Ratneshwari

Chapter 32

Days passed and then months. Ratneshwari and Dhruvan kept meeting again and again. Due to the efforts of Dhruvan, they became good friends. Ratneshwari even shared the story of her life with him. Dhruvan could not understand why Shivan cheated on her, when she loved him so much.

One day, it was raining very heavily. Ratneshwari took refuge under a tree. Dhruvan was driving his car when he saw her. He stopped his car and lowered the window glass. He said to her,"If you keep standing here like this, you will catch a cold. Come with me. I will drop you at your house." Ratneshwari was about to refuse him when Dhruvan said,"Don't worry. I am not a serial killer or a kidnapper. Come with me."

Ratneshwari hesitantly sat inside his car. Dhruvan said,"It seems that God wants us to meet again and again. See, we have been meeting so frequently in the past few months." Ratneshwari smiled a little.

They reached Ratneshwari's house. Ratneshwari said,"Come inside. Have a cup of tea. You can go after the rain stops." Dhruvan said,"Well, if you are inviting me for tea, then I will surely accompany you." Dhruvan stood at the door while Ratneshwari unlocked it. A woman was watching them from her house. Her sister-in-law saw her and said,"Geetha, what happened? What are you watching?" The woman said,"Look at that woman, Akka. Now she has started bringing men to her house." The woman's sister-in-law looked at Ratneshwari's house and saw Dhruvan. She said,"I don't like this woman. She has been living here alone for several years. She never talks to anyone. She doesn't even attend any event in the neighbourhood and now we are seeing this. She is also a teacher. God knows what she teaches the students!"

Ratneshwari asked Dhruvan to sit in her room as the drawing room had not been dusted. She kept her bag on the sofa and went to the kitchen to prepare tea. Dhruvan was going through Ratneshwari's things when a framed photograph caught his eye. It was the photo of a young man in his twenties. He was a handsome man with a moustache.

Ratneshwari entered the room with tea and some biscuits. Dhruvan showered her the photograph and said,"Is he your ex-husband?" Ratneshwari nodded her head in affirmation. They started having the tea. Dhruvan said,"Well, your ex-husband was very handsome." Ratneshwari smiled and remembered the day of their wedding when she had felt that, she was going to be the wife of the most handsome man in the world. Dhruvan looked at her and said,"And you loved him a lot. Your smiling face says everything." Dhruvan took a bite of the biscuit and they continued their conversation.

"Are you still in contact with him?"

"No"

"When did you see him for the last time?"

"On the day when our divorce was finalized."

"Did you stay together during the 6 month waiting period?"

"No, I lived in my parents' house in Madurai. We did not contact each other during those months. I guess he had married Sheetal during that time. He is not the kind of person who will want people to talk bad things about Sheetal and their child. They must have registered their marriage after our divorce."

"The world has been very cruel to you."

"Never have I seen anyone kinder than my only brother. After his death, I had stopped expecting kindness from others. But.....there is an exception......my husband.....my Shiv..... I had expected him to love me, but he threw me out of his life. Each passing day is now a punishment for me."

"You once said that you had seen regret in his eyes."

"That is true. I could not understand that. He never said that he loved me. But his eyes showed regret. When our divorce was finalized and I was about to leave, he held my hand and said to me,'Take care of yourself.' There were tears in his eyes. I could feel the pain in his heart. But why was he sad? I didn't understand."

They chatted for a while and when the rain had stopped, Dhruvan left.

For several days, Ratneshwari occupied the mind of Dhruvan. He could not concentrate on anything else. He was becoming restless. So one fine day, he decided to propose to her. He knew where exactly he could find Ratneshwari. He went to the bus stop.

Ratneshwari got down from the bus and saw Dhruvan standing there. Dhruvan walked towards her and said,"I need your time. I have lost my peace. There are many things that I want to tell you."
Ratneshwari said to him,"Tell me".

Dhruvan took a deep breath. He looked into her eyes. Then, he said to her,"Ratneshwari, months ago we met on a rainy day. I did not know that I would fall for you. People call me a strong man but I feel weak while opening my heart to you. I used to walk straight but I took a turn just for you. I am no sooth sayer but I see my future with you. My life is a desert and you are the rain that has fallen in it. I am a pond and you are the blue lotus that blooms in it. Ratneshwari, I have fallen in love with you."

It was a shock for Ratneshwari. She had not expected that. She could not understand anything. She had tears in her eyes. Her mind had stopped working. Her heart was beating fast. She was afraid of something which she could not explain. She started crying. She did not say anything to Dhruvan and ran away from there.

Dhruvan stood there and sighed. He said to himself,"If I let her go now, then I will lose her forever. She needs some time. I should not lose hope. I will convince her. I love her and I will never lose hope."

Ratneshwari did not leave the house for the next three days. A storm was raging inside her. She did not know what was right and what was wrong.

On the fourth day, she went to school. She met Dhruvan again but decided to avoid him. She kept distancing herself from him for several days. One day, Dhruvan held her arm and said,"Do you think that closing your eyes will make everything disappear? Look at me Ratneshwari and answer my question. Why do you think that I am not the right person for you?" Ratneshwari was crying. She said,"Dhruvan, you are a good person. Do not spoil your life for me. I still love Shiv. I cannot marry you. What if I can never forget him? What if I can never give you the love that you deserve? He loved Sheetal and rejected my love. What if I become like him? I cannot burden you with my sorrow."

Dhruvan cupped her face and looked into her teary eyes. He said,"You loved Shivan more than anyone else. But, Shivan did not accept your love. Are you not doing the same thing to me? Ratneshwari, life has never been easy for you. You loved Shivan and your tears are the proof of your love. But for how long will you wait for him? You know that he is living happily with his wife and his child. He is not going to return to you. You have a very good heart, Ratneshwari. You donot deserve this. You deserve much better."

Ratneshwari looked at him with empty eyes. Dhruvan said,"I do not know whether you will be able to forget Shivan or not. But I know that I will give you lots of love. I will try to give you all the happiness in the world. It is a hard time. It will pass. We will walk on the thorns together. We will help each other and our love will heal our wounds."

Ratneshwari and Dhruvan looked into each other's eyes. Ratneshwari was confused. But she saw a ray of hope. She thought,"Perhaps, I can live with him happily. Perhaps he will take away my sorrow. Perhaps he will love me. Then, maybe I can love him."