Short Story

Love begets sorrow

by Somasiri Attanayake

Sandya and Udaya seemed to be very ardent lovers who were in their late teens. The advanced level supplementary classes made them friendly; the friendship gradually turned into love. However, the relationship between them did not progress smoothly.

Very often, there arose bickerings and tiffs which made them bitter enemies; sometimes for a few moments, sometimes for a few days or weeks and they had made a habit of reconciling themselves on their own. Thereafter, they got along with each other as if nothing had happened.

Their characters were as different as chalk and cheese; the boy was an introvert while the girl was a sociable creature who moved and mixed with others comfortably and was always cheerful.

One afternoon, the boy waited until the girl's class was over at a place close to the vicinity where almost all the private advanced level classes are conducted in the Gampaha town.

After a few minutes, a buzzing sound was heard like the sound of the heaving sea; then jabbering mingled with footfalls of a concourse of male and female students became audible when all of them flooded into every street, road and by-lane by their hundreds, nay-thousands! Some invaded the nearby cafes and shops. Even the gramsellers and ice cream vendors were besieged by the hungry bustling students.

Inamorata

Among thousands of young boys and girls he recognised his inamorata sashaying towards him. As she got closer, her redddish beautiful lips bloomed into a biwitching smile.

“A strap of one of my sandals has come off. Shall we go to the shoe repairer?”

Sandya lifted her foot and showed the damaged footwear to the boy.

When they approached the cobbler, he was stitching a canvas bag used by schoolchildren at his customary pitch in the shade of the mango tree with all his paraphernalia scattered around him. He stopped his stitching and looked up at them and asked what was the job they wanted to get done by him.

All at once, gathering up her maxi-skirt, the girl stretched out her leg towards the cobbler completely exposing her shapely calf and placed the foot with the damaged sandal on the wooden block which was in front of the man. The shoe-mender's eyes dilated in admiration when he saw the pretty female limb. In no time, the cobbler mended the sandal and the young pair turned back to go to the bus stand.

“You don't know how to behave in front of strangers.”
“What did I do that offended others or you?”

“Certain things done by males are acceptable, but the very same things done by women appears indecent”.

“You talk utter nonsense!”

Anger

He went mad with anger but suppressed his fury by keeping quiet. Quite a long distance they walked without talking. A hawker carrying ripe, blood-red rambuttan in a basket improvised out of a green coconut frond balancing it on his head approached them. The girl bought some rambuttans and offered a few fruit to him.

They boy did not refuse in spite of being very angry with her. She laughed coquettishly before popping a peeled rambutan into her mouth. Soom they forgot their squabble while greedily sucking the sweet juice of the spiny red fruits.

They walked abreast, brushing against each other. When nobody was close by he took her hand in his and kept holding it as if her hand were a delicate flower. On such occasions, he was extremely happy.

At the bus stand they parted because both were not travelling by the same bus. He kept on looking at her till she got into the bus and disappeared among others. And he still felt the sensation of the girl's soft hand lingering over his palm though the incident had taken place more than 30 minutes earlier.

He felt all alone and sad amidst a lot of people and cheery young boys and girls who were still hanging around at the bus stand. He pictured her charming smile, graceful swings of her hips and virgin, glossy black hair. The more he thought of her the more he grew unhappy and lonely.

Studious

Sandya was very beautiful with her sylph-like figure although she was not a studious type of person. She did not take her studies very seriously. Because of her easy-going approach to life she became very popular among male and female students. Nevertheless, she had not decided what she was going to be when she would reach adulthood.

One day she was walking along a busy street in the Gampaha town with her sister, clad in a striking T-shirt and a pair of denim trousers which hugged her rounded bottom and legs tightly, suggesting an aura of indecency about her.

Unexpectedly, she saw her boyfriend walking in the same street towards her. The moment she saw him, she panicked and ran into a nearby shop dragging her sister by the hand. She heaved a sigh of relief when she realised that he did not recognise her.

If he had made her out by any chance, he would have quarrelled with her in the presence of strangers because of her revolting dress which he vehemently disliked.

