It was getting very tiresome these days. She finished her household chores and relaxed on the drawing room sofa. "When is Tarun returning from office?" She wondered. It was already 3.00 pm and he usually returned quite early on Saturdays. Her father-in-law was reclining on the armchair near the TV, dozing away, with the newspaper on his lap. She ran to catch hold of the sliding sheets which were slowly loosening itself from his grip. He awoke instantly and signaled to her," Archu, why are you looking worried?" " Papa, I don't know why Tarun is not back yet!" "So, is that the matter? He is having his afternoon siesta in the bedroom. Can't you hear the a/c?" Relieved, she rushed to the bedroom and switched on the light. The sight that greeted her there wasn't exactly what you can call relief. It was the opposite. Yes, startled was the word that fitted better.  Nothing can make one lose respect for women other than being caught in a compromising position. And that was what she thought of the way her Mother in Law was laying on the bed. How scandalous!  There was Tarun lying on the bed, deep asleep with his arm around his mother. His mother had her legs awry and dozing in the crook of his arm as wives sleep, quite unaware of the fact that her night gown had traveled up her thigh, her inner garments showing a little beneath those heavy flabs of flesh…ugh! Archana was sick. She felt like throwing up in disgust. She deliberately dropped the flower vase that was atop the cabinet, switching on the lights, and at once yelling aloud," Why can't people be more careful with their clothes when they are sleeping?"   The MIL was probably not asleep as she had imagined because she instantly came to her senses and straightened herself. That was not the last time, anyway. She saw the two of them deliberately lying in close physical contact, as if to mock at her agitation.  Apparently, they seem to ignore her. That's it! She fought with, argued and attacked her husband every night about this, even blurting out unmentionable excrements such as," Why can't you sleep with her ever night and beget your off springs on her?" She appealed to her father in law and the only answer she got was," See, they have always been that way since he was a baby. There is nothing wrong about this. Only you are making a mountain out of a molehill." "I cannot accept your explanation, papa", she continued after a  few days. Biting her lips till it bled, she addressed her husband in the severest tone possible, "Tarun, I am going to my mother's place! I find you and your people thoroughly disgusting." She had already packed her bags and all she had to do was to catch a call taxi and make off before Tarun had time to explain! She hoped he would trail behind in wordless penitence and express sentiments of remorse laced with  resolutions not to repeat  those abnormalities. She would forget everything. She would! She still loved him.    But Tarun never came. Months passed and she began to feel so grumpy with her life. "Lazy wasted days", she told herself. "Let me do something useful now." She decided to apply for the post of a  primary teacher in a nearby school.  It was really hot that day as she returned from "Centum Matriculation School" What a  name! People had no idea what they want to call their  schools. Centum! He..he.. Next we will have schools called "Percentage!" Lord! How thirsty she was! Couldn't they give her some fresh juice at the interview? Phew! People had no heart  these days! " Poor me!" , she said aloud, conscious of the feeling of  self pity that welled from within more than one source. Yet she told herself that it was only "water that she wanted now!" She would swoon without WATER… the elixir of life! She stood knocking at the door till  she heard her brother's wife's bustling towards it.  Even without opening the door Gita  knew it was Archu and began, "You know , you got registered post, Archu!, After a  lot of deliberation, I signed it. Why don't you check what it is about? Could be some appointment letter from one of the schools where you attended an interview." Archana's fingers moved, trembling with trepidation as she tore the envelope open and gently  removed the light green document within. Divorce Notice from Tarun! She stuttered blindly and would have lost her balance had her brother not   held her from behind and gently placed her on the chair. "Archu, steady yourself girl!," He patted her, consoling her as if he were really very mature. All along, he himself was   feeling the butterflies in his  stomach. He took the document and began reading! "Why couldn't they ever join together!", he moaned,  "When all over the world, every one is happy," What  with his own disagreement on many occasions with his wife, he had never done anything to disturb her mentally. Was it so difficult to be nice? Leave alone adoring one's young and pretty bride. That slip of a fellow called Tarun could not even behave in a civil manner! Hey, c'mon man… this is really very absurd. Their marriage was only 6 months old! It was, according to him, still a honey moon period. It revolted his sense of rectitude that a   man must love his mother so much that he could divorce his wife at the raise of her finger; that he would not change himself despite his wife's protestations. What kind of love was it for one's mother, to place her above oneself, above one's life and happiness? It irked him no end! A clown that could not even give his marital life long enough time to see if it worked! What was the need to rush forth with a  notice! This will not work. Tarun will have no words to utter before the judge, about what exactly he had against his wife.  Was it Oedipus complex? Did such things really exist? Confounded beyond measure, he went to the kitchen to get his tea that was kept warm in the M/W oven. Time hung before him like an irretrievable singular pot that was soon slithering away from its tethering rope in the backyard well. One of the ironies of life was that the most unexpected things seemed to happen only in the lives of  the most unsuspecting innocents. His heart went out for his long suffering sister.   Archana was still hiccupping in her sleep when he returned to stroke her hair. Suddenly he knitted his eyebrows, with his mind taking his attention to the open! Was it magnolia that bloomed by the window sill? He went near and checked. Wow! For days he had tended to that flower, wondering why it never bloomed. Today of all days, when he had other cares in his mind, the magnolia was in full bloom. It has to come… it has to come…. He rejoiced over the blossom in gleeful pleasure of  happy children. When he left the room that night, leaving the windows open for the fragrance of the garden to swish in with the westerly winds, he hummed to himself, from the wisdom gathered from his floral friends, "If winter comes, can spring be far away?" We live on hopes alone and the tears that we shed today have to dry some day. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away in complete faith on Nature, it's propensity for rejuvenation. To think something is the end or to think something is a new beginning is all in our mind. Our happiness lies in our perspective.                                                  The end cd