“You are irreplaceable”
“You are irreplaceable.”
I heard these words in middle of an intense conversation with my boyfriend.
He continued, “After you fight or crib or over react for no reason I feel irritated. I feel she always acts before she even allows her mind to think. I feel she’s not the right girl for me.”
I sighed knowing it was all true and he knew me much better than I knew myself.
“But then after things settle I know deep down in my heart that nobody can ever replace you”.
I was at a loss of words. I just glared at him in the middle of the night. And he with questioning eyes waiting for me to reply.
My mind travelled to a story narrated by my Hindi teacher when I was in eighth standard.
Mrs. Zeenat our permanent Hindi teacher was on a leave for a month (I don’t remember why). She had appointed another teacher in her absence (again, I am sorry, I don’t remember her name).
This new teacher possessed a different sort of vibe. I had never felt this way for any teacher. She was very fair, thin and about five foot and five inches tall. Basically very pretty to look at. But that was not the only reason for her to receive my attention- it was her stories that fascinated me. After finishing her day’s syllabus she would narrate stories.
The story was about an old aged couple. The old man was hospitalised due to a heart attack. Apparently it was a serious one and the doctor had given the family members no false hopes. It was just matter of few hours.
Nevertheless, his wife didn’t believe what the doctor said. She sat near his bed, not letting go of his hand. Sometimes crying and sometimes waiting for tears to roll down whilst the old ones dried.
It had been two days since the doctor’s ultimatum. Miraculously, the old man was still breathing. He opened his eyes to see the love of his life. She was sobbing holding his hand firmly. Wiping away her tears he whispered, “What have you made of yourself.”
That was true, the old woman had not left his side for even a second in the past two days. She had neither been home nor combed her hair.
The oldie continued, “I feel better now. Please go home and get freshen up”.
The woman knew he was right. She agreed to what he said.
As soon as she reached home, the news of the old man being dead awaited her arrival.
It was her. She was the miracle. The old man couldn’t let go of his life because she didn't permit him to. It was as if something had tightly held on to his soul. Asking him to be with him just one more second. Just one more conversation. One more life time of togetherness.
I somehow regained the access to my tongue and murdered, “I want to die before you do”.