“You have again forgotten na? Did I tell not you to get me small-sized mustard seeds, not the bigger ones? Why can’t you understand the difference? The bigger size tastes different. You just eat what I prepare without knowing the effort that goes into it! All men are the same. They just need results and never understand the process !!”

“Who in the world will ever understand what you mean by big and small mustard? All look the same and for God’s sake please do not give me this man-woman debate. Why can’t you women understand that we have so much to take care of apart from measuring the size of mustard seeds?”

“What is that you take care, tell me? Kids I manage, Their tantrums, I handle, the hunger that comes a minimum of four times a day of the entire family is my headache, the cleanliness of the house is my routine work… what is that you do?”

“What are you trying to say? You did everything alone? Maintaining this house, the safety of every family member, fulfilling all your demands is all my lookout. Isn’t it?”

“What did you say… fulfilling demands. Have I ever demanded anything from you? Tell me ?Women nag their husbands for jewellery, sarees, and whatnot. I just crave some good food when we go out and today it has become a concern for you? Why did you even marry me, if you are bothered about how much I eat.!”

“Ahhhhh… Please for God’s sake. Don’t you twist my words? This is not what I meant. You are trying to harass me now.”

“Ainnnnn … Harass you, and me of all people. My goodness !! O god , why the hell did I ever say yes to this man…”

“What why? You never found anyone more handsome than me, remember? How did you save every picture of mine? Have you forgotten everything?”

“Handsome… And you… O, please!! Ten others had approached me …. and remember Avijit, the stud… I just took pity on you and agreed !! Hope you remember.”

“What pity!! Enough now… Why did you take his name? I am leaving right now for office… do whatever you want to do with your mustard seeds. Go find Avijit and feed him to your heart’s desire!!”

This was the usual bickering scene that happens when Arpita and Nishant are at loggerheads. After about a decade into their marriage and with two kids, this was a normal affair that sets the house on fire early in the morning when things go off the track.

Arpita and Nishant were college mates who were friends more than just being partners. Falling in love, having dream jobs, and getting married to each other seemed like a cakewalk for both of them. But what was the tough ,was their marriage itself! They had never thought that a bond that is so hyped in the society about completing each other and being a safety net came with so many dos and don’ts. Both of them had tied the knot quite early and after about two years things took a drastic turn when they were parents of twin boys. It was an unplanned pregnancy and when the entire family cheered them on, only they knew what was lying ahead of them. It was not easy handling twins especially for a young mother like Arpita, who without a clue had suddenly had this towering responsibility on her shoulders. Without her will, she had to quit her job and that made her a little cranky. She started getting irritated for trivial things and sometimes vent out her frustration on Nishant. Nishant had also been at fault when he had left everything concerning household affairs to be managed by Arpita and had taken up the role of just a provider. Well, he forgot with the time that even emotional support is what he had to provide.

That day, the office work seemed like a mountain of work and Nishant just could not concentrate, Thanks to the morning quarrel he had with his wife that had made things difficult for him. He did not bring his lunch box to work and even though he went and had an expensive meal at a fancy restaurant to feel satisfied, he missed the simple and delicious home-cooked meal that Arpita packs him daily. It was time to leave office and yet he did not want to go home. He was too pissed to go to the same place which sometimes felt suffocating and overbearing. He decided to spend some me time in a mall , recharge himself and then go home to a peaceful sleep.

After years, he went ahead to spend some lone time and was much elated for this free time that he had gifted himself. He window -shopped, went to the cafeteria and had whatever he wanted to have without any restrictions. He was enjoying himself when he saw a family of four having a gala time in the mall. A feeling of guilt suddenly engulfed him. The cute little face of his little ones and the angry ,yet familiar face of Arpita haunted him. He brushed off his thought and went straight to the wash room to wash his face and while he was marching ahead in full force…. Boom!! He banged his head straight on the glass that seemed non existent and the next moment , he was flat on the floor. Some eyes gave him blank look, while some teased him and some others mocked him! He wished his protective shield, his family to be beside him, but felt extremely mortified in their absence. Arpita would have managed the situation so well. She has always managed everything , realised Nishant. Without any delay, he headed home and went to the kitchen and hugged Arpita from the back before apologising to her.

Are you alright, Nishu? asked Arpita.

I am fine dear. Did I tell you that I love you and always will!

My, God… what is with this drama. Now leave me and freshen up. I have prepared Gobi Pakoda for you. It will get soggy. Just get ready… okay?

Nishant smiled . He knew Arpita always prepared his favourite cuisine and that is how she shows her love. He went in and kissed both his boys on the forehead, who had already in their dream world. ‘Marriage is beautiful , if two hearts love each other and work on it regularly‘; Nishant set his status on social media with this statement.

Family, friends and loved ones are our saviours who save us from mortified stages of life and help us spring back in action.

I have decided to take up an emotional joy ride with this year’s A2Z challenge where my focus is to showcase different aspects of human behavior . I will be penning down pieces of fiction centered around emotions in alphabetical manner. I have a title for my theme and it is : A little bit of you; A little bit of me . 

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z -2021

You can click on the alphabets below to read the stories that have been published so far.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Love,

Chinmayee