If you haven't read the previous parts
Monday had started and so did Subbu with his daily rituals. Both Sendhil and Priya began to get ready for their work against their wish. They did not speak to each other, but both looked disturbed by the previous night’s party. Sendhil tried to gather his courage to talk to Priya but could not succeed.
Priya, on the other hand, was unaware of Sendhil’s moves and she continued with her packing for the office. She left for the office with Sendhil still sitting on the sofa. He thought Priya did not share the same feeling which he had. He called upon his lawyer and asked him the time for tomorrow’s hearing. He came out of his house and looked at Subbu, who was watering the Blue Moon plant. He wanted to speak to him but decided against it. With all reluctance, he left for the office.
At the office, Sendhil could not concentrate on his work. He kept remembering all the mistakes he had made, and that kept him sad throughout. Some of his colleagues understood what was going through him and advised him to take a break and go home.
Sendhil knew that going home cannot give him any relief, and it can add only to his sorrow considering all the beautiful memories associated with it. But Sendhil still decided to take a break as he did not want to dampen the mood of the work environment. He left the office and went to the nearby beach.
He sat there for a couple of hours; he cried, thinking of all that he is going to miss in his life. He could not think of a life without Priya and the kid, but still, he knew that he had no choice. With a heavy heart, he moved from the beach and went to a bar.
He took a couple of beers and smoked trying to overcome his sadness. But with every sip, his sadness had only multiplied. Finally, he decided to get back home and prepare himself for the possible worst day of his life.
Sendhil slowly parked his car and unaware of the things around; he slowly entered the house. He saw Priya sitting in the chair just facing the entrance door. Her eyes were wet, and so was her face.
Sendhil was surprised to see her but did not utter a word after seeing her. “Do you love me, Sen?” Priya asked in a broken voice.
Sendhil did not reply. He started to remove his shoelace knots. “This is our last day together, Sen, and you don’t have anything to speak to me?” asked Priya again, controlling her tears.
Sendhil kept trying to remove his knots, but his hands kept shivering. Tears started to drop on his shoes.
“I don’t know where I had gone wrong Sen, but I am sorry for all that I had done to you” cried Priya.
“You did not do anything wrong, Priya. The mistake was all mine. The only mistake you made was to love a stupid like me “said Sendhil with tears all over his face.
“So will you forgive me?” asked Priya with a longing look at Sendhil. Sendhil did not reply. He came close to Priya, picked her up and hugged her with all his love. It was the best hug of their lives, and they did not want to get out of it for a long time.
Continuing to hug, Sendhil said, “All this while I have been thinking only about me but it was only yesterday I realized that there is no me without you. I can’t imagine life without you.”
Priya with happy tears, said, “I am sorry for taking you granted. I want to celebrate life with you and make new memories every day.”
Sendhil smiled and asked, “So will you stop fighting with me finally then?” “No, not at all, it will only get bigger this time” smiled Priya as both got out of their love hug and kissed each other.
Both Sendhil and Priya decided to go to their favourite temple to offer their prayers to God and say thanks. After the prayers, both visited their lawyers and communicated their decision to them. By the time the happy couple reached home, it was already too late, and they did not want to disturb Subbu to convey the good news.
The couple sat down at their garden and started to take their first happy dinner together after a very long time. They kept speaking about all the mistakes they had done and about all the arguments that had started. Finally, they concluded that arguments are unavoidable, but one can win it by avoiding it.
With this conclusion, both woke up from the garden and began to move towards the house. It was then they realized that it was already midnight and it was a full moon day. Both of them instantly shifted their focus on the Blue Moon Plant on which a beautiful Blue Moon Flower had just blossomed.
The couple couldn’t believe their eyes. It looked like magic to them. They both sat in front of the plant and kept looking at the beautiful flower without a blink. The couple believed that the Blue Moon Flower too had a role to play in their new life. They kissed the flower and proceeded towards the home.
The next day morning, Both Sendhil and Priya decided to wake up early to announce their decision to Subbu. They came out of the house in a hurry and looked at the garden. The Moonflower had already dried out. They stood there for a moment and felt happy that they did not miss the chance yesterday to see it bloom.
They started to look for Subbu, but he was not present in the garden. They thought he must be still asleep in his tent and they decided to wake him up with the good news. As they opened Subbu’s tent, they found it to be empty. Subbu’s little bag and his worn-out slippers were also absent. However, in the middle of the tent, there was his little music player and a letter below it. The couple opened the letter and began to read it together. Dear Lovely Couple,
I hope you have good news to share when you find this letter. I was happy that you both had witnessed the Blue Moonflower bloom to its beauty. At this juncture, I wanted to share some things which I had always wanted to tell in addition to my regular lectures earlier.
To begin with, let me tell you a story. It is about an incident in Buddha’s life. Like every day, Buddha took his begging bowl in the early hours of the morning and started to visit the houses to beg for the leftover food. When he visited a house to beg for the food, a young lady came out of the house and started shouting at Buddha for his behaviour. She kept cursing him for his begging at the early hours of the morning. This, however, did not affect Buddha, and he kept on smiling, and slowly moved to the next house for begging.
One of the disciples of Buddha was unable to bear this. He remained silent until Buddha finished his begging and returned to his place. When Buddha began to consume the begged food, his disciple asked Buddha why he had to face such a hardship. He felt Buddha was influential enough to get good food from all over the place or at least his devotees can beg the food for him.
Buddha smiled at his devotee and replied him that food was the last thing in his mind when he begged for it. It was his begging that kept his ego at bay, and it made him realize that nobody is greater than anybody.
Ego plays an essential role in a person’s character. I don’t want to say ego must be absent as it is also needed for maintaining one’s self-respect or otherwise he could very well go into a self-pity mode which is also dangerous. But too much ego can influence a person to control others and also to expect more from others which are more hazardous in maintaining a harmonious relationship.
A person can never have true control over anybody but himself. In that case, the only thing he has to do to maintain a happy relationship is to be the first to give and the last to expect.
When I see dry leaves in the garden, I take some time to admire the beauty it adds to the garden. Similarly, a man’s past adds beautiful memories and important lessons to his present life. He can very well learn from others mistake also as life is too short to make all the mistakes by himself.
I also believe a man’s ability to say sorry and ask for help adds strength to his character. Until otherwise, a man asks for help, his condition might not be known and he could very well be taken for granted. And any help received after his asking will gain a more significant value than just receiving.
One of the most important things in maintaining harmony with others is to stop judging people and stop worrying about being judged. You have no business in others life, and you need not waste time worrying on somebody wasting his time on your business. Everyone’s life is surprisingly unique, and comparing one’s life with others is belittling your own life.
Stop looking at problems as obstacles. They will remain as long as you live. If you think you escaped a traffic signal, then you might be very well the first person to get caught in the next signal.
If you start to magnify your problems, then it will be like scratching your little wound only to make it bigger and dangerous. If you find it challenging to change your habits, then try to look for incentives you receive on making the change, and this could change your outlook.
Finally, one thing which I want to tell you is the secret of love, which by this time you must have realized and it is “love is only true as long as it is unconditional”. You must stop loving people only for their perfection and goodness. If you start loving people for their imperfections too then this, you will begin living your heaven on earth.
With Luv
Subbu