Our Small Li'l World Chapter V: The New Beginnings

Chapter V: The New Beginnings

Arjun

The calendar finally showed February 28th. It was the day of my marriage. I got up at 4 in the morning. It was pitch dark outside. I came to the hall which was already lit up with the lights and saw dad and mom talking already sitting on the sofa. It was their personal time of the day with their cup of coffee. “Arjun, my boy. Good morning.”, Dad greeted me. “Good morning dad. Morning mom.”, I said still yawning. “Such an important day of your life Arjun. How excited are you?”, mom asked. “Excited yes!! But same time I am scared. New beginning and new responsibilities. I don’t know how it will be.” I spoke my fear out. Dad replied, “Don’t be scared Arjun. The belief with which you start this journey will define your journey. Believe in love, happiness and companionship and you will have it.” He seemed convincing as he always is. We spoke for sometime before everyone who had come home for the marriage started getting up and got ready.

As I started getting ready I thought about how it all started. Soon after Rhea’s marriage, there were discussions about my marriage. I was always running away from such talks and cutting them mid way. From the beginning marriage has always been a fascination especially because I grew up looking at my parents. It was never the same with other couple I have seen. All my life, they have inspired me, they have influenced me, they have been with me, they have loved me and they are instrumental in making me what I am today. Most importantly they have made me believe in the fact that true love do exists. When you wake up every day seeing such a fantastic couple, your expectation of love will definitely be on a higher side. All my life, I have searched for that true love until I found it in Shreya.

When I told my parents about Shreya, mom just said one thing: “Arjun, we don’t have any issues with the girl you choose unless and until you are very sure about the decision and you know that she is the one whom you want to spend the rest of your life with. Trust me; there is no return or escape. You should build a life with her just like me and Vihaan did or maybe even better. If sometimes things don’t go right, you both have to set it right. There can’t be complaints or cribbing. It is a choice that you should make with utmost faith and clarity. It is not just a matter of a day or two with that person. You will have to wake up every morning for the rest of your life looking at her face. She should be the one who brings out your best side and you should be hers. It is a decision that you both take together and you should stand up for it till the very end. So yes, if you are very clear in your mind then it’s a go ahead from our side.”

Every sentence that mom told me just made me clearer about my decision. That’s the thing with them. They never impose anything on me and Rhea. They just make us feel responsible for our acts. When you realize that you are responsible for your life, you tend to be more careful about it. In the last 27 years, I have adopted so many things from them in my life that I feel like I have evolved as a human being. I and Rhea both have grown up listening to their love story. We feel surprised and awed thinking about the connection they both share. Mom doesn’t need to tell something and still dad gets it. Dad doesn’t need to tell mom that there is something bothering him and she will get it just by looking at his face. It is not something that most people would be blessed with. It is not like they both don’t fight. They fight and vent it out and it will not even last for a few minutes. But even now they are a very romantic couple.

I got ready and we all left to the venue. We got married with the blessings of everyone. It was a long day and soon after we come home to crash to bed, I saw a letter on my table addressed to me and Shreya. I was sure it’s from my parents. I called Shreya along and we both started reading it together....

Dear Arjun,

You are now in the threshold of a new life. A new life which will transform you from a boy to a man adding so many responsibilities, making you independent and interdependent at the same time. Take it easy, my boy. It will be a great journey which you both will enjoy and cherish. We hope we both have set an example in your life of love, bondage, sharing and a relationship. I think that was the least that we could have done. In the world where relationships are failing, loyalty is dying, love has just become another word, it is very important to know the very route of our existence.

There will be a new entrant in ‘Our Nest’ from now on. Shreya is a wonderful girl for sure. We are glad you have made the right choice in choosing your life partner who will walk beside you in the journey to follow. Remember one thing, Arjun. She is special. All her life she would have got a lot many proposals from guys who would feel lucky just to talk to her, who would feel special the way she looks, who would feel special by the way she talks, who would feel special by the way she treats them. They will be wondering how lucky they would be to spend their life with her. But you are the chosen one. You are the one whom they would envy. The same thing goes with you. You should be lucky to have her and she should be lucky to have you in her life. If you both realize this fact, then your love will only grow over the period of time and never diminish.

In a marriage, there will be a lot of sacrifices that a girl makes. Leaving her own family and getting used to a new family is not at all easy. You will be the one who should comfort her and listen to her fears and respond appropriately. In a new family, you will be her saving grace. I am not sure if she knows cooking. You should both try learning it and you should try doing it together. Trust us, cooking together is very romantic. When she comes back home after a hectic day with a headache, you should be the one serving her coffee. Screw this traditional role-play that the society has created for a husband and wife. Remember if she is your better half, then she is equal to you. You have dreams, ambitions, goals, work and she will have it too.

We just have one request Arjun. Do not ask Shreya to change her surname after marriage. Shreya Srikanth is so beautiful and we don’t think so Shreya Arjun could recreate that beauty. Every daughter loves to keep her father’s name next to hers and why should it change just because she gets married? It is her right. Retaining her father’s name next to hers, she feels protected and happy. You are anyways next to her always and let her dad stay closer to her and her name. Also remember it is not just her family. A marriage brings two families together and makes it one big family. Her family is a part of our family now.

  Do you know why we both are struck together with love for such a long time? We are soul mates Arjun. We are meant to be together. It was our destiny and we were the destined ones. It started as being best friends and even when we parted at such a young age and we could have forgotten each other, the other person was always in the back of our mind. Who knew a random friend request on Facebook could change our lives again and unite us back? As it blossomed into love and we entered into a relationship, there was so much of certainty and peace in our mind. Marriage never changed our relationship. It just gave a different dimension to our love and made it more colourful. When you both were born it just became complete.

We were happy and contended in our own little world. We have been together at different stages of our life and we have only realized that the bondage has become much stronger at every passing stage. Do you remember that incident of earthquake in Tokyo where dad was stranded? The only thing that was running in our minds then was that this journey could not end this way. We are destined to be together and this journey could not be this short. Sometimes faith is what takes us a long way. Two and a half days and finally when we were just about to give up, there was a miracle and our faith had won beyond everything. It was a priceless moment and we have thanked God enough for what happened then.

Even today we do spend time with each other every morning over coffee. That’s the best part of our day. 29 years of our marriage and nothing much has changed in Ahana and Vihaan except the fact that now our hair has turned grey and there are a few wrinkles visible on our face. We are still the hero and heroine of our tale and we know the movie still has a long way before the end. It all depends on how you water your relationship with love and affection. There will be fights, arguments and misunderstandings. But at the end of the day it is you who has to decide what is more important to you, your ego or the other person & then you will have your answers.

We hope you both write a story even more beautiful than what we are writing. We hope to see Ahana and Vihaan again in Shreya and Arjun or maybe more matured than us. We wish you a very happy married life and welcome Shreya to our small li’l world.

            Loads of Love,

Ahana & Vihaan

As we finished reading the letter with moist eyes, I held her arms and told, “We now have our empty book. Let’s write our story together. Someday we might have to write such letter just like they did.” and there was a new beginning.

-Written by Naveen S N

*Let us know what you felt about the webseries*