THE SURPRISE - #WRITEAPAGEADAY - #BLOGCHATTER
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She had planned the whole day carefully. For years, she
had jotted down the details in her diary, scratching out the ideas that did not
go with the theme. It had to be perfect, right to the last detail. Nothing
could go wrong.
He was coming home after years. She remembered the day he
had gone away as clearly as if it were yesterday.
“Cheer up, my dear! I will be back before you know it!”
That was ten years ago, ten agonising years when she had
lived all alone in her draughty house, that had been built on a hill, when they
were first married. It was their dream house and both of them had planned every
room, every space and every patch in the garden.
“Oh, I can’t wait for us to move in and start our lives
together,” she had whispered as he had held her hand and planted a kiss on her
cheek.
“We will have the best life ever,” he had promised her, a
smile in his grey eyes. Eyes that she had drowned in the moment she had seen
him at the marketplace, standing with the sun in his silken hair that was a
trifle long. She was not, as a rule, fond of men with long hair, but it suited
him. She could not take her eyes off him, and suddenly when he turned his
glance towards her, she blushed deeply, looking away.
“Hello, there, young lady! I believe I know you.”
His voice was like honey, and when she looked at him at
close quarters, he was even more striking. She looked away and he laughed out
aloud, amused because he had never seen a girl blush like her.
From that moment onwards, she could think of no one else
but him. She considered herself rather mousy looking and wondered what he saw
in her. He, on his part, felt strangely protective towards her, his shrinking
violet, as he dubbed her.
Their wedding day dawned, bright and sunny. The church
was filled with his friends more than hers, for she had few. She looked
beautiful in her lacy gown, and his eyes were filled with pride as he gazed at
her, walking down the aisle with her father. Her mother had passed away when
she was young, and he had brought her up on his own. As he handed her over to
her bridegroom, who looked dapper and happy, the father’s eyes were moist. He
was handing over his most precious possession, after all.
When the new couple moved into their house, they could
hardly contain their joy. This was what they had been waiting for, a life
together in their own little space. They did up the house together, making it a
cosy haven where their children would be born and where the two of them would
grow old together,
She could not have been happier. He was all that a
husband needed to be, and he took care of her, helping her in all the household
chores once he was back from his nine-to-five job. He bought her expensive
gifts, and when she demurred, he would just say, “You are all that I have,
after all. Who else should I spend my money on?”
She smiled at him, her heart in her eyes. How did she get
so lucky? They went on holidays to exotic places, they ate out at restaurants
regularly and he got her a maid who did not allow her to life a finger.
It was then that life changed in one moment! A moment
that would remain like a scar in their lives, and take him away from her.
And now, he was coming back to her in a week’s time. Her
heart sang as she and the maid cleaned up the whole house, scouring all those
dusty corners in those rooms which had not seen the sunlight over the past ten
years. She did not need much space and her maid did only what needed to be
done, and no more.
Time hung heavy as she waited, unable to sleep at night
in excitement. She visualised how he would look when he walked in, dapper as
ever, his grey eyes lighting up at the sight of her. They would, once again, be
a family, eating together, going on vacation and spending time together –
precious time that they had lost all these years. Of course, she had changed
over these ten years. She had learnt to fend for herself, and was no longer the
shy, innocent girl she had been. After all, many hard decisions had to be taken
and she had realised that she could take them on her own.
The doorbell rang and her heart skipped a beat. That
would be him. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, aware that she
looked wonderful.
The door opened and there he stood, with a smile. She started
to smile back, and then her smile slipped away. Was this the man who had left
ten years ago – this grey-haired balding man with a careworn face? His eyes
were still grey but now they held the expression of an old man, with secrets within
them which she could never fathom. She held her hand out to him and helped him
over the threshold. He hobbled over it and moved ahead slowly, his clothes
wrinkled and his stoop perceptible.
She closed the door and moved forward hesitatingly. He
sat down on a chair in the living room and smiled again.
“My dear, prison was not exactly a paradise. I realise
that it has changed me beyond recognition. However, I am still the same man I
was.” He held a hand out to her.
As she moved to take his hand, his grey eyes kept smiling.
In an instant she realised that he had, indeed, changed, but then, so had she.
Her husband was back home and this time, the tables had turned.
It was time for her to take care of him.
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