Don't give me a choice.

It was Friendship Day and Goddess Laxmi was enjoying watching a new and a beautiful friendship develop between a 32 year old boy Pradyumn or Prads as Goddess addressed him and the 18 year old woman Swasthee or Swats as she liked to call her. Goddess Laxmi was unhappy with her husband, the creator of all our destinies, Lord Vishnu for not providing the much required life partner for Pradyumn. Pradyumn was strictly following a ek-naari vrath that too for some unseen girl in some distance place.

Goddess Laxmi wanted to do something about it and seeing her husband sleeping comfortably on the shesh-nag, decided to appear before Prads and give him a wish. Gods are never late in putting the decision to action. Next minute Goddess was in front of Prads and Swats and expressed her decision to make Prads life one filled with love. But she had a choice for Prads and that too a tough one, "You will have the love of your life. But you can either have her as a nagging and quarelling wife who will be there with you till the last of your breath. Or you can have her as a loving and caring wife who after a period of two years would breathe her last..."

Swats knew that Prads wouldn't give it much thought and would go for the second option, "You silly boys! Always want girls to be ever smiling and going ga-ga over you. Give the wish some thought! Whatever looks so simple is always complicated! If your girl is nagging and quarelling, yet she is with you till the last of the breath, it means that she has lots of love in her heart though not expressed through words. " Prads opposed the idea, "Come on! I want a life not only filled with love, but also with peace and calmness... Mann ki shanthi! that's what I also want... even if I get it for a small time... I am going for the..."

Swats again interrupted him, "See! For two years you would have love and calmness. But you would also have a child or children. And after two years, to look after them, you would definitely go for another girl!!! Then life can go anyway."
Prats didn't agree with her, "Two years spent in heaven is much better than a lifetime in hell. What would I gain by having a nagging and quarreling wife?"
Swats was remembered of her history classes, "Remember what Aristotle said, 'By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher'"

Swats gave a final blow, "The way you are selecting the wish shows you are very selfish. You want the love of your life to live only another two years so that you can have a love filled and calm life. " That completely put Prads to silence as Swats completed, "Lord Shiva drank that dangerous poison and kept it in his throat for the entire life so that the rest of the world can live peacefully. And you can't do that for even one person and that too for the person you say you love dearly." Prads understood what Swats was implying, "Love means not being selfish and living the life for the other."

Goddess Laxmi was enjoying this little conversation and was smiling the way Swats put forth her arguments. Swats asked Prads to focus on Goddess, "You should read the offer document properly. Whenever a boon or curse is given by the God, it is not for our benefit, it is just to take the life forward as they have planned for us." Goddess Laxmi was really impressed by Swats thoughts, "Wow! Such a wisdom in the young age! Good! With a friend like you, Prads is really blessed! But unfortunately I have to proceed to Vaikunta (Her Husband's abode). So the boon stands cancelled."

Prads looked very confusingly at Swats and Swats explained to him beautifully, "We should never get the love of our life through a wish. We should earn them,"
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Happy Friendship Day to all my readers...

The Morning Blues

"If you would like to save on some conveyance tomorrow morning, just walk half a kilometer towards my in-law's home.. I would be there tomorrow... I will pick you up", said Preetham to the newly joined Manya.

So next day, Manya was at Preetham's in-law's place. But Preetham was busy talking over the cell phone to his seniors in America. So Manya took this opportunity to exchange some words with her boss's wife Seema. And she didn't fail to mention the first night story that Preetham had shared with her. Seema bursted out, "If that night was not forgettable for him, the next day morning experience is an unforgettable one for me."
Manya looked at Preetham and thought that she had some time to listen to a nice story

Seema started, "Next day morning... I woke up from my sleep and found his side of the bed empty... I got a little worried... Has my earlier night action discouraged him!... Has he decided to quit family life and become a sanyas!... I looked under the pillow for a farewell note... Luckily, I didn't find any..... Then I searched the entire house... There was a no sign of him... a short time later I heard a small sound as if an engine was vibrating and It was coming from the room which I rarely entered...."
Manya decided to take a guess, "Hmm... Is it the attic or Is it the kitchen?"
Seema smiled, "Neither... It was the Pooja room... I was an atheist. I was always under the impression that he was just another God Fearing human being. But when I saw him that day in that meditative state, it seemed he was only one step away from nirvana..."

Manya was really thinking to herself, 'This pair seems to be as different as chalk from cheese' But her mind was interrupted by Seema's furtherance of her plight, "Worse than that was, he woke up very early at four thirty am. I am a night owl and he a early bird. But there was a time when I used to wake up that early..."
Manya again decided to take a guess, "During examinations?"
Seema corrected her one more time, "No re.... It was during that time when India went over to Australia and won that test series... Otherwise... Its not earlier than eight AM.. It would have been still late had it not been for my younger brother who wouldn't have left any breakfast for me if I was not at the breakfast table by eight thiry... that chotta bakasur..."

Manya thought herself 'whoever has done the match must have had it all wrong' But next sentence from Seema came as a consolation, " Then there are some advantages of having a early bird as your husband...."
Manya knew those and every girl would know those, "Hot cup of coffee from your husband and hot water ready for bath.... Am I right?"
Seema congratulated Manya this time, "You are right... But I was not lucky even there... My husband always takes a cold shower, says 'its good for meditation' and I say 'its not at all good for me'.... And coffee... his theory is that, 'Before sun shows up on the horizon, one shouldn't have anything for his stomach' , but when Sun does show up, my husband would have closed his eyes and gone into a meditative trance.... So there goes hot water for bath and also bed coffee...."
Manya felt very bad that a girl's dream had shattered..

But when Preetham was ready, Seema concluded, "He is everything that I never wanted him to be. But somehow he manages to drive me crazy. I love him like Nuts. And he is definitely very far away from attainining nirvana. And I have reset my body clock to suit him a long time back."

And then Manya bid her bye and on the way Preetham commented, "My Wife! She is everything I never wanted her to be. But somehow she manages to drive me crazy. I love her like Nuts..."
Manya gave a stupified look. When Preetham asked the reason for the same, she smiled, "A deja vu feeling...."
But she had a serious doubt, 'Whats this mystical force that binded these young couple together'
Can anyone tell her the answer.