S2E44: My Swapna

Harry waited in a café. The mood was gloomy. He was meeting Swapna for the last time. Ten years of their relationship was coming to an end. He wasn’t sure how Swapna was going to react, or for that matter, whether she would turn up at all. When she arrived, he tried to read her face, but it was blank, with traces of hurt. They sat in complete silence until Harry called the waiter for their usual stuff and mocha coffee. Still silent, she looked everywhere but at him. Done with the coffee, one of them was yet to make the first move. The café was almost empty. His decision was heart-breaking. He wanted the attachment to die and love to remain untouched.

He felt their relationship was baseless; he was long married and she was only twenty years old. Her father – a millionaire – wanted her to marry a tycoon’s son. And he was a mere struggler. He had to rush to his workshop, which was just a roof shed with some in-house machinery. He hoped they would get done with this gracefully. 

Aware of his stealing glances, she looked at him and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

Harry’s face brightened up. ”The best we can do is not be dependent on each other; dependence degrades our love to the level of attachment. Let’s aim to become independent, so that we are proud of each other. This way we will be able to remember our years of association as a means of growth that resulted in respect and acceptance. True love is not confined to a single relationship. It gives us the liberty to change from one to the other, to suit the circumstances. We should not enslave ourselves to our needs. Let’s lead a guilt-free life and protect your dad from knowing about us, lest he collapses and dies of heart failure. We will not weaken; instead rise in love to derive energy. We will demonstrate our strengths to the world to acquire the freedom we want.”

She looked at him, but chose not to reply. Harry was glad she didn’t respond angrily. He tried to make eye contact but she kept staring at the ceiling. Eventually, she looked at him in the eye and said, “We should be going now.”

Harry felt reassured but didn’t know what was going to happen next. Women had a mind of their own, he believed. So far, so good! Then she turned to face him, both looked at each other and an unintended smile appeared on her lips. This was a spiritual encounter, thought Harry, an endorsement that gave both the confidence they needed. They hugged like never before, and parted. Harry thanked God. He realised that a breakup happened in a relationship, never in love. There were no breakups in love!

To be continued…