The Young Widow

Hers...

She was 23 years old and a widow. She had been married for three months only when her new husband had met with an accident and lost his life instantly. Hers was an arranged match. She was just starting to know the new man in her life when he was unceremoniously taken away from her. She was sad but not devastated... and for that she felt guilty. More than anything she was confused... people would come to her and cry and tell her how sorry they are for her loss. They would tell her that everything would be all right and slowly she would get used to him not being around. she had got used to him being not around. in fact she had never got used to him being around. she was married for three months only. She never told anyone but she, after two months, had stopped missing him... after all she knew him only for six months. She didn’t cry much after the funeral but she couldn’t smile either... not because she didn’t want to but because she was expected not to. She was confined in the small house. She felt that she was also dying inside... each minute at a time. She felt stifled. She wanted to shout out! She went to go out and meet her friends. She wanted to see the latest movie. She wanted to go shopping. She wanted to dress up... but she couldn’t. She couldn’t go out alone, she couldn’t meet her friends, she couldn’t go shopping and she couldn’t dress up... what's the point of dressing up now? her mother in law used to say. My husband is dead, not me! I am only 23! I was only married for three months! I didn’t even know him properly! She wanted to yell at everyone but no one heard her silent screams... no one heard her pregnant silences. Over time when she would be sitting alone, she would start crying. People used to think she was missing her husband... she was missing him but only because by leaving the world he had turned her into a zombie... who was expected to behave in a certain way, who was not supposed to eat, drink and be merry. Then, after six months of her husband’s death she met him. he was her husband’s school friend’s friend. her husband’s friend lived out of India and had just returned back. He came to meet her mother-in-law and started coming often. He used to sit with her sasuma and talk for hours about her husband. Then one day he brought along a friend, it was him... Raj. Raj was someone who was complete opposite of any man she had ever met. He was outgoing and fun-loving. Unlike her husband’s friend who felt sorry for her and always used to talk to her politely, raj used to talk with her like she was one of the buddies. He made her laugh. She started looking forward to his visits. She didn’t know why or how but she was terribly attracted to raj. she was always feeling anxious but with this feeling of anticipation and excitement.... there was always guilt... For liking someone else, for having feeling for someone else... she didn’t know what to do? She didn’t know who to turn to? All she knew was that after her husband passed away raj was the first man to make her feel that on that fateful night, it was her husband who had died and not her. She wanted to tell him how she felt... she wanted to tell him how alive she made him feel... she wanted to say a lot of things that she hadn’t shared with anyone but she was scared... of her family, the society. she didn't know how much longer she could hide this fact... she wanted to tell everyone that she wants to live again... with raj.

His...

He was out of India on a business trip when he heard that his best friend from school had passed away. he was saddened... deeply. He had known him all his life. He even went to his wedding. That had happened only three months before. His poor wife, he thought. He applied for a leave to attend his funeral but it was not granted. The project he was working on had run into some problems and there was no chance that he would be allowed to leave for at least six months. He started counting days. After  the project was completed, he headed home and went to his best friend’s house to offer his condolences and meet his mother. It was there that he met her... his friend’s wife. She looked pretty young... younger than him. And she was already widowed. She was dressed in a simple off white salwar kameez without any make up, without any jewellery. His heart went out to her. his friends’ family has always been very conservative so he could imagine the plight of the young bahu. She is only 23! He used to think. As his visits increased so did his attraction towards her. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. Her expressionless face always swam in front of his eyes. when he couldn’t take it anymore, he turned to a friend, Raj, for advice. Raj offered to help him and started accompanying him. raj was an extrovert. He not only won over the mother but also her. She started smiling a little bit... though shyly. She started to join in on the conversation. He was happy seeing her happy.  He was just looking for  the right opportunity to tell her and everyone else that he intends to marry and live the rest of her life... with her. 


Raj...


He was helping a friend. his friend had fallen in love with a young widow and needed his help to get her out of her shell... his friend wanted his help in bringing the young widow out of his grief. when he first saw her, he felt sorry for her. she is so young, he thought. life is unfair, he sighed. he even told his fiance about it who couldn't understand why was she expected to behave in that manner? why was she supposed to forget about her likes and dislikes and live like a zombie. he agreed with her fiance. he also wanted to help her get back to her old self. he knew she would be happy with his friend. and slowly, she started smiling and talking a bit. he just wanted that the  young widow would start living again... he just wanted to see her happy with him, his best friend.