Radha, a very sweet little kid who believed that she is the princess of her own tiny world. Radha’s mother ensured that she would shower all the possible love for her precious daughter who was blessed only with a mother’s pure blessings and could never know what a father’s presence in life means. However Radha never complained about anything missing. She always felt that God has been kind enough to let her mother act as a complete family to her. It is perhaps very rare in life that another human being can play the role of providing the warmth that sometimes a certain number of people cannot. Slowly as Radha grew she learnt that many of her friends were talking about their grandparents, the way their father loves them and the fights their siblings have with each other.
She once asked her mother, “Ma, are both of us sufficient to keep each other happy?”
Radha’s mother was in tears. She did not know how to answer to a very simple question which yet never had an appropriate answer in the universe. Radha’s mother repeated the question in her mind. She smiled gently and said, “Of course darling, I love you more than anything in this world. And you have been the best daughter ever. But I should also tell you a secret that you will learn when you grow up. Every girl who is born is always blessed with another form of love. It is the love of a man. He is like a prince in her life and will be forever. Just like your father was my prince. I will always love your father. Similarly, when you will become a big girl you will realize that a prince is waiting for you. And then you will understand a different meaning of life. Radha, of course was a little child and she seemed to amazingly fascinated by her mother’s story. In curiosity she asked her mother, “If papa was your prince then why did he leave you?” Radha’s mother answered in a controlled voice, “These are the rules of life, Radha. You do not get all what u want. I always wish your father would remain with me. But he left you with me so that I am never lonely. Accepting the truth of life and learning to move on is the best solution to all the problems in life.” Radha found it difficult to understand the words her mother muttered. She left quietly but somewhere all the words her mother told had been recorded in a deep dark thought form. She never repeated those words again but she always remembered them.
Radha grew up learning that she will definitely find the prince of her choice who would love her the way she wants. Who will teach her the meaning of life. Radha had just turned twenty five days back. She was always a happy child who did not have any complaints in life. Her mother who had struggled hard was hoping to see her child settled in life. Radha had known many of her friends dating boys and being referred of having a relationship. She always believed she would find her man to only show her the better side of life. Some one who would understand her. It was the last year of college and Radha enjoyed each and every bit of her campus life. She had made a good student of herself and had always aimed to always strive for the best. She passed college with a decent result and secured a good job in a leading advertising company. After working for almost a year she happened to bump into Arjun, one her friends in college. They started meeting often and even before Radha realized she was very fond of him. Arjun on the other hand had been a very unique personality. He always made it a point to greet Radha, to smile at her when she looked at him, to tell her that he likes her, to hold her hand sometimes-sometimes not. And yet there was something missing. Something that completes the letter i. That small little dot was missing. She tried to learn Arjun but she never could. Arjun had this tendency to hold back something. Something…. Which Radha never understood. She dared not accept the fact that she was in love with Arjun. She had made far too a huge world of fantasy to let reality seep in. Her prince would understand her. Sometimes we do not come across the fact that we are expecting a lot from life. It is not always in everyone’s destiny to live the best moments of life. But all what Radha wanted was a man’s love which she never experienced. Not from a father and not from a brother and now not from a lover. Radha’s mother on the other hand started looking out for a suitable groom so that she could get away with the responsibility of a mother. She did not want to hurt her mother by confronting about her feelings towards Arjun – which was in a way the most unique relationship she had. The world of the perfect prince shattered for Radha. She thought she could never get over Arjun and as a matter of fact she does not deserve a man’s life. She sat alone in a dark room remembering her mother’s words and this time repeating them “Accepting the truth of life and learning to move on is the best solution to all the problems in life” She started crying louder and louder. She did not wish to move on.
She got married after three months to the man her mother selected for her. Radha would wake up every morning pray to god and make tea for Nikhil – her husband. Nikhil would wake up smiling and blow kisses to Radha. She would blush and turn away. They both would leave for office together and meet up together late in the night for dinner. However in that span Nikhil would read out important news covered daily in the newspaper in the lunch break he would have because he knew how lazy Radha was to read the newspaper. He would keep writing messages on the mirror pasting small bits of “I love you” written
Just before Radha went for a shower in the morning. They had long conversations about life in general on Saturdays when both were at home. She lived her dream of a perfect relationship with the prince of her life. She experienced the love of a man who taught her the meaning of life. She was happy, smiling content with her life. She slept and prayed for the well being of her family – her mother, Nikhil and herself.. And she prayed for Arjun, hoping that he would be happy anywhere that he is. She remembered the words her mother told her when she was six. These are the rules of life. She had moved on and yet not able to leave certain things behind.