Reality bites

A strange quirk of fate and technology results in a new beginning and ending

BY RANI JHALA

The smartphone she held in her hand burned her fingers. She read the text message again. That is all he had sent, a text message comprising a mere ten words: “I can’t do this to her. I’m not coming back. Sorry.”

Ten years of marriage wiped out by ten words. Worse, her husband had not even had the decency to tell her in person. “Sorry” - that single word was neither an apology nor a consolation. As tears slid down her cheeks, she asked herself the question: Why me?

What vital sign of the affair had she missed? His regular absence from home was normal to her. He was a pilot and the very nature of his job called for those trips. Like most wives she had been on the lookout for the classic signs – lipstick on the collar, wrong numbers, unexplained gifts, new additions to the wardrobe and disappearance of money from their accounts. But none of these had happened. When he was home, every moment was spent with her. And yet there was the message on her phone, forcing her heart to believe what it did not want to.

In the next few hours she faced all ten aspects of human personalities.

Kama (Love): Theirs had been a love marriage. They had fought family and society for the right to wed. People had accused them of forgetting all sensibilities for an emotion they were mistaking for love. And just when everyone was finally admitting that they were wrong, lust had truly stepped in and made a mockery of their marriage.

Krodha (Anger): This was the one emotion that she had never shown during her entire marriage. Yet now after the initial shock had worn off, it was the emotion that surfaced first. Anger at her husband, anger at ‘that woman’ and most of all, she expressed anger at her own stupidity. She was even angry with the phone.

Moha (delusion): She derided herself for getting caught up in the illusionary world of love. She had built her life around what she felt for her husband and was always grateful for what she got in return. But now that the illusion had been lifted, all she felt was betrayal. And she vowed that it would never happen to her again.

Lobha (Greed): She spent a good half hour logging into their bank accounts. From the joint accounts she transferred half of the funds to her personal account. She was tempted to empty the accounts as retribution, then realised that right has its place, but greed would always be wrong. And anything wrong had no place in her future.

Mada (Pride): She took a long time to come to terms with this failing but no matter how much she wanted to forgive her husband, her pride would not let her. Had he left after telling her the truth, she could have forgiven him. But to send her a text message telling her that their marriage was over and that there was another woman in his life, was unforgivable.

Matsara (Jealousy): Of course, she was jealous. She was the wife, theirs had been a love marriage and he had promised her a lifetime of togetherness. Now he was promising all that to another. The partner left behind is the one most disadvantaged. They still want the past, they still hope for a future and they believed in the present.

Manas (Mind): The mind was the hardest to control and the most difficult to steer in the right direction. Since receiving that one message, her mind was out of her control. Her thoughts ran helter-skelter! It remembered what they had together and it mourned what they would never have. After hours of mentally torturing herself, she decided, she would stop hurting herself. Her husband was feeling none of the pain she was, so why was she wasting her time with thoughts of ‘what was’. It took her many hours to conclude that if she did not matter to him, he would no longer matter to her.

Buddhi (Intellect): As thoughts of revenge surfaced, she decided that she would never give him a divorce. If he wanted the other woman, she would have to wait a lifetime for him. A lifetime! The same lifetime that she would have to waste in tears and heartache!

But as thoughts of revenge and hatred filled her mind, bile began to fill her throat. Was revenge worth more of this bile? Would they ever be able to love each other again? When both questions got a negative answer, she decided that it was time to use her intellect. She was an educated woman, who once had an independent career. She could use both those experiences. An independent life of dignity was better than a life where she was merely tolerated.

Chitta (Will): After many hours of soul-searching, her inner power resurfaced and assured her that she would survive the turbulence.

Not only would she survive, but she would thrive one more. It spoke of courage and strength. It brought calm and peace. She was the same person she was before she got the message, a complete being and she would always be the same person as long as she believed in herself and adhered to her principles.

Ahankar (Ego): The self that had been hurt, insulted and abused, scattered into the unknown. The self that remained was a spiritual being and the person that now looked at the message asked just one question, “Why not me?” In what way was she more special that the woman living next door? In what way was she dearer than the wife down the street? Between her intellect and her will, she chose the path that was right for all.

She packed her bags, locked the front door and left in her car. She drove to the beach house she and her husband loved during their short breaks. She would not be Mandodari, silently waiting for her husband’s infatuation with another woman to end. She would not be Ravana who was unable to control the ten aspects of his life as symbolised by his ten heads. She would do as Rama did, take a negative situation and bring about a positive result.

Just as she reached the beach house, her husband entered their home. “Darling?” he called out. His words were met with silence. He looked around but could not find his wife. Her car was missing as well. Intending to call her, he took out his mobile phone. Just then a message showed up in his inbox. It was from his wife. “I hope you both are very happy together. Goodbye.”

And just when everyone was finally admitting that they were wrong, lust had truly stepped in and made a mockery of their marriage.

It took her many hours to conclude that if she did not matter to him, he would no longer matter to her.

Goodbye? He looked at the word and frowned. And then panic set in as he scrolled down to the message below. His words jumped up from the screen. Hell! He had mixed up the two messages. As reality set in, his mobile slipped to the floor.

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