What she did next was to cut hair short since one of her friends had cut her hair and Sandya thought that her friend looked prettier than earlier.

Udaya started shivering with extreme anger when he saw her in her new hair style. He pounced upon her like a wild beast.

“You have not cut your hair but you have cut your own neck!”

He barked at her. In response to his angry bark she gave a mocking laugh which made him mad with rage.

“Why didn't you tell me you wanted to cut your hair?”
“All my friends tell I look prettier with short hair.”
“The whole world may tell so, but I don't!”
“Don't worry, my hair will grow.”
“Al right, I'm telling you with all seriousness. I keep away from you.

“I don't even look at you till your hair grows to its original length.” Having said that, he left her high and dry, without looking back.

Adoration

Udaya loved her with his heart and soul; he adored her, at the same time he wanted to be firm and strict with her to prevent her form keeping him under her thumb.

He resolved to carry out his threat to the letter. When a person receives a heavy blow he experiences pain, whereas, in this case, the aggressor suffered more than the victim did.

Udaya very often thought that Sandya did not love him as much as he loved her. He had noticed a number of times that she was more animated and lively in the company of her friends and when she was with him she appeared cold and distant. On one occasion Udaya noted with disappointment that she yawned many times while they were together. When questioned by the boy she defended herself telling that she slept for only a very short time during the previous night. He did not believe her at all.

During the period of their estrangement, Udaya was constantly in fear of losing her because he purposely avoided seeing her as he told when they quarrelled over the girl's new hair style. He lost interest in his studies and he felt that he had been abandoned by everyone like a social outcast.

To escape from the agony of isolation, as a last resort, he decided to meet Sandya before the punishment period was over. In his heart of hearts, Udaya knew that Sandya looked more beautiful in her new coiffure.

Compatibility

Sandya received him as if nothing had happened between them and it seemed both of them were friendlier than earlier and forgiven each other.

The compatibility between the youngster and the chick did not exist for a long time. Squabbles, tiffs and disputes stole the live and cordiality from them and the vicious cycle started all over again.

To carry on an intimate relationship with her for a boy was like holding a delicate and very beautiful flower with the stem full of needle-like thorns that pricks the holder's fingers. Udaya dropped the alluring blossom and picked it up again and again with renewed eagerness.

One afternoon, after attending classes the youthful pair was walking in the direction of the bus stand and they met two young students on their way, who were known to the girl: Sandya stopped to converse with them; Udaya walked a little distance further and waited for her to join him.

Gradually, their talk became animated and noisy interspersed with loud laughter. After about five minutes, he beckoned her to join him, she just ignored him. He waited for some more time, gave an indication with the hand to join him and again she did not obey.

Instead, all of them burst into boisterous whoops of laughter; unable to contain herself she bent double and jumped up! Udaya went mad with fury. His mind went blank. He did not know what to think or do. Mechanically, Udaya walked in toe direction of the bus stand just like a person who had taken leave of his senses. He wandered all over the town without thinking what he was doing which gave him some sort of mental consolation. Ultimately he reached home at the dusk and complained of a severe headache. He refused dinner and retired to bed earlier than usual.

Sound sleep

Though he wanted to fall into a sound sleep to forget all his worries and mental torments, he was awake even after midnight, tossing and turning over every few minutes in bed. He was utterly disappointed with himself.

He thought that life was meaningless and an utter mockery. Udaya hated her, himself and even his parents. He hated the whole world! He felt, the saliva in his mouth tasted bitter like quinine. The only sound he heard in the house was the ringing of the alarm clock on his writing table.

Udaya tried to sleep concentrating on the rhythmic sound of the timepiece; but it seemed that the ticking sound increasing louder and louder and after a few minutes he could not bear it any longer. He removed the clock and got back to bed and experienced the misery of inability in falling into sleep. He thought he was going mad.

The graceful swings of her hips, her charming smile, her long eyes like the petals of blue water lilievs floated before him in the pitch darkness and disappeared. Udaya fell into a very deep sleep when he firmly determined to discontinue the romantic relationship between Sandya and him, never to resume it and resolved to devote his full time to his studies.