addicted to. She also managed to see him for hours. But later, it was tough for her to find some time as situation and circumstances had changed.

Tripti’s mother was almost sick after she got divorced with her father. No doctor could diagnose her health condition and find out what exactly she was suffering from, maybe mental illness or depression. Tripti had to take care of her mother. Besides, she had to look after her home when her mother was out for work to earn her livelihood and she also had study pressure. After all, she had to take care of her crazy boy friend. But she always met him even after knowing that she was going through hard times. This does not mean Pratish did not love her. He always wanted her to accompany him for a long so that she could feel better and share all her problems. He tried his best to cheer her up whenever she was with him.

But, Tripti’s mother hated Pratish. In fact, she hated everyone who fell in love since love was one mistake that ruined her life and for the same, she had been regretting. She never wanted her daughter fall in love and face similar problem like her.

Time and again Tripti felt lost herself in between lives of her mother and Pratish. She felt she had no existence and her own life because she had to take care of her mother and Pratish needed her. Sometimes even she wanted to run away from both of them.

One day something different happened to her. While she was realizing Pratish’s love and her mother’s hatred of love, her father approached her with a proposal—marriage proposal with a nice guy he found for her. He explained to her that the boy was a handsome and a well-to-do guy. He further said that he had been living alone since his parents passed away and—the most importantly he was in love with Tripti.

Her father said,” Tripti, you’re my only child. I got another wife but never wished to have children. I know you are just 20 now but you have been going through really tough time in this young age. All what I have is yours but your mom won’t mind me giving you anything which belongs to you. Since she’s not well, I can’t ask you to come and have a stay with me. So, please get married to this guy. He’ll take good care of your mom and you both.”

“I’ve found everything in him and I assure you he’s perfect for you. So, for your mom’s sake and me, please let me know what you think,” he added.

Handing over a cheque of Rs 20,000, he said before he left, “Don’t share anything with your mom.”

Tripti was thoughtful over what her father said. In one side was Pratish, her love and the other was her mom in mind. It was not the money that mattered for her. If she wanted money or richer guy she could have gone to live with her father who was very rich. As his only child, Tripti could claim all his property because her step mother also loved her like her own child. And the other hand, Pratish, the only child of his parents was rich too. Had she once asked him to marry her and take responsibility of her mom, he would have happily accepted her proposal. But again she did not know why she could not understand what her father said. She was, in fact, felt bored of her life, same old boyfriend for longer, and mother’s hatred lectures against love. In fact, she wanted a break from all this and she might have thought marrying someone she did not know and she did not love is a change.

And hence ignoring all the feelings and attachments to Pratish, she gave a call to her dad and said, “Dad, I think you’re right. I’m ready to get married to the guy you choose and tell him to talk to mom. Bye.”

-Manisha KC