What's the point of walking in the moonlight when one's sight is fixed firmly on the ground. But that night was one such night for her. She was a never a "Oh! Look at the moon" kind of person. Though there were nights when she could not help but appreciate the moon. Tonight was one such night and yet she didnot notice the moon. Obviously, the moon was not happy with this situation but there was nothing much the moon could do from such a distance. So it reflected the light it received from the sun on her. But she did not care to look at the moon. Her thoughts were fixed on the complexity of her life. Like many around her, she did not want to do what she was doing but she did not know what she wanted to do. So she could do nothing but do what she was doing.
She considered giving up and going back home but she was sure her parents would marry her off to god knows who. She had not visited her parents for over an year as she did not want to get initiated into the process that culminated in her wedding, as soon as she landed home. She missed home, she missed her parents. But her parents were no longer the parents she had know for two decades. They seemed desperate to get her off their hands. She did not understand. She had taken care of herself well for the past two years. She had not bothered them at all. She even sent them expensive gifts on their birthday and other occassions. Till they brought the topic of marriage she had visited them regularly too. So why were they vehement on getting her married?
She was not against marriage. She believed she will get married at some point in the future. She wasn't against arranged marriage either. By observing the lives of her friends and relatives she had realised that complexity of married life. So, she believed that it did not matter if the two people involved knew each other earlier or not. Knowing the person beforehand would definitely help; arranged marriages are scary. But this by itself did not guarantee a life without issues post marriage. So, she did not want to commit herself to marriage yet. She wanted to spend a few years by herself. Her parents did not understand this. They believed that a girl should be married by the time she turned 25. From the day she crossed 25, she received 3 calls a day from her parents. They coaxed, cajoled and even threatened her in these calls. " If you don't come this weekend, we will never talk to you. We will not even look at your face, even when we are dead." " We will give all our property and possessions to an orphanage." These threats vexed her. She shouted back at them and cut the call. In a few hours, they called her back and apologized. But soon the talk went back to marriage. "The boy belongs to a good family and he is working Japan. You were always interested in Japan. You used watch those cartoon and all. You will stay in Japan if this relationship goes through. So exciting na?" Tears welled up in her eyes when she heard her parents talk in this manner. She wondered where the parents she had known during her younger days had disappeared.
She continued to walk through the wooded path. The lights from the buildings were seen in the distance. But they were too far to light her track. The moonlight lighted her path and she kept her eyes on the path and it's surroundings involuntarily. Her mind was busy thinking the sad thoughts but her instinct watched the path and surroundings for dangers of the dark. Suddenly, she became aware of her instinct and wondered if she should stop being aware of it . The dangers that surrounded her could help end her worries. Would it be preferable to walk into them? She dropped the thought almost instantly. The messages from the instinctive part of her brain now took control. She looked around and was not sure where she was. Her thoughts had taken farther than she had expected. She looked at the buildings that were seen in the distance. She identified some of them behind her. She turned around and started walking back. Her instincts completely took over her mind now. She became aware of every sound and shadow that took shape close by. None of them turned out to be dangerous and she continued walking.
She slowed down when she saw that the path ahead was lighted. The darkness surrounding the path did not any hint of familiarity but the buildings that lay ahead continued to seem familiar. So she continued walking. Soon she reached the lighted part of the path. A little later she felt relaxed when seats with people sitting in them appeared besides the path. The silence of the night was replaced by the sounds of their conversations. She walked up to an empty seat and sat on it. Soon a woman came by and sat besides her. She looked at her and said "Hello!" She looked at the new person with surprise. She seemed familiar. She responded back "Hello!" The two of them sat quietly. After sometime she looked at the woman. She was older than her. Her face had a worn look. She had a smile on her lips which she did not seem happy. As she looked at her, she turned around and smiled sadly. She got up and said "Take care of yourself and left".
She watched the receding figure of the woman. She wondered where she had seen her. She wondered the reason for her sadness. She tried to understand the meaning behind her smile. A hundred thoughts flooded her. She spend sometime perusing through the thoughts. At the end of the perusing, she smiled, got up from the seat and walked towards familiarity.
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