I still remember the gleam in her eyes. I saw true love and it wasn’t a pretence.

My grandparents had lived with me ever since my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It is said that the magic in a relationship lasts for 30 months after which the charm is lost and things are taken for granted. But these two were one such pair who never seem to tire of each another.

I wished things ran as smooth between me and Nisha. We end up in a squabble every alternate day.

Every evening after I get back from work, grandpa would ask me, “How’s it going?”

How would it go when I’ve fallen in love with someone whose ego was the size of an elephant.

They say a man would avoid spending on a lunch than fetching his girl friend a few bunch of roses. I’ve done something more. I gave up working for another company at my parents place and settled for a lesser paid job so that I could be with her. I would work from home in the nights just to spend my evenings with her.

And the past few months have proved very stressful, work related pressures etc. But still I never ignored her. She received unprecedented attention and care as always.

I’ve put my heart and soul into this relationship, to make things work in our favor. If only she knew how much I loved her.

Sometimes I wonder if this love’s worthwhile.

‘Women need assurance, assurance that you are there for her when she needs you, assurance that she has a special place in your heart. A fair display of affection through cuddling, hugging and kissing may not alone suffice. It needs to be expressed in words. A universally proved statement, Don’t try to understand a woman. Just love her, say it and mean it,’ my grandpa would insist.
“So understand her needs and give her what she wants. Probably she would like you even more,” he added.

I think she expects a little more than this. Authors like Margaret Mitchell and Nicholas Sparks have portrayed the more idealistic men in their novels. And of course every women would wish for someone ideal.

“I think I should move out of this relationship,” I couldn’t hold onto this for long. “Atleast she would be happy in another. But the only thing that prevents me is….”

“… I don’t know”

“Love,” he promptly replied.

“Let me tell you a story. A story that happened for real, 60 years back,” Grandpa narrated.

‘The disease of the brain made me forget lots of things. But I still can vividly recall all those good old memories. I still remember the first time I saw her. The look in her eyes, her braided hair and above all her smile.

All I wanted in the initial days was her attention. Then I wanted to talk to her. And not long before, I’ve fallen in love.

A day in my life wouldn’t pass without seeing her at the bus stop. That was the only time I saw her. Now that I’ve fallen in love, I’ve to propose. I did not have the guts. I was frightened of my parents, her parents and the society itself. This part of the world was very conservative in those days.

But as days passed by, I knew that my obsession kept growing. I knew that I can’t live without her. And I started finding ways to approach her. It took me a real two years to propose to her. Heaven knows the kind of things I did to attract her attention and impress her.

She never accepted. But I tried again. She would scold me, threaten me that she would let her people know. I overcame the fright. I knew I loved her and so I stood my ground.

After two long years, she finally yielded to my love. Perhaps that was the happiest day in my life. There is someone in this world who loves me. That’s a great feeling.

She told her elders about our affair. They rejected. They wouldn’t allow her to come to college again. I was so worried. I thought I will never see her in my life again,’ he said with a quivering tone. And he paused for a while.

‘Each day was like hell to me. I was worried about what her condition could’ve been. We never had mobiles, not even these land lines. We never knew what’s happening to one another. I was not even sure if their parents were searching for an alliance.

We never had a choice called eloping. We would be ostracized. I thought I wouldn’t have her,’ tears ran down his eyes behind those thick lens.

‘The only thing we did was pray. We believed in our love and we prayed. It took a while for our parents to realize that our true happiness lies in one another’s love. After 2 years, they accepted.

I always thought if this love was worth the fight. For two years, I tried to impress her. For another equal time, we were in hell undergoing the pain. But these two years taught us one thing. The longing brought us even closer. The pain taught us the meaning of true love.

And we never forget those days of pain. We considered that as a testing time for our love. And I have been happy ever since, content that I married the girl whom I loved. I know how much she meant to me cos I had undergone the pain. I know what would life have been without her.

Days have changed. Globalization has masked conservativeness. People fall in love very soon and breakup in an equal time. And ofcourse you have a plethora of more suitable, idealistic and better qualified spouses to choose from anytime,’ he concluded.

True, I thought, if not her or him, there can still be another, is what everybody thinks. You are in a relationship as long as things sail smooth. And the minute you experience the first wave of resilience, you are forced to re-think.

“But is she worth your love. Is she that great a lover? What did she do to deserve your love?” I asked. He just smiled and turned away. After a few minutes of silence, ‘tomorrow’s her b’ day. Can I borrow some money from you,’ grandpa’s voice disturbed the thought process running inside my mind.

Both of us looked at the calendar.

Tomorrow’s June 24th.

“Ofcourse,” I replied.

The clock ding dong’ed at 00:00 hrs and he ran to her bedroom to wish her. A few minutes later both of them emerged from the room with my grandma clasping her hand with his. She looked at the cake and the balloons in the hall.

“I filled air into the balloons,” he said with that childish tone as my grandma looked at him with love. Later she cut the cake and I had a great time watching the old birds chirp all their way to happiness that night.

The next morning, grandpa was trying to wake me up. “Look at this,” he said.

He was holding some cards in his hand. They looked like b’ day cards, ofcourse very old. “You asked me why I love her so much and if she deserves my love. Here’s my answer,” he said opening a card.

I looked at the card and was taken aback in surprise.

“I still remember the gleam in her eyes. I saw true love and it wasn’t an act of pretence. I really wonder if any woman can do it,” I described grandma’s happiness.

“What’s written in the card?” Nisha asked.

“Grandpa’s suffering with Alzheimer’s. He forgot her b’ day. It’s actually on July 24th,” I replied as she stared at me in wonder.