Kismat Connection

Part 22

Abhi asked Nandini for her opinion.

        Nandini : "My belief is that love is supposed to be unconditional. You don't fall in love with someone because they have the qualities that you are looking for. It just happens and you accept them as they are along with all their flaws. It isn't selfish. If you truly love someone you should be ready to let go of anything for their happiness, even if it is the one you love."

        Cabir : "What you are saying can't happen in reality. I think your thoughts have risen from reading fictional novels or watching movies."

        Nandini : "Maybe it doesn't happen in our generation, that's why I told that you may feel it is outdated. But my belief is based on real life and not a fictional story."

        Cabir : "I would definitely like to meet the characters of your real life story then, because I still don't believe in it."

        Nandini : "Unfortunately, you can't meet them."

        Alya : "That means the characters don't exist, which in turn means the story is made up."

        Nandini : "You can't meet them because they aren't alive. It is my parents story which my grandma narrated to me and my grandma always speaks the truth. She has never shielded me from the reality."

        Cabir : "Now, I am eager to know their story. Why don't you tell us what you have heard?"

        Nandini : "If you have to fully understand what I said, you will have to listen to the full story, and that will take time."

        Cabir : "We still have a lot of time left to go to bed. I am ready to listen, if you are ready to tell."

        Nandini agreed and began to narrate her parents' story.

        "My dad was an average looking guy. He wasn't from a well to do family either, but he was very good at heart. My mom on the other hand was very beautiful and she belonged to a royal family. My mom was too proud of her beauty and social status. She was stubborn too. They were studying in the same college and my dad was her senior. It seems Mom would gain almost everyone's attention in the college when she passed by. Boys would admire her and girls would envy her. It was only my dad who didn't pay attention to her, because he was engrossed in his own life.

        My mom's friends passed comments such as she was the modern day Menaka, but she can't woo the modern day Vishwamitra. So she took it as a challenge and vowed that she would make my dad fall for her at any cost. She tried to wander around him so that he notices her, but it didn't work. She tried talking to him, but he just responded in short and their conversation didn't proceed further. She even offered him monetary help, but he didn't accept it.

        She couldn't lose the challenge, so she decided to join a volunteer group of which my dad was a part of. Volunteering didn't even exist in her dictionary till then, but she felt that it was the only way to get closer to him. My dad didn't know that my mom was only pretending to trap him, and he eventually fell for her. My mom won the challenge, but lost her heart to my dad in the process. Mom began to feel guilty for what she had done, so she told him the truth though she feared of losing him. Dad had a big heart and he loved her too, so he forgave her and accepted her.

        They decided to get married once my dad got a job and was able to support a family. Mom's parents came to know about their relationship and threatened her to break off their ties and disinherit mom if she pursued with the relationship. My dad felt that she had spent all her life with her family and she wouldn't be happy if they break ties with her. Also at that time, my dad wasn't in a position to take good care of her. So he was ready to let go of her keeping her happiness in mind, but my mom left her family to stay with him.