My Dream Marriage

The house is so quiet and I feel a little scared. It is so cold in here and I can feel my hairs standing. I don’t know what is making me feel this way. It isn’t the vibrant, jovial and warm house that used to be but just a remainder of a memorable beautiful life that had once been lived inside. Everything is in the past now, even if I could try to recreate it, it won’t be as before. Not so long ago, I was happy with my parents around but in little time I have lost both of them. All in all life has to go on.

I walk around the house looking for something valuable that I can keep as my parents memento. I enter their former bedroom, the room that few days ago I had spent the night with my mother, even the night before my dad’s funeral. I never knew that it was the last time I ever get to sleep next to her and the last time she ever got to spend her time here.

The album! I get to the closet and retrieve the keys that I had watched my mother carefully keep and open the drawers. The album is sitting quietly, undisturbed on top of a small box that I take a long with it. I don’t know what it is, I’ll check it out later.

I grab the pictures hanging on the wall, this will be a constant reminder of memorable moments that once had been. I pack them neatly in a carton, placing the album below all the items. My mother said something about confidentiality that comes with the album, so I don’t want to show anyone. I seal it properly and walk out of the house. I turn around and take one last look at the living room, a silent goodbye to a place where I have almost spent all my life until now.

“I am done now Marcus, we can leave,” I say when I get to the car. “Yes ma’am,” he says, opening the door for me to get in. “Thank you.”

Moments later, we are at the Lawanson mansion.

“You are here already. The doctor will be here any time from now, she has your results,” Piper says.

“Okay, I will take this upstairs then come back,” I say.

Inside the bedroom, I take out the photo album and look for the most secretive place in the room. Who am I kidding? This is Edward’s room. He probably knows every corner of this place so it will be easier for him to find out. I will have to see all the photos before anyone sees it.

There are empty drawers at the dressing table so I open one of them. There are keys inside and I think they are for the drawers. I try them out in the keyhole and I think I have found just the place for keeping it. I decide to place the box in as well. I close the drawers and keep the keys at the top of the book shelf. I know no one will get here except me.

“Neera, the doctor is here,” Martha calls from the outside of the room. “Alright, I’ll be there,” I say.

I take the remaining items still inside the box and place them at a corner inside the walk-in closet. I hurry down the stairs to meet the gentle doctor.

“Hello doctor,” I greet and she smiles when she sees me. “Hello Neera, how are you feeling today?” “Better than yesterday,” I say.

“Okay, that’s good. I have your results here and before I give them to you, I need to let you know that you need to stay away from some foods intake for some time. You have acids in your stomach so you have to take your medication and stay for sometime without the kinds of foods that you will come to know later. Now, it is a good thing that it has been detected earlier. The symptoms become severe with time if not treated early. Here, I have compiled a list of foods that you should be wary of,” she says, handing me a file so as I can take a look and a little brown carrier bag with medicine inside.

“Thank you doctor, incase if anything I will let you know,” I say

“Just follow the prescription and you will be good to go. You are welcome,” she says and gives a little bow to Piper before she leaves.

“I will be leaving now, I need to get to work,” Piper says and leaves the house as well.

I have gastroenteritis. I wasn’t prepared for such kind of a disease.

What to do? I just have to follow the doctors instructions and all will be well.

*****

“Did you manage to sell the house?” I ask Edward a month later after dinner. He is on the study area, going through some files in our bedroom. It’s been on sale for sometime now and it’s just today that I heard Eric talk about it, so I have decided to ask Edward about it.

“Yes. In this bad economy we managed to find a buyer who offered a good price. Although he happens to have plans to renovate it,” he answers. It stings deeply in my heart knowing that the house I once cherished is gonna take another shape.

“That’s good. So what was the price?” I ask.

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s my parents house so I have the right to know, don’t I?”

“No you don’t Neera, this doesn’t concern you,” he answers. “It does concern me Edward, more than it concerns you. Surely, we are talking about the property my own father bought with his own money,” I say.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me. So you want to be ungrateful for everything that this family has done to you right? I see you are getting bolder and bolder by day,” he gets closer to me, holds my shoulder, squeezing it and looks at me squarely and dangerously in my eyes, “listen to me very carefully. This should be the last time you talk to me in that manner. This is the last conversation we are having about the house. You are to remain grateful for what we give you in this house and keep off simple matters like that one, things that doesn’t concern you,” he says and I can feel my skin crawl. I feel a cold chill run down my spine when he releases me.

