Heart Of The World- Nostalgia

My name is Dhaval, an 80-year-old man physically, but younger than you by heart. My wife is a perfect example of "an elegant heart." She is now hospitalized due to her illness. Is 75 an age to end her love for me? I wonder every single minute. The doctors said, as they usually say, "we will try our best, but the result can be either way." My son and daughter asked this 'old man', as they usually call me, to return home and take rest. What will this longing heart search and think than being with my love? But I had to leave the hospital now, without any other choice.

As I entered our home, her presence was felt all around. My thoughts about her made my sleep a mere dream. Accidentally my eyes looked at the cupboard, a storehouse of those beautiful moments which we spent together. It was loaded with photos and the first one was ourselves during the time of college. My thoughts migrated to those days. It was the first day I met her. Her swaying hair, confident eyes, and ever-smiling lips, what else a man would look for? One fine day, I introduced myself to her and so did she. "Narmada", her name, the name of an ever-running river. Did I expect that our bond will be built that strong in a matter of days? The next photo has been the closest of ours, our marriage pic. Our marriage, a love marriage wasn't one which was filled with fights between the two families or any disapproval from either side. It was an exception, as both our families nodded their heads, a delightful approval. It was in the year 1975, February 20 when we became one soul, one for the other. The smile in her face was much more beautiful than earlier when our eyes met each other. The gifts which we received, the dance which this young man did on that day...Will I be able to make myself a part of those days again?

The next few photos were those of Agra, the city of love. I'm not a great traveler, to me, she is the world. The Taj was so beautiful and won't I wish to build such a piece for my love? But in the following days, her love changed into care. Yes, in a jam-packed place, I met with an accident. She didn't shout, she didn't spill a drop of tear, that's her courage. "You have to take rest for two weeks", the doctors said. Guess what, she became a mother right at that moment. She took care of me as if I am a little kiddo, longing for the mother's care. As I ponder about those things, tears are coming from my right eye too... What's beneath this photo? I am over the moon right now, and these photos are of our two adorable kids. I wonder every moment I live if I am really blessed with such a wife and children or I am living in a dreamland. I used to carry them on my shoulders and my wife, an ever caring soul advises me not to. And that's the only moment where I don't go with her words. The way I see this world, the way I speak and smile, it's all because of them. If someone asks my children, "who was responsible for who you are now?", then I would rush before them and say "It's my wife" because she deserves it.

My son used to click all instances, no matter what they are. In the next few photos we weren't together, and they were scarce in number too.The small fights and talks had been the reason behind it. She is someone who values her decisions and expects the same from others. "Someone must teach you the procedures of getting angry", I say to her every time. Though she is angry with me, she would ask my children about me every now and then, because that is the real she. The one thing she waits for is "sorry." She expects the word 'sorry' from the bottom of my heart. Those days, just one or two days, when we don't speak with each other were the longest days in my life so far. Will anyone on Earth get such a life? Will anyone be blessed with such love and care and affection? Her smile still exists before me. The bygone days bring in me something which I haven't experienced so far.

The last photo in the storehouse of our memories is a family photo, the one which we took 5 years before. Even at the age of 70, she looked the same, the way she was when I met her for the very first time. I received a phone call from my son and he asked me to return to the hospital. Where will my mind go when he urged me to return? Is she alright? Or is it the other way around? questions wandered around me. I am on the way to the hospital and my heartbeat is intensive than usual. Every single second I asked my Lord to be with her. As I neared her room, I found my son and daughter with a smile on their face. That's when my heartbeat came back to the usual. I entered the room and my wife was waiting for me. For the very first time I saw tears in her eyes and I didn't even know what to do next. I walked towards her, hugged and whispered: " everything will be fine." The history of our love is yet to be continued and will leave an imprint on the heart of this world.