19 Dates

Chapter 10

Next morning as Dev woke up, he found a message card from his dad.

'Son I would not apologise for my behaviour but I want to talk to you, so meet me at Ram Tal.'

Dev left quickly to meet his father & when he reached there he saw him sitting on a bench under an old mango tree where he used to bring Dev as a child to play.

Dev, "hey Dad, I am sorry about last night."

Mr. Sinha, "it is OK son, the reason I called you here is to remind you of how much you loved this place as a kid. See how much this place has changed, except for this mango tree, which seems to be the heart of this garden. I want to know, do you still love this place as you used to as a child?"

Dev, "what kind of question is this dad?"

Mr. Sinha (smiling), "a very easy one, for a man with your kind of qualification should have no problem answering."

Dev, "I am not able to understand dad but you know right I really like this place, my childhood memories I sense them here."

Mr. Sinha, "if you still love this place son, then why I don't see that excitement in you as you used to have when I used to get you here as a kid."

Dev, "I don't know that dad."

Mr. Sinha, "son what I am trying to tell you is that, people & things change with time but the time you had with them, the way they made you feel, everything that was, can never change. No one can take that from you, it is yours forever son, unless you let go of it & become ungrateful about it. Your mother loves you more then anything else in this world, her love for you never changed but yours did."

Dev, "so you are telling me that I should still love her the way I did even when she choose to leave you alone like this to marry someone else? Even when she choose to be selfish in bringing upon us all that humiliation & shame? I can never do that dad, I cannot forgive her & I cannot find the courage in my heart to ever love her again. (tears rolling down his cheeks)

Mr. Sinha held his son's hand & made him sit next to him. He wiped of his tears & kissed him.

Mr. Sinha, "you know Dev, your mother & me had an arrange marriage, back then she was only 18 & I was 28. I always had got a lot of respect from her, she agreed to everything that I ever proposed & helped me build this house & took care of my family as her very own. The most selfless person ever known to me, for every day, every second of her life she lived dedicated to me, my family & my cause. Everything I achieved in life I owe it all to her. When you were born Dev, it was the most happiest moment of her life. She loved you more then anyone or anything, with you born Dev, she had found new life. I was never there for her as a husband should be for a wife, my commitment to my work never gave me time to notice that my wife needed me, she needed my time. So there came a time son when she fell in love & love happens, no one can stop it from happening but your mother had the courage in her heart to come & tell me that she had fallen in love with someone else. It broke me into pieces but never took away from my heart the respect I had for her, in fact it only multiplied because she did not cheat but came & told me the truth. We never expected you to understand this decision & we did not see the problems you would have to go through but son every person has a right to choose to live this life the way they want to. I never found the courage or for that matter words to talk to you about this but today I thank God that I did. Son if you cannot love her the way you should, don't hate her the way you do."

His father's words had left Dev speechless & in silent tears.