Who is this man? I feel afraid of my own husband, it’s like I don’t even know who I am married to.

“Stop looking at me like that, it’s time for your sleep. I need to work here,” he says dismissing me.

I move away like a chicken that has been rained on and get into bed. Tears starts to freely run down my cheeks and I cannot contain the overwhelming emotion that catches up with me. I couldn’t even get a dime from the sale of my parents’ house. I don’t even know the price that it was sold. I miss my parents so much and right now I wish I could just hug my mom and let her know of my misfortunes.

I wake up as usual, ready to make Edward’s breakfast. I can’t even see properly, I have been crying and rubbing my eyes for the better part of the night.

“Neera, your eyes look so distorted, have you been crying? You look like you have been stung by bees,” Martha asks later after everyone has left for work. Each one of us has been busy since morning so she didn’t notice my puffy and red eyes.

“Yes, I just missed my parents and I couldn’t help shedding a few tears for them,” I say and she taps my shoulder and I feel a ting of pain from the hard grip that Edward had on me last night. Martha notices this and asks me, “Is your shoulder painful as well? Did you hit yourself?” “Yes, I did when I was coming into the kitchen,” I say.

“You should be careful next time, okay?”

“Okay, but Martha, I need to get out of the house for sometime. Please don’t tell anybody about this. I will be back before you know it,” I plead with her.

“Alright but where are you off to?”

“I am going to the cemetery, I need to put some flowers on my parents’ tombs,” I say. “”I understand you Neera, I have no problem with that,” she says.

I collect some money from my secret drawers to pay for my cab. Edward took his card back and I don’t get any money for upkeep from him or anyone in the family. He said that I get everything I need, food, clothing so there is no need for extra money.

I hail a taxi to to the cemetery but first, I had to drop by the flower shop. I bought two bouquets of flowers and here I am at my father and mother’s graves. Surprisingly, I find two fresh bouquets placed there and I wonder who it might be. I don’t think it’s someone from Edward’s family. Who could it be? Anyway, I crouch down and place each bouquet on each tombstone.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“Mom, dad, it’s your daughter Neera. I came here because I miss you both. To tell you the truth, of late I haven’t been happy ever since you departed. I don’t go out, I don’t even get to read my favourite books any longer. I really miss you,” I say with tears rolling down my cheeks and I let them do so freely. I look at the other bouquets and say, “I hope whoever put these flowers here has good intentions,” I pull out my handkerchief from my small bag and wipe the tears away. I stand up and leave the gravesite to try and get a taxi home from the nearby road.

The single pathway that leads to the road has quite a number of people but I can’t mistake the man that is sitting quietly at a bench. I am familiar with him and we have shared moments together. I move towards him and sit on the bench next to him.

“Hi there,” I say and he looks up from the newspaper that he was reading. “Oh hi, what a pleasant surprise. I think I know why you are here,” he says and I know for real that he was here at my dad’s funeral. “Yeah, what about you?” I ask.

He scratches his head and answers, “I actually came to visit someone here and I am waiting for Michael. “Visit? Is it your relative?” “Not really, just like a friend so yeah, that’s it,” he says. “That’s nice.”

“I am so sorry about your loss. I am also sorry about what happened back in Marina,” he says. “It’s okay I got over it,” I say and look over at the paper in his hands. I see an advertisement on it and I become interested.

“Let me see that,” I say grabbing the paper from him. It’s an advertisement on a short story competition that is going to take place in a few month’s time. The story has to be submitted in two weeks’ time before the deadline and the winner gets a thousand dollars and a free publishing opportunity.

“This is great. I have been waiting for a chance like this. Here, I’ll get to showcase my writing skills, look,” I say putting the page before his eyes for him to take a look. “Are you interested in writing?” He asks me. “Aniston, that is my passion and I am not gonna waste such an opportunity. This is a dream come true,” I say excitedly.

“I am happy for you. Follow your dreams,” he says, genuinely smiling. He is truly happy for me.

“I should get going, I need to start working on this as early as possible. Thank you because if not for you, I wouldn’t have come across this,” I say getting up from the bench and order an Uber. I also need to get home as fast as possible.

“See you around and I look forward to seeing you win and also reading your story,” he says and I smile and wave at him as I get into the cab.