Long and short fictions

From Round Ten - August 2021

Love

From Round Ten - August 2021



“Santi, what shall we do now?” Amelia sounded worried.

“Let’s see how things will shape up. I know it’s not easy to convince my parents.”

“What if they don’t agree?” said Amelia, anxiety writ large in her hazel eyes. He tried to quieten her fears.

Santi was not a man given to undue worries. He was confident he could explain why he wants to marry someone like Amelia, who's neither a Hindu nor an Indian. She was an Espanol with a rigid Mexican background. Her folks gave up the prospect of marriage for her because she was above the age of 25. Her relatives concluded that she would stay a spinster for life.


Then, Santi happened to love her carrying courage and confidence.


They met at a Thanksgiving lunch at a colleague’s house. Love just snapped into place for both. It evolved over the next year.
She was a welcome diversion to his constant engagement with i.e. Mathematics. It is not as if he lacked female company. Colleagues and students were willing and aplenty along the way.


But this thing called love proved different. He couldn’t explain to himself what the matter was with him. Instead of thinking of an intricate new algorithm, as he was wont to do, he would think of Amelia. This constant niggling wish to have her by his side might be dealt with only with marriage, he presumed.


When he was in India on his annual trip, he broached the topic of his marriage. Dad listened to his hints and intent, but his mom made light of his talk and just laughed it out. For her, he was still the twenty something kid, who went to the US to graduate in Computer Science.


Half his job was to make her realize that he was now 27 and was capable of taking independent decisions regarding issues like marriage.


After six months, he spoke to his parents again. Santi didn’t want to cause anguish or worry to them. He was confident that he would convince them of this wedding. He had decided to wait for their approval, however long it might be. He and Amelia were not in a hurry.


He tried to put his mom’s apprehensions regarding color /creed differences between their families to rest squarely and with firmness.


“Mom, your fears are baseless. Our backgrounds do not matter to us, as long as we believe in each other.”


“What about kids? How will you bring them up?”


“They will be fearless and confident," he replied without hesitation.


His parents knew him well enough. He would just do that. They talked to Amelia over phone.


When asked about the future probable problems, Amelia answered without hesitation.


“ Amma, (mother in Telugu) I cannot answer these questions right now, but I know Santi and I will be able to do so when they crop up.”


Mom and Dad believed that their son met his match in Amelia.


The rest wasn’t a challenge anymore. The Vedic marriage went well and the guests were pleasantly surprised at the bride’s clear pronunciation and repetition of the mantras after the priest.


Amelia’s efforts to learn Sanskrit acquired major importance during the months that followed her engagement with Santi.


Santi learnt Spanish. He spoke with his new Spanish relatives in their own language during the marriage reception held at Amelia’s parental home in Los Angeles. Her mom loved him like a son. She was happy that daughter found a great match.


Both, Santi and Amelia enjoyed learning one another’s language. It could be the reason behind their fluency in their acquired tongues.


Apart from meeting with the above needs, problems were few and far between in their life after marriage.


It was difficult for many to comprehend the smooth working of their marriage and their life afterwards.


Perhaps the stars agreed. Perhaps they were of strong bent of mind. Perhaps marriage was not a prison but a way to freedom for them. Or perhaps their love was much more than just the world. It certainly seemed bigger than them.



Word Count: 660