I still exactly remember the university class room with open windows facing the eastern direction-a fertile ground where the seeds of tender feeling of friendship-later love for her-germinated, though slowly; where I had the first sight of her and later her offering me center refresh-a token of friendship which went a long way in cementing our friendship and bond of love.

Archies’ beauty was really beyond verbal description. If I don’t mistake, she was perhaps the most beautiful creating of Creator even who, I am sure, might have been enthralled by her grace. She had a moonlit fare round face with a black mole ‘beautifying her beauty’. However, all this beauty if compared to her inner beauty was nothing. Nevertheless, it was not only the beauty of heart but her respect for me also that had attracted me most.

Right since the first visual encounter in the university class room, I had developed a soft corner for her and so had she, as she told me later. But quite strangely, I could not then reveal to her my hidden love apprehending that she might misunderstand me. I very well knew that she was the loving daughter of a professor of a renowned university having a great authority on English literature. Moreover, as I was unemployed, with what face I could propose to her? I was striving for the job with my hard toil. I was hence waiting for the time, I would get the job and then propose to her, though she wanted me to mary her even before getting the service.

Unfortunately, there came an unexpected turn in my life. My heart wrapped the gloomy shawl, the moment I heard the sad news of her marriage with somebody else. I was to lose some one I had in the core of my heart for years. Really, as it goes, nobody can get anything before time and more than what is lotted to him.

Even after getting the government job, my long cherished desire was shattered to pieces. Even before I could convey the message of my job, she was fixed to be engaged with an engineer.

One day she made a request to me to meet he last time before the marriage. Hesitatingly I yielded to her pertinent plea. After discussing faults-some from my part and some from hers-God and Fate were finally blamed for all that happened to us. Indeed, even with everybody’s consent no marriage is possible, if God does not wish.

“Life partnership with you as a spouse was not lotted to me, Ved, even after loving you”. She revealed praising me. With self regret, I apologized to her for not coming up to her expectation. In fact, 90% fault was from my side. Had I given my consent to the marriage, this situation would not have risen.

“Ved, you are so good a man that we cannot lose you. I want you to become a part of my family so that our friendship exists for ever. If you do not mind, could you please marry my younger sister?” she pleaded to me with twinkling happy tears in her eyes, highly speaking of  Arya’s beauty of mind and heart. I could not utter any word and absent mindedly and kept seeing the dark.

This is what Vedantam, my chum, narrated to me when I was going to Kolkata to join my new government job. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Isn’t it pathetic! Would that he had married her!