Miracle Marriage

Chapter 4

A Different World

In the span of a single day, my dreams completely upended my entire existence. I married the man who was supposed to be my brother-in-law. My sister disgraced our parents and relatives by running away with someone on the day of her wedding. I had no option but to take this path. Marriage is considered to be a sacred bond between two souls and their families for all eternity in our culture, yet I find it to be suffocating and forced at times. I'm not sure what will happen to my life now, but I'll have to cope with it since I accepted it. As Durga stated, "I can fight this; I am powerful; I am my Appa's lioness," I pondered.

Throughout our journey, he didn't speak much, but my mother-in-law was rather talkative. I wanted to apologise to him but something prevented me from doing so. Perhaps it was the vacant look on his face, which did not exhibit any signs of amusement or anger. His demeanour makes me uneasy. My heart is thumping with worry. I don't want to go with him. I want to go home. I'm not feeling good, and I wanted to throw up. To divert myself, I leaned against the car window and gazed out at the sinking sun on the horizon. It's approaching dark, the birds have returned to their nests, and I see people walking over rice fields. The car sped down a tarred road, passing through stunning paddy fields drenched in the weary sun's scarlet and golden hues. When I opened my eyes after a short snooze, the smell of dirt and the sound of nature had been overtaken by dust, smoke, the foul odour of the city, and the horns of speeding vehicles.

"Nalla thoonginiyama? (did you sleep well?)" asked my mother-in-law, Janaki Chandrasekhar.

"huh! Hmm..." I hummed and snuck a glance at my husband. He was looking at me. I became nervous and quickly shifted my gaze away from him, fearful that he might say something harsh.

"Don't worry, the city is similar to your village, maybe the house, a little bigger and they speak a different tongue which we can totally understand," he smiled at me, very peacefully.

I was astonished to hear it from him instantly, but I'm delighted and grateful that he spoke to me softly. I nodded in answer. We arrived in front of a house on a certain street. There were three houses around our home. As he said, the housing structure is different from ours in the hamlet. The home is big and well-built, although it lacks an interior courtyard or a terrace. I suppose it's not our architecture that's overly simple. There are two bedrooms, a kitchen, a hall, a dining hall, and a bathroom both inside and out, as well as yard space in front and rear with a well. My mamiyar (mother-in-law) was extremely eager to show me around; at first, I didn't understand why, but then one of the relatives said that she lives in Madras in their family house, while his son, my husband, live here alone, so I and he would be living here alone from now on. I was taken aback and stunned. At the very least, we have a telephone and television.

Finally, I'm free from my sweaty saree. I changed into my typical indoor outfit, a long skirt and shirt. It was late at night, and I was tired. Outside, I can still hear people talking about my sister and the unexpected turn of events. I opted not to hear them and instead took a fast bath, which was simple because the room had a bathroom attached with taps and a shower. I have seen this type of modern bathroom once in my classmate's house. Her father is the rich man in our next village. The fluffy bed looked so tempting after a pleasant bath that I only remember laying down on it. When I opened my eyes, it was already dawn, and I saw him sleeping near me, but at a hand's distance. My Amma had urged me to keep myself clean every morning and evening, so I woke up quickly and took a bath and then went to the kitchen. My mother-in-law and other relatives, aunties, were cooking breakfast and talking there. I felt shy to stand there, facing them. But they giggled as they saw me, which I don't understand.

"Sathya, Bala likes to have coffee in the morning after he brushes, and he likes it strong with mildly sweet, remember that-maa," Amma (mother-in-law) said. I nodded my head.

"You fell asleep yesterday, must be the travel. I tried to wake you for dinner, but Bala said, "Let her sleep ma"," She acted as if she told me this, which was a little funny, so I chuckled.

"Do you know how to cook and take care of a house? Did your mother teach you those?" asked a big aunty sipping coffee, rudely. I was annoyed by that question, but I remained silent.

"Yes, Amma taught me some things," I answered,

"Some things huh! I don't know how good these "some...things" are. Bala won't complain like others but it's your duty to take good care of him," she again said scornfully.

"Yes," I replied. I don't like her.

"Here, Sathya," Amma handed me two glasses of coffee, one for me and one for him. I carried them both to the room, but he was nowhere to be found, and then I heard water splattering inside the bathroom. I set the coffee on the table, which was loaded with MBBS and MD textbooks, as well as books by well-known medical figures. Wow! I'd never seen so many books before, and I pondered how weary I'd been the night before that I hadn't noticed them. He has two shelves and a table full of books, as well as a little loft. I felt the books as I moved my fingers through them. He appeared just as I was about to take one from the shelf.

"Huh!" I got stuck all of a sudden, and I don't know what to say, "Co-Coffee," I stuttered and it was embarrassing.

"Oh! ok," he took the glass and began sipping. I stood there, my coffee in hand, unsure of what to do next.

"I have to leave for work today, Amma will be here, so don't worry," he said without facing me.

"Yes," I replied. I wanted to ask if it was okay that I read his books. However, I was terrified. So I returned to the kitchen to assist others. He came a few minutes later, fully dressed, carrying a briefcase and carrying his doctor's coat and a stethoscope hung around his bag. I was overjoyed to eye it and even envisioned myself in that scenario. He looked at me before leaving.

"It's fine, I won't say anything, you can read the books from my shelf," he gave me a warm grin and left in his car.

I felt both flattered and overjoyed. I got the impression that he wasn't as angry with me or that he didn't dislike me as much as I had assumed. Well, I still can't confirm it. What if he's behaving nicely since his mother is here? what happens when she leaves? I have no idea.