If someone asks me what pain shattered my heart, I won’t hesitate to recall that fateful day – the day my wedding was annulled just three days ago.

He disappeared without giving any reason, without a last embrace, without any affectionate farewell. He left behind just a piece of paper with a few lines written on it:

“I’m sorry, but I can’t marry you. ”

I still remember that night very clearly. I sat on the floor, scraping my nails until they bleed, crying, and couldn’t believe the truth. My mother, Shanta Devi, was so embarrassed that she didn’t dare step out of that lane in Jaipur. My father, Raghunath, was so angry that he vowed: “If I ever see him again, I will beat him until he is free from his hatred towards others.” ”

I hated him too. She hated him for betraying me, hated her for four years of my youth and for taking away my trust.

After this incident, I left home, got my job transferred to Delhi and changed my phone number. I vowed to erase him from my life.

Three years later.

One chilly October afternoon, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and my heart stopped. He stood – thin, old, but still the same familiar face I had fallen in love with.

“I just asked for food, then left. “His voice was heavy, like a stranger’s,” he said.

I didn’t cry or scream. I silently stepped aside and let him in. Three years were enough to make me a quiet woman, I was no longer a child to fight with or blame.

I made rice. A simple meal of dal, roti and some vegetables. We sat across from each other like old friends. She ate very little, and I was quietly picking up the food and playing the role of host.

My mother came in, stunned for a moment, but seeing me silent, she didn’t say anything. Throughout the meal, no one mentioned the past.

When he had finished eating, he suddenly took out a bundle of papers from his pocket and placed it on the table:

“This apartment is in your name from now on.” This is a transfer document. I won’t take anything back. ”

I was stunned. Before my mother could say anything, she continued:

“After the marriage was annulled, I didn’t disappear. I withdrew. The apartment you rented in South Delhi – I bought it myself and gave it to someone else. I kept the monthly rent you sent me, and didn’t even touch it. Now I’m returning you both the apartment and the savings account. ”

I was stunned. My parents were silent too.

He bowed his head, his voice choked:

“I’m sorry, Uncle. That year, I found out I had a genetic disease… A disease that my children can also have. I panicked, didn’t know how to cope, so I canceled the wedding. Forgive me for hurting Ananya. ”

My heart hurts. It turned out that for the last three years I had been hating someone who had loved me in a way that I did not even expect. She decided to disappear so that I wouldn’t have to endure that fear and illness.

Soon after that he left.

My mother sat there stunned for a long time, then sighed:
“Maybe I was wrong just by looking at it. Some people decide to have a love that others can never understand. ”

I still live in that apartment today. Every morning, I clean the patio, water the plants, and thank her silently. I realized that: there are some loves that don’t make noise, don’t hold hands, don’t walk together… But still present, quietly like an oil lamp outside the street – not fast, but always fast, so that we don’t get lost.

Several times, I messaged him. After three calls went unanswered, I just stared at the screen, thinking:

If he had said it clearly that day, would our lives have been different?