Joshua and Dhanya were two migrants, a loving duo, who entered into wedlock, a couple of years back. She had the hap to migrate to one of the countries in the Middle East along with her groom. Both had exhibited their cleverness in academics, though both were not from the so-called equivalent families. Their academic calibre had placed them in handsomely-paid companies. Amidst their joyful life, Dhanya taught her mind not to dig into her distressed past. They were about to travel to their native place; a new project came on the way of Joshua’s leave. Therefore, he was chained in the company for six more months before sanctioning him leave. But he never allowed the ticket of his better half to be done away with Sourav's leave. Though the latter was hesitant to alight alone from the flight, she did not stand adamantly.
As she was alone in her seat, her mind deviated from abiding by the rules laid down by her. It jumped out of her control and wandered around the grassy pasture, which captivated two hearts once. Dhanya was an engineering student and her love Sourav Joseph, an ITC apprentice. They used to gloriously sit and exchange their wooing words, in a hilly grassland near their house. A fat bough of a lovely mango tree stood there hugging the earth. And the tree-bough served as a swing for the duo while they enjoyed their togetherness. At times crows, squirrels, etc. visited the tree and watched the lovers from up wholeheartedly. Delightfully grazing cows were their comrades on the land, witnessing their gestures.
During the journey of time, Dhanya’s parents somehow smelt
the affair, which produced an unfavourable savour to them. The advice followed
by threats followed by reproofs followed by prop-handling could seldom change
her mind even an inch. However going up and down the college, was well
monitored.
One day out of intolerance, she broke out with ire and
questioned her parents, “Achcha, mom and
you belong to different castes. You got married?"
“The wretched fellow is a convert. His parents are from a lower income group. The caste of my spouse, no problem, I do not care. Not that
only he is an ITC pass, while you are an engineer.”
The luck of the parents or anything, Sourav met with
an accident on the road and alas! He took his last breath.
Dhanya literally broke down. It took six months of counselling and special parental care for normalcy to bless her. As a result, she stood near Joshua in the Church, for solemnizing their nuptials.
The announcement of untying the seatbelt alerted her; she lanted in her native sand. The next day, around five at dawn, Dhanya covertly opened the back door of her room and walked towards the Mango-tree-bough.
No sooner, did she sit on the bough carrying a heavy heart than the much lovable lovely voice whispered, “Dhanya, honey!”
She indeed felt endeared and fell into a delirium state,“O!
Sourav, dear, where are you?” Her words were soft.
“I am here, but you can not see me. I am alone. I have
nobody here.”
'O! Let’s talk as earlier.'
“Did you believe your parents? You are silly, my girl. It was not an accident. It was a murder, cold-blooded murder when Joshua's proposal reached your parents. It was a lottery for your people.”
When Joshua, who was abroad, approached with a proposal, the parents observed a 'goose laying golden eggs' in him. So, they wanted not to lose it. Moreover, he did not worry about the caste of Dhanya’s mama.
'But how?' asked she.
I was walking on the pavement of the road. One man came near and pushed me to the middle of the road. At once, a car ran over me and finished. The apparent drama had won the game.
Dhanya had created a hell there. The parents could do nothing but inform Joshua, who booked the ticket to Kerala. Since he was aware of the issue, he was able to manage things in a harmonizing way. He aimed at solacing and detaching Dhyanya forever from the stalk of her anguish. He made up his mind to believe that the incident was her hallucination.