In my childhood, I always loved listening to fairy-tales from my father. I remembered him telling tales of Cinderella and Rapunzel. The handsome prince comes from some wonderland to rescue the girl, they fall in love, and then they get married and lived happily ever after…' I grew up listening to such stories daily, while I still failed to understand the real meaning of'happily ever after' in life. None of these tales described that! What is this'happily ever after' thing they talked about? The mind throws up a million questions! And then I started observing the people around me to find out the answers to the term'happily ever after'.
My neighbour Zubeida got married five years back to an electrician and in that period they had three children. After all these years her husband realized that he didn’t love her anymore.
Every other night they fought like mad bulls. Each night he used to come home drunk, fights would happen till dawn and then the whole day he would sleep like a swine. The lady did household chores at different places to run the family. He used to not go to work, nor support her in housework or in taking care of the children in her absence. Is this what we call'Happily Ever After'? I doubt.
My good friend Tony, he is the only son of his parents, he enjoys lavish life with no tension about tomorrow. One day while having a conversation with him, he suddenly choked and opened the book of his personal life.
He said, his dad lives in South Africa whereas his mom lives in Dubai for work purposes. Soon after his birth, the two left the country and never returned. He stays with his grandparents here. As he was saying his problems about how he missed parental love in his life and how he doesn't believe in marriage because of his parents. A thought ran in my mind, what good his parents have done for him by giving all the luxury in life but didn't give him the most important thing'LOVE' which every child wants in life. Is this what we call'Happily Ever After'? I doubt.
My friend Sandra, a happy-go jolly type of a person, who use to take the things sportingly as it comes in her life. She fell in love with a guy from our college. The two went on for a very strong relationship for almost four years and finally, one day decided to get married. Both their families willingly accepted the marriage and the duo live happily for a few years. Until one day Sandra returned to her parent's house crying, unknown to the reason what happened in her life. But things have changed so much that a happy kind-a person now stays in a lost world, thinking of her good times with that guy and cries the entire day and night. Is this what we call'Happily Ever After'? I doubt.
There are many examples to tell, and I can go on and on telling the stories that I see around me. The doubt about the term'Happily Ever After' has given me a troll in my life. Until the time, I found this couple, probably somewhere in their mid-70's at Ambernath Railway station.
Somehow they got my attention. My eyes were locked on them, as they walked slowly hand-in-hand on the busy station road irrespective of the world watching them or you can say someone like me spying on them. I decided to follow them as they kept walking until they reached the station platform. The man was carrying a lady's handbag and a small luggage bag while the old lady grabbed his arm to take support while they move.
Finally, they reached near the lady's compartment. The old man kept the bags down and gave his hand to the woman and helped her to get inside the train. The lady was standing at the doorstep while he waited outside. It was clear that the old woman was all alone on this journey. The pain of getting separated from each other was visible on their faces.
The announcement on the speaker was heard, that the train on platform number 2 will leave in the next one minute. Listening to this declaration the lady managed to get down from the train, to give a final embrace to her love and again went inside the compartment. This time she took the help of the train's door handle to get inside as the old man was left in shock.
This small incident was so touching and made me realized that yes marriages are fixed in heaven. No matter how many incidents in their life must have given them a tough time. But they stood strong and their love continued to remain as it was in the initial days. One could make their marriage'Happily Ever After' with their support, love, understanding, and sacrifices. If you trust your partner and love them wholeheartedly, there will be no pain and suffering in your marriage life. There will be no room for misunderstanding between the two people. And yes your story will go as the term ‘Happily Ever After’.
