Preeti -Microfiction

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Lying on her back, with her right arm half covering her eyes, Preeti is trying hard to make a decision. She is fighting back her tears –tears of frustration –of thwarted dreams –of broken heart –of love lost –of a gross miscalculation on the part of an excellent MBA that she is. But happiness is not like a mathematical output that you get after putting the right numbers together… In life,  2+2 doesn’t come to 4 for everyone. Preeti sits up, popping against the expensive silk bolsters bought by Laksh from the Oma Store in Elante Mall, during one of their regular shopping sprees in the initial months of their marriage –before the bitterness crept in. Their swanky apartment which she loved so much, is now just a shelter house for two bodies –who hate each other with all their might, but are still stuck together. “Why can’t I just leave him and move on? What is stopping me? Am I begging for his love? Do I still have hopes from him?” Preeti’s dilemma is getting deeper and deeper. She still gets nostalgic, reminiscing the crush she had on the dashing Laksh, who would very lovingly place lilies or tulips or roses, every day on her workstation before she reached the office; he would wink at her in the most romantic manner when she shyly looked at him. “But he still brings flowers to me, even after the worst of tiffs and quibbles”, Preeti has all along been a naïve and callow girl, with an overactive heart and a subdued head. She, in fact, knows that she is not going to leave Laksh; at least not of her own accord. ‘Preserving Relationships’ has been her forte –she can’t give up on her most cherished one this easily. So, is it decided? – Is she  going to stay till Laksh gives up on her and asks her to leave? Preeti doesn’t want to answer this question right now. Maybe someday she will muzzle her heart and let her head decide for her!  May be someday…! She gets up, splashes water on her shriveled yet lovely face, and sets the coffee kettle on. Five years of unhappy marriage have changed her a lot… but not entirely!

Location: Chandigarh, India

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