The Other Woman

Priya felt angry, indignant, disappointed and curious .She went to look in the mirror. A face with delicate and beautiful features looked back. The sindoor was a short prominent red line at the top. She had always loved putting on that sindoor even though Vinoth never seemed to glance at it. He never seemed to be aware.

Today, when she had finally decided that she had gone long enough without a single loving word and no children, she decided to take a peek into Vinoth’s dairy. Now she wondered. Who was this Kavita? How had she captured my Vinoth’s heart when they were at school? School time crushes never lasted long, least of all for more than 10 years. Where was she now? And how Priya cursed her father-in -law. How could he have forced his own son in first deserting his love when he was 20 and at 24 marry someone he did not have any feelings for?

As she sat thinking, Vinoth entered the bedroom. His face contorted with fury as he saw the dairy lying open. His large, dark eyes, which Priya had loved since the very first time she saw them, seemed to snap. But his voice was calm as he spoke, "You had no right to read my dairy, but since you have, let me inform you, I can never forget Kavita or stop loving her. It is 6 years since I last saw her. But I love her and always will"

The next day Priya and Vinoth were at the hospital due to her headache. As they waited in a stony silence, the clerk who was monitoring the patients told another nurse, "Hey, call Miss Kavita. She will know how to best deal with this case." Vinoth did not seem to notice. Priya wondered if he thought there were hundreds of Kavitas in the world.

A woman entered with the nurse. She wasn’t beautiful but certainly secured a second glance. She was sweet—but something in her eyes said that she had suffered. Priya felt very interested in her. Glancing at Vinoth to see whether he shared her interest, she saw him staring at the woman as though he had seen a ghost. She too, went rigid, when the nurse said, "Kavita madam, Priya ma'am’s case should be looked after by you"

Before Kavita could turn, her cell rang. She listened to whoever was speaking, and then sighed. "Ma, how many times do I have to tell you, I wont marry. I have given my heart to someone…. I don’t care if he is already married to someone else"

She turned, smiling at Priya. "Are you Priya? I am a counselor. The kind of pain that you have-sudden, continuous, with no appetite – it is a sign of depression or shock." Her eyes lingered on Priya’s sindoor. ‘Is your husband here?" Vinoth spoke up "yes"
The three stared at each other in silence. Kavita broke the silence in a would-be jovial voice with the tiniest catch in it "Come on in, my cabin’s over there"

Three months later, Priya was pregnant. Her marriage was on track. All thanks to Kavita. She had brought Priya and Vinoth very close to each other. After her work with them was over, she left for America. That was only about a month ago. She had insisted on taking Vinoth’s diary. Now, as Priya and Vinoth were laughing about some silly jokes, a telephone call came long distance. Kavita had committed suicide…………… Life went on……… Vinoth loved Priya now, but Kavita was not forgotten—she was his daughter.