An Awakening

She was beautiful to behold with looks that could anyone’s breath away. She was the apple of her daddy’s eye, the thorn in the eyes of her rivals and the object of lust to her many suitors. She was a combination of beauty, charm, wit and brains, and used it to her advantage. She was not born with a silver spoon but knew how to use her beauty and charm to get her way, to get what she wanted.

She craved for a life of luxury, of no cares for the world. But above all she craved for a high standing in society, leading her to spurn many a suitors who coveted her attention but didn’t meet her expectations. She finally married for the money to a man way older than she, handsome for someone of his age.

Though she had all the riches which she craved for, she felt an emptiness in her, a loneliness. He gave her all the luxuries she desired but what he didn’t give her was love. He treated her with respect but seldom paid her any attention, and of love he didn’t give her any. She tried to console herself with the thought that she had all the riches in the world but all she felt was a sadness that her beauty and Love was given to a man who had no use for it.

She thought of a boy she once knew, a young strapping lad who loved her with all his heart inspite of her vainness, and she found herself falling for him despite of the walls she built around herself. But like all her other suitors, she spurned him too cause he couldn’t give her the life and social status she wanted. She thought about the passions she wanted to pursue but had abandoned in her quest for riches.

She wondered how did she ever let her life get way from her, how did she ever get this way? Was she tired or was she just lazy? Where did life go, had she she sacrificed her happiness for a life of luxury? Had she sold her soul for it? She buried her face inside her hand and began to cry, a prisoner of her own vanity.

He married not of his own will but of the the will of others. He was surprised when she agreed to marry him, considering she was young and beautiful and he was way older than her. 

He felt no attraction towards her, he felt no attraction to any women at all. He had long since made peace with his preference, burying it in a singular focus to be successful and rich, especially knowing that his family would never accept him for who he was, would never accept his choices. He knew they feared ostracisation, being knocked off their self-made pedestal. So he went about living with a mask on dodging the question of marriage as long as he could till he couldn’t take the pressure anymore and finally gave in. 

He couldn’t love her like husbands should. Her beauty captivated him but he  couldn’t love her. He could provide all the luxuries of the world but the one thing he couldn’t give her was love. Out of a sense of guilt he let her have whatever she wanted never once questioning her. He had befriended loneliness and continued e to be friend with it.

Though they shared a bed, a room, a house, a last name, they were strangers to each other living under the same roof. They tried to consummate their relationship in order to further the family name but had to abandon the act when things got weird, awkward and uneasy.

They were two souls in a loveless, tortured and unhappy relationship but never once wanting to the end the union, giving up the lives they were living. They were prisoners of their own trappings.

In the midst of their turmoil he came like a breath of fresh air, a whirlwind that swept them from the lies they were living. A stranger, a distant relative, who initially felt like an intrusion, an annoyance, but by and by he grew on them. 

He was everything they were not, everything they hoped to be, which was what took them by surprise, made them envious, made them distrustful of him. He was free spirited, an open book, what you get is what you see. A person who lived life openly on his term. He flirted with both of them, to their annoyance and later to their flattery.

She was the first to let her guard down. In him she found a companion, a confidante, a friend that she lacked. He helped her see the folly of her materialistic views and helped find a life she once knew. He encouraged her to shed her materialistic ways to pursue a life she had abandoned, a life that brought her true happiness. He made her feel the way she used to feel. He opened her mind and brought about a change in her.

He took a bit more time to come around. This may be due to that fact that he was unnerved by his mere presence, envious by the fact that here was a person who wore his preference on his sleeves, who was unashamed and unafraid of who he was and open and unbashful about it. He was all that he was not.

He tried his best to keep his guard up but he couldn’t help but find himself being drawn to him. He would find himself staring at him, and when this was noticed he quickly averted his glance. This lead to him being hostile and curt towards him. 

One evening, while he was strolling through the garden, trying to get him out of thoughts, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat. He was standing there, trying to confront for his hostility towards him, asking him he did anything wrong towards him. 

And in all this he just could notice his lips, his face, and in that moment he let his guard down, grabbed his face and kissed him with all the passion he felt. When he pulled back he expected a punch on his face but was surprised when he kissed back. It was like the floodgate was open and passion and emotion like water flowed.

When they finally parted, he began to sob in his arms. He felt ashamed, exposed, emotionally naked. This was who he was, no more mask and all. He embraced him and kissed him once more and told him that there was nothing wrong with him, nothing to be ashamed of cause this was who he was. He encouraged him  to be himself, to be true to himself and to her.

She had observed them from the balcony that overlooked the garden. She saw all that transpired. It took her by surprise but she didn’t feel hurt or betrayed, instead there was feeling of relief that a curtain was lifted and what was behind it was there for all to see. 

They met in the hallway, initially not knowing what to say to each other. After a bit of hesitation they broke down in each other’s arms. For the first time they embraced and really meant it, for the first time they had a heart-to-heart conversation. They had an awakening to each other. That night one relationship ended but a new bond took root. They agreed it was the best they go their separate ways.

Couple of months later they divorced amicably, bringing an end to their marriage. However they stayed friends, their bond stronger than it ever was. He supported her passion, her career endeavours, providing her valuable advice and emotional and financial support when she needed it. He was shoulder for her to cry on, lean on, through success and failures, good times and bad times.

She in turn was his rock who stood by his side especially when he came out of the closet, providing him the courage and strength that he needed at the time. Unwavering and unflinching she supported him.

They found success and they found love and they were happy content with life and for each other. They no longer had to live a made up life.

As for the stranger who acted as a catalyst, who brought about an awakening, well after while he said farewell to both of them. His job was done and now he had to return back to his life. 

In the end, they were in their on way, content with the lives they now lived, their very own happily ever after.