‘You Belong To Me,’ I Said, Silently, As I Took The Eighth Vow Of Our Marriage

I’m a believer who denies worshipping the lord but listens to a soft voice that guides me. But it wasn’t God with me, it was you- listening and guiding.

You are the one who can conquer the world and set an example for many and this is nothing just a viva. Shubham, you know how much I hate science! I don’t want to learn about the iodine effect on a leaf. Whether it turns black or red like my period stains, I don’t care!

Wait I’ll help you, it is just four steps you need to remember. It starts with boiling the leaf normally then in ethanol for a few minutes, washing with water and spreading onto a white tile. Then you add iodine solution from a dropping pipette.

You made me believe

The first time you appeared in front of me, I was neither an atheist nor believer. I always believed there is some power behind us to support and guide us. So I probably am a believer who denies worshiping lord but listens to the soft voice that guides me.

I was convinced to pray to a god in the form of stones, adorned with heavy jewellery. Since then, I always found you with me- whether saving me from dad’s scolding or mom’s beating behind closed doors. You were the man of my dreams since the day you came in front of me.

I was just 21 and graduated from IIM, dreaming of my own start-up like every other person. You always listened to my ever-changing plans and also put in your own baffling ideas.

I will never forget the day you stopped your car in my way because I was driving rashly and was about to ram into yours. It was meant to start our love story- that’s what I want to relive just with you.

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I was angry at you for stopping your car but once you opened your mouth and uttered “Are you crazy ? Does the road belong to your father!” And those two questions of yours swept away all my anger and the man who spoke to me all the time was in front of me.

‘Just like his voice, he is smart and handsome too,’ I thought to myself. You probably gave me a long lecture but I missed everything and concentrated on your eyebrows, your lips, the lines on your forehead.

I finally had a face to the voice

Your eyebrows are freshly plucked. You were somewhere around 24 or 25 years old. A perfect match. Just then, a snap of fingers snap! snap! snap! and I was standing there, embarrassed. All I could say was sorry and drop my card on the windshield of your car which had details of my start-up and my phone number.

I drove to the United coffee house and for the first time the voice had a face to guide me. As I worried about what to do next, the voice asked me to wait and enjoy my life and plan the business’s first step.

I had a meeting at the coffee shop and it went in vain as the investor didn’t seem to be impressed. Just then you said I need to be rejected many times to be successful one day. And I felt like you came in-person to wipe my tears. Indeed you did! Just then, I saw my phone ringing. Truecaller showed me the name Shubham Chaturvedi. I answered it and it was you!

“Hello, Am I talking to Aisha?”

“Oh yes, This is Aisha.”

“Are you into marketing management?”

“Yes sir. May I know who is this?”

“The one shouted at you this morning. I called you, not to be sorry but for something else. And I only apologise when it is my mistake”

“It’s okay tell me how may I help you?” I tried to sound a little shunned to receive this call as if I wasn’t expecting it.

“I need to fix a meeting with you as soon as possible. And I need someone who can market my dream business, sorry, my wife’s dream business, to every possible corner of this world. She only lived for her dream Paridhan textiles.”

But… you belonged to me!

My jaw dropped when I found out that you are married. I felt like I was ripped in a go. Like I had, just vanished from my hands just like that.

‘Shit, this can’t happen! The voice belongs to me. It has been guiding me since forever! Many times you confessed your love to me how can it belong to someone else.’ I was lost in thoughts even as the call went on.

“Hello?”

“Hello!”

“Are you listening?”

“Yes, Mr. Shubham. I am here. And I can come. Kindly send an email for what you desire from the project. Then text me the address, day, and time, you would like to meet at and I’ll get back to you.”

“Sure! But you need to understand why my dead wife’s dream is important to me.”

“Yes certainly sir.”

But wait, there was a twist here!

The call was disconnected. Wait. Did he say, “dead wife?” This means she is no more. And for the first time ever in my life I relaxed at someone’s pain. This is how a sense of achievement felt like. I never knew that. Whatever it was it was the sense of peace at night.

I got a mail the same evening followed by a text message saying the next meeting will be Friday at 2 pm at Café Tesu.

‘Oh my god! This man knows me so well without even knowing me! Or these are just the similarities we share?’ I thought to myself. You had said Café Tesu- it was my favourite place!

I flipped channels and enjoyed two movies back to back. How relaxed I was to meet the love of my life. This time work was not the priority. From this meeting, my days and nights are nothing but waxing and waning of the moon. Each time my efforts were to look as best as I could.

And just like that, we were in love

A year passed and then the second. You are now the owner of Paridhan Textiles- India’s fastest growing textile brand. And today is the celebration of ‘our’ joint venture. Yes, ‘our’ joint venture!

I took out my best red dress in my wardrobe for the award ceremony. All I wanted was to look perfect tonight. I know how special it is! We both had a lot of fun and got a lot of appreciation for being the youngest achievers at the event.

“I’ve to go to the loo.”

“Sure, darling. I’ll wait for you in the car.”

“Ok!”

Ten minutes later was the best moment of my life when Shubham proposed to me with a diamond solitaire in his hands and him on his knees.

Aisha is on cloud nine tonight. Of course, she waited for this day all her life. She said yes and even Shubham’s parents are happy to have Aisha as their daughter-in-law. They always wanted Shubham to move on after he lost Maira. Hadn’t he just stepped into his youth?

Soon they are to start their journey together. Dates are fixed and a quarter later the D-day arrived. They both tied a knot and took seven auspicious vows. Thing was different that Shubham took seven but Aisha took eight.

She took the eighth vow

That it was all a trap. A trap she set to have Shubham in her life. That Aisha was the same ugly junior who stared at Shubham from behind the pillars. She remembers Shubham made love to Maira- the head girl of their school. Shubham and Maira were madly in love. 

Aisha was broken when she found out that Shubham and Maira were tying wedlock. She worked on herself first, then laid a trap to kill Maira. That was the night of Shubham and Maira’s first wedding anniversary. The night when Maira was found dead in the bathtub full of roses which she decorated for her husband.

Aisha had spent days planning Maira’s death.

And Shubham adorned Aisha’s forehead with red vermilion. They belonged to each other from now on. And they shared all the darkest secrets, except the eighth vow.

Picture credits: Still from Netflix movie Ghost Stories

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