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Chandar didn’t let her board the train that day, thinking that Sudha should meet her once. He called Sudha multiple times; he also went to the court, but couldn’t see her or talk to her. To his mother, he made the excuse that she had gone to Delhi for some work, and that he would definitely arrange a meeting the next time. But Chandar’s mother declared she wouldn’t leave without meeting her.

Chandar finally texted Sudha telling her that his mother was leaving soon and if possible, she should come and meet her at the station for five minutes. He wasn’t hopeful, but she did.

As she walked towards the two of them, she looked really nice. Everything feels good when arriving—conversations, rains, sunlight, sea, everything. The station is just about the right place to meet someone; so many people meet here for the first time.

Chandar’s mother kept gazing at Sudha without batting an eyelid. She was looking for her bahu in Sudha. Being a mother means being on a constant searching expedition, after all. The moment Chandar’s mother brought up the topic of marriage, Sudha came clean.

‘Mummyji, I don’t want to get married at all. I have tried to explain that to Chandar many times. He just doesn’t leave me alone. I have come here only to tell you that please fix his rishta somewhere else.’

Chandar’s mother said only one thing. ‘Beta, it was so soothing to hear you call me Mummyji.’

Sudha reached out and hugged her. She couldn’t say anything after that. Mummyji did try to say something. Maybe she was trying to explain to them that fights and disagreements keep taking place, but in the noise of the train and the noise around them, her voice and Chandar’s sobs melted away.

In five minutes, the relationship had gone stale just like the tea sold at stations. It’s not just as if only those leaving on a train get separated at the station from those who stay back; more often than not, people who stay back too also keep end up getting separated forever as well. Chandar figured this out that day, but only after the train had left.

Chandar didn’t feel like going back home from the station. He couldn’t figure out whether he was angry or sad. He went to the same stretch of the beach where Sudha would sit in quiet contemplation. He wasn’t thinking of anything in particular, but continued sitting there till midnight. When he got back home, Sudha was already there. He was so tired that he had gone numb now. He unrolled the mattress on the floor and dozed off. Neither of them switched the lights off.

In a week, their relationship had turned into a wet umbrella during the rains—neither does it get drenched completely nor does it dry off.

Sudha had woken up before the alarm went off. Perhaps she hadn’t slept. Placing a cup of tea in front of Chandar, she said, ‘I want to talk to you about something.’

‘Hmmm …’

‘I am leaving.’

‘There was no need to come here to tell me this. Go!’

‘No. There’s something else too.’

‘You don’t want to get married, na! That’s okay. Is there anything else?’

‘I can’t go on without you.’

‘Please, cut the crap.’

‘Can we not stay together without getting married?’

‘No, we can’t.’

‘I’m pregnant.’

‘Yaar, please, anyway I am feeling sick right now. And here you are, going on and on with your bullshit.’

‘I’m serious.’

‘You don’t think before saying anything, do you? Everything is not a joke. I am seriously tired of this.’

‘I’m serious; how else should I say this?’

This was the moment that was going to change Chandar and Sudha’s life. Often, people go speechless during such moments. That’s more or less what happened to them. They fell silent. Like there was nothing left to talk about. That’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes such moments create a safe space for the rest of the conversations that follow in life.

Conversations

Chandar didn’t believe Sudha initially; he did so only after a medical test. Sudha was indeed pregnant. He saw a ray of hope in this pregnancy. A new life always brings new hope, of new conversations, a new world, new mistakes. Whoever remarked that this world relies on hope must have thought so after looking at their baby’s face.

With this hope in his heart, Chandar asked, ‘So what do we do now?’

‘What do you mean what do we do now? I want the baby